Fashion week is always manic, but enjoyable nonetheless. This year, I actually fell really ill on day one, meaning the lounge I was at all weekend came in handy, as was bed. It was a blessing in disguise that I had a lovely hotel room at the W London this year based right in the centre of all the action: Soho. The hotel came complete with an amazing complimentary refuel lounge to relax in, pamper in and refuel in between the manic-ness of the weekend too. I started the week in the North of England though, as we collected a car to drive down to fashion week with (you may remember this if you've seen my weekly vlog from last week). Let's talk about the make up, the lounges, the food and a few outfits from this weeks fashion week. Oh and a look into one of my favourite London hotels ever, the W Hotel, Leicester Square.
I'm a sucker for a good car. Since I passed my test aged 17 I've had two cars but they were both the same brand so it was nice to try something different for a change. The lovely ladies at Vantage Motor Group kindly let me borrow the all new Toyota C-HR to travel comfortably to fashion week. This was perfect because I suffer really badly with travel sickness and we needed a bit more room this time around. We drive up and down the country in my little car, usually because trains let us down and cost 4x the price of driving. I really noticed just how much more room this car has though as soon as I got in it. Apart from the amazing boot space, the built in GPS and heated seats, it's also a hybrid, meaning you pay no toll charges either when driving through central London which is an absolute bonus. The team at Vantage Motorgroup were honestly incredible, they looked after my car whilst we took this one (even cleaning it for me) and taught us everything we needed to know about this one. I went with zero expectations and left on such a high as the car was amazing and the team treated me like an absolute princess. It was such a lovely experience.
Outfit - shirt / trousers and similar here / shoes and here
It's safe to say, a 4am start on Friday morning was made much easier with the luxurious arm-chair like heated seats to get us through the four hour journey. The whole experience of this car was amazing, it felt so roomy and comfortable and weirdly, even better than my experience of flying first class. I feel like the car is so trendy and definitely fits in with fashion week. It was a total pleasure to drive.
After a comfortable journey we checked into one of my favourite hotels in London, the W. You can read my full review of the W Hotel Leicester Square if you haven't already but trust me, this hotel is hard to beat. Think modern, fast-thinking, luxurious. If you're looking for a hotel bang in the middle of where it's all happening in London, the W is for you. It's a five minute walk to Regent Street and Oxford Street, plus right in the heart of China town and Soho. Based on Wardour Street, you've got the best foodie places and bars just metres away. I've stayed in W's around the world as I know I can trust them and W London always ticks every box. I was lucky enough to work with the W London this year on their refuel lounge during fashion week, the idea of the lounge is fuel to look good, feel good, go longer and stay later. W London host their Finishing Touches lounge every year and it's truly incredible, from complimentary workout classes, to blow dries with the best salons in London, manicures and more, if you want it, they'll probably have it.
You can always tell when you're at a W because as soon as you get to the door you're treated like royalty. My bags were taken off me, we were escorted upstairs in the lift and seated in the lounge with a drink. The staff at every W hotel I've been to always go above and beyond and it's what keeps bringing me back, time after time.
I stopped via the Finishing Touches lounge to say hello to everyone and quickly freshen up, we then rushed over to the Tate Modern to capture the behind the scenes of Matty Bovan with Marc Jacobs beauty.
As you can see, it's pretty epic. Marc Jacobs is a brand I've adored for years so it was epic to see the make up artists working their magic behind the scenes. They used a combination of Marc Jacobs products to create a striking, futuristic look and the inspiration was drawn from Matty Bovan's fascination with science fiction films set in dystopian futures. Whilst this was for Autumn Winter 2017, the metallic blues certainly got me in the mood for Summer. Seeing the artists layer up the new o! mega lash volumising mascara made me fall in love with big, bold lashes.
We jumped in an Uber (promo code EMTALKS15 gets you £15 free) and within 15 minutes we were back at the W London. I told you it's in an epic location, particularly when fashion week is spread around London. I managed to get my hair styled at the W Finishing Touches lounge ready for my second event of the day. It was amazing to be able to pop in and out to get refreshed and refuelled for the events ahead. The W only do the best and of course partnered with one of the best places in London, DryBy, to give complimentary London hair styles. Within 20 minutes, I felt like a new woman, refreshed, clean and ready to go and meet Gigi Hadid.
We jumped in a car to Knightsbridge and headed over to the launch of Gigi and Tommy Hilfliger's new collection.
I was madly in love with my hair and got to meet Gigi too. A blow dry gives me instant confidence, particularly needed when standing next to a supermodel!
After a busy morning, it was time to grab lunch at the W. I had a quick outfit change and we ordered room service whilst it came. The food in the W is always amazing. Matt went for the fish and chips whilst I opted for the club sandwich.
We then headed down to the lounge to mingle and have a cocktail. It was amazing to meet so many incredible readers and followers in the lounge, so many people came I didn't even get the chance to get my nails done! I'm so jealous of everyone who got them done, it was with WAH nails and I've always wanted to go to them. Before we knew it, it was dinner time. By this point, I was finally feeling a bit better with some paracetamol. We headed downstairs to Burger and Lobster as we wanted to stay close to the hotel with me not being very well. It's not actually owned or anything to do wutg the W but sits conveniently within the hotel which is perfect.
I've wanted to try Burger and Lobster for a long time, it's a venue everyone raves about and the service and food certainly didn't disappoint.
Burger and Lobster is really fun and chilled, with a simple but amazing menu. You basically choose either a burger, a lobster, or a burger and a lobster. Oh, the cocktails are also great too and it's so well priced for such high quality food.
I went for a large lobster with garlic butter and fries, lobster is one of my favourite things to eat so this place was heavenly. I'm also a little obsessed with garlic butter so we barely spoke when the food was served. From the moment we walked into the restaurant the staff were incredible. You can actually access it from the W reception so it was amazingly convenient. The place was rammed full which is always a good sign! We both popped our bibs on and had such a laugh, it's definitely a fun venue. It's the perfect break-the-ice or fun date night venue. Matt went for the burger and lobster together and we couldn't believe what good value and quality the food was. We will definitely be heading back.
Falling asleep in W Hotels is one of my favourite things in the world. There's no bed more comfortable and I loved knowing that I was waking up to a full day in the lounge. Even though I woke up feeling like my illness had come back (after going to the doctors, I found out I had a serious kidney infection!) I ordered a vegetable juice to refuel my system and just make myself feel better. I honestly had the nicest nights sleep and had to start my Sunday with some pancakes. W Hotels also do a chia bowl which made my day, I love it when hotels offer healthy options and I find the W is always ahead of the game with superfoods. They're always bang on trend.
I kicked off Sunday looking at the Makery, a denim customisation station, I just wish I had a denim jacket so I could have designed my own. Patching is a top trend at the moment, particularly when it comes to brands like Gucci (my favourite) so this was very fitting in the W Finishing Touches lounge.
I also got the chance to try out LASH, an amazing range of lashes. I met with some incredibly lovely followers too who also got their lashes done, we all looked seriously glam to say it was a Sunday!
I also had a skincare consultation and then, my favourite thing yet... I had a massage. The Finishing Touches Lounge offered massages for free throughout the weekend and trust me, my body needed it after too much running around. Both Matt and I had one and we felt incredible. I'll definitely be booking into the away spa for some serious pampering next time around!
Then I headed to Natural Bisse to learn all about their skincare products. I came away with a list as long as my arm.
We brunched, we chatted and I drank some of the W's delicious juices. It's safe to say, the W London's Finishing Touches lounge was an amazing addition to London Fashion Week, I don't know how I'd have got through it without them! Not only were the massages amazing, but the like-minded people I got to meet with, the chance to grab a quick blow dry fix whenever I needed and, nail and lip touch ups too. My only regret? I wish I didn't have an early event on the Saturday as it means I missed their amazing fitness class! Next year, I'll be there for everything and I definitely will be first in line to get my nails done too. A huge thank you to everyone who came down to say hello and I hope you all enjoyed your beauty treatments. A huge thank you to W London for looking after a very poorly Em but for making me feel incredibly happy, comfortable and rejuvenated all weekend. W London remains my favourite London hotel and I cannot recommend this place enough.
We headed back into the comfort of the C-HR for a drive home, whilst I didn't want to leave the W, I was excited about the idea of a long journey (for once in my life!) because I knew we were doing it in complete luxury and ultimate comfort. The car was a complete godsend with me not feeling well and meant I was comfortable the whole way home, the heated seats definitely soothed my kidney infection! I'm already excited to see what the hotel holds next London Fashion Week, I'll be first in line and I'll definitely be heading back to Vantage to try some more cars out as I am so impressed with the service. I wish every road trip was like this!
Watch my whole vlog of the weekend below:
Have you ever been to fashion week? Do you like new cars? Do you like the idea of the refuel lounge?
You might also like:
W Hotel London Review
Easy, Healthy Pancakes for Pancake Day
Little Things That Make Me Feel Confident
*I worked with W Hotels on this post but as always it's 100% my honest opinion.
Lots of love, Em x
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