High End vs. High Street.

2014 Blogger Challenge post time! The topic this time is in the title - High End vs. High Street! 

I'm not really sure what counts as 'High Street' and 'High End' as where I live, there are pretty expensive shops but they aren't to the standards of brands like Gucci or Prada. 

Clothes

I think, as a student and having no income (yay for having no time for a job...), I would have to say High Street is my favourite out of the two as they're more affordable and last quite a long time if you choose wisely. Some of my favourites are probably New Look, H! for Henry Holland and Red Herring in Debenhams, Next, Banana Republic and Crew. 

I own a lot of clothes from Crew because there are yearly factory/warehouse sales which are great for buying their clothing cheaper. The quality is amazing and even at full price, spending the money is worth it as the styles aren't seasonal and can be worn for however long you want! 

New Look is great for vest tops and ballet flats as they last for ages and are super cheap for the basics. I'm not a big fan of most of their clothes but when they have pieces I do like, they last for ages and fit me perfectly. 

Debenhams are perfect. Red Herring do some of my favourite pieces of clothing that I wear and will go back to over and over again and my two all time favourite dresses come from H! by Henry Holland. They both fit perfectly, have cute, fun designs that still look good and are made of great quality material. They're also not outrageously expensive. 

Next are the only place I'll buy jeans from. I have quite big legs which makes it a problem for me to buy jeans from designer places but Next make jeans of great quality that last for ages and look good too! There are also loads of styles and not just drainpipe skinny which is helpful for me as I suit straight leg better. 

I discovered Banana Republic when I went to Covent Garden a little while ago and I fell in love. This goes at the more expensive end of High Street with Crew because they go on the same sorts of prices. They have a perfect mix of classy and casual pieces that are amazing and I would happily buy most of their shop if I could afford it. I rarely say that about anywhere so they must be pretty awesome! I wish I could go there more often because the two tops I have from there are both perfect and look great!

I'm not sure how many of these really count as High Street but they're mostly affordable so I think that's how I would class them!

I'm not really sure how to class High End because different people class them as different things. I'm going to say that my favourite (and only) High End brand is naturally Kate Spade though. Their prices are completely ridiculous and a lot of their pieces are very hit and miss with me but when I find something I do like, I fall in love with it and then cry about the price tag. I was over the moon when I found out that there was a Kate Spade shop in London and I was even happier when I bought my first ever piece from there, my stripy bow top. I also have a ring, scarf, purse, bracelet and mug from there and I love them all. The quality is second to none for the clothes and while the jewellery has minor problems (magnetically held bracelets are NOT easy to wear in daily college life), I still love them. I try to go there when sales are on as the price drops are crazily good and make everything vaguely affordable but they're still more expensive than most of theHigh Street brands I previously mentioned! I think if their prices were lower I would be so much happier but I think I'll just have to put up with just staring at the pretty pieces over the internet for a little while longer (or forever unless I get a REALLY good job). 

Make Up

I love pretty much every piece of make up I have ever bought so this is a tough one. 

I would have to say though that as my favourite foundation (Max factor), lipstick (Rimmel), blusher (Ruby and Millie) and nail polish (Essie) are all High Street brands, I'm starting to lean that way.

However, my favourite mascara (Benefit), eyeshadow (Urban Decay) and eyeliner (Eyeko) are High End, so it does even itself out quite well. 

I think that because I use my High Street products more as I don't have a problem with replacing them due to their cheap prices, I can say that I prefer them. I also have fairly good High Street options for mascaras and eyeliners to choose from as replacements for my High End versions. Urban Decay will never be beaten on the eyeshadow (or primer!) front though - I'm definitely willing to spend out for them as they're so good and last for so long! They're also cruelty free which is a nice addition!

I would happily use more high end brands for make up because they are good quality, but the high street ones aren't that much worse and the quality difference doesn't compensate spending another £10/£20 essentially just for a name plastered on the side. Yes, the packaging is prettier, but the product in the tube is what counts really!

I do love both, but for affordability purposes, High Street wins hands down here for me! 

Jess xx

Challenge post three.

Favourites of 2013

I would do posts with specific topic favourites but there isn't enough time left in this year to do that so I thought I would put all of my favourite things from this year into one bigger post!

Make Up

BadGal Lash Mascara - Benefit 

I love this so much and always reach for it when I'm wearing make up. It makes my lashes look so much longer while still looking natural which I think is really great! It also doesn't give me panda eyes and only comes off if I rub my eyes so for a non-waterproof mascara, it's amazing! My new MAC mascara might overtake though because it's also amazing!

Bahama Mama - Essie

I know I didn't get this too long ago but I love it so much that I couldn't not include it! The colour is probably one of my favourite Essie shades that I've tried out to date and it's such a great colour for this time of the year. 

Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette - Urban Decay
I've actually had this for years and will do a proper review eventually, but I started using more make up this year and these eyeshadows are by far my favourites. The colours are all limited edition and they're so gorgeous, mainly shimmery which I love, and so long lasting!

Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 - Rimmel
I've already reviewed this here but I have to include it as I wore it so much this year. I love the colour, the smell, how long it lasts, just everything! If you only ever buy one red lipstick, make it this one because it's probably my favourite.

Whipped Creme Foundation in Natural - Max Factor
This is the first foundation I've tried that actually covers up the redness and dry patches by my nose so that says a lot. It's so light and the shade is perfect for me so I'm really happy to have discovered this beauty!

Baby Lips - Maybelline
These have been saviours on more occasions than I can count. They smell amazing, look amazing and give a subtle wash of colour if you aren't feeling too adventurous. They also make my lips super soft which is great!

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudists and Raplumzel - Soap and Glory
I love these so much. Both colours are fantastic, applying them is super simple and they last for quite a long time for glosses. I reviewed Raplumzel here.

Books

How To Fall In Love - Cecelia Ahern

I bought this for 99p on my kindle a few of days ago and I finished it yesterday. I'm not usually a fast reader but I tend to read faster on my kindle and when the book is good and boy, was this book good. I love Cecelia Ahern and the new book of hers is no exception. It's such a sweet story about helping someone else and inadvertently helping yourself at the same time. Cecelia definitely knows how to write a good character and a realistic storyline, I recommend this book 100%!

The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes

I read this book over my half term holiday as it was the only one that looked interesting in the sadly lacking selection of books that they had at the holiday home. I'm so glad I decided to pick it up though as I was, again, completely hooked! I didn't like how it was written point of view wise but once you get over that, it's such a great read and has a great ending that was unexpected and so heartwarming! There are a lot of lost memory, self discovery books out there but out of the ones I've read, this is probably my favourite one by far! It follows two storylines in different times and the ending brings them both together in such a great way! It's almost a love story mixed with a detective story and I found it so exciting, I had it finished in about 5 days, in between going out and doing holiday homework!

Films

Despicable Me 2
I loved the first one and this one was possibly even better! The minions are my favourite things in any film, they're so adorable! Apparently they're making a minions film so I'm super excited for that!

Monsters University
I saw this twice, once at the cinema near college who hold a free film night once a month and another later on. First off, it started with a short film called "The Blue Umbrella" which is honestly the sweetest thing on this planet. I loved this film so much, it was funny to see all of the characters we know and love earlier on and to see how they became that way (Randall anyone?!).

General

Costa
The mid-week saviour for me and a couple of friends. It's quieter than the Starbucks just down the road as less college students are there so it's perfect for chatting and getting on with work as it feels more relaxed and laid back. Another plus point is that their coffee doesn't make me feel ill which is always nice!

Car boot sales
I only really went to these in Summer with Mark as my mum doesn't like them but they were always so much fun! I got some amazing deals on a lot of books and just trawling through all of the stuff at each stand made it just that bit more satisfying when I found something great.

My Burgundy Crew jumper
I've only had it for a week or so but I love it and it's probably my favourite jumper I have. It's super warm, looks great and is a really pretty, neutral colour. Definitely going to be a firm favourite for 2014 too!

I hope you guys enjoyed looking through my favourite things from this year, it was quite hard to choose as I've changed a lot and have quite a short memory span so thinking back to Summer is hard, let alone January!

Jess xx

It's not everyday you fangirl with your teacher...

Today has been an odd day. I set my alarm earlier than I thought I had so I ended up having loads of time to get ready this morning which was lovely! It also meant that I got to spend more time choosing what to wear and putting my make up on so I was happy with everything!

For my make up, I used Max Factor whipped creme foundation in Natural, Urban Decay eyeshadows in Drink Me, Eat Me and Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette, Ruby & Millie blusher (don't know the name as from an old palette), Benefit BadGal Lash mascara and L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick in Lovely Rose.
Vest is old from Next and the cardigan is from Crew. 

I get in to college half way through lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I tend to take a walk by the river because it puts me in a good mood and today I got to feed some ducks and geese which was really lovely as I haven't done that for quite a while!

In Classics, we watched The Big Lebowski which was a really odd but funny film, it's a shame we didn't get to see how it ended though! 

In English, we had a quiz in the last half of the lesson which was really fun, our team came second by half a point! One of the questions was "Who lives at 221B Baker Street?" and someone didn't know! Me and my teacher were completely shocked because we just assumed it was common knowledge. We ended up fangirling over the imminent return of Sherlock in the New Year and it's made me even more excited because now I get to talk to her about it when we come back for the Spring term!

I love the end of term as the lessons are always so relaxed with minimal work which is great fun! There is also nearly always food involved which is also great!

How have the last few days been for you guys? 

Jess xx 

P.S. Thank you to all of my new followers, I'm one away from 50 now and I've reached 60 on my Bloglovin so I'm really excited and happy that there are so many more of you reading! 

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

Sun, Sea and Sand in Sicily!

I've just come back from a week long trip to Sicily with my college - doing Ancient history and Classics = good trips to hot places! I haven't been on many plane journeys and I only remember one (yay Durham....) so it was quite exciting and scary to be going on a trip that was longer than an hour. It wasn't as bad as I had expected because everyone on the trip was sitting together so it was fun as we could talk to each other without annoying other passengers! On the way there, there was a 2 year old that wouldn't stop crying and screaming which was in the row in front of me. It was the single most annoying thing I've ever had to put up with.
The one thing I do love about flying is the duty free. You can buy things for cheaper so stuff that's a bit pricey is actually more affordable! After having my Benefit 'Laugh with me LeeLee' perfume for a while, I was super excited to see a benefit stall at duty free and I ended up searching through all of the different products until I found one that I fell in love with completely.

Cutest palette ever with the nicest colours!
The design is adorable!

The 3 eyeshadows are nice and subtle colours, very wearable!
Very handy mirror too! 

The kit contains 3 eyeshadows, creaseless cream eyeshadow,
bo-ing concealer, eye bright, bad gal lash mascara and 3 types of brush.

It also comes with a how-to booklet with added tricks!
It's so helpful and makes it easier to use!

Being someone who doesn't wear a lot of make up, this palette is perfect because it's subtle but looks amazing! The amount of powders and creams in the pack is overwhelming at the start but once you get your head around what goes where, it's so simple! I love it so much, it's really easy to apply and the booklet is super handy.

In Sicily, we visited lots of temples,  amphitheatres, a Roman town and other ancient buildings. We also went to the beach a lot which isn't usually my sort of thing, but it was nice to just relax at the beach after a long day of walking! Annoyingly nearly all of my pictures are still on my camera so I'll do an extra picture post when I put them on to my computer eventually! I have a couple of pictures from my phone of some of the beaches though!

This was taken from a beachside restaurant with the nicest pizza ever!

I didn't go on the beach here because it was too hot but the view was amazing! 

The weather was so nice out in Sicily, it was really hot but it was a different heat than it is in England so now I'm back it doesn't feel too hot!
On the last day, we got to look around Catania, a really nice town that looked how you would imagine Italy. We saw another amphitheatre that was right in the centre of the town and then we went shopping! United Colors (they spell it like that...it still annoys me...) of Benetton had a massive sale on so me and a couple of friends went for a browse and I found a really gorgeous top!

I have a weakness for stripes but at €21, how could I resist?!

I also have an addiction with spots...so at the airport back to England, I bought a spotty red scarf! It was €12.50 so it was amazing! It's such a nice, light material and it's actually really big when fully stretched out! I'm reminded of Minnie Mouse; it's a shame that the weather isn't cold enough to wear it at the moment though!

Minnie mouse scarf!

It was a really great trip and I got to spend time with some of my favourite people from college and get closer to others so it's been a great start to summer so far! 

Jess xx

The Perfect Weekend.

This weekend made me realise that there's nothing that I love more than cuddling in bed playing pacman at 11pm with someone you care a lot about.

This weekend, as the title says, was really quite perfect. I went to see my close friend (&now boyfriend - yay!) down in Dorchester Friday-Sunday and it was really great! 

Friday was a relaxed day because it took 2 and a half hours by train to get down there which took up quite a bit of the day and included a stupid delay at my station so we had to go to the next station on which was quite stressful! From there everything was fine though; I got to Reading without any problems, got my coffee and some other bits & bobs and managed to balance 2 rather large bags, a coffee and a train ticket whilst walking through a barrier. I feel quite proud of myself for achieving this really! When I got there we decided what to do on Saturday and decided on the cinema so to prepare, we watched Despicable Me on DVD (plus all the extras - the minions are so so funny!). It must be one of my favourite films EVER. It's adorable and the minions and little girls are just hilarious and amazing! 

On Saturday we went to Weymouth which was really nice - it's a really pretty seaside town with lots of shops....me + shops = lots of shopping, and that's exactly what happened! I ended up getting some gorgeous black and white polka dot sandal wedges from Debenhams in the sale for £17.50 and they're just amazing! I'm going to take them on my trip to Sicily next week and gove them a good run out! They're so cute and comfortable too, I love them!

The perfect pair of wedges

I still can't believe they were only £17.50!

I was telling Mark about a perfume I've heard a lot about from other blogs and what not and how it smelled amazing. I went to the loo and I came back and he'd bought it for me as a present! He's really so adorable and it's amazing! (Just as a side note - we've been unofficial for about a month and a half, it's not like he's buying me amazing presents after a day of dating, don't worry!) The perfume is Laugh with me LeeLee by Benefit and it really is the most gorgeous and delicate summery floral smell. They describe it as a woody floral smell in the booklet and that's pretty much spot on I think! It's pretty and subtle so it's really good for an every day wear instead of a special occasion perfume. It also comes in the cutest packaging as well, I'm in love completely! It's so cute! The bottle is also amazing too!

If you haven't tried this out then do, it's really amazing! 

I also went to New Look and bought a couple of strappy tops for Sicily because they'll be good to wear in the super hot weather! I got a white one and a pink one and they're both so nice! 

We saw Despicable Me 2 in the cinema and it's honestly one of the funniest films I've ever seen. It matches and possibly even beats the first one which is pretty impressive! The little minion clips during the first part of the credits were also just as funny, I just can't get enough of those yellow guys! The purple minions were hilarious too! It's definitely one of my favourite non-Disney films though, so brilliant! 

We went to Dorchester centre on the Sunday and it was so lovely. There was a market which was really nice to look around and I ended up buying 8 books!!! I spent £8.50 on them put together instead of on only one so I'm pretty happy! I regret not getting more though because I overlooked some books because I thought mum had them but it turned out that she didn't so yeah...silly on my part really! I'm really excited to read the books I did get though! I've either heard really good things about the books, the authors or I thought they sounded interesting so I'm rather excited to give them a read! At least I won't be short of reading material on the Sicily trip! If you've read any of the books then tell me what they're like in the comments below!

I can't wait to start this pile! They all look so good! 

We also had a really lovely and romantic lunch at Carluccio's which was pretty perfect! I've decided I like Mark's neck of the woods rather a lot... His house is in the middle of nowhere and in a proper village like out of TV shows but it isn't completely remote because there are some pretty nice and rather big towns quite close by which is really nice! It makes where I live feel like the middle of a busy city! It's a shame we live so far apart because it's so lovely spending time with him and it's rather special and fun when we're together. He's one of those people I just click with and can have a great time with so yeah, pretty perfect if you ask me!
Jess xx