Pink Hair Chalking

Hello! It seems that we're all still going mad for the dip dye! Since I've been there, done that, worn the t-shirt with the whole brown to blonde ombre look, I thought I'd give hair chalking a go instead :)
This was literally as easy as it sounds... hair (wet) + chalk = BAM, done.
I love the way it looks and hopefully it should wash out completely after a couple of washes so I can try even more colours!
If you're thinking of doing this yourself do not be tricked into buying 'special' hair chalk, this can be done with your standard chalk board chalk, usually available at any good stationers or supermarket :)
Good luck!! xx

Zelda Inspired Nails

Morning! So if you happen to know me, you might know that I'm a bit of a zelda nerd. As I've been loving Skyward Sword so much, I felt inspired to do this mani today! Hope you like it!

Festivals & What I Wore!

Hiiiii. As I've spent most of my summer 'festivalling' I thought I'd share with you what I wore to my most recent one, Redfest. Festival fashion is my favourite, it's basically an excuse to wear what ever you want. As you can see I didn't go too crazy... but I love seeing what everyone else is wearing at festivals:)

Outfit 1. For the first day of Redfest I wore my fail-safe, all time favourite Topshop denim shorts and paired them with this white top with a galaxy cross motif from New Look. As for footwear I had to wear my wellies for the whole weekend as it was so muddy!

Outfit 2. You may recognise this play suit from Topshop as it was featured in one of my recent posts. This is my favourite item for this summer, so simple and easy. In the evening I threw on a baggy black Topshop jersey over the top.

Outfit 3. This black dress is actually so old, it's from H&M and it always seems to creep back into my wardrobe every Summer... its so simple and comfortable in hot weather (which we were lucky enough to have!) here I wore it with my favourite scarf, if you know me you'll know I've been wearing this scarf practically every day this summer. I love the subtle skull detail and how lightweight it is, and the colour virtually goes with anything, and again that's from Topshop.

If you live in the Surrey/Kent area I would really recommend a visit to redfest next year! It's such a good bargain for the amount of music you get to see. My friends and I go every year and love it.

Galaxy Nails Tutorial Video!

Hi guys... I made a video! So here's a tutorial for you all as it was so highly requested from my 'Galaxy Nails' post. Enjoy!!! x

Follow me on Instagram!

FINALLY, I have binned my blackberry and got myself a phone that works, so now I can be involved in the wonderful world in instagram. You can find me under...

jessicarachelwalford

:)

Galaxy Nails

 As I am a lover of all things sci-fi and 'out of this world', I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous galaxy nail trend that seems to be floating around the Internet at the moment. Really surprised how easy it was to get this effect! This is by the my most favourite nail art I've done.
Let me know if you would like to see a tutorial!! :)

On the subject of stars, I got my Astro Lamp in the post yesterday! wooo. My boyfriend and I put it together last night and it looks amazing. Star gazing in the bedroom!

Mini Wish List

1. I NEED some heeled Chelsea boots in my life. I was longing after a pair from New Look for ages at £60.... yes £60! From New Look? Madness. But then I found these from a little store on the Internets for £35, a lot more reasonable. They are currently out of stock but as soon as they some back in they are going straight in my shopping basket!
2. I would really like a retro Casio watch, I don't normally wear watches but the thought came to me after reading Company Magazine's 'Saved by the Bell' inspired fashion page. I love that the 80's/90's are coming back round. Keep it coming!
3. This isn't a specific item, I just need to stock on jewellery! I have my fave pieces which I wear pretty much every day and I want to find some more little bits. I found the perfect little website called 'Kukee' It's so cheap! Will be making my first order very soon! www.kukee.co.uk
4. Love this jumper. Found it on pinterest and I have no idea where I can buy it :( I need it.
5. Now this is a bit of a cheat item... because I already have it. I've wanted this Topshop play suit for so long and I found it in the sale - winning! Love love love it, been wearing it every other day like a loser.
6. Now for the non-fashion related item. I'm going to start a little project. As I've always said one day when I have my own home, I would like a huge map of the world to hang on the wall. I saw this picture on pinterest and thought - I could do that! So I'm going to buy a blank canvas and have a little paint, and hopefully the result will be as good as this! Then eventually I can take it with me to my first home to add a bit of a personal touch :)

Learning Curve

These past few weeks have been a massive learning curve for me, as I seem to have found myself at a bit of a dead end. I am once again, unemployed.
Turns out all the hard work and hours I have been putting in for the past 3 months have not benefited me at all. I won't go into it in too much detail but basically it involves a internship and not a very successful outcome!
This has given me a chance to think, and take a good look at myself, and I have come to the conclusion that I am too nice. I seem to go out of my way to please and impress other people, without thinking about myself. I need to learn how to say no to people.
I have always considered myself to be a strong person, but recently I seem to have burst into tears for pathetic reasons, more times than I can remember. Which makes me think that maybe I have been trying to be strong for too long now, and my mind and body can't take it anymore. I have almost 8 years of locked up emotions catching up on me now.
So now is my time to work on myself, have a little cry, and pick myself back up again. I need to spend some time travelling, making music, being with people I love and looking at the beautiful world we live in. Because life is too short.

I don't know what career path I want to take, but hopefully in this time I will find my place.
I will also have more time for blogging! ;)


So here's some snippets of what I've been up to while I've been a bit MIA...

Radio 1 Hackney Weekend, The Eden Project, Hackney Weekend, Summer Classical Concert, Open Mic Night - Jubilee, Family Summer BBQ

Happy Fathers Day

A slightly different post today, appologies in advance for the morbid tone! As today is fathers day I thought it only appropriate to dedicate this post to my daddy, and possibly share some things that don't often get said.

Unfortunately I lost my dad just over 7 years ago, it came as a real surprise to everyone and just looking back at photos for this post today, I am still so over whelmed with sadness that I can honestly never see going away. I think about him every day, and I miss him every day.

I don't want to make a whole post about my self pity, I just want to say that I hope everyone treated their dads today, and every day, like they are the best man on the whole planet, because I would give anything to see mine again, and tell how much I love him.

If I can ever find way to put my emotions, experiences and memories into words, I will one day write a separate post about my amazing dad, but for now, some other words...

If tears could build a stairway,
and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you back again.

No farewell words were spoken,
No time to say "Goodbye".
You were gone before I knew it,
and only God knows why.

My heart still aches with sadness,
and secret tears still flow.
What it meant to love you -
No one can ever know.

But now I know you want me
to mourn for you no more;
To remember all the happy times
life still has much in store.

Since you'll never be forgotten,
I pledge to you today~
A hollowed place within my heart
is where you'll always stay.

Olsen Inspired Make-up

Hi hi. I (and the rest of the planet) am in love with the Olsen look. So here's my take on the famous Olsen brown smokey eye :) enjoy! x

Favourite things from April!

 I don't really like the idea of a 'favourites' post to be strictly beauty related, so here's a selection of my favourite purchases from the month of April :)
First is a bargain, TIGI Catwalk Oatmeal and Honey Shampoo is one of my favourite shampoo's anyway and is usually quite expensive, especially in this size! For some reason I think they've discontinued it because I actually found this in TK Maxx for £9.99...??! It is the most gorgeous shampoo ever, leaves your hair feeling so so so soft and clean, I really recommend!!!
I suffer from quite red skin on my face, I often get blotchy patches and it's really hard to find a make up shade that doesn't make my face look pink, which is why I often go for foundations and powders with a yellow tone. Even so it's still a really annoying problem, so I found this primer from No.7 which looks like light green paint when swatched but when used all over or on problem areas in cancels out any redness. I really love this!! And a little bit goes a long way.
Next is the Loreal Paris Telescopic mascara, which is buy one get one free in boots at the moment! It has a plastic brush which I love and it's really good at separating lashes and coating them evenly.
I saw this cat ring on pinterest and immediately set out to find where I could buy one. I found this one on ebay for £2.99! Such a bargain and I love it so much, everyone asks me where I got it from. I've been wearing it every day since I got it. So cute. (crazy cat lady)
Last is my Holga lomo camera. I'm really into my vintage photography and this camera is my favourite at the moment, and it takes your regular 35mm film which is so handy. Can't wait to get some snaps developed!

Cola Bottle/Ombre Nails!

Hi! Here's what I've been wearing on my nails this week, inspired by my favourite sweets, my pink and blue ombre nails. Using the same technique as before to create the ombre effect. The photos don't really justify the colours very well, but I love them!

Glossy Box April - 'Earth' edition!

AYUURI Natural Body Wash - The 'flavour' I received is neem... what ever neem is! It smells like mint and tea-tree, which I really like. The scent combines with a tingly feeling you get when you use it, making you feel super clean. I don't know if this is something only the 'neem' one does, I imagine its something most minty body washes do. I like this product, can't say I get very excited about body washes in a glossy box though!
CAUDALIE Vinosource SOS Thirst Quenching Serum - I have to be honest, when I went to use this I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it. I gathered it a moisturising serum of some kind, but I didn't know whether to put it on my face or my body or my hands... This product is lacking a bit of direction! I the end I took a gamble and used it on my face before I applied make-up. Although glossy box banged on about this being for all skin types and how amazing it was, I have combination skin and to be perfectly honest it made my face feel very oily and I didn't like it at all. Maybe I was using it wrong?
INKA COSMETICS Certified Organic Eyeliner - This eyeliner applies really softly and it seems really creamy, this might have something to do with the all organic ingredients, I like! I got mine in brown and being a black liner wearer I'm not sure when I'm going to wear this. I need to be a bit more creative! It's a nice thing to have in the make up kit for those days where you dare to be different.
KAI Perfume Oil - A really fresh smelling perfume, a bit different to have a perfume in oil form, may take some getting used to. A full sized bottle is £41... not sure if I'll be breaking the bank any time soon.
FIGS & ROUGE Lip Balm - I like to see a good lip balm in a glossy box, this one is in a cute little tin ready to pop in the hand bag. Mine is rose scented which I'm not a huge fan of, but it's lovely and moisturising and really good for on-the-go. I don't think it will be replacing my burt's bee's!

This is actually going to be my last Glossy Box review for now, as after a careful think, I have decided to unsubscribe. The main reason being I just can't justify the £12.50 every month for a few products which I might like, seeing as I'm not earning too much at the moment. I'd really like to open my box and see something I absolutely love or something I've really wanted to try, but it's never happened.
Also this month has been a bit of a rocky time for Glossy Box, there was a big issue with the fact that they took a payment for the box at the beginning of the month, but it didn't get delivered until the end, which upset a lot of customers. Another issue I have is that while they're getting it so wrong for their paying customers, they seem to be treating their 'ambassadors' pretty well, with freebies and parties all the time... something doesn't seem right here! So bye bye Glossy Box... for now!

What do you guys think about Glossy Box?

Pink Ombre Nails

 With flash

Without flash

A mini nail tutorial for you today! The 'Ombre' trend has been floating around for a year or so now and has really started to surface recently. I love it, and I love any excuse to wear it, so here's my diy creation!

-To start I pained my nails with a base coat of white, I used natural collection - who needs a high end white ey? cheap and cheerful! This base coat will help the top colour stand out.
- I then painted three stripes of my favourite nail polishes onto a make-up sponge, I tried to pick colours that would blend into each other nicely, in this case a pink a peach and a lilac.
- To apply your ombre effect, dab the sponge onto your nail, making sure you dab in the same place each time! I allowed this to dry and applied it a second time to make sure the colour was really vivid. Don't worry about making a mess around your nails!
- Clean up the edges with some nail varnish remover and cotton wool,
(or a little tip I use, wait for it to dry fully and wash it off while you're in the shower with hot soapy water)
- Apply a glossy top coat and you're good to go!

I hope this is inspiration for you on a rainy Tuesday :)

Weekend Catch Up 8 & OOTN

 Happy weekend! I've had a lovely week celebrating my mums big (we won't say which) birthday, going out and about in London, seeing McFly.... um again? and relaxing at home :)
My laptop's still poorly so I haven't had many chances to blog :( hoping to get it back asap.

OOTN

This is the outfit I wore to see McFly on Friday, absolutely LOVE this Topshop top, which I first saw on my colleague Sophie and told her I HAD to have it! My boyfriend calls me Professor Mcgonagol when I wear it... boys and fashion ey?

Fashion event with Glamour and Desigual

OOTN

Hi! So this week Glamour magazine were kind enough to invite me and my cousin along to a little event at Desigual's flagship store in Oxford street. We went along and had some drinks and watched a lovely cat walk show, oh and my cousin Matt met someone from the telly box?? (see pic 1) If you know who he is please enlighten me! But he was VERY excited to meet him so he must be pretty special.

We had a really nice evening and a cheeky maccy d's after! Woops... So I thought I'd share the photos with you guys. Also the outfit I wore on the night!

Nails nails nails!

A few snaps of how I've been wearing my nails over the past few weeks, let me know if you want to see tutorials!
001 Effie Trinket, Hunger Games inspired nails. This is how she wore them for the reaping scene in the film.
002 Ciate's Jewel. A beautiful glitter holographic effect.
003 Pink shades water marbling - this was very messy!
004 'Galaxy' inspired nails, using the water marbling technique and glitter for the stars! cute.
005 Barry M pink with graduated glitter.

Weekend catch up 5, 6 AND 7!

Oh my... I guess I better explain for my absence. I promise I'm not being a super lazy blogger! My mother broke my laptop a few weeks ago and it's been in laptop hospital ever since :(
So what have I been up to for nearly 3 whole weeks!?
I've been having a lovely time in London being an intern, as usual.
 I went to see the hunger games... again! I love it so much. Please, if you haven't seen/read it already, what are you waiting for? Go go go!!
I won a competition with River Island and Company Magazine which meant I got a £30 voucher in the post. Don't you just love getting money in the mail? ha. I bought a lovely skirt with it and plan to show you all how I've been wearing it recently.
Been out a couple of time with the friendy pops which is always nice but most importantly as you've probably guessed from the photos, I went to see McFly! Do not judge! They're the band that played the soundtrack to my childhood/teens when I was growing up so the gig was soooo nostalgic since I never got to see them play live in their prime. They actually put on a really good show, I had an amazing time :)
You might have also noticed from the photos that I got a new instant camera. Some people really don't see the point in these or just think they are a waste of money but I'm a teeny bit into my photography and love the way they capture a moment. I also got a new lomo camera which I'm dying to try out, I'm waiting for a sunny day as the pictures always come out better in the sunshine.
Easter weekend - I ate just chocolate for a solid 24 hours, need I say more? Chocolate eggs for breakfast, who's with me?

Song I've been listening to most this week - Taylor Swift, Safe and Sound.
Currently reading - The Hobbit!

x

Favourite products from March!

March (birthday fun month) is nearly over so I thought I'd share with everyone what I've been loving over the month.
Nail Rock nail wraps - I've posted about these before and since the first time I used them I've become some what of a pro at applying these. I adore them and there's so many designs to choose from. I've been wearing a different style almost every week and I always get stopped by people to ask me how I did my nails! Love it. Can't wait to try some more.
Nina Ricci, Nina - This has become my fail safe perfume for spring/summer, it has a gorgeous sweet, girly smell. I try to branch out and try other perfumes, especially over the winter but this is my favourite and I always find myself going back to it every year.
John Freida, Full Repair serum - I'm a big hair serum fan and this is the newest to the collection, I think it's quite fresh into the shops? I actually got this from my mum as a little birthday pressie as she knows I've been meaning to try it. It's amazing! I apply it on wet hair and let it dry and my hair feels gorgeous and silky. What I really like about it is how light weight it is as I get quite greasy hair, I don't have to worry about putting too much in. I've been meaning to replace my old Moroccan oil and I think at the moment, this is doing the trick! Really recommend!
Rimmel, Wake me up foundation - This is a foundation that the blogging world has blown up about, I needed a new foundation and I didn't fancy spending over £20 to replace my usual mac. I haven't used a drug store foundation in ages, I just had that really naive attitude that if it was cheap, it would be horrible or make me break out. This however is amazing, I love the consistency, the coverage is great, I only have to apply a tiny bit of concealer to cover up spots and dark circles after applying this. My skin looks so natural and healthy and it stays on pretty much all day. Its cheap and you get quite a lot in the bottle, so it ticks all the boxes for me! Not sure if I'll be going back to mac....
Burt's Bees', Lip Balm - This is the best lip balm I have ever owned, is so moisturising and repairs damaged lips literally over night. It's always in my hand bag and I'll definitely continue buying this when it runs out. The one I have is made with pomegranate oil and it smells just like a purple starburst!

Wardrobe of an Intern

You might have heard that after I hit rock bottom of my career path, a golden opportunity along which I would have been mad not to take. I have been doing my internship for two weeks now and I absolutely love it. I thought it would be a good idea to show you some of the outfits I've worn as going up to London every day is a brilliant excuse to dress up :) Just so you know, my office isn't extremely formal like most places in London, so here's my take on smart-casual. I hope you like it!