As I approach the big 1 year birthday of my blog, a couple of changes are happening here at camp Alex Loves (which consists of… well, just me). After thinking hardabout where I want the blog to go, what I’m doing career-wise, etc, I’ve decided that I love doing this way too much to be doing anything else, so from now on, my focus is fully on taking Alex Loves to the next level (wherever that may be).

So, in a first step towards this, I’m very happy to share with you that I’m now a happy member of Handpicked Media, a collective of great, likeminded bloggers who, if last night’s event was anything to go by, love to have fun. Being a blogger is often a bit of a lonely existence, just me and my computer, so I feel like I’ve finally gained the colleagues I’ve never really had. Some of those colleagues include some of my ‘old’ friends Rachael Gibson, aka Fur Coat, No Knickers (who I went to uni with), my newly appointed hero Emily from Fashion Foie Gras, recent partner in crime Really Ree, my vintage darling Natasha Baillie, I-Want-Her-Necklace-Amy from Wolf Whistle and fellow new joinee Ashanti from Adorngirl. That is just the tip of the iceberg!

Yesterday I went to my first Handpicked event, which was for L’Oréal at the Soho Hotel, who had their first ever bloggers’ event with us. On top of getting to know about 20 new bloggers (there were more, but no time to meet everyone!) and the Handpicked team, I got to play around with some of my all-time-favourite perfumes and get to know some amazing new ones. Win-win.

I went all nostalgic when I smelled the Emporio Armani She and He fragrances, which I wore for years from age 15. Then I discovered the first ever fragrance for Maison Martin Margiela, suitably named (Untitled), which smells just as intriguing as the name promises. Just as anything the (Belgian) fashion house does, it’s all about the mystery, like the packaging – a simple bottle in an all-white canvas bag. The whole thing is so typically Margiela, I immediately fell in love with it. Christmas list material!

A bit more spritzing and schmoozing later, I left with a Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb and Armani Code in my goodiebag and about 20 new bloggers in my (twitter)contact list. A great night, and looking forward to many, many more of these during my time with Handpicked Media!

xxx

P.S. If you’re looking for inspiration for your christmas tree… why not put some perfume bottles in there! Colourful and original! Loved it!