New Year, New Hair

I've become so fed up with my hair it's gone beyond a joke. The texture, the length, the thickness, just everything about it I am not happy with which is why I've decided it's going to be the next thing I work on about my appearance.

To sort out the length it's pretty simple, I just put in some clip in extensions. Granted, clip in extensions can be extremely annoying, having to take them out and clip then in all the time but it's the cheapest way to give length & causes less damage to my already thin and knackered hair.

Now I've known about Argon Oil for a long long time now but never actually thought to use it. In the past I've used products on my hair without knowing too much about them and they ultimately resulted in my hair becoming greasy extremely quick and didn't do much else.

I was out shopping the other day and when I was at the till I got a free sample of Argon Oil and a voucher to be redeemed off of a full bottle. Now normally, I would keep the free sample and never use it but this year I've decided to stop hoarding all these little things so I put it to use, I washed my hair and whacked on some Argon Oil before I went to bed. When I woke up I did my hair as usual and I could already see a difference. I was absolutely astonished by how much softer my hair had already become.

So I did what any sensible person would do, the next day I went back to the shop and used my voucher and bought a full size bottle & I can honestly say right now, it's the best purchase I've made all year.

The softness of my hair is incredible, my hair doesn't look or feel greasy from leaving in product and it has changed the texture of the ends of my hair. I've also put some on my clip in extensions too and they look brand new, they're also incredibly soft and looking 10x healthier.

New Year - New Goals

I've seen a lot of people already asking why do people only start to change at the beginning of the year but I think the reasons why we do it are understandable. You may not realise it but we do actually do a lot of measuring time in years. When you think back to a date you went on holiday or the date of your favourite birthday party you state the year the even occurred. Some years are good for people and some years are bad but that's good because you can look back on a whole year and remember the good things that happened in it because you enjoyed it.

2014 for me wasn't the greatest of years, there was many ups and downs and I didn't really have anything that particularly stood out as amazing for me. It's crazy how every day seems the same as we go through it but one year later everything is different!

So this year I've created a list of goals I want to achieve, I've split it into two different lists; things I want to do more of and things I want to do less of.

More:

Photos - The main reason I use Facebook is just for photos of me and my friends and last year there was barely any.. photo's can capture and allow you to relive memories and I want to do that this year!

Nights Out - The best night's are always the spontaneous ones.

Seeing Friends - With my friends living up and down the country it makes it hard to see them all so when we have the opportunity to meet up I'm not going to let it slide. Friends are the best for taking your mind of the rubbish things going on in life, we all need them so I've made a promise to myself to be a better friend to everybody else.

Travelling - 

New Foods - I am the type of person that if I like a food in a restaurant, when I revisit it, I will order the same food again. I'm not very adventurous with foods and I always ask myself why? There's no harm in tasting something.

Less

Tears - As a child I would cry near enough every day, then I got to a stage where I would never cry. I'm turning back into the child I once was and I don't like it... there's no need to cry over petty things.

Hangovers - I can't handle them anymore. It's always one drink that tips me over the edge and causes me to lose a whole day.

Fast-foods - As a child fast-food was always a treat, it would be very rare that we would get a McDonald's or KFC but now there so easily accessible that I just pop in for an easy option of food.

Phone - There is no need to be looking at my phone 24/7. There's a whole world out there and you never know what you will miss by looking down at your phone when you could be out meeting new people and socialising.

My last and most important goal for the year 2015 is to Learn To Drive. I have been putting off since 2012 now and for no reason what so ever. I need to stop being lazy and get myself booked in to start all my tests!

I always think goals for a new year are a great idea as it gives the year a meaning and something to work towards.. I certainly think that some things on my list many others should also take on board.

Happy New Year Everybody!

Walking In A Winter Wonderland

Most people who live outside of England assume that we all know & have experience the rush of London however that is not the case. I've been to London twice now, the first time I barely remember the nitty gritty detail as I was young at the time and it was a lot to take in. This time round I wasn't been dragged around to specific places and doing activities at set times, this was all what I want to do, when I want to do it.

I spent 3 days & 2 nights in London last weekend and I could of slept for a week when I got back, I did so much fund stuff and had such a good time. 

The main reason I went to London at the time I did was to visit Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park and I highly recommend it to anybody who is visiting. It's certainly more of a fun fair style Christmas market than a food & gifts one but it is certainly a fun experience. However, the above picture is showing you a glimpse of inside their beer tent which was such a surreal but amazing experience. The size, the lights and the atmosphere just made the whole experience incredible and I could of comfortably sat in there all day. We arrive at Winter Wonderland early afternoon and didn't have to queue to get in and the good thing is once you are in, you're in.

Now near where I live the Disney store is very basic, there is Disney songs blasting out and you can buy all sorts of merchandise but the London one has life size characters of all well known Disney Characters and it certainly makes you feel like you're in a magical place.

I just saw this photo opportunity as the weather was so lovely.

I had an absolute blast in the M&M store, I ended up buying an M&M mug just for the sake of buying something. (Yes, I'm a marketers day dream)

One thing I wanted to do while in London was to go ice skating and my original intent was to go do this at Winter Wonderland but it was unfortunately booked up so we had to look elsewhere and I'm so grateful we did as we had the most amazing Christmassy setting at Somerset House. We got straight on the ice without booking, there was Christmas songs playing out loud and with the weather looking out as it was such a nice surrounding.

I did a lot more while in London but these are just some snippets of things I did do and I highly recommend them all to everyone if you go to London around the festive period.

Merry Christmas to you all!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

IT'S DECEMBER!

We all know what that means... Advent Calendars, Christmas Trees, Decorations, Candles & Lush baths.

It's my favourite time of the year and the month has finally arrived, I say finally but in actual fact it only seems two minutes since it was last here.

The decorations in my house are up and I love it so thought I'd give the world a sneak peak at some of them to get everybody in the spirit.

We have the standard decorations which come out of the boxes every year but each year we get some extra little bits & bobs to add to the collection because after all, you can never have too many Christmas decorations.

One little fella which was a new decoration this year is this little reindeer tea light holder. I've been around many Christmas markets and seen many tea light holders that looked so pretty and decided that was a decoration I wanted. He's just so cute and looks so pretty when lit.

The room was quite lit so this picture doesn't show the warmth that these lights bring to the room. Hidden in the leaves are little hearts with messages on and it's such a nice touch.

I think for the past few years now our Christmas tree has changed the corner of the room it sits in, but where it is now is brilliant as it's the first thing you see as you walk through the door. I'm aware that the radiator kills the spirit of the photo but here's our Christmas tree that we have every year. I use to detest it and the way it was decorated but as I've grown older I appreciate it so much more, I think my mum does an amazing job of decorating it.

Earlier in the year we purchased new sofa's and this cushion matches them perfectly. I think cushions are always a nice touch to a room and I certainly don't think you can have too many of them.

I'm aware this picture isn't the greatest but it was difficult to get the lighting right but I HAD to show you all this. This is honestly my favourite decoration. Last year I spent ages looking for a nutcracker to put on our fireplace that was going to be big enough to have a decent effect and when I eventually did fine one, there was one left and it was broken.. Gutted was not the word. I definitely think it was a sign though as this year I stumbled across a bigger and better one. I didn't notice it at first as I stood looking at these huge snowmen in TK Maxx and then I glanced to the left to the about 10 Nutcrackers all staring at me and I've never picked something up so quick in my life. He's honestly amazing and I recommend this for a Christmas decoration as everybody I know who has seen him absolutely loves him!

Happy December Everybody!

Glossy Box - November 2014

I cannot believe it's November already. This time next month I'll be sat with the family getting stupidly excited that Christmas is just a mere few hours away!

Since we've passed the middle of November that means my monthly Glossy Box has arrived.

There was nothing special about the decoration of the box this month, just their standard plain pink box with the logo on the top centre.

I did receive a 'personal invitation' from Best Secret which is a card that holds a value of £20. I'd never heard of Best Secret and I'm currently unaware of how else you would get an invitation or card to sign up for it. As I've only just opened this all up today and not actually got round to looking into this yet, from what I can gather it's an online website that sells thousands of different designer clothes at discount prices. What everyone needs really!

So onto what was inside my November Glossy Box. The first thing I picked out of it was a pencil eyeliner which is perfect as my current one is on the blink of running out and I hadn't got round to purchasing another. That's the one thing I love about Glossy Box, I always seem to get an item of make up I need just as my current one is running out which means I get to give the product a full test instead of using it once and forgetting all about it.

It's from the brand 'Lollipops' who I've not previously heard of before. The concept of it is a simple one - the black area on the end twists to extend the size of the pencil meaning you don't need to have a sharpen. The colour of this eyeliner is 701 - Goodbye Moon.







Personally I prefer eye liners that I can sharpen as I like to create a precise line and I find this a little too blunt once used to do so. My previous eyeliner I used glided on really easily and gave an instant black line, the Lollipop one I find doesn't give the same effect, given the eyeliner is black it takes a few runs over my eye before it actually starts to look black. The good thing about it is that it does stay on and doesn't smear down my face.

The next thing I pulled out my box was this '2True Sparkles Nail Glitters'. Now I've not actually tested this out as you can see from my previous blog post, I'm currently trying out stick on nails as I find them a lot more hassle free. I personally don't think I will use these sparkles, I struggle as it is to take nail varnish off of my nails as I cannot stand cotton wool, I'm not sure what it is but it makes me cringe like crazy. Due to that I tend to just use already soaked pads and take it off that way but when using them to take off glittery nail varnish it just seems to stick and rip the pad in a way that makes me cringe and my teeth go slightly funny. I'm weird I know. But for those who do like glitter on their nails, this seems a nice idea but I can imagine it getting slightly messy.

The next thing I got was something that I will definitely use! I'd just recently been moaning that I don't have any lip gloss to just wear on a daily basis. I've already started using this Burt's Bees Lip Shine and I have to say I love it! It's my favourite thing in my box this month. It feels quite thick on the lips but just gives off a nice shiny glow to everybody else. It's got a tiny of red to it, therefore adding colour to my lips. It stays on for a decent amount of time before needing to re apply and leave my lips feeling healthy and moist.

These next two items I haven't tested yet as I'm currently in the process of trying to find a product that works for my face and I don't want to start mixing and matching products until I can pin point the one that does eventually work. I know doubt will get round to giving these a go but they aren't high in my priority list right now. Also the Hawaii Facial Treatment Oil is for Normal combination skins but I feel my skin can get quite oily recently so I'm not sure how well that will work for me.

I have enjoyed this months Glossy Box due to the fact there has been 3 full size products in there. It was also a nice surprise to receive a gift card from Best Secret. I do recommend Glossy Box's to try as they really open your eyes to all the different brands that are out there and sometimes the brands you have never heard of are the ones that might have your favourite product!

'imPRESS'ed

I find painting my nails such a chore and the end result never ends up being worth it. Within one hour, they're smudged, chipped and sometimes even melted. I've never had proper shellac or gel done on my nails either, my only alternative is adhesive nails. However, this doesn't necessarily mean they're my saviour either, they seem to drop off within one hour too.

'imPress' nails are something I have recently discover and I have to say, they are quite spectacular when it comes to press-on nails. I picked up a pack as they were on offer and though I'd give them a go.

The concept of them is really simple, they have a cover on the back which you peel off and then there is a strong adhesive already on them so all you have to do is press them on to your nail and it's done. They are perfect for people like me who don't have the patience to paint your nails and wait for them to dry. It takes two seconds to do and they don't fall off within minutes, the packaging doesn't lie when it says they last up to a week!

They also come in a cute little plastic shaped bottle, which means that they are convenient for storage purposes.

I highly recommend them to everyone for a quick and easy manicure process ♥

Halloween is Fast Approaching...

I can't believe how far through the year we are already. I always feel that as soon as Halloween arrives, it's pretty much Christmas.

My favourite thing about this time of year is how festive everything is. How easy it is to decorate rooms of the house to fit in with the season. There's so many quick and easy things you can do/buy to complete transform your house and it's totally acceptable to do so. The one thing I love the most is that we can transform ourselves as a person for one night, we can wear a silly costume and paint our faces to an extent we would never dream of on any other day.

Some things I highly recommend doing on Halloween for people over 18 has got to be the Scarefest style events that are put on throughout the country. Last year I went to the Yorkshire Scareground near where I live and it was honestly a very terrifying experience. The whole idea is well thought out and put together, with plenty of things to make you scream and jump from guys jumping out at your with chainsaws to women telling you they want to cut off all your hair.

This year, I'm not actually doing anything spectacular for Halloween and I think it may just be the first year I'm not actually getting dressed up. I'm spending this year visiting a historic city where I will be participating in a ghost walk which I guess will have added spooks due to it being Halloween.

Despite the fact I'm not going to be getting in to character this year I still had a little play around with some make up for the fun of it.

I watched a girl on youtube called 'Pollyanne B' where I copied her latest video on a cat inspired Halloween Make up Tutorial. My picture doesn't do the make up much justice but I have to admit I was very impressed with the finishing look and it's something that's so simple to do, it's just all about the dramatic eyes. If you want a simple go to look for this Halloween I highly recommend her video.

What's everybody else doing for Halloween this year?

Jess ♥

Macaroons!

Everywhere I look there is macaroons, everywhere! I was watching TV the other day and there they were, I was in a shop the other week and there they were, I was surfing the web and there they were. Now I've never actually tried a macaroon before but the look of them draws me in and they are something I've wanted to try for a while. However, it seems they are more of a thing in America than they are here in the UK and there isn't any shops local to me that sell them so I decided to attempt to make some for myself and I'm quite proud of the results. 

Mmmm macaroooons :P

Update On Life

I nearly started off this blog post saying "not much has happened since I last posted" but that is a complete lie. One major thing that happened is that it was my 18th birthday and I was surrounded by my friends and family that I love lots and lot! I had an amazing day/night and cannot thank everybody enough for that. My main present was my skydiving which was in one of my previous posts so all in all I had the best 18th birthday ever and I want to be 18 forever! I need to fly away to Neverland so I never have to grow up now. 

The day after my birthday me and my friends received some absolutely devastating news and that is that one of my close friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. She'd known for a while about the lump but the doctors had completely missed the fact there was cancer inside of her which is pretty rubbish of them but I guess at least it is found now. She is only 18 years old and it's so shocking for someone of such age to be diagnosed with that type of cancer however, her age is on her side and me and my friends are going to be by her every step of the way.

Today in England was results day. Now for most people them receiving good results would mean getting A's B's and C's but after my ordeal with how A Levels went for me, anything above a U is good. I started off in the first year with two U's (two fails) but they allowed me to carry on into the second year and I really kicked myself up the arse and got my brain into gear. The two subjects I picked which I get U's on were Psychology and Sociology and I did really struggle with them as I'm not that good when it comes to exams and both these subjects were fully exam based with no coursework what so ever. So in the end with getting C's and D's on each modules of the exams I came out with C,D,D which I am proud of for myself and my abilities.

Tonight I will be going out to celebrate with all my friends as they've all got into the uni's they wanted and I'm so proud of them all! One of my friends did even better than she thought she would and is now completely changing the course she wants to do to something harder (crazy!!) It's a shame one friend can't be celebrating with us tonight but she is in our thoughts and well on the way to a speedy recovery as nothing in her boob will get the better of her as I won't let it.

So proud of her! xxxx

Chocolate Fondue

So life at the moment is pretty simple now, not many plans or anything to do, all the exciting stuff is out of the way until my birthday. My dad decided that at the weekend it would be an ideal time to clear out the garage, free up some space and get rid of the unwanted clutter and in the garage we found a chocolate fondue set that hadn't even been opened! It was from June 2010!! 

I went to Asda and bought some Milka chocolate and mini marshmallows and set myself up a little chocolate fondue date for one

I don't really have much to say about it other than it was lush and chocolate fondue would definitely be a good thing to have for a movie night or a pamper evening!

Prom Nails

The very final school celebrations arrived and I hadn't really planned on doing anything exciting with my nails, I was just going to coat them in a simple pale pink/nude colour to match my bag and shoes however after downloading the 'Beautylish' app on my iPhone and scrolling through the nails section, one design really caught my eye - Nail Caviar. 

I thought I'd give it a go, it looked pretty simple, really effective and eye catching. So I popped down to Boots and found a Nail Caviar kit which was perfect.

I also purchased a L'Oréal Nail Polish in White. To begin with I used this white as a base coat and put it on all my nails.

Once that had dried the next step was to do the caviar. In my Nail Rock kit was some glue and silver/white micro beads. The next step was to put a layer of the Nail Rock nail vanish on my nails, this acts as a glue for the beads so there is no need to let this dry. I did this one nail at a time, I coated my nail in the glue and then dipped it into the micro beads. This step is very messy and the beads go everywhere so I recommend putting a plate underneath to keep the mess together.

 And here is my final look.

All the products I used

 I was really pleased with how they turned out and they got lots of compliments at prom however when I awoke the next day I found that the majority of the beads had fallen off, therefore it didn't really last long but it's a great look for a one off on a night out.

Scarecrow Festival

Every year, the village I live in hosts a 'scarecrow festival'. This is where people from the community get creative and make some fun and exciting scarecrows and I have to say as bad as some of them were... they were all pretty good! The photos were taken on my iPhone so the quality isn't that brilliant but here is a few of the scarecrows that we saw.

This was actually a buffalo or something? But for any Pretty Little Liars fans out there you will understand the reason for the face!

Not quite sure what was going on with this one.. it was one riding a bike and I'm not sure if by the time we had got to it, it had been damaged or if it was actually meant to look like somebody had crashed into a tree. I was rather fascinated by the 'Groovy Chick' bike because as a child I was OBSESSED with Groovy Chick! I didn't even know it existed anymore.

Hehehe I got stabbed

Awww, a dinner date with Kermit and Miss Piggy!

'GO COMPARE'

Had to get a picture with Postman Pat since there is also 'Jess the cat' sat on top of the postbox!

Overall there was around 80 scarecrows placed around the village and it was a really fun day and for once the weather wasn't too bad for Britain so the day wasn't spoilt by rain. Because as you will know, if you live in Britain it is impossible to organise an outdoor event without having to cross you fingers for good weather!

Best early birthday present EVER!

For my birthday this year my mum and dad had asked me what I wanted and skydiving is something which I has been on my mental bucket-list for a while now so I thought since this year is my 18th and is a 'special' birthday, I would ask to go skydiving. My mum and dad been the kind, generous parents they are paid for me and my dad to go.

It was hands down THEE best experience I have ever encountered. We picked a day in June to go and the past few weeks the weather had been glorious however, the forecast for Saturday wasn't looking too good but we kept our fingers crossed and even though it was cloudy at the start of the day.. the weather actually was half decent!

Even though it sounds like something so extreme, during the whole of the day I wasn't scared or nervous at any one point. At the start of the day while we were waiting to be briefed I was just so tired and ready for bed - I'm really not a morning person. Then we got our briefing and it was just a case of waiting around until it was our turn to jump. 

We didn't end up landing in the landing zone but instead landed in a field rather far away where the crops were taller than me but it was an incredible experience and the staff at Hibaldstow were amazing - everyone was so lovely and funny. If anybody is every contemplating skydiving I definitely recommend it! Skydiving has by far been the best event of my life. A big thank you to my mum and dad and Skydive Hibaldstow!