2015!

I've been horrendous with blogging over the last half of the year - it's been a mix of heavy workloads, getting used to uni life and just having no motivation or decent things to blog about. I have idea but when I come to write them I just don't know how to write it. I have about 4 posts that are in my drafts folder that I've been working on - some aren't even relevant anymore so will need to be deleted!

You may also notice that I've changed the title and description on my blog - I re-read them and found them rather embarrassing so I decided to change them a little instead!

It's the end of another year so I thought I had to at least post something now - it's always good to look back at the year and think about what I want to change and improve on. Last year I posted a 2013 vs. 2014 review which I obviously can't just add to as there's quite a lot of difference I feel! 

~~~~~~~

Confidence

This year I feel like I've come to understand myself a lot better as a person and have consequently become a lot more confident than I was this time last year. The fact that I managed to get into University helped this fact I feel as it made me realise I was good enough and could achieve the things I wanted to if I tried hard enough. I didn't actually get the grades I needed for my course but because of the extra things I'd done outside of my A levels to do with Archaeology and Ancient History, they saw my passion and accepted me anyway! Due to this, I also ended up realising that just because you aren't the best at one type of education, it doesn't mean you won't be good at another so don't be put off if you aren't very good at A levels like I wasn't - I'm now doing well at Uni because the teaching style and the way you're graded works a lot better for me! Asking for help to make sure you get all the help you need for exams is also useful - I probably annoyed my teachers last year by how much I asked them for help! However, this is another thing I learned this year - don't be afraid to ask for help because the teachers want you to succeed and if you show willingness to improve, they will try and support you so you can get the results that you want.

Another thing I've noticed over this year is that I've also become more confident in my body. I'm not a size 8, 6 ft tall model with long, flowing hair but I'm happy with my body in its entirety as I'm the only one that has to live with it so why live hating it? I wear things that look good on my body shape and wear make up because it makes me feel happy and prettier. I already did a post earlier in the year about how I feel about lipstick and how it boosts my confidence! Of course there are things I wouldn't mind changing but for now, I'm happy with myself. 

Work and independence 

Last year, I said I needed to focus on my work but I may have taken that a little too far during the last few months as I've been known to not leave the flat for a couple of days and not sleeping until 3 to make sure I could finish essays on time! I think this year I need to prioritise better as I'm now living more or less independently so I need to balance work and looking after myself as well as remembering to save some time to see friends. 

I also need to organise my work so I have time to do more background reading as I didn't get a lot of chance to this term. This also needs to include planning essays in advance so I don't have a mad rush at the end of term like I did in the last week of this term. It will be a lot better for me if I do little bits along the way instead of huge amounts at the end that get me overly stressed and run down.

Health

I want to try and get a bit healthier in 2015 as I know I could vastly improve what I eat - I think I'm going to try and post recipes when I find ones that are healthy but still nice! I'm already trying to cut down the amount of snacking I'm doing and the amount of sweets/chocolates I'm eating. 

I need to start going to bed earlier which links with my organisation goal - if I do more work earlier in the day then I'll be able to sleep earlier which would be a lot better for me - hopefully I'll be able to get a proper sleeping pattern sorted by the end of this term if I can work properly!

One last thing I need to do is to learn how to take breaks from work and just wind down sometimes. I am constantly working at uni so if by organising my work and life better I can add in break every so often, that would be incredibly helpful!

What are your goals for the upcoming year?
I hope you all have a wonderful New Years!
Jess xx

My Recent Make-Up buys

I don't have a lot of time to write out loads of reviews so I thought that I would do one mini review of each product and a swatch if I can (it's obviously quit difficult to do 2 nail polishes at once!) in one longer post!

Over the last couple of months, I've bought a fair bit of make up due to freebies in magazines, sales or just an impulse buy! 

My most recent pieces! 
From left clockwise: Body Collection maxi lipstick in Vixen, Rimmel Apocalips lip laquer in Nova,
Nails Inc/Kate Spade nail polish in Big Apple Red, Essie nail polish in Bahama Mama, Miners Matte Factor lip paint in Deep Read, Technic whipped foundation mousse in Natural, Benefit Coralista lip gloss, Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker gloss stick in Raplumzel and Eyeko Skinny Mini liquid eyeliner in Black.

Body Collection maxi lipstick - Vixen

I bought this during my half term holiday in Norfolk at a Department store. I found some clearance bins and decided to have a rummage to see what I could find and picked up this! I'd never heard of the brand before but it was only £2 or something so it was worth the risk! It smells really plastic-y and I'm still not 100% sure on the colour, I think it's the wrong shade of red for me but who knows, I might grow to love it eventually! It isn't drying on the lips though and seems to last a decent amount of time.

Rimmel Apocalips lip laquer - Nova

I was so happy to find this in the same bargain bin for only £2.99 as opposed to the usual £6.49! The colour is quite nice but tends to cling to the dry patches on my lips which is annoying, I love the applicator though!

It's brighter in person!

Nails Inc/Kate Spade nail polish - Big Apple Red

This was a freebie with last month's issue of Glamour magazine and it's a gorgeous bright, festive red! I wore it a few weeks ago and it was so nice! The applicator isn't as nice as Essie's but it did the job with minimal skin painting! It lasted quite a long time before chipping which is always nice and I'm really happy I got this colour, it's completely perfect for this time of the year! I just wish I could go back and buy the silver one too, they would look so good together! Sadly they were only available with the magazine so too late now. I don't have a swatch because I didn't think to take a picture while I was wearing it (oops)!

Essie - Bahama Mama

I bought this specifically as a more muted colour to wear at my interview at Reading on wednesday and I'm completely in love! Essie never fail to disappoint! It's such a gorgeous plum colour that goes with everything - it's also great for this time of year as it adds a bit of colour but isn't too bright - almost like a neutral!

Miners Matte Factor lip paint - Deep Red

Another Norfolk buy, only £3.99 and usually only available online so I got really excited when I found this! This has been my go to lip product for the last few weeks or so! I absolutely love it and it reminds me of the Collection lip creams a lot - they even have the gorgeous vanilla cream scent! It goes on really smoothly and lasts for a good few hours! I love the colour too, it's darker than in the picture but is such a wearable colour! My favourite red lip product by quite a way I think! It will be great for this festive season, it matches my Crew fair isle jumper really well!

It's more red - this makes it look quite pink!

Technic whipped foundation mousse - Natural

I bought this in Norfolk for £3.99 as a stand in for my Max Factor whipped creme foundation sample that I was using (finally bought the full version and it's incredible!) and it was good for the price! Now I have my proper foundation, I don't know how much use it will get as it's more drying and clings to my dry patches more but it was good as a filler and matched my skin tone really well!

The colour of my face and hand differ quite a bit so while it looks orange here, it's actually the right colour for my face! (This swatch isn't blended in, it's easier to see the colour like this.)

Benefit lip gloss - Coralista
I got this as a freebie in the last issue of Elle magazine which was rather exciting, getting mini versions of more expensive brand products is always a good, it gives you the chance to see if the full price is worth it or not! Personally, I would never pay £14.50 for a lip gloss anyway but I don't really like this product as much as I thought I would. It is such a pretty colour and has a really lovely smell but the colour just disappeared when it was put on my lips. It makes my lips feel quite soft and it's not sticky but it's also quite drying and I catch myself rubbing my lips together more often than I would like. I'm not a huge fan of lip glosses anyway and this one hasn't changed my mind very much - give me a lipstick any day! It's a nice freebie but if I had the chance, I wouldn't buy it because it's vastly overpriced for something with the same quality I would expect from something half or a third of the price. This is definitely a case of paying for the name rather than the quality.

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker gloss stick - Raplumzel 

Now for the other side of the lip gloss spectrum. After picking up a gloss stick in Nudist with the Girl O Whirl gift set a few weeks back, I've been hooked on these crayon shaped beauties. I knew I had to buy more colours so I opted for Raplumzel, a deep plum colour. (It was also probably also influenced by the fact that there were only 4 left across the range and it was the only one not tampered with, but luckily that was the colour I wanted the most!) I LOVE this product. It goes on so smoothly, it's pretty much just colouring in your lips which is so satisfying! I love how it's in stick form because it makes application so much simpler and not feel like an actual lip gloss. The colour is great and it's so softening and moisturising, it also lasts quite a long time for a 'gloss', if you can call it that! This is definitely worth the money at £8.00 from Boots but probably the most I'll pay for a lip gloss. 

The colour is brighter and darker in person! 

 Eyeko Skinny Mini liquid eyeliner - Black

I am horrendous at doing liquid eyeliner so I always opt for pen versions as they are easier to use! I love this one from Eyeko as the pen is really thin so if you have a really steady hand and quite a bit of time to make sure it's perfect, you can do a subtle thin line that looks amazing! I wear this quite a bit and it doesn't budge throughout the day which is quite impressive because my eyes tend to water a lot in the cold weather. I got this as a freebie from Glamour magazine 2 issues ago and I will definitely be buying it again - a full sized version is £10 and comes in black, brown, purple and blue!

I apologise for the bad line as I find it quite difficult to do sometimes! The mascara I'm wearing is BadGal Lash from Benefit, a firm favourite of mine!

This post was significantly longer than I expected it to be but it was so much easier creating one post with little reviews as opposed to lots of smaller posts trying to come up with a decent length post about a product that I haven't got a lot to say about! I think if I recommended any of the products, they would be the Essie nail polish, Miners lip paint, Soap and glory gloss stick and eyeko eyeliner.

Let me know if you prefer this or individual posts! 

Jess xx

Tuesday's thoughts.

I finished my english coursework! 

The first draft was handed in today and I couldn't be happier that it's gone. It's been causing me far too much stress for what it's worth so I'm glad it's gone for a week or so...until my teacher marks it and gives it back again! 

I also forgot to say that I got a rejection from UCL on Thursday but I'm not down about it as I knew it would happen as my grades aren't good enough, I'm just glad they decided quickly! Looking at you now, Exeter. 

I have so much reading to do over the next week for my interview at Reading - I've had these books loaned out since October now and I'm only partially way through them so it will be rather interesting to see if I get them read on time! I'm just glad that I'm a quick reader! 

It's also going to be interesting over Christmas, I have to read: the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and The Iliad by Homer. Goodbye social life! 

Only 2 weeks and 3 days until I break up for the Christmas holidays and I couldn't be more excited. I love christmas so much and I really can't wait! 

I'm going to start doing a few of the reviews I promised you guys in October/November now I have time, hopefully you guys will like them! 

Hopefully normal blogging will start again soon and not be these update posts that I seem to be doing a lot of lately...and hopefully things get a bit more exciting so I can do more interesting blog posts!

Jess xx