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!  

Easter Nails

Followers! I need your help! I've been lucky enough to be short listed for a beauty bloggers Easter nail art competition with Collection, and I would be very grateful if you would vote for me:)
CLICK HERE to like the facebook photo and vote!  Thank youuuuu xxx

Weekend Catch Up 4

I'm getting in a really bad habit of writing these on a Monday, woops! Last week was birthday week! Yaaaay. I've also been having lots of fun being an intern, it's really given me the little lift I needed, really enjoying it. Without giving too much away I can really see myself settling in a job like this one. Being in London all week I haven't had much time to blog, hence the lack of posts, but I've got lots of ideas bubbling away in my head:)
HOW DID I ALMOST FORGET TO SAY?! I saw The Hunger Games on Sunday at the IMAX as a birthday treat. I read the books at the end of last year and have been counting down the days until this film came out, and it did not dissapoint! I loved it so much, it was perfect. I recommend everyone reads the books and see's the film!!!! I cried like an idiot the whole way through.
Pictures here of my nail wraps, birthday sunshine, jigglypuff cake! birthday meals, birthday chocolate, birthday sunset and my crazy boyfriend.
Hope you all had a lovely week! x

Glossybox March - Harrods Box

This month Glossy Box teamed up with Harrods to create this special edition box. For those who don't live in the UK Harrods is our famous upmarket department store in London, if you ever visit it's a must see tourist attraction! I've had this box for over a week now and I've sort of being putting of reviewing it because unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with it, which is such a shame since there was so much initial hype about it! To be honest I don't think I got the right products, looking on the glossy box website there were a lot of other items that I could have received in this box that I would have loved such as the burberry lipstick or the YSL hair serum, but I guess it's just the luck of the draw!

BLISS Blood Orange and White Pepper Body Butter - Body butters are always a great thing to have, this one smells amazing, its a combination that I would never have thought of and it has definitely done it's job, my skin feels gorgeous and moisturised. Really like this one.

REVIVE Intense Creme Lustre SPF30 - This moisturiser is intended for reducing the appearance of 'sagging skin' which at 20, I don't think I need to be worrying about. This product isn't for me but I will try it, you never know it might turn out to be an amazing face cream! I'm not in any hurry to give this one a go though.

LEIGHTON DENNY High Performance Nail Colour (Honey Trap) - Absolutely love Leighton Denny and I know a friend of mine is a huge fan, it's quite expensive off the shelve so I'm really happy to have this little sample:) The colour is a gorgeous neutral tone, a perfect every day shade, I will definitely be getting a lot of use out of this one.

VERSACE Vanitas Versace Eau de Parfum - This product is a real treat! I've never owned anything Versace. It has a lovely floral fragrance but it is quite heavy so I think 'a little goes a long way' definitely applies. Also the packaging is beautiful! Lots of tiny delicate detail. I'm not sure whether this fragrance is intended for an older audience as it's not something I would usually go for. I might treat my mum to this one! :)

CLARINS Extra Firming Body Cream - Again, a product not necessarily intended for me. 'A formula rich in regenerating and firming plant extracts which restore the skin's youthful density and elasticity' I'd like to think I don't need this just yet! But just like the 'Revive' cream there's no harm in trying.

I think this box might have been more appreciated if it had gone to someone like my mum, I will definitely be sharing this one with her. What did you think of the Harrods box? Did you get some of the better products? Let me know! :)

Weekend Catch Up 3

What a week! I'm happy to report that things have been looking up. Here's a few snaps from the week in order:
Walking home from my brand new internship (YES!), such a pretty view.
Kitty cat manicure inspired by Gem Fatale - bringing out my crazy cat lady side.
Marmite cuppa tea!
I made a cake!
Early birthday card from Topshop.
For all you Busted fans out there, this is me meeting James Bourne on his tour bus. VIP babyyy.
A large glass of wine with my gorgeous thai meal.
James Bourne live.

Happy 100 Followers!

Just a little post to say I DID IT! I reached one hundred blog followers! Wow wee. I'm very overwhelmed, thank you so much to everyone who bothers to read and subscribe, you've made me a very happy girly!
x

Pink and Gold - Nail Tutorial

This week I've been wearing my nails in this pin k and gold design, shown in the past 2 posts! Everywhere I have been this week people have been asking me how I did it, even my dentist was amazed! So here's an easy tutorial for you to get this look yourself.

1. You will need a base colour, a colour for your triangle shape (I think this looks best with a metallic colour), a top coat, a nail file and buffer and a roll of selotape.
2. Clean the nail of any existing nail varnish and file and buff the nail to shape.
3. Apply your base colour, I have chosen this neon pink from China Glaze (1006 Pink Voltage Neon)
4. Stick two small pieces of selotape together to form a triangle shape, and stick this to you nail.
5. Paint over the selotape in your second colour, I have chosen a gold from Barry M (320 Foil)
6. Peel this off carefully to reveal your triangle.
7. Apply a top coat and you're done! woooo

This technique can be so versatile, and selotape can be used to make anything! Gem Fatale recently showed us to make stripes on nails using selotape on Channel 4's 'Super Scrimpers' (which I highly recommend you watch for her amazing beauty tips!) I've been thinking about using selotape to create a diagonal line across the nail, but who knows!

Hope this gets you all feeling creative this week :)

Bokeh photography

A photography post!
Pretty huh? This is my first attempt at bokeh style photography. I really don't know how to describe it but it allows you to change the shape of a small source of light (I chose a heart but you can pick anything!) when it's unfocused. As I said this was my first attempt so it's not amazing, but I was pretty impressed with what you can do with a bit of cardboard and a camera! I've seen people create some amazing images with this technique, I'll keep practising :)

Weekend catch up 2

Retail therapy in Topshop, Teenage mutant ninja turtles pyjamas, pink and gold fancy nails, the cat and I doing some late night job seeking.

Oh heyyy! ;)

How has your week been for you? I'm sorry to report that mine has been a pretty miserable one. Boo. I found out at the beginning of the week and I am being 'let go' from my current job, which to be honest has given me the kick up the bum I needed. I've been meaning to leave that job for a while now as I don't enjoy it at all and it isn't really what I wanted to do with my life, I won't say too much. The bad news is I now have until the end of this month to find my dream career, and I have to get it right this time. I'm always kicking myself for not going after exactly what I want and just settling for something mediocre. There are so many careers that I am constantly wishing I pursued, and I'm not exactly reaching for the stars with the jobs I visualise, they are completely plausible! I need to believe in myself a little more. SO after that teeny tiny rant, I have been scouring the internet all week and applying to these 'dream jobs' and it's been very stressful. Fingers crossed I hear something very soon! Until then I'm going to be poor and unemployed, so no fun for me. I'll sit at home with the cat.

The good news is my blog is doing tremendously! This week my followers have DOUBLED! Wow, thank you very much guys, and hello to all my new followers :) it really is a nice 'pick me up' to see your lovely comments after a rough day.

Something else this week that's quite exciting is I've been entered into a nail bloggers competition for Collection2000 , or just 'Collection' as I believe they have changed their name to, which is very exciting.

In other news I have been watching lots of anime and pokemon films to make me feel better. I'm allowed!

Spring/Summer pastels from Topshop

Who would have thought it ey, we're all going to be getting into our pastels for summer. I'll be perfectly honest, about 2 months ago when I was quite happily snuggled up in my winter wardrobe I wasn't too keen on this ol' pastel and neon trend which was fast approaching! But I strolled into Topshop last week for a quick browse and fell in love. I want everything. It's a shame I'm POOR!! :(

Here are the bits I picked up, the shirt and the trousers both from Topshop, shoes are actually from New Look, sorry I wasn't very consistent with this one! I'm really excited to add a few more pastel pieces to my collection, feeling really summery now. Once again I apologise for my hair... woops.

Also, this is how I am wearing my nails today, let me know if you want to see a separate post?

Introducing a bit of pink, with BarryM

Hello!

First of all, sorry blogging world for being a bit absent this week, I've had a lot on my plate:( boooo, but I'm back to show you my favourite BarryM lippys! BarryM do a great range of bright lipsticks, really great for nights out or if you're brave enough, you can easily pull most of them off with a day time look. I love everything about them, they have a beautiful creamy consistency and a bargain price (usually around £4.50 in Boots).

These are the two I'm using the most at the moment, as you can probably tell 146 is my favourite of the two, I love a hot pink lip on a night out, and 147 is a more corally pink/orange but equally as pretty. It's a shame BarryM don't give their shades a name, I love seeing the imaginative names some brands come up with (Topshop shades are a favourite of mine for naming!). 

I hope you like my little snaps here and maybe try them out yourself! I would definitely recommend.

Also an apology for my attire in these photos, it's the morning after the night before!... A large glass of wine was needed last night.

  Pink lip wearers in the spotlight.

Professional Beauty Show 2012

As I mentioned in my 'catch up' post, on Sunday I went to the Professional Beauty Show at the ExCel Centre, London. I had a really good time just wondering around all the stalls with my friend Ellis (have a look at her blog!). The Beauty Show is intended mainly for trade but my friends mum works in the industry so we managed to go along too. It was a great chance to look at lots of the things I like in one place, instead of having to shop around and everything is sold at either a discounted or trade price, so if anything you'll be getting a good bargain. You can find everything from Fake Bake to OPI to Clarins. We got lots of free demo's and talks, and a few freebie products! Can't complain. If you are a student studying beauty etc I would really recommend going to this, as a student you can apply for free tickets and I just think it's a great opportunity to learn about all the different products out there. I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Oh and we met some of the cast of TOWIE as they were there promoting fake tan (of course).

Some of the goodies I got from the show. Reviews to come!

ImPRESS - Press on Manicure review

I came across ImPRESS - Press on Manicure in boots, they were featured on the end of the aisle in a little promotional bit. I have never seen these false nails before so I'm guessing they are new onto the scene? Let me know!
They really caught my eye, from the packaging to the colour to the style. They are packaged to look like a nail varnish bottle but when you twist the lid off you then open the plastic bottle. I thought this was such a cute idea, really original. Inside the bottle you get 24 nail sizes which is great, I managed to find the perfect sizes for me, if you're clever you can leave the right ones for a second application.
The main thing about this product is the ease of use. They took me all of 5 minutes to stick on, you literally peel the adhesive sticker off of the back then get sticking! So easy, and the result is gorgeous. You get the effect of having strong salon style acrylic nails, without the price tag. These retail at round £7.99 and I've been wearing them for over a week now. No chips, they're not coming lose, still looking wonderful. The only reason why I would take them off now would be for a change of colour because I'm bored! Even though this neon pink is lovely. I've been thinking of painting over them so I still have the strong nails but just a different colour. Not sure if it will work. The nails come in a range of colours and I wish I bought more. I went back to boots earlier in the week and they seem to have sold out. Finger crossed they get some more in stock.
Yesterday I found out that some people actually got some of these in February's Glossy Box! Gutted I didn't!

Weekend catch up!

Weekend catch up you say? But it's Monday Jess!! I know I know, but the plan is to make this a weekly type post every weekend, lets see how it goes! Not a good start.. woops.
So, what have I been up to? Lots of exciting stuff.
-At the beginning of the week I went to a very nerdy convention Hyper Japan in Earl's Court, and if you know me you'll know I love my Japanese stuff, from my nerdy obsession with anime to pokemon and nintendo. Don't judge me! haha. It was really fun, got to taste some proper Japanese cuisine and look around lots of little stalls with bit and bobs, fun day out! :)
-All week I've been writing a job application - yes it takes me THAT long! But I like to perfect these things. Absolutely hate them though, does anyone else find interviews much more fun than writing applications?
-Been trying lots of different beauty nick nacks here and there this week, reviews coming your way!!
-It's been birthday week! 3 of my friends turned 20, which meant a  lot of celebrating, and quite frankly, I'm partied out! Had a fab time in Brighton and Roehampton though. Woop woop.
-I went to the Professional Beauty Show yesterday and had a spiffing time, bought lots of goodies and met Joey Essex... I know there will be mixed opinions on that one! Personally I've watch TOWIE a few times and know who he is... that's about it!
-Went on a sneaky shopping trip, Topshop have some amazing spring/summer looks, watch this space for some OOTD's !!

Some polaroids from Hyper Japan.