House Of Cuckoo at Taylor Taylor

Woo hoo! Another Prosecco Diaries blogger event! This time the party was held at the stunning Taylor Taylor salon in Notting Hill. Just a stone's throw from Ladbroke Grove station, this hairstyling haven glistens with gold and is exquisitely decorated. I invited a group of blogging babes to come and try some cakes from new company House of Cuckoo, whose no-junk baking and beautiful branding are truly setting them apart. Their unique cupcakes are made using a ninety-year old family recipe, and contain actual fresh fruit and vegetables.  

The lovely House of Cuckoo ladies, Carolyn and Chieko, were perfectly coiffed by the Taylor Taylor team and were on hand to greet the bloggers and introduce their scrumptious wares. They were also more than happy to discuss things like branding, design, and the business of getting a product into national shops (they just starting selling in Waitrose). 

On arrival each blogger was given some prosecco (of course!), flavoured with orange and decorated with delicate peel. SO refreshing! They were also greeted by the sight of rows of carefully curated goody bags that fitted in with the healthy and natural theme of the event. But these mystery bags were for later! 

 

First up was some cake tasting. Everyone couldn't wait to get their hands on the goods, and there was much talk of how moist and flavoursome they were. I think we'd all been expecting them to taste a bit weird, like a raw vegetable with a sponge texture. But these morcels were sweet and moreish, with hints of veg, but in a good way! Each cake is made up of a quarter of vegetable puree, and contains zero E-numbers and chemicals, making them ideal for children. In fact, it was a bid to get their children to eat more veggies that led Carolyn and Chieko to setting up House of Cuckoo. 

Above we have minted pea, beetroot and chocolate, butternut squash and almond, and cauliflower and lemon. ALL. SO. GOOD! My favourite was totally the pea one! The ladies do bespoke orders, and I salute the bride to be who orders a green pea wedding cake! You won't regret (or forget) it. 

  

The cakes were washed down with amazing cocktails made by the Taylor Tayor team at their cocktail bar. That's right, a salon with a cocktail bar. Every time you come here for a hair cut you too could be sipping a green tea mojito or an espresso martini! The salon love to host groups coming in together for drinks and hair-do's, and they have a gorgeous table and chairs area for this very purpose. 

Also in line with the event's theme of healthiness, each blogger was given a healthy-hair consultation, and a blow dry from a choice of styles. Salon manager Jenny worked on the lovely locks of the lovely Olivia Cox. 

  

Everyone was given a set of personalised products from Wella that suited their hair needs. This was such a fantastic treat organised by Taylor Taylor! 

Everyone was loving their swishy new mane. Taylor Taylor excels in blow-dries that mean business! Check out Natasha from ILoveCakeAndTea, Jasiminne from Posh, Broke & Bored, Jesse from Hecticophilia, and Lucy of Lucy J Loves. 

     

  

I really loved the 1950's (40's?) style of Lea from The High Tea Cast, and actually thought she was wearing vintage trousers all night, a misconception shattered when she revealed her checkered capri pants are actually from Primark. Well, I never. 

  

The super lovely Lottie Murphy also looked gorgeous and, unsurprisingly for a pilates instructor and health and wellness blogger, oozed healthy radiance! I was glad to see she eats cake though. And drank booze.

In fact everyone looked resplendent. Fabulosity awards to everyone for hair and outfits, and to the salon, and to the cakes. There was so much pretty everywhere!  

Another delicious (yet calorie free) treat for the bloggers was a mini-session of reflexology in Taylor Taylor's serene gold room. This is where they usually wash hair, but tonight it became a relaxing den for some one-on-one time with Sadie from Essence and Spirit. She specialises in women's health and fertility (careful, ladies!), and was happy to talk to bloggers about the health benefits of reflexology whilst sending them into blissful relaxation. If you haven't tried reflexology before, book a session with Sadie and give it a go. I can't recommend it enough for an alternative treatment that both works and feels amazing.

Speaking of awards - I would give best glasses ever to these sparkling spectacles:

And most amazingly bonkers couple would go to Jasiminne and her boyfriend, Henry, who dealt with being the only boy-guest by taking eccentric to new levels. He told everyone he had married Jasiminne by mistake, stolen a horse, and had his gun confiscated, before taking part in a series of peering-through-foliage photos that can be seen in Jasiminne's hilarious write up of the event. They are so cute and funny together, the kind of couple you need at a soiree to liven things up in a whirlwind of kookiness before piggybacking (literally) off into the night. 

At the end of the night Carolyn and Chieko had a bottle of pink champers (almost as good as prosecco, not quite. Heh heh) to give to the blogger they thought had taken the best Instagram or Twitter photo of the cakes. The jubilant winner was Natasha, who revelled in the fact that she had only used an iPhone, and not a DSLR like everyone else. 

Taylor Taylor also ran a competition for the best salon photo, and the lucky winner of a free cut and style (and cocktail) will be announced next week. Everyone headed off into the night with a box of scrummy House of Cuckoo cucpakes and their goody bag - filled with healthy treats from these awesome sponsors: Miso Tasty superfood soup, Ombar raw chocolate, Holistic Silk, who gave everyone a press discount and a lavender silk pouch, Duke Of Delhi dark coconut chocolate, two bottles of Vivid Matcha in different flavours, two wee boxes of Rude Health organic muesli, Wella heat spray, and heavenly hand cream and bug repellent from Napiers, both organic and chemical-free. 

Everyone also got an exclusive handmade bath soak from exciting new company The Bathory. This detox soak was made just for our event, and contains essential oils, clay and epsom salts - perfect for drawing impurities from the skin and for relaxing the muscles. 

A huge thank you to all the sponsors, especially to House of Cuckoo for introducing us all to your wonderful cakes! It's fantastic to see women being so creative and ambitious, and really forging ahead with a business. They have so many exciting things in the pipeline! Much love to Jenny at Taylor Taylor, and her team, for hosting us all at such a gorgeous salon! She is the loveliest lady, and will make your hair look amazing. End of. 

Want to come to a Prosecco Diaries event? If you're a blogger follow me on Twitter and Instagram and make me aware of your blog. If you are a business and want to make links with bloggers to promote your brand get in touch and we'll see what we can do. I'm always looking for brands to be the main focus of the event, the venue provider, or to be in the goody bags.