Style Collective Orange County Spring Meetup

** All images graciously provided by Bleudog Fotography **

Just two weeks ago I attended my first blogger meet up through Style Collective, a blogging community made up of fashion and lifestyle influencers across the globe.  While I mostly stay within the beauty blogger circle, I thought it would be good to branch out and see what these blogging groups had to offer since I’ve moved from LA to the Orange County area with no close by friends. They offer great support in helping grow your brand and online presence and building relationships with likeminded bossbabes in a social networking community. We all need a little help sometimes and Style Collective is a great place to start! If you think you’d want to check it out or join you can use my affiliate link here.

The event that I attended was specifically for LA and OC influencers and was held in Costa Mesa at Mesa Lounge, a trendy indoor-outdoor bar and tapas spot with beautiful, warm lighting,  lush greens and a sophisticated ambiance. Debbie Savage of To Thine Own Style Be True hosted the event and hit the nail on the head with venue selection. Shawna of Bleudog Fotography had lots to work with since each corner of the venue was a serious photo opp!  Talk about a place that had that swanky, but not over the top feel to it! Our entire area was beautifully decorated with floral arrangements from Bleudog Floral. They did an awesome job appealing to all the senses with this location! No doubt, I was excited to put on a dress and heels and get out since having my little one. These types of outings are far and few between when you’ve just had a baby. Upon arrival, I dropped my car off at valet and headed inside to be greeted with drinks and warm hellos from fellow influencers.

It was a large group of girls to try and meet one on one, I didn’t get a chance to meet them all, but was happily relieved to share discussions about our blogs, the changing landscape of comment pods, and more casual things like family life, where to live, and our kids. Shortly after a brief mingling session, and getting out headshots taken by the photographer, we all sat down to introduce ourselves and share a bit about our blogs. I was on a bit of a ramble when it got to be my turn but that tends to happen with you have 30+ new women to meet! Haha!

We spent the rest of evening chatting while enjoying the delicious small plates that Mesa had to offer. I had skipped lunch that day due to a busy schedule, so I was just about starving by the time I got there. I did my best to not devour everything TOO quickly, but I definitely could not put down those pizza slices or going back for a second serving of their salad. The tables were also sprinkled with bottles of wine donated by Middle Sister’s wine which I forgot to try. Whoops!

The time went by quickly as I got to talk to the women seated close to me, like Diana from Bo.do.ke, Kathleen of KatAnderson who shared the deets on Texas living, and Nancy and Jessica from the fabulous essential oil infused jewelry brand, LavHa. I was super interested to hear how the brand came about since the pieces they were wearing were beautiful and I love the wellness aspect of it. Everyone was very outgoing and I only wish the tables allowed for us to talk more with those sitting further from us!

I wasn’t able to stay for the full event since I was worrying if my daughter was successfully put to bed or still running around the house telling daddy what to do (LOL), but I was happy I was able to spend a good amount of time meeting those women before heading out with our fabulous Sponsor swag bag put together by all the women attending the meetup!

Special thanks to all the wonderful and generous brands that donated their goods and services to the group! I found several items in my bag that I will be featuring on Instagram in the near future. Check out the goodies I got and tell me what you’d be most interested in hearing more about!

• Halo Top Creamery donated one free pint of their high protein, low sugar ice cream
• Nubian Heritage donated one Coconut and Papaya Body Wash
• SheaMoisture donated their Smooth and Tame Blow Out Creme
• Amazing Lash Studio donated one session of a full set of eyelash extensions
• The Songbird Collection gifted attendees a necklace.
• Bella Sol Med Spa provided gift vouchers for one free skin treatment
• LavHa donated one piece of their essential oil infused jewelry with essential oil included
• Travertine Spa provided their shea hand and nail cream
• Borika Body donated one Coffee and Coconut Organic Body Scrub
• Leven Rose donated one bottle of their Argan Oil
• Arlina Jo gifted each attendee one piece of jewelry
• Benev provided one bottle of their Hyaluronic Moisturizer and Bio Cellular Mask
• Jade J gifted us one powerbank and charging cords
• S.S Chokers gifted us a choker necklace
• Spa Gregories of Newport Beach gifted us $20 gift cards
• Guilty Soles provided a pair of shoes to one lucky attendee ( I did not stay for this)
• Pure donate bath fizzles and body scrubs
• Fresh Brothers donated vouchers for one free personal pizza
• Rodan & Fields Distributor Reah-Ann Nobleza gifted us samples of RD’s lip treatments and eye cream
• Oh So Cali Clothing offered a 10% discount on their website to all attendees
• Alaska Bear gifted us a set of hypoallergenic silk pillow cases

Attendees: Debbie of To Thine Own Style Be True, Shawna of BleuDog Fotography, Mindy of ThreadsNBreads, Mindy of The Songbird Co, Maria of This Is How We Wear It, Caitlin of BoyCherie, Amber of Amber Nicole Fashion, Marshel of Between You N Me, Alina of Besos Alina, Adrina of AdrinaRose, Caitlin of Beauty and Colour,  Amira of Fall Over Fashion, Julie of Stylish Paradox, Nora and Ani of Moda Mob, Kathleeen of Kathleena31, Melissa of Brocade Closet, Amaya of AromaOffelicity, Karissa of Kris + Joy, Lauren of Lauren Yes Lauren,  Kristina of Laugh Love and Hippie, Diana from Bo.do.ke, LavHa, Nancy of Love Light and Bliss