Shopping: Happy 5th Birthday, Westfield London!

Hi guys,
Yesterday Westfield London turned five! I can't believe how fast the time has gone: I was there when it opened, and it feels like yesterday! In honour of the occasion I headed down to London for the celebration, and of course, for a spot of shopping. I took my best friend with me as my travelling companion: my mum!
Yesterday evening many of the stores were throwing their own birthday parties and offering free cupcakes, glasses of champagne (or cava) and music and entertainment in stores. House of Fraser threw quite a party! As you arrived at the shopping centre, birthday girls were handing out booklets listing all of the great deals you could get as your very own birthday present (some of the stores were offering discounts of up to 25%!). There's also a lovely little pop up shop in the heart of the mall where you will find lots of different designers offering an exclusive fifth birthday sweatshirt collection, all priced at £65 each.

We went to Square Pie for lunch where we enjoyed some free champagne as we ate: I know you can't call pie and mash fine dining, but they're the best pies in London, and you can't get them in Norwich so I always make a beeline for it when I'm in Westfield!


Mine was steak and cheese: nom,nom, nom! Once we'd filled our bellies it was time for the serious business: the shopping, and making the most of all of those birthday celebration discounts! Here's a quick list of some of the best discounts you could receive whilst the birthday celebration is happening from 30 October to 3 November (That's this Sunday).

30% of at - Ecco, and Mamas and Papas.
20% off at  - Coast, Calvin Klein Jeans, DKNY Jeans, Armani Exchange, LK Bennett, and Zatchels.
15% off at - Juicy Couture, Aspinals of London, and the White Company and Little White Company.
10% off at - Laura Ashley, Models Own,and Schuh.

Loads of the stores are also offering special offers such as free gifts when you make a purchase, or free cupcakes or prosecco in store all weekend.

Of course whilst we were there I managed to buy a small mountain of shopping, including a new pink coat (well, if everyone else is doing it!), jumpers and accessories perfect for winter. And a couple of treats for Wilbur too, of course: I just can't resist popping into those baby clothes shops! I'll be writing about my shopping and showing of my purchases in separate posts. 

All of these great discounts make it the perfect time to make a start on your Christmas shopping! Will you be heading down to Westfield London to join in the birthday party celebrations?

Love Tor x

PS - Happy Halloween everyone!

*I haven't been compensated to write this post, but I did receive a gift card for my shopping trip. 

Competition: Win one of ten St. Tropez tan lotions!

Hi guys,
St. Tropez is going on tour across the country with its first ever Spraycation. The tour kicks off in London at Westfield W12 on the 15th June, then heads northwards to Bullring Birmingham for the 22nd and 23rd June, Trafford Centre in Manchester on the 28th and 29th June, Glasgow Braehead 6th and 7th July with the final stop in Dublin Pavilions on the 13th and 14th July.

 I will definitely be heading down to the Westfield leg of the tour to get my spray on!! I'm one of the palest people I know, but in the summer I really do love a light tan to make my skin look less translucent against my summery clothes!!

 According to research conducted by St. tropez nearly half of the UK plans to stay put this summer rather than fly abroad for their holiday, with nearly a quarter of those polled stating that they will be taking time off work to enjoy the events and celebrations on home soil. And because almost everyone feels better with a little colour on their skin, what better time to join the tour and tan up!?

To celebrate the Spraycation kicking off you can enter my competition to WIN one of 10 Dark Sprays or Lotions  (worth £26 each).

To enter the competition all you have to do is be a follower of the blog (the sign up box is to your right) and leave a comment telling me your favourite thing about summer. 10 winners will be chosen randomly on 10th July at 12pm. Good luck, and I can't wait to read your entries!

 Love Tor xx

 PS- if that's just not enough competition for you, St. Tropez will also be running an online competition asking people to send in a 'virtual postcard' telling them where their ideal Spraycation would be across the UK and why. One lucky winner, plus their friends will see their idea become a reality as St. Tropez brings its luxury Spraycation experience worth over £8k to the winner and their friends wherever they want it in the UK. Whether it's the back garden, local pub or living room St. Tropez will make it happen. Enter the competition via www.facebook.com/sttropeztanuk

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

Gogo Philip opens new stand in Westfield

Hi guys,
I seem to find myself popping over to Westfield (the big London shopping centre) more and more: it's so convenient to have all my favourite shops under one roof, and its only 6 stops on the central line from my office - score! Last night I headed over to Westfield because Italian jewellery co (and my new favourite obsession) Gogo Philip have opened a stand alone jewellery store there (on the first floor just outside Uniqlo, if you feel like popping along) and I just had to check it out.


I can't believe how inexpensive the jewellery is: Topshop prices (or less) but for more unusual and unique designs. The problem with Topshop, much as I love it, is that everyone is always wearing it, so you risk looking exactly the same as everyone else. This isn't a problem with the Gogo Philip stuff!

Some of the jewellery is just too cool for school (and way too cool for me!) As much as i'd love to be able to pull of a necklace with a moustache pendant, or mismatched earrings, I fear i'm slightly too old, and slightly too untrendy. I love their newest collections: Art Deco angular inspired pieces in fabulous bright gold with accents of shiny black, coral, or turquoise. You're going to see a lot of pictures of me wearing the oversized coral-detail necklace above this summer: I just couldn't resist it. Coral is such a great jewellery colour: I may well have to go back and buy the long strand of coral beads as well! Could Gogo Philip be the brand that forces me to hit the shops? Quite possibly...

Love, Tor xx

Westfield's Big Fashion Wardrobe

Hi guys,
Westfield London's Big Wardrobe Event finished yesterday. Did any of you manage to pop down and check it out? As part of the event there were catwalk shows, bloggers workshops, make overs and fun photoshoots, and the much-talked about tweet mirror, which allowed you to take your picture and upload it to twitter, straight from the mirror itself: genius! And lots of highstreet labels signed up to showcase their Spring/Summer collections, and share competitions, promotional offers, and all important style advice:

Also as part of the event, bloggers were invited down to Westfield (myself included) to show off our summer 2011 style (or in my case, lack of!) We had our hairs primped and our make up touched up, before standing in front of the camera looking scrubbed up. I don't think its the finest photo of me that i've ever seen, but what the hell, here's my final shot:

All of the blogger photos have been posted over on the Westfield London website. And now YOU dear readers are being given the chance to vote for the blogger who's style you like, and who you think should win a new Spring/Summer Wardrobe worth £500. I would love it if you would vote for me by following the link and clicking either the facebook or twitter share buttons. I could use the summer wardrobe revamp prior to all of this summer's big events! I cannot believe how stylish the other bloggers all looked: my photo was taken at 730pm after a long day in the office, so i'm just glad you can't see the bags under my eyes!

Love, Tor xx

Rihanna to turn on the Christmas lights at Westfield, London

Hi guys,

Back in my home town the Christmas lights are always switched on by a dodgy B-listed panto star. Turning on Christmas lights is generally a coup for B listers, or desperado's trying to make a come-back. So it is a massive coup for Westfield London that they have Rihanna to switch on their Christmas lights on Thursday!!

The star is in town to promote her new album, LOUD. RnB isn't really my type of music, so I haven't heard the album, but I thought she looked and sounded great on the XFactor on Sunday night! I also loved her look on the Xfactor on Saturday (hence the picture above) The dress was gorgeous, as were the matching bloomers and OTT hair accessories!

Rihanna will arrive at Westfield London in true superstar style, to count down the turning on of Westfield London’s dazzling Christmas lights and officially launch Christmas 2010 and 100 lucky fans will be chosen to have the ultimate experience of meeting the superstar herself! Westfield London will make this the most memorable affair with an amazing display of pyrotechnics, while Rihanna will be surrounded by a beautiful set of Red Roses. Rihanna will be joined on stage by Children from Help a London Child to help for the big switch on moment.

For the chance to win a wristband to be one of the lucky ones to meet her in person, visit www.westfield.com/london

I love it when the Christmas lights are turned on and the Christmas window displays get installed: it makes me feel really festive! This must mean it's time for my annual trip to check out the windows at Selfridges.

Love, Tor xx

Things to do - Westfield fashion car boot fair

Hi guys,

Today I went for a sneak preview of the Westfield London shopping centre fashion car boot fair which opens tomorrow: a lot of the cars were still being set up, but I saw enough to be excited about how it will look when it's finished!

The visual merchandising of the stalls was fantastic: the Swarovski stall had a magpie theme which I loved, and the Ted Baker stall was really eclectic, and in a thrift store style. I think the Mary Portas Charitable giving car, shown in the bottom picture, will be the most popular (as long as you have a pocket full of cash of course!) because tomorrow they will have a stash of vintage Chanel handbags for sale - if I had the money, i'd be in the front of the queue! Lots of the cars will be hosting activities and give-aways you wouldn't find in store: at the Topshop car you'll have the opportunity to win everything on display, the Whistles car are hosting a whistle tombola to win prizes from the stall (if your whistle blows you win the prize!) A literal translation of the store name that I like:

There'll be lots of other great stuff to do too: I saw a cupcake stall, and apparently a team of senior make up artists will be descending on the MAC stall. And the House of Fraser stall will have a catwalk coming from their car showcasing all the new season looks. And even better, all the things on the cars are available to buy, so it's like normal high street shopping but with extra treats and activities thrown in!

Click here and you can see a list of all the brands participating, and all the great giveaways and competitions they're holding throughout the event. The boot fair will be running from tomorrow (21st September) until 26th September in the atrium at Westfield, giving you plenty of time to check it out! If I get the chance i'll definitely be popping down to see how it looks when it's up and running: i'd love to know what you guys think if you get the chance to go down too!

Love, Tor xxx

East Side! West Side!

No, despite the title, I am not about to 'big up the Staines massive' because this post isn't in fact about Ali G!....So I don't really know why I went with the title: sorry about that!

It is (vaguely) relevant though, because this post is about the most exciting local news story of the week. More exciting than elections, credit crunches, or russell brand's potty mouth. This post is about the new Westfield Mall in West London (the westside, get it?)! Yay!

The whole "doing all your shopping in one custom made location" concept is more an American one than a European one, and the new mall is officially the largest in Europe. It comprises over 265 stores, nearly 50 "eating concepts" (I think that means restaurants!) and soon a cinema, gym, and spa. Here are some more facts about Westfield:

- It took 13 million man-hours to build

- Construction used enough concrete to fill 117 Olympic swimming pools

- There are 96 escalators

- Some 7,000 jobs will be created

- 80% of shops specialise in fashion

- Retails come from at least 15 different countries

- And over 20 million people are expected to visit each year.


Don't you feel better for knowing all that!? No, me neither! 'The village', which is what they are calling the premium shopping area, isn't open yet, which is a shame. This will comprise such stores as Dior, Louis Vuitton; all the premium stores you'd get in an american mall really! However all your highstreet favs are open and alot of the stores are bigger than their oxford street counterparts, meaning more choice for your money!

Yesterday was the opening day of the centre, and Leona Lewis (of Xfactor "fame") was the star of the show. There was also a fashion show on the main stage, and a plethora of famous faces turned up to snip the ribbons in some of the flagship stores:

Danni Minogue in Next

Twiggy and Erin O'connor at M&S

I haven't been yet (my sister and I are going on Monday) but for those who can't wait for a sneak peek, here is a "walk around" of the inside of the mall:


I particularly love this guys bitter grumbling commentary: it reminds me of my boyfriend shopping on a good day!
Roll on Monday, when I get to experience all of the magic firsthand!

Love, Tor x