I was invited by Boots to attend a super cool event for a new campaign to help raise awareness of ‘Insneezia’ – their name for the insomnia-esque effects caused by hayfever symptoms at night. The event was held in the beautiful St Christopher’s Place in Central London, just off Oxford Street. They threw a fantastic #PetalParty where over 3 million petals made from colourful tissue paper were dropped over one hour.
It was great to meet the lovely Nicky from Not Just the 3 of Us for the first time who was my partner in crime for that night. We met outside of Bond Street station and then headed over to St Christopher’s Place. It was nice because it felt as if we had known each other for a long time already which was really nice. It was like a blind blogging date for us, LOL. Anyway, I couldn’t have asked for better company! 🙂
As soon as we arrived to the #PetalParty we saw Lauren Pope, a TOWIE celebrity who was invited to DJ for the party. She was great and the music was awesome as it really transformed the place into a proper party. When the petals started showering down all over of us we were all so delighted and super excited. It looked really beautiful.
Nicky was so kind as she took lots of photos of me with the petals. They were all so pretty that I couldn’t just choose a couple so I decided to share a selection of the best ones from that day. I hope that I’m not boring you with too many photos of me, LOL! Thank you so much Nicky for these amazing photos, you are a STAR! 🙂
When the petals had finished falling, the floor looked gorgeous with millions of multicoloured petals. It was like a sea full of petals. With that beautiful setting it was definitely an Instagram moment.
I had never suffered from hayfever until I moved to the UK. Now I know how uncomfortable it can be to have the typical itchy and running nose symptoms along with with irritable eyes. I’m very unlucky as I seem to suffer from hayfever on and off for most of year whilst Nick on the other hand only suffers once a year during June when it is really quite awful!
Sleeping is definitely the most uncomfortable part when suffering from hayfever. Boots aim to raise awareness of how sufferers can tackle their night-time hayfever symptoms, so they can get a better night’s sleep. Boots pharmacist Tom Kallis says that “Many hayfever sufferers lose sleep during spring and summer, when pollen falls as the evening temperature decreases. However, there is no reason why people need to let their hayfever have such an impact. If hayfever does affect you at night time – you just need to remember to take action and treat symptoms in the evening, before you go to bed.”
Also, research by Boots found that 64 per cent of people with hayfever say their sleep is disturbed by symptoms, while Dr Peter Burt, aerobiologist at the University of Greenwich, explained: “Towards the end of the day, the temperature drops causing the pollen that has risen in the atmosphere during the day, to fall back to the ground. This explains why hayfever sufferers may experience a worsening of symptoms at night which can impact how they feel the next day.”
For anyone suffering symptoms, Boots Pharmacist Tom Kallis offered a few tips on how to reduce night-time hayfever pains:
1. Keep the windows shut at night and first thing in the morning. Feeling hot? Pop your pillow case in the freezer before bedtime for a temporary cooling effect
2. Wear sunglasses after sun down. Not because you’re a wannabe celeb but to help protect your eyes from pollen
3. Hang laundry inside – even when the sun is shining – because you don’t want pollen-infused bedding
4. Shower before you go to bed to help wash any stray pollen from your hair and skin which could aggravate your symptoms overnight
5. Teeth cleaned, face washed and moisturised? Don’t forget a final smear of petroleum jelly under your nose which may help trap pollen
If you’re suffering from the impact of ‘insneezia’ the next day – such as irritability caused by lack of sleep, Tom offers a few more tips:
1. Shower again! Showering in the morning helps to stimulate the circulatory system and ‘shock’ your body into a more awake state if you’ve lost out on shut-eye overnight
2. Think twice before reaching for a coffee or chocolate based pick-me-up – both contain high levels of vasoactive amines, like histamine which can cause some sensitive individuals to suffer ‘allergy-like’ symptoms
3. Lose the booze – Alcoholic drinks, such as wine and beer and cider can make it hard to sleep well anyway and these also contain histamine and other vasoactive amines.
4. Chill two teaspoons in the fridge overnight then cup them over your eyes for 5 minutes to help combat any puffiness caused by lack of sleep
5. Stay hydrated – to help replace lost fluids and help you feel more energised
I would like to say Thank You so much to Boots for inviting to such an amazing event. It was absolutely beautiful. I had a great time and I was even more happier to be able to help them with this campaign.
What did you think of this campaign? Did you like the #PetalParty? Did you find the tips useful? Do you have some tips to tackle hayfever? Please leave me a comment below as I would love to read what you think about it.
Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this event in exchange of a blog post. However all the thoughts are mine.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤
Franca 💋
Such a great list! And look at those petals BELLA!!!! So many people brush hay fever off but with so many types and sometimes such severe symptoms it needs addressing. Thank you! #MarvMondays
Wow! Some lovely photos here, all so colourful! I’m so lucky in that I’ve never so far, suffered from hayfever. I’ve seen the effects on other people though especially this year and they’ve felt really ill with it. Thanks for sharing with #BloggerClubUK x
Looks like an amazing event to raise awareness, absolutely love all the petals! I’ve never suffered too badly but my partner has started too and my son which I hate to see, so it’s important to see this out there. Thanks for linking up to #MarvMondays. Kaye xo
What a fabulous event to raise awareness! Love all the photos.
#KCACOLS
I didn’t know that hay fever is worse at night! My little one suffers bless her but thankfully not too bad. Thanks for the tips!
This is the perfect post for me! I suffer from hayfever and i suspect my son does too. I love the list of tips. Thank you for posting! #KCACOLS
Those petals look like so much fun! 😀 Normally I’m not bothered by hayfever or anything, but this year I’ve been sneezing a lot but haven’t changed anything *in* the house. Hopefully it’s just a one off! x #KCACOLS
I am really lucky because although I do get hayfever, it’s usually only ever quite mild. I always feel sorry for people who get it really badly as it stops them enjoying the summer as much as they otherwise would!
Thank you for hosting #KCACOLS as always 🙂
Oh, hay fever is AWFUL.
The other day, I walked out of my house and was completely unable to open my eyes. They swelled up instantly, and tears just streamed down. If that wasn’t a warning to just stay home, I’m not sure what would be!
I’ve never heard of a petal party, but it looks like soooooo much fun. And, as annoying as allergies may be-those petals are beautiful…even if they are fake! Thank you for hosting #KCACOLS
Wow, how pretty was that, so jealous lol. My husband suffers greatly with allergies so any tips for help are always welcome. There are definitely a couple here I might try. I think this campaign is great.
#KCACOLS
Really interesting, and useful for people who suffer. I’m lucky and don’t get hayfever, although it can come on all of a sudden can’t it? So I may well need these tips in the future! Lovely photos of you! x #KCACOLS
Wow what an informative post – I had never thought of night time hayfever! Now I am wondering if this could be a reason for how rotten I have been feeling lately – I just assumed it was a cold or something similar but I guess it is worth thinking about hayfever too!! I have often heard people saying that you should try and buy local honey to eat if you suffer from hayfever as it can help stop the symptoms from local pollen! I’ve never worked out where to buy any from though lol!! #KCACOLS
Those petals looks fab and make wonderful photos. Allergies are miserable so anything to help is well worth shouting about #KCACOLS
Great post and fab campaign! I seem to have avoided the worst of hayfever this year (although the year is young!), last year I was affected terribly by it. I’ve heard local honey is supposed to be a fantastic cure but I was a bit too late to start it this year! Great post and thanks as always for hosting #KCACOLS 🙂
Those petal photos are brilliant, the event looks amazing. I don’t suffer from hayfever luckily, but I like the tips you included, pillow case in the fridge and spoons in the fridge for puffy eyes is a great idea. I will remember those.
Amanda #kcacols
p.s How nice you could meet up with Nicky too.
This is such a great post! I am lucky enough not to suffer with hayfever, but my poor husband does every summer and there is so much useful information and tips in here that I think I will email this post to him! I love some of the tips which I havent come across previously for us to try. Im not sure our pillow will fit in our freezer though! 🙂 Emily #KCACOLS
Looks like such an amazing event. Love the pictures with all of the petals – so pretty! I have hay fever and it can be a pain sometimes. I find sleeping with the A/C is very helpful. #kcacols
Luckily I don’t suffer from Hayfever too badly, but my sister does. It’s horrible to see someone suffering from it, especially when their eyes are puffed up and watering. I’m glad Boots are making awareness of the condition and that many were involved on the day. It seems you had a great time in the fake petals. 🙂 #KCACOLS
What a great idea for a party and fab pics! Fortunately I don’t suffer from hayfever but I know that it can really affect those who do. I think those tips are brilliant x #KCACOLS
These are such great tips Franca thanks so much for sharing and hosting #kcacols
I have really bad hayfever and never thought that there could be pollen on my bedding from drying it outside!! And I’m def gig g to try the teaspoons in the fridge too x
Gorgeous photos! And some great tips here which I’ll be sharing with my poor hubby – I’m lucky not to suffer myself but he really does. I hope our daughter takes after me! X
#KCACOLS
Wow some really great tips here and ones that I will be employing. My youngest suffers from hayfever really badly. I like the idea about the pillow and keeping the windows shut. A great idea. Also such lovely photos with all the colour, it looks like it was a really lovely event 🙂 #KCACOLS
Fortunately no-one in our family suffers from hayfever – it didn’t occur to me it could be worse at night! #KCACOLS
I never used to suffer until I moved to the UK, so clearly there’s a pollen here that’s extra strong (especially for Peruvians and Danes it seems lol) Gorgeous photos and great tips. I’m not too bad at night, but it does hit me during the day. Thank for hosting #KCACOLS
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
This looks like a fab event Franca, I love the pictures of the petals! It must have been pretty magical with all the petals falling too. Hayfever is terrible, I’m lucky enough not to suffer from it, but I know plenty of people who do and it is really disruptive to their daily lives. Thanks for hosting a fab Linky, it’s good to be back this week. Claire x #KCACOLS