Over the weekend, i had the pleasure of attending the Curly Hair Festival at the ILEC Conference Centre in London. I had previously attended a number of the Natural Hair Week events in London so I was excited to see what the founder of the iconic event Vinna Best had in store following the recent rebranding from Natural Hair Week to Curly Treats Festival rebranding.

After years of attending hair events, i’m always astounded by the number of natural haired lovelies that attend and in this, i’m sure that they were not disappointed by the offering in this instance. Throughout the day guests were treated to hair and health workshops, demos and interactive discussions, a fashion show in celebration of Black Girl Magic and of course some of you favourite brands such as Cantu beauty, Creame of nature, Mixed chicks and Softn’ Free were in attendance as alongside some amazing independent brands. Popular influencers such as MahoganyCurls, Lekoia Lee and the girls from Curlcuture were also on deck taking part in workshops, discussions and meet and greets. I especially loved the fact that men were catered to with a dedicated afro men’s hub which offered free shape-ups, beard maintenance and skin care advice for the man in your life. For mini curlies, there was an empowHER lunch and a children’s corner which provided fun interactive activities and storytelling.

It was great to catch up with CEO Vinna Best for Fashions Finest as one of the things that aided and encouraged my natural hair journey definably has to be natural hair events.

Dr Justine Kluk a London-based Consultant Dermatologist and Garnier representative has been trained by some of the country’s most eminent dermatologists, at leading centres such as the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

The one and only Taraji P Henson is set to launch her own collection with MAC cosmetics next month.

Handbag lovers are bound to fall in love with exclusive sixteen-piece collection from Radley Bags and ready-to-wear British designer, Jonathan Saunders.

If you haven't heard of the brand Shea Moisture then I don't know what to tell you.

MAC Cosmetics announced today that Charlotte Olympia will be the latest designer to collaborate with the cosmetics powerhouse.

Bad girl Riri will be showing off her softer side in the advertisement for her just-announced fragrance, RiRi by Rhianna.

Known for a more edgy image the “Bitch Better Have My Money" singer posted the images on her Instagram page.

Perhaps this could be a sign of things to come… a Rhianna doll perhaps? Why not?

Monday I was invited down to Nice Nails Baby in Clapham Junction to try out their Walking On Air Pedicure. I have to admit I had slightly fallen off with my pedicure game to the point that during our recent heatwave I couldn’t rock my sandals because my toes were far from on point.

Generally I do love a good pedicure as it give me a chance to relax and get pampered but be with work and trying to buy a flat time has not been on my side so when I got the invitation I was delighted to pop down to trendy Clapham to get my feet right.

Nice Nails Baby i.e. located almost directly across from the station inside the Electric Beach Tanning Salon.

I loved the classy yet eclectic décor which was a far cry from the bland and almost clinical décor of most nail shops. Everywhere you looked there was pictures of nail designs to give customers inspiration which had e looking down at my hands wondering if I had time for a quick manicure also but I was pushed for time so I made a mental not to come back another time.

I was greeted by Michelle Duberry who is also Managing Director and founder of Nice Nails Baby and lead to the pedicure room.

After deciding on a colour was sitting pretty soaking my tootise in a warm foot spa then a foot mask was applied and my feet were wrapped in cling film while Michelle and I shot the breeze about everything from fashion to blogging to natural hair journeys and she even recommended a hairdresser to me Result!!

Once the mask was washed off of me feet a foot file was used to buff my feet free of any rough or dry skin. Next my cuticles were pushed back and my nails were cut and shaped.

Before the nail colour was applied a foot scrub was used, followed by lotion and a relaxing foot rub.

Throughout the treatment I felt very comfortable and no discomfort was experienced. The treatment was done to a high standard, the and as I was feeling comfortable the time seemed to fly by.

As my appointment was on a Monday morning I expected it to be quiet however there were a number of people popping in to enquire about appointments. I would love to come back when it was quite busy because I imagine the atmosphere would be laid back and fun. Even though Clapham is bit out my way I explained to Michelle that when it comes to good customer service I am normally happy to go out of my way or pay extra because you want to feel happy with the service especially when it comes to being pampered.

Pedicures start from £22 which I think is totally reasonable and Nice Nails Baby also offers a wide range of other beauty treatments including manicures, eye lash extensions, eyelash tinting, and brow tinting and waxing. They also offer package deals for a number of treatments which is great if you are getting ready for a special event or holiday. There is also a Nail party service where they can come to your house and pamper you and your friends which I thought was an excellent idea for a girly evening.

For more information visit the Nice Nails Baby website www.nicenailsbaby.co

The Natural Hair Week delivers informative seminars from qualified experts, interactive debates, creative hair demos and a platform for hair and beauty brands to sell products and services whilst connecting with their target audience.

The Natural Hair Week was launched in spring 2013 because it was felt that there was a lack of events celebrating natural afro hair and beauty across the UK.

The brainchild of Vinna Best of OfficiallyNatural and Diane Hall of I Grew It Long The Natural Hair Week has since seen over 3,000+ attendees in five major cities in the UK
I had heard good thing from friends that had previously attended The Natural Hair Week so I promised myself that this year I would attend the London event, which was held at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square.

The venue was very nice and consisted of three large rooms, one of which housed the works shops and seminars while the other two had the many venders which included ORS, Motions to name few as well as product and hair styling demonstrations.

I was disappointed that I was unable to attend most of the seminars due me getting there quite late in the day but people I spoke to told me that they really enjoyed them.
I really enjoyed my experience at Natural Hair Week and I got to meet up with many natural hair bloggers and vloggers who I had been following for some time which was nice.

Photo source: The Natural Hair Week Facebook page

Oh yeah as The Natural Hair Week was sponsored by Hairfinity VIP ticket holders were gifted a bottle of Hairfiinity in the goodie bags (Yesss) along with other hair and beauty samples. Previous sponsors have included: Curls, Lush Cosmetics, KeraCare, Curls, Motions Hair and Design Essentials.