10 day you challenge | 9 loves

The 2nd day of the challenge is 9 loves. These will be so easy to decide & lovely to write!

1. I love my little blog! It's still really new to me, so I still don't really know what I'm doing haha. But I am soo chuffed that people follow me & actually read what I have to say. It also keeps me sane when I'm bored too! 
2. I love love love my boyfriend, Scott. We have been together just under a year & a half. If I were to write down everything I wanted in a man, he has them all! & he helped me through sooo much last year. Can't thank him enough :)
3. This is a given, but I love my family. I have such a big family - so many aunts, uncles & cousins. They are all really easy going & are always up for a laugh. I also get on really well with my Mom & Dad, & couldn't be without them!
4. My doggies!! I love dogs soooo much, but unfortunately I'm allergic to them :( It doesn't stop me from loving them tho. I'm currently in the process of finding medication that works for me. Fingers crossed - I reaaaaally want a fat little bulldog when I have my own place!
5. My uni girls. These girls mean everything to me. I'm so sad I don't live with them any more, but it definitely isn't the end. We already have plans in August to visit each others home towns :)
6. I love food! Soo much, too much maybe. 
7. Retail therapy. There is nothing better than treating yourself to a little something every now & again. My favourite retail therapy has to be beauty products, casual clothes & bags!
8. My little part time job. I work in a bar every now & again when they need extra staff on special occasions, or need me to cover somebody. It's a gay friendly bar/club on my local high street. I absolutely love all the people I work with, including the managers, & think bar work is so much fun. It's also really funny to hear the various chat-up lines!
9. My last love is new experiences. I really love doing different things, going new places, trying new foods, etc. I will try anything once!

Join in on the challenge & leave a comment below. I'll be sure to check yours out :) 

Jen xox

NOTD | Colourful tips

As you can see from the end result, I love playing about with my nails! Even if they do look a little child-like :P & with the weather as it is, I need some bright colours in my summer days!

So I began by painting a clear base coat to prevent any staining on my natural nails. I really recommend applying base coats - stained really are ugggly. I then applied two coats of Barry M's mint green to each nail. After they are bone dry I used masking tape as a stencil guide, & aligned where I wanted the coloured tips to start. I then painted the tip of each nail a different colour. The colours I used are -

• Barry M's matt white
• Rimmel's tangerine queen
• Rimmel's funtime fuschia
• Rimmel's blue eyed blue 
• Rimmel's rapid ruby

Once I'd finished painting the tips I peeled off the masking tape & applied 2 top coats to each nail of Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri. & ta-da! Done :)

Jen xox

10 day you challenge | 10 secrets

I love tags on peoples blogs & YouTube channels. I think it's really nice to get to know the people behind all of the hauls, reviews, OOTD etc! I recently saw this on both Rachael & Jen's blog & really enjoyed reading them. So, obviously I had to steal it :)

The image below pretty much explains all you have to do. So I'll get started :)

10 Secrets

1. I just finished a degree in Biomedical Science; which sounds all very clever & scary. But, all I want to do in life is have my own salon! 
2. Throughout my life I have lived in many many different houses, a few different counties & 2 different countries. This meant I never really settled anywhere & have no current friends that I grew up with. If I could change one thing about me growing up, it would be this.
3. I played with my Barbie dolls until an age that probably wasn't acceptable, haha! My obsession was to make them houses out of shoe boxes & old kitchen towels. (Just for the record - I don't play with them anywmore ;))
4. When I was younger Britney Spears was my absolute God, haha. She is the reason I first started highlighting my hair & I even use to dream she was my sister(!!). 
5. The TV programme Man vs Food is so gross it really should put me off my food. But, it does the opposite - my mouth waters like crazy. Mmmm, food. 
6. My Granddad leaves me little white feathers everywhere I go, to remind me he's looking down on me :) 
7. I've always been such a massive geek! When I was in primary school I even wrote to Nasa telling them the reasons why I didn't believe that they'd been to the moon, & told them their video footage was a massive scam. Haha, who do I think I am!?
8. On my 12th birthday I completed my 3000m swimming badge. When I got out the water my legs stopped working! I fell to the floor & just cried, haha blesssssss. 
9. I still have my teddy bear on my bed now that I was given the day I was born! 
10. I am terrified of gas masks & that horrible air raid siren :(

So there you! I hope you enjoyed reading my little secrets :) 

Feel free to join in the challenge! 

Jen xox

She Said Beauty | July '12

I am going to start by saying that SSB never seem to disappoint! This has to be one of my favourite boxes yet. With Glossy Box getting a lot of stick lately, SSB have been gaining a lot of new customers - hopefully this is encouraging them to improve their boxes!

I'm sure most of you are aware, but if not - SSB is a monthly beauty box subscription. For £9 per month (plus £2.95 for p&p) you receive an average of 5 beauty samples; ranging from skin care, tanning, make-up, nail products, body care etc. The majority of products are luxury samples, but every now & again they slip full sized products in their too. I absolutely love the concept & personally I subscribe so I can try products that I wouldn't have known about/bought myself otherwise. It's also great to get a little monthly treat of the post man ;) 

Below is their beautiful packaging it always come in. 

Now, here's what I got!

• Vintage eyelash curler by The Vintage Cosmetic Company. The packaging for this little beaute is sooo pretty! If only the curlers themselves were patterned too! Anyways, great product. I didn't really need a new one, but thinking about it I have had mine for about 5 years, so It's probably about time they got replaced! There are nifty little tips & guideline on the back of the box too. For instance, have you ever thought to heat the eyelash curlers slightly with your hairdryer before curling your eyelashes?? Me either! Apparently it causes a more dramatic curl & the result stays like so for longer. Genius. Full size - RRP £7. 
• S-file by Stylefile. Soo pleased to receive this - you guys know how much I like doing my nails. I was actually looking at this file the other day in Boots! So glad I didn't buy it now. The S-file was created by some guy named Tom, who won in a previous series of The Apprentice. The design allows for easy & more accurate filing. I love that the file has 1 side for filing & the other for smoothing down.  Full size - RRP £4.49.

• Bronzer & blusher blend by Miners Cosmetics. One of the next things I wanted to purchase was a bronzer or blusher. How perfect is this item?! It isn't too shimmery & has a nice subtle pigmentation (which is what I prefer on my cheeks). Love it :) Full size - RRP £4.99. 
• Time release blemish cleanser by Murad. Currently I don't have a set skin care routine, so I am open arms to trying out new cleansers, toners etc. I haven't yet used this so I can't really comment, but it claims to reduce blemishes whilst diminishing fine lines & wrinkles. Sounds good to me! Full size (30ml) - £5.50.

• Ice crystals anti-ageing prep & polish by Freeze 24.7. As you can see the sample is tiny tiny! I just about had enough to use it once on my face. The product claims to retexurise and refinish the skin, leaving it with a vibrant & fresh new glow. This may be a spot on description; however, how am I meant to know after 1 use?! I'll admit my skin did feel nice & pulp after using this but I don't think I'd purchase the full size (£35 for 70g) because I can't be sure whether it works for me not. 
• BONUS ITEM: Beauty club reward card for Debenhams. I think that this is quite a good way to promote a store, as I'd never go & get a Debenhams card if it wasn't for this. It's basically like the Boots advantage point card (which is a God send, I may add!). You receive points when you spend money on their beauty items & receive gift cards depending upon how many points you have (1 point = 1 penny). Though, I have to add it isn't as good as the Boots card - you receive 3 points per pound you spend when you spend over £25 & 2 points per pound you spend when you spend under £25. Regardless, I'll definitely be activating & using this :) 

As you can see I received 4 out 6 full sized products! This, you cannot complain at! If you tot it up the full sized products alone they total £21.98. I think this is great when the box only costs £9!

So, what do you think of this months box? I love it! 

If you too want to sign up to She Said Beauty & receive a monthly beauty box, check them out here.

Jen xox

DIY | Ballet Bun!

I know the ballet bun phase has been around for a while now, but as my blog is new I am excused! ;) I love this look. I think it looks so elegant and pretty. Also love the fact it's so easy to achieve!

Here are some snaps of celebrities sporting the look.

Most of you have probably already seen the doughnuts used to perfect this look. (I know they are available in Primark!). I wear this up-do all the time, but I have actually never used, or even owned, one of those doughnuts. I use tights! Yup, you read it right.

I started doing this when I was a student (tight pocket & all that) & now I'll show you how :)

So here is all you need - tights & scissors! I tend to use clear tights, as I have blonde hair, but if you have darker hair I suggest darker tights (you get the jist!). Also, I always use tights that I've snagged or laddered, clean ones though obviously ;) But this saves wasting a new pair of tights, plus it makes no difference in your hair!

How ugly are tights when they're off?!

2 glorious holes!

So, the first of the very easy steps is to cut along the very top of the leg. Do this for both legs & you can chuck the crotch/stomach part of the tights.

Then, to cut off the end of the tights (where you toes would be). This creates two long tight tubes!

Place the first of the tubes onto your forearm. Like so..

& then place the other on top. I like to use both the tubes as it thickens the doughnut & creates a larger bun. If you have short hair I suggest using only one tube & chucking the other away (or create two!). 

Now roll the tights up your arm & it will create a very unappetising looking doughnut!

A whoola it's finished! It doesn't look like much but it is a great platform for building upon. Most of you probably already know how to achieve the bun after you have a doughnut, so I'll just briefly describe.

Give yourself a high ponytail & place your make-shift doughnut around the base of your pony. Taking inch sections at a time, back comb the hair slightly & roll it towards your head, resting it on the doughnut pin it in place. Do this all around the doughnut, using all the hair within your ponytail. Make sure to spray more hair spray than humanly advised!

I always achieve this look using my holey tights & the technique I just explained. Here is a picture somebody took of the back of my head (strange..) at our graduation ball. Mine isn't as seamless as the A listers above, but it works for me :)

Jen xox

Wanna play Twister? | FOTN & OOTN

If you saw my recent post asking for ideas on a fancy dress outfit, welll the party was last night! After reading all your suggestions I opted for the idea of Twister (the theme was anything beginning with T). Which was suggested by Gem (check here blog out here!).

Because you guys helped me choose my outfit I thought I'd show you what I ended up wearing, & whilst I'm doing that I may as well share my make-up too! :)

Scary natural light!

So, here's the products I used -

Face 

• Benefit's The Porefessional Primer
• Rimmel's Wake Me Up foundation in soft beige
• Benefit's Boi-ing concealer in 02
• No7's Perfect Light loose powder in medium
• Benefit's High Beam highlighter
• Benefit's Sugarbomb

Eyes

• Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes eye contour kit
• Rimmel's eyeliner pencil in panama
• Let's Go false eyelashes in Temptress (but Eyelure glue - obvs!)
• Maybelline's Falsies mascara in black drama

Lips

• Nivea's lip balm in soft rose
• No7's lip shine in Pink (reviewed here)

& then here is my fancy dress outfit. It isn't the best photo but I wanted to show you the lovely addition to my headband too, haha!

I had such a good night :) Hope you guys had a good weekend too!

Jen xox

My make-up storage :)

I'm not entirely sure why but lately I've had a bit of an obsession with watching YouTube videos on peoples make-up storage. Some peoples make-up collections are mahooooosive!! They literally fill up wardrobes of the stuff! Woah. But not me I'm afraid. I don't have lots & lots of pennies at the mo & I don't really wear loads of make-up, so it wouldn't really be justified to have loads make-up. But anyhoo, now that I've moved back home all my stuff is in one place (yayy!) I've been sorting through everrrything in my room. Before my little (or big) sort out all of my make up was in one basic vanity case. Whilst having a nosey through it I realised I had so much more stuff than I realised, & of a lot better quality than I'd realised too. I think this was because it was all just piled on top of each other, so nothing ever really stood out to me.

I had a mosey on eBay & Amazon at different make-up storage they had. & although quite boring & predictable I came across some really good value for money vanity cases. However, these vanity cases open up with different compartments, allowing me to organise my make-up stash a little more. In the end I bought the pink vanity case pictured below for only £14.99. You can find it here.

So here are some photos...

As you can see the 4 compartments fold out, revelling a larger space at the bottom. I love having the different compartments, as I can unleash my make-up OCD!! Here are some photos & a brief explanation of what I keep in each part.

Numero uno - eyeshadows! Including the brands Barry M, Bourjois, 17, Rimmel, Nivea, Avon & Opia.

Thenn, underneath are my lipglosses. Including the brands Soap & Glory, Urban Decay, Rimmel, Inika, Sleek, Bobby Pin, Avon & Ruby & Millie.

On the other side we have eyeliners & mascaras. There are too many brands to name but my current faves are the Collection gel eyeliner & Yves Rocher mascara!

& the last foldy-out-bit contains lipsticks, lip liners & a couple lip balms. The majority of my lip sticks are Rimmel & Urban Decay!

At the very bottom, in the largest compartment, are bigger items that didn't fit anywhere, various eyelashes, eyelash curlers & a few face products.

I wouldn't necessarily use many of the above products for everyday wear. & when I'm in a rush (or just early mornings in general) I canny be fussed to rummage through the box. Soo, I have myself a lazy little everyday box! I just keep my everyday make-up items in a little Anna Lou of London box in my bedside table.

In here is the newly raved about Wake Me Up foundation by Rimmel, Benefit's concealer Boi-ing, loose powder by No7, the porefessional primer by Benefit, Benefit's bronzer/blusher sugarbomb, Maybelline's falsies mascara & a brown Rimmel kohl eyeliner! When I'm feeling extra, extra lazy I'll just chuck on (not literally) some Maybelline matte mouse & I'm out the house!

I didn't really know where to draw the line with regards to what I'm showing you; for instance make-up, toiletries, skin care, nails etc. But I figured nail polishes are classed as make-up, so I'll briefly show you those too! At the moment I just keep my nail gear in an ever so pretty Marc Jacobs box.

In here I keep all my nail polishes, base coats & top coats; most of which are Rimmel, Barry M & Topshop. I also keep different nail polish removers, tools such as files, buffers, clippers, cuticle pushers & removers etc, masking tape, cotton wool pads, cuticle oil, nail art & nail foils etc. I plan on expanding my nail collection massively, cause I love doing my nails! To buy list: more Topshop polishes & my first OPI & China Glaze polishes!

So, that's it! As you can see my collection isn't amazing, but I like it :) I hope you enjoyed reading my post, I enjoyed writing it!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Jen xox