I was so excited when I saw that Vogue were having a beauty event, however it clashed with me being away in Las Vegas running the half marathon #stripatnight
I was fortunate enough that there would be one day left of this event when I got back, Making it in Business by CEO and founder of Rodial, and this is a subject that interests me.
I signed up and booked a train to London before I could change my mind, telling myself ‘you have to get out there and network or you are never going to get anywhere.’
To make the most of the expense of the train ticket, I got myself to London a couple of hours before the event. I had some gift vouchers left over from Christmas, and I needed to use them up before anymore businesses went bust and I lost them!
Up and down Oxford Street I walked for two hours. I visited stores eager to spend, but I was never approached to see if I needed any help as I browsed the beauty department. Ms Watson would have had our guts for garters if this had happened in her beauty hall!
With half an hour to go, and not wanting to be first through the door, a coffee was the order of the day. I had noted that there was a Pret just about opposite where Vogue House was, so that is where I parked my “starting to get sore” feet.
At five minutes to the hour I emerged from my caffeine hit, to see a queue forming outside the front of Vogue House. I took my place at the end of the line and gave my name. Shortly after, when they must have realised that everyone was present and correct, we were escorted into the building and up the first flight of stairs to the boardroom.
As you can imagine, everything in Vogue House speaks ‘you have arrived.’ The boardroom was covered in black and white prints in black frames of images of models and fashion. It is just so classic Vogue. Across the top of the room is a huge banner about becoming an overnight success from the founder of the brand, Maria Hatzistefanis.
They are expecting a lot of people to this talk, as I count at least 70 black chairs adorned with a white Vogue bag. Black and white is definitely a theme here!
Jessica Diner, Vogue Beauty Director, welcomes everyone to this event and reminds us that this is a first for Vogue – allowing members of the public into their magazine offices. Without further ado Maria appears and takes a seat.
She talks us through her last 20 years, and how being fired from her job led to the success she is today. She recalls how it has not been easy though. It took her 18 years. That’s a long night in my opinion!
Maria is a pleasure to listen to. She has just launched a podcast, so you can hear her talk even more about overnight success.
Her key three pieces of advice for success are:
Do your research and make sure your idea is unique before you do anything
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Don’t give up too quickly
So, before I knew it, the afternoon was over. Armed with my copy of Maria’s book, it’s time to bury my head and read.
Well done Vogue, great event.
Tracy x
