Thirty Plus Awards – I Flipping Won!

I have been trying to draft this post all day but I was waiting for it to sink in so that I’d know what to write. Aaaaand I’m still waiting! Ever since I found out I was nominated for three Thirty Plus Awards I have been nervous, excited, terrified, nauseous, thrilled, shocked… all rolled into one.  And last night was the night!

The title and picture above is a small spoiler – I flipping won!!

The awards were held at the gorgeous Charlotte Street Hotel in Soho, and to calm my nerves beforehand I met up with the lovely Leah from Devoted To Pink and Vix from Vix Meldrew for a drink. Part of the reason I was so excited to go to these awards was to meet and hang out with the other women who were nominated – some I already knew, some I’d never met before, so I knew it was going to be a great night.

Champagne and lots of nattering later, we were ushered into a cinema-screening type room, with tiered seats and a stage. I was already feeling scared but my nerves went through the roof when I got in there as it suddenly felt very real. The first award announced was ‘The Next Big Thing’ – one of the 3 awards I was nominated for. I wasn’t even paying attention when they read out my name because Nikki from Taylor Made Beauty (one of the judges) was saying such lovely things about the winner that I switched off, assuming she couldn’t possibly be talking about me! I can now tell you that teetering across the stage in high heels, a tight dress, after 4 glasses of champagne, all while shaking like a leaf, is a very interesting experience!

By the time I got back to my chair, my phone had gone crazy with notifications from friends following the hashtag and watching the livestream and I was still replying to people when my second award was announced (‘Most Innovative Content’) so I had absolutely no clue what was going on when they announced I had won ‘Highly Commended’. It’s all a complete blur so I have no idea what I said or did on stage – I just remember doing a lot of deep breathing!

The final award of the evening was my third nomination – ‘Blogger of the Year’. I can’t even say that without giggling manically. I definitely wasn’t expecting anything… so winning ‘Highly Commended’ in that category is probably the most crazy thing I’ve ever experienced. As I wrote in my initial post about the nominations, I’ve really been struggling recently: wondering if I was kidding myself with my blogging and whether I was heading in the right direction. So to be nominated (let alone winning anything) in the Thirty Plus Awards came at just the right time. I am so proud of myself and still not really sure what is happening! Thank you so, so, SO much if you voted, shared my requests for votes, or for sending me congratulations. You’ve all made me the happiest blogger alive.

There were seven Thirty Plus award categories in total so do go over to the Thirty Plus website to see who else won what and give them a follow as they are all amazing! A huge thank you and congratulations to Hayley and her team for putting on such a wonderful evening and to The Body Shop for sponsoring the event.

I took NO photos of my outfit, make up or shoes on the evening, and didn’t get any photos of me with my awards, because apparently I’m the worst blogger ever and was too busy drinking champagne and talking to people to even think of it!

However, this is the manicure I did beforehand. I used 4 Essie polishes and a small sponge to achieve this ombre/gradient effect and LOVE the final look. The polishes were (from dark to light) Butler Please, Pret-A-Surfer, Saltwater Happy* and Private Weekend*, all topped with Seche Vite.

I am still completely stunned. I don’t know what else to say except thank you thank you thank you again – you are all amazing.

Lex

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