I visited Los Angeles a couple of days ago to attend the Simply Stylist Beauty and Fashion Conference at the Grove in West Hollywood where panels of successful bloggers and stylists shared their journeys to success. Among the guest panelists were Lily Ghalichi of Lily Lashes, Catt Sadler of E! News, and Tyra Banks who was the key note speaker.

So without further ado, allow me to break down the action-packed day that went on from 8:15am to 6pm.

I was on time…for once

I arrived at 8:45am with all my slayage of a pretty dress, perfect curls and the cutest silver heels that had lots of glitter…hey this was a blogger conference so you had to bring it. There was a mini pink carpet for pictures. The lady manning that section handed me a tiny board to write what beauty meant to me…girrrlll I hashtagged my blog and kept it moving (haven’t we had enough of all the goodie-two-shoes replies about what true beauty means?).

In true Buba Fashion…

Hungry as hell, I almost run to the breakfast table (yes hunty they were serving breakfast) only to find oats and fruit and yoghurt and other healthy pretty-girl stuff (like where are the damn donuts ya’ll). As if that wasn’t all, they were serving breakfast with rosewater in champagne-like glasses. But because yuh girl doesn’t drink champagne, she knows not how to balance a champagne glass while attempting to pile a tiny plate with grapes and quinoa. So while scooping stuff, I poured half my glass of rosewater into the grapes and oats and other foods that were being served.

The dude serving looked at me like wtf but he had to say, “Oh no don’t worry, it’s okay.” in all my guilt, I felt it right to grab some napkins that were nearby and hand them to him so he could dry the spill. So I bend over to grab some napkins and yup…the rest of the drink poured in the food that had initially survived. I said one million sorries and walked away in utter shame. You guys, I rarely embarrass myself but when I do, it’s like I’m making up for all the other times I missed out.

Violet and Christine…

I see these two ladies near-by sharing light conversation. Never in my life have I ever had to randomly walk up to two strangers, interrupt their conversation, introduce myself, and then stay. But guess what, I gathered all my guts and with my sweetest please be my friend smile, I walked up and said hi.

Violet is a YouTuber (see here) and Christine is the creative mind behind Maple and Mint lifestyle blog. They too had just met that day. We became instant friends and hung out together for the rest of the day.

I’m guessing these people are famous?

Finally, the conference starts and the panelists start pouring in. There were three panels and the keynote speech, with lunch in-between.

I did not know any of the speakers on the panels…not one. But by the end of the conference, I had followed Erica Hoida’s incredibly chic Instagram page, added Lilly Ghalichi’s Beverly Hills lashes to my shopping cart and enjoyed every single word that came out of Scotty Cunha’s mouth (he needs a reality show…so hilarious).

Miss Tyra Banks

Walked in looking fierce as expected. She came in, gave a great speech and then left. I’m guessing people were expecting her to hang around and take pictures…I didn’t, I mean come on, do you not know Tyra? You can’t sit with her😊.

What I learnt at the conference

…From Lilly Ghalichi

When asked about her challenges; Go in it knowing you’re going to make mistakes. It’s important to not stop taking steps. Write three things daily to help you to your dream. One of the biggest reasons for failure is that people stop trying.

On when she decided to stop practicing as a lawyer and focus on her beauty company; There will never be a perfect time to start than today. People you love are going to have opinions but believe in yourself.

…Louise Roe on Blogging

Be consistent with posts because people expect something and always answer people’s questions and comments. Respond to ten good comments before responding to one bad one.

…Erica Hoida on Marketing Yourself

If you are not good at socializing, make sure you put out good content.

…Morgan Stewart on Confidence

What gets people the most is self doubt

…From Scotty Cunha

Be confident in yourself and be really nice to people because there’s always someone younger and cuter DM’ing your client offering to do their hair and makeup for free (replace hair with whatever your career is).

…And Finally Miss Tyra Banks

On why she works incredibly hard; Her father was a good dad but not a great husband, and because her mother depended on him financially, she stayed. She pushes so hard because she never wants to feel like she has to succumb to a man to get her needs.

She is fueled by fear and hearing no; Her manager rejected her ideas three times, saying they were vapid. One of those ideas was America’s Next Top Model.

You need people in life; The Pusher is the one who tells you to go go go, the Frenemy is the one who will tell you the ugly truth (think your boss) and the Lover, that’s the one who loves you unconditionally (her mum) and will be there for you through the good and bad.

Sometimes in life you need a boost; a makeup blogger raised her hand and asked how she could get more people to appreciate her blog because her makeup style was different from what people saw everday. Tyra told her sometimes you need someone with a lot of followers to help give you that push. Tyra got the blogger’s information right after and shared her page to her own millions of Instagram followers.

She created the sass on the runway; That fancy walk with lots of attitude you see on the Victoria’s Secret Runway, yea she started it but no one has ever given her credit (she told us jokingly).

On sacrifice; Most successful people have sacrificed and traded off things that are not in alignment with their goals.

…Final Thoughts

The conference was culminated with a socializer that served drinks, snacks and more selfies. Also, I went home with two goodie bags containing beauty products worth $500….yep!

What I appreciated most was that this conference was not just a meet and greet with successful bloggers, but that the speakers gave some great life and work ethic advice. I had a blast and made some great new blogger friends.

Thanks to Independent Fashion Bloggers (IFB) that sent me an invite to attend.

Enjoy April, Buba.