It has finally happened! Yes, us bloggers in our thirties have been making waves in the Blogosphere and finally it has been recognised with our OWN Blog Awards. The Thirty PLUS Blog Awards are now officially OPEN *cue thunderous applause*. Blogging has for too long been deemed the playground of the twenty somethings of the world, but we are proud to be part of a community that is rich with quality content, strong voices, sass and a whole shedload of life experience. It’s time to sit up and pay attention to a blogging niche that is crammed full of style AND substance. Click this way to find out why we are stoked for these awards and how you can vote for YOUR favourites (hint hint – yes…you can vote for us here at Fashion Du Jour London HQ…cough cough cough).

We are writing this post ever so slightly delirious with flu. Yup, that is how passionate we are about the importance of these awards. Whether writing whilst slightly hallucinating was a good idea…we shall find out in due course but  what IS a good idea are these awards – FACT! It had been deemed for too long that as soon as one hits their thirties, you somehow appear to somewhat lose your voice. You are metaphorically thrown into the void, as almost all brands, fashions, even anti-aging beauty products (which is utter nonsense as WE are the ones that predominantly use them) are aimed at those 10 years younger than us. It’s ludicrous and it is about time that the tides started turning.

We don’t know about you, but we were relieved to turn thirty. All the (almost comical now, looking back) crap, seemed to turn to dust as the clock struck 12am on our birthdays. We knew who we were, we knew what (and sometimes who) we liked and we were not afraid to stand by our decisions. All question marks over things turned to emphatic exclamation marks – this was US! Like it or lump it! It was liberating, it was real…and it was GLORIOUS!

When we started our “Fashion Du Jour-ney” last year, we wanted to bring “aspirationally attainable” fashion, beauty and lifestyle to all, that was ageless and perma in style (read our first ever post here). That’s why we were so happy to discover the We are Thirty Plus community when we started blogging. A group full of fabulously thriving thirty somethings clear in their own identity. We have loved engaging and chatting with you all, seeing everyone growing and the sheer amount of support we have felt from everyone and have, hopefully, given back. There is strength in numbers and by collating our skills and voices together in the Blogosphere, we have become a mighty force. One that has made fellow bloggers, PR’s and brands sit up and take notice.

And now we can celebrate this magnificent movement with the We are Thirty PLUS Awards, in association with those beauts over at The Body Shop. In truly unique style, these awards are slightly different from the typical blog award fayre with fabulously INTERESTING categories:

• The Next Big Thing
• Most Addictive Blog
• Most Innovative Content
• Photography Star
• Social Media Hero
• Community Star
• Blogger of the Year

We are so excited to vote for our favourites in these categories and we hope you are too! Award nominations close on Wed 22nd June 2016, so what are you waiting for? Get your nominations in.

We started this blogging adventure with each other and it has been just that – an adventure! We were unaware when we started as to just how challengingly awesome running our own little space of the internet could be. Trust us, ask any blogger and they will say it’s not as easy as it looks. To be recognised for how much blood, sweat and literal tears we put in day in and out to our blog baby here at FDJ LDN HQ every day would be amazing! Many think having a blog is simple – we have a little wry chuckle at that. The hours of creating original content, images, social media – it is one job you never really “clock off” from. All that while holding down our own careers can be a mammoth task too! We have made lots of new friends, we have also lost some so-called old friends, all whilst maintaining our integrity and ideals. We have learnt things about things we never thought we would ever have to learn about and we have grown whilst doing so. We have worked with brands and people whose talent has been an absolute gift to collaborate with and have connected with people from all over the world. All from a blog we started for us, by us. Blogging is about showing who YOU are for all the world to see and being brave enough to, no matter what anyone says or how many try to take that away by stealing your image, your “you-ness” or your content (That particular post is in the pipeline fillies). For those that have supported us from the start and who have followed us along the way, we want to say a HUGE thank you. It doesn’t go unnoticed or unthanked !

Phew! We are off for a lie-down with a cold flannel…

Until next time fillies,

Nicky and Leigh at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ x

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