Unwrapping & Review of 'The Fair One' -- a handmade makeup bag by Hannah Maggs (Maggs London)
I first found out I was pregnant in September of last year. It was unexpected, so I immediately googled all things related to pregnancy and babies. I came across a fascinating niche of bloggers and vloggers that, without there actually being a rule, seemed to belong to an exclusive club that you weren't allowed to enter (or ask about) until you become a Mom. I sincerely mean that. There were Moms that responded to innocent questions with a protective growl, and I equated them to lionesses guarding their territory. But they didn't know that I was only there out of curiosity, not to judge them. So for a while I silently followed a few mummy bloggers, unaware that I would be one of them some day.
One of the first women I came across was about my age and pregnant with her first. I found out I was due in April and read that she was due in January, so I decided to bookmark her blog. Flash forward a few months and I found myself simply addicted to her blog. I literally checked for updates every time I was online. Around when her son Grayson was born, she began paying more attention to her YouTube channel and I began watching her videos religiously every Sunday night. I loved that she let her personality show through in her blog posts and that she wasn't afraid to be herself on camera, despite being a shy person underneath it all. I cry every time I see her birth video and I laugh every time I see Mr. G showing the camera his 'poo face'.
Some of you may know this beauty, baby, and lifestyle blogger and vlogger as the lovely, Hannah Maggs. Hannah recently opened a shop called Maggs London that features her very own line of exclusive make up bags, each uniquely sewn with care with limited edition fabrics from Liberty London. Her line originally launched with bags of four distinct patterns which she named herself, dedicating each of them to what she values most in her life.
With the opening of her shop, Hannah also ran a giveaway on her Facebook page to award her fans with a chance to win one of her exclusive bags. It was just after my birthday and I thought, "this would be the best birthday present ever!" so I entered for a chance to win. To be honest, I forgot about the giveaway shortly after because I figured with the amount of entries, the odds weren't ever in my favor.
A few weeks later (or so it seemed, I can't remember exactly at this point), I woke up to my alarm blaring in my ear and after turning it off, I began browsing my email. I saw a subject line that read "You've won!" and almost deleted it, thinking it was spam. When I saw Hannah Maggs as the sender I literally shot out of my bed and said "No way!" I had won the giveaway and she was asking which make up bag I'd like to claim. Although I had been on her shop site many times day dreaming about owning one of her glorious bags, I suddenly needed to see them all again before I made my choice. I jumped on my computer and read the descriptions of all of her bags from her little shop and confidently chose 'The Fair One'.
This is what Hannah has to say about 'The Fair One':
"I wanted to name this bag after my beautiful Mum, 'the fair one' is the meaning of her name, Jenny.
The Fair One was the strongest, funniest, most selfless women I have ever known, yet sadly, I'm only truly appreciating this now she is no longer on this little round rock.
I always try to remind myself that if a relationship matters more when someone is gone, we should try to make it matter more now.
It's so easy for us to lose sight of the people and things in life that truly matter to us, so this bag is a dedication to you, Mum, wherever you are. To let you know that I'll always appreciate every tiny thing you did and seemingly insignificant decision you made for me, all the cuddles, laughs, beach walks on rainy days, as well as the support and encouragement you gave me.
You're irreplaceable, unforgettable and I miss you every single day. You've taught me that life is all about the quality and strength of the relationships you nurture.
Without my mum I wouldn't have learnt how to extract the good from a bad situation, or how to truly love the people in my life who are the most important to me. I wouldn't have grown as a person or learnt how to notice and appreciate the tiny things that actually matter, and lastly, I most likely wouldn't be writing these words."
After receiving the parcel from London, I brought it out with us while shooting Liana's Autumn video (you can see her holding onto it for a bit while in the park). We unwrapped it together; I enjoyed smelling my new bag and Liana enjoyed eating the wrapping. Over the past year I have built up a new make up collection of my favorite vegan products and now I have the perfect bag to store them in!
I love the soft, but sturdy fabric and I can only describe the little zipper as "petite." It's just a dainty little thing that works really well with the style of the bag. And the print, I completely adore it! It features random bicycles, boats and other modes of transportation in a thin ink line drawing style with lovely water color flowers overlapping. It's actually quite making me miss Spring at the moment!
This bag is the perfect size too. I don't use a ton of make up in my day to day routine, so this is the perfect size to carry my essentials without even being close to being full. As many others have said while unwrapping their bags for the first time, there is a beautiful scent that was lightly spritzed on prior to packing. If I hadn't won this bag, I probably would have saved up a bit of cash and purchased it after the holidays anyway, but I am so happy to have won 'The Fair One'. It was one of my favorite (belated) birthday presents! Who knows, as Hannah adds to her line I might have to purchase another one for my birthday next year.
If you're interested, please hop on over to Hannah's shop and check out her whole line of gorgeous bags!
