Irish Bloggers Conference

Yesterday I attended the first Irish Bloggers Conference that was organised by Emma O’Farrell and Fiona Reid of Cool Events, held in the Orion Suite in the Spencer Hotel. It promised a really great afternoon of insightful talks by Ireland’s leading beauty, fashion and food bloggers with very familiar faces amongst the panellists:

Joanne Larby – from Makeup Fairy Pro and makeup artist
Nick Munier – restaurateur and Masterchef Ireland judge
Conor Lynch – from SocialMedia.ie
Caroline Hennessy – from award-winning blog Bibliocook
Sue Jordan – from Cherry Sue Doin’ the Do blog
Ali Ryan – from Goss.ie
Keith Mahon – from TheTastie.ie
Leanne Woodfull – from Thunder & Threads
Rachel Farrell – from Oh Hey There Rachel

The charity partner for the event was Dublin Simon Community, who provide homeless support services and emergency accommodation to help prevent homelessness around Dublin. The talks were very impressive and truly helpful, (I haven’t written that many notes in one sitting since Uni!), with two Q&A segments and a tea break in between. The suite was decorated with balloons and flashy #IBC signage in the lobby, as well as an array of makeup goodies for all to take home from beloved brands Catrice, Essence, Wet n Wild, Koh Coconut, Aloe Vera, and delicious cupcakes from Jen’s Couture Cakes, as well as having Aimee Connolly MUA on hand at the Beutifi stand for make up touches & tips.

Sponsor: Catrice

Sponsor: Koh Coconut

Sponsor: Catrice

Sponsor: Essence

Sponsor: Jen’s Couture Cakes

Sponsor: Wet n Wild

Here are my favourite quotes and tips from the afternoon that really inspired me and will drive me to continue blogging with that “passion for fashion” that all y’all know I already have!

“Don’t wait too long.” – Keith Mahon; Keith’s advice was just perfectly to the point about getting the job done and not waiting around for things to happen.
“I’ve been blogging for 10 years, but I’ve never made any money from it. Instead I have gotten many opportunities.” – Caroline Hennessy; this advice from Bibliocook food blogger really spoke to me. Having blogged for over four years myself, I enjoy the blogging opportunities, events and meeting people in the industry more than I care about making the money, because it’s not about that for me.
“Give it 100% dedication.” – Ali Ryan; I adored this simplistic advice, because again, it’s just so to the point! I always try to give my posts my 100% dedication, I blog daily as much as possible, and I social plug like mad!
“Interact with your fans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram” – Sue Jordan; although this wasn’t impartial amongst all panellists, Sue advises to write back to fans’ responses on social networks, but does emphasize not to interact with negative comments or ‘Internet trolls’. Basically, don’t fight fire with fire; just let it burn itself out.
“Be honest.” – Nick Munier; another piece of simple advice was to be honest, which Nick explained was very much appreciated by the restaurant industry. Especially for reviews, be honest about the products and tell your readers what they should hear, but don’t bash products.

Thanks to the sponsors for the event who really spoiled us with goodies, I managed to pick up a few more of each as our group of girlies were the last to leave and there were a couple more pieces left over. Here’s what I picked up:

Wet N Wild Spoiled Nail Colour in ‘ES049 Plenty Of Fish In The Sea’ – I adore the colour of this, and managed to get one of the last of this from Wet N Wild table. I love how that shade’s name is so relatable right now…
Wet N Wild Colour Icon Eyeshadow Palette in ‘TO Muse and Carouse’ and ‘A Regular at the Facory’ – I sure am stocking up on eye palettes lately, and these two colourful additions will be interesting indeed.
Catrice Cosmetics Ultimate Nail Lacquer in ’18 Bloody Mary To Go’ – Sure I love red nails to match red lips, so I’m very excited to try this out this week!
Catrice Cosmetics Absolute Nude Eyeshadow Palette – Now this is an eyeshadow palette I look forward to trying out. I’ve never had a full palette like this before, I know many beauty bloggers and generally most girls have the Urban Decay Naked palettes, but this is a great first step for me!
Essence Party Look Make-up Box – I adore this makeup gift box; it contains eight mini eyeshadows, blusher, highlighter, two mini lip glosses, a duo applicator and a mirror. It’s definitely a great gift for Secret Santa/Kris Kindle, stocking fillers or a random act of kindness gift – like what I did yesterday evening after the conference; we (Mei Ling of Darling Buds of Mei, Lisa of Lisa Lists and Allan Daxon ‘The Instagram Guru’) headed down to the Lidl Christmas Market and made Megan, the smiley staff worker, the happiest girl ever, gifting her with this Essence makeup box and a Catrice nail polish! Turns out, it was her birthday party that night too!