"I’ve always thought of lipstick as my version of a superhero’s cape.You put it on and you feel like you could do anything!"

I saw the picture below on cocosteaparty's Instagram earlier and I followed the link to her interview with Lipstick Queen's founder, Poppy King. 

Picture from cocosteaparty on Instagram

I've been wanting to try this brand for a while but haven't really had any chance to buy any products as A) I haven't seen them in any shops I've been in to recently and B) They aren't exactly cheap for a lipstick. 

However, after reading this interview, I'm definitely going to make sure I at least look at the brand if I do see them as Poppy seems to understand that lipstick for some people is something they use to feel special and even powerful in everyday situations and that a good lipstick can completely transform a look and increase confidence. I love seeing passionate people doing what they love so I'll happily support her by buying one of her lipsticks!

I think the quote I've used from the interview as my title definitely sums up what wearing lipstick is to me - it isn't completely necessary but it does help to just give me an extra boost as I know it can improve appearance in seconds and definitely gives me that confidence I sometimes need! I would probably even say that if I had to only choose one beauty product, it would be a lipstick. When I'm feeling lazy, I tend to only wear mascara and lipstick when I go out as it can still look fairly put together. 

I also love the fact that Poppy says that she's inspired by all different types of art and media, even history and culture which I find awesome and really interesting myself! The world around us can be so inspiring and it's quite interesting to see how it can even inspire cosmetics. I know I get inspired to take photos or write posts from what I see, read or hear every day so it's awesome to see that same inspiration being used to create a product that is aimed to "show women the true power of lipstick" as she says. 

I think my favourites that I've found from the brand so far are:

Lipstick Queen Saint in Rose - £20

Lipstick Queen Sinner in Natural - £20

Lipstick Queen Chinatown in Pink Bluff - £22

I have a bit of a thing for neutral pink colours at the moment as I find them so wearable and pretty if you get the right shade! I don't think there's any point in spending a lot of money on a lipstick if you won't wear it because you got it in a bright colour that you can't wear often - you're not showing it off then! I'd rather have a special lipstick that I can wear everyday as something a bit more fancy instead of keeping it in my drawer collecting dust.

Have any of you guys tried a Lipstick Queen lipstick? What do you think of them?

Jess xx

It's an American brand so Lipstick Queen only seems to be available in John Lewis and Space NK Apothecary in the UK.

Survey!

I've been blogging for about a year and a half now and as it's the start of the new year, I thought I would create a survey that you guys could answer, telling me what I could do differently and improve on my blog! 

You can fill it out for free HERE.

There are only four questions so I would really appreciate it if you could take some time to answer it so I can make my blog better!

Jess xx

2013 vs 2014.

I know my Blogger challenge post is meant to be a substitution for resolutions/goals, but I find that it's always nice to have them written down somewhere so I thought I'd share mine from last year (2013 resolutions) and come up with some new ones!

2013

Revise work from the beginning - I sucked at this last year and it hasn't really changed if I'm honest. I just need to revise earlier.

Read more - Time is a problem for me. I work a lot and spend the rest of my time blogging. I did manage to read a few books just for the fun of it this year and I loved them all! I also read a few books surrounding my subjects which were good!

Take more photos - I fulfilled this when I went to Sicily with college but apart from that, I didn't get many chances to just take photos with friends. I've taken lots more photos for my blog though if that counts!

Don't get as easily distracted - I've been getting better at forcing myself to work but when I'm not motivated, I'm in trouble.

Be confident in myself - I'm so much happier than I was last year about the way I look and just myself in general. I feel like I know my style and what suits me better now so bring on 2014!

Talk to people more - I've spoken to some more people and made some good friends so I think I accomplished this!

Make an effort with friends - I met up with my friends quite a bit this year but still not as much as I would have liked. However, to get decent grades and get into Uni, work comes first (which they know) so I'm quite happy with the amount I did see people!

Blog more! - I blogged more because I had a full year instead of five months of blogging this year, but I added up the number of posts, and I did the exact same amount August - December which I find really creepy!

2014

Revise earlier - As I said above, I need to start revising earlier. Last year I assumed that I could fit all of my revision into less than a month which ended pretty badly. This year I'm going to start revising much earlier so I have time to revise it all more than once (I hope!) or at least have a firm understanding in what I've done.

Take better control over my health - I've mentioned before that I'm diabetic and sometimes it seems to become completely out of control. I also think that I need to start being more healthy so this year, I'm going to try and keep record of my diabetes and eat better and possibly try and exercise more when I get time. 

Be more organised - I bought a weekly planner last year and even though it was great to start with, I neglected it a bit in the last months of using it which is rubbish because it helped me keep on top of work and I even wrote blog ideas down! It was seriously useful and as my life is set to only get busier, I think it will be great to start organising my time and sticking to my plans using it. I also need to make sure all of my work is organised so I can fin everything I need to revise easier. 

Improve my blogging - My blogging has been so patchy but as I now have more followers and viewers than I've ever had, I really want to try and improve my blogging pattern, style and just generally how and what I blog about! I'll obviously still do the same sorts of posts because I love writing about nearly everything, but I'm going to try and be more organised, maybe write a post every other day or so? I'll have to try things out and see how they go! I'll also need to see how I can fit blogging in between my homework and revision too. 

Focus - Even if it means forcing myself to sit at a desk and write or read anything, I need to focus on my work more, no matter how much motivation I'm lacking. This year will be the most important for me so slacking really isn't an option. 

I feel like 2013 has gone by so fast and I'm sad to see it go as it's been amazing - I've made better friendships with some people, found confidence (or at least the start of it) in myself and been much happier than other years. Hopefully 2014 will be just as good to me and I'm excited for it to start!

Jess xx

New Years Inspiration

This is the first post of the 2014 Blogger Challenge and it's a great topic to start off with! 

Instead of writing new years resolutions on your blog, share a quote or a picture that inspires you and you think will inspire others in the New Year.

I find quotes and pictures that inspire me every day so I thought I'd share a few inspirational things rather than just one!

I hope you all have a fantastic year and some of these quotes inspire you or at least make you smile!

Jess xx

An Interview!

Lizzie at Head-full-of-flowers asked on her most recent post for bloggers to interview so I offered and answered her questions! It was a lot of fun to answer so thanks for that! 

Check out the interview here!

Jess xx 

2014 Blogger Challenge!

I have a lot of work at the moment so when I came across this little piece of awesome on Barbs' blog, I just couldn't resist joining in on the fun!

This was basically thought up by Gaby of AnotherGirlyBlog who now has over 200 bloggers on board! 

So what is it about?

On the 1st and 3rd weeks each month of 2014, Gaby will send out a topic for each blogger involved to write about. It doesn't matter what type of blog you are, she's encouraging bloggers to write about things they wouldn't usually cover which I think is rather exciting and I can't wait to start! 

I've been struggling for ideas and time recently so having set topics and blogging times will be quite interesting and I hope it works out pretty well!

I really hope to meet and speak to new bloggers through this and if you're interested, all you have to do is email Gaby with your name, URL and email address by following the link to her post above and she will add you to the ever-growing list! 

The first email goes out on 9th of December so hopefully you guys will join in the fun! 

Jess xx

Google searches.

I had a quick look at my page stats and one of my most popular posts was my review of the Collection cream puff lip cream. I wanted to know why as it wasn't anything special or out of the ordinary with hundreds of comments...(unlike the Holiday post that got me and Kate talking...ahem.) so I googled the lip cream....and there my blog was, third hit down, under a link to the boots website. The only other blog review above mine was one from a blogger with 1700+ followers so that didn't surprise me...but every single other blog review under mine had at least triple the amount of followers I do! 

I don't know how this happened and I'm still in shock, my blog is a first page google hit!!!!!!!! It's not really much to be proud of but I'm so happy right now! 

It's right there and I can't believe it! Right under Boots!

Jess xx

Stress.

I have an incredibly bad case of over stressing about nearly everything. I worry about work, friends, family, money, my future, my appearance, my health and about a million other things all at once. Sometimes, it isn't so bad, but when I really think about what I have to do, it completely overwhelms me and I get really panicked. 

I didn't get good grades at AS so I have to do 3 extra exams in June which means I have to start revising earlier and a lot more. Now my UCAS is being processed by my chosen Universities, I'm worrying whether I will get any offers because my predicted grades I have been given aren't particularly good and one of my back ups changed their grades to be slightly higher, meaning my favourite University is actually my lowest grade so I have no back up choice. I've been a given an interview next month so I'm also worrying about that, just incase I'm not good enough for them or if I say the wrong thing. 

I feel like I'm running out of time and like I don't have enough time to fit in all of my homework and coursework while fitting in the books I need to read from my personal statement from my interview and I just feel completely overwhelmed with the amount of things I need to do, all with equal importance so nothing can be prioritised apart from by due date. 

I already spoke of being diabetic and I'm scared that if I end up stressing too much, my blood sugar will start to get out of control and I'll end up with unwanted health problems. I've also gained a bit of weight in the last few months which is also bad because it means my lack of exercise is actually making a difference and I feel like I'm being generally unhealthy but I can't do anything about it because I only have time for homework and the occasional blog post when things get too much. I know I need to change my ways but I just can't seem to fit anything into my schedule. 

I don't get to see my friends outside of college apart from the very occasional party so I feel like I'm drifting away from them which is terrifying as most of them have been my friends since I was 11 so I cant bear to think of losing them because I don't have time to fit them in at the moment. 

I also know that I need a job to fund anywhere I do end up going with people as it will inevitably cost money but I don't have time to get a job and wherever I do apply, they never even interview me, let alone offer me the job as I have no experience whatsoever. It worries me that I'll never be able to get experience so I won't be able to get a job in Summer when I will need to be saving up money for University.

The only things that are keeping me sane at the moment are this blog and talking to a new friend on Tumblr as it's nice to get to know new people (hi Jake, if you're reading). 

I seem to be crying a lot and feeling really moody because of this lately but I don't really know any ways of de-stressing. 

If anyone has any tips for not stressing out completely and having a breakdown, I'd very much appreciate it right now.

Jess xx

The Sunshine Blogger Award

I've been nominated for the Sunshine award by Kate which I'm really happy and grateful for! I love her blog and she's a great person so I'm really happy with this!

"The whole idea of the Sunshine Award is that you nominate eleven bloggers who put a little sunshine in your day, who are positive, creative, and inspiring."

The Rules:

- You have to post a picture of the Sunshine award in the blog post. 

- Post 11 random facts about yourself.

- Answer the 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

- Nominate 11 wonderful bloggers.

- Write 11 questions for them to answer.

- Let the bloggers you nominated know you have nominated them.

11 facts:

- I'm a diabetic with a sweet tooth and a severe needle phobia. Oh, the irony.

- I own over 20 scarves and I still want more, they're my clothing obsession.
- I just hit 1,000 views this month and I couldn't be happier, thank you everyone!
- I wear skirts and dresses more in theAutumn/Winter than I do in Summer.
- I almost never wear tights, instead I wear leggings because they keep me warmer and mean that I don't have to worry about flashing as much!
- If I don't know what to wear in the morning, I do my make up first and decide on those colours, then build an outfit around that.
- I would love to work in a museum one day, artefacts absolutely fascinate me!
- If I don't end up following a career in Archaeology/Ancient History, I want to become a journalist or write in a magazine.
- I find people that think they know everything highly annoying.
- I'm a grammar and spelling freak. I correct everyone and everything. 
- I am basically connected to my phone, it keeps me in the loop with so many things and makes it so much easier to stay organised; the notes and reminders apps are by far the most used things on my phone!

Kate's questions for me:

- Best day of your life?
10th May 2012. Or Prom. It was amazing, and after prom was equally special. I have so many fantastic friends and it was great to hang out with them all and just have fun!
- Favourite flower?
I love all flowers, they always look so pretty together; I can't choose just one!
- Are your toenails currently painted?
Nope! I only ever paint my fingers.
- A quote to live by?
"Aerodynamically a bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway" - Mary Kay Ash
- Biggest problem in your life right now?
Stress. I stress over everything.
- What does your most recent text message say?
Night! :)
- 13th line on the 123rd page of your favourite book?
I don't have a favourite book! I have several!
- Do you read a newspaper?
I have a news email update every day which is great!
- What song is in your head right now?
Lose Yourself cover by Hudson Taylor and Orla Gartland.
- What will you be doing in 19 hours' time?
It will be 5am so I hope I will be asleep!
- Favourite website?
Blogger or Polyvore! Or tumblr, instagram, pinterest....there are a lot.

Nominees:
I nominated my favourite blogs for the Versatile Bloggers Award the other week! 
If you want to do this, then do! I love reading these and finding out about other bloggers!

I'll nominate Amy, Anna and Rosie though because I love these girls' blogs and they're lovely too!

My questions:

- Favourite part of your room?

- Favourite artist?
- Thing you own the most of?
- What is the one thing you wish you could do better?
- Favourite possession?
- Favourite smell?
- Something you're addicted to?
- Favourite TV show?
- Last holiday?

Hope you guys enjoyed this! I'm off on holiday this week so I will post if I find internet but I don't know if I will!
Jess xx

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was originally nominated a couple of weeks ago by my real life awesome friend Kate and I found that I've also been nominated by the amazing Amy today so I figured that I should actually do this! I'm honestly so grateful to these girls as they both have great blogs and it's lovely to think that I do too! You should definitely check out both of their blogs, they're great!

The Rules:
1. Once you've been nominated, you must display the Versatile Blogger Award somewhere on your blog.
2. Make sure to thank your nominator and leave a link to their blog.
3. Write 7 facts about you so new readers and old followers get to learn a bit more about you as a person and not just 'the blogger'.
4. Nominate your favourite bloggers for the award too!

7 facts about me

I'm in my final year of sixth form studying Ancient History, Classical Civilisation and English Literature.

I want to study Archaeology and Ancient History at Uni and am applying this year, I'm hoping to go to Cardiff because it's such a lovely Uni and the course is fantastic!

Reading is my favourite hobby and even though I don't have much time on my hands, I always carry a book around with me incase I get a spare 10 minutes or have to wait for a train!

I have a very mixed music taste and most of my favourites are pretty unheard of. Orla Gartland, Hudson Taylor, Lauren Aquilina, Lewis Watson, Lisa Hannigan, Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson anyone? Passenger, Gabrielle Aplin and Paolo Nutini are other favourites of mine. I also like bands such as Madness, Johnny Get The Gun and The Wombats.

I have never dyed my hair and I don't want to. I have copper tones running through my hair already and I love the way it shines in the light! People always used to say I'd look good with black hair though...I disagree.

I have an unhealthy addiction to nail polish and lipstick. I own 22 of each and I love them all, I haven't worn all of the colours of nail polish yet though. My next product I'm looking at is a MAC lipstick though, I really want to say I own one!

I said this a couple of weeks ago but Autumn is my favourite season, October is probably my favourite month too. I just love the changing colour of the leaves, the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and that you get to wear cuddly scarves, jumpers and boots, my favourite pieces of clothing!

Writing this has been really fun and I hope you guys have learnt something new about me! It's hard to choose because there are so many amazing blogs out there, but I'm going to choose these bloggers as they're lovely and have a great writing style!:

Alexi

Rosie

Emily

Lauren

Caitlin

Barbs

I hope you check these girls out, they're all great!
Jess xx

Fears and communication.

I had a blood test done this morning...it didn't go well. I'm diabetic but I have a massive fear of needles. Ironic, I know. I get quite stressed out about having my blood taken but today my blood sugar went too low half way through and it ended up that I was shaking so much that the nurse had to stop half way through doing it because she physically couldn't get any more blood out...fun. I almost fainted and felt really sick so in the end she let me go with only half of it done. 

It stressed me out loads and I've not been feeling right the whole day. I feel so drained and tired and also quite sick so I've been curled up in my favourite comfy lounge trousers since I returned from college, looking for more blogs to follow. I've found some really gorgeous blogs and some really lovely people who have kindly followed me back and commented on posts which had cheered me up a lot.

I love finding new blogs and new people to talk to, you never know who you will meet with just a few lines on a post of theirs and a click of the 'publish' button! Talking to new people is one of my favourite things to do because 99% of the time, bloggers are the loveliest people you will meet and real life people are pretty nice most of the time too as long as you make the effort. 

I always make sure I talk to people that comment on my posts because I don't want to give the impression of being distant! The amount of bloggers that I see ignoring their commenters and followers confuse me, I don't understand why people wouldn't want to reply to someone that obviously decided to bridge the distance and attempt to communicate with them! Every time I've spoken to a blogger, it's always been great and I actually now have a great real-life friend from blogging so it works out well quite a lot of the time! 

Jess xx

The Wrong Direction.

All of my posts seem to be about my make up buys over the last month and I assume they're getting pretty boring! To be honest though, my life isn't particularly exciting either...
I'm very close to finishing my personal statement and I honestly don't understand how people are finding it so hard to write about why they want to do the subject; surely if you love it enough to want to do it at Uni then you should be able to write about it? I found it hard to start but once I got going, I managed to write the rest in under an hour and a half. When I gave it to my tutor, she gave me really good feedback and helped me structure and word it better for my next draft. It was quite a bit over the character limit but I'm so pleased with it! She also managed to find a way to fit my blog into my personal statement and make it sound like it's relevant for my course!
UCAS is a nightmare though. It takes so much effort to write in each grade you got for each module of each subject done since GCSE so trying to find the right course then the right version of the subject is nearly impossible. Luckily I'm almost finished which is great!

A few things that have been going through my head recently:
1. I need to work and revise more.
2. I'm so excited for Uni, but which to choose?
3. Cardiff do Journalism, English Lit, Creative Writing and Fashion and Beauty societies? Awesome. When can I start?
4. I miss London.
5. This song.
6. I need a job but too much college work.
7. I can't wait for Christmas.
8. I get distracted way too easily.
9. Also, this song!
10. I wish more people would find my blog, I love getting my voice out!
11. I wonder what doing YouTube videos would be like?
12. I want all of the Uni stuff out of the way so I can make my final two choices!
13. This year is going crazily fast, how is it almost Christmas already?! I'm so excited for next year though.
14. Sophie Ellis-Bextor is the best on Strictly Come Dancing, I don't care what anyone else says!
15. X Factor gets worse every year, why do we still watch it?!

 Hope you enjoyed this insight into my mind! And just to see how much of a workaholic I am as every other thought is related to work or Uni...
Jess xx

September!

It's the end of September which also means the end of my post challenge! I'm really happy to say that I actually managed to do equal to a post every day! It was quite hard to think of ideas towards the end but luckily my spending habits gave me a few extra things to talk about! 

I've had quite a few more views this month which is really nice to see! Hopefully people keep coming back after this month is over!

I've found that doing a blog post each day has actually been great because it means that I get a little time off doing homework and I get to just write for myself a little each day which I really love. It's a great stress reliever to be able to write about whatever I feel like and other things I love instead of doing solid work all of the time. 

Thanks for reading guys! 

Jess xx

Worry.

I am underestimating the amount of work I have to do for my lessons and personal statement. I keep trundling along, just doing the pieces of work I've been given in my lessons, but not doing anything else to improve the amount of stuff I can write about in my personal statement. I also need to do more of the actual personal statement come to think of it! 

There is very little happening in my life apart from college work and preparing for Uni currently and I'm worried because I don't seem to understand the sheer enormity of the workload I already have, three weeks in to the first term of college. I could be doing so much more than what I am so I think I'm going to try and work harder and for longer by using my frees at college properly so I can use my time at home to focus on my personal statement and things to go towards it. 

Hopefully I can stick to my plan and get more done, but this also means that I probably won't be posting as regularly after this month which is a shame! This year is completely focussed on my A levels and everything else is having to be put second.

Jess xx

Moving on.

I've been so busy sorting out various things for Uni and it's been a really hectic week! 

I've been talking to my teachers and I'm now predicted BBB after my AS results which I'm quite happy about to be honest! It means that I'm more likely to get lower offers from Uni so I will be able to get in to the Unis I really like! I think BBB is more realistic than AAB for me and it's still good enough which makes me happy! It takes a bit more pressure off me so I have realistic goals, not unachievable ones. 

I've also sorted out two lectures at Roehampton Uni over the next couple of months which I'm really excited about! They relate to my Classics course so it'll be great for my exams too! 

I'm starting my Young Leader and Adult Leader qualifications with my Brownie group over this term as well so I'm quite excited that I'll get to do this before I leave next year - it's a great thing to put on my personal statement and CV so I'm excited!

I also found out that I can talk about my blog on my personal statement so I'm happy that I will get to use this for something finally!

Jess xx

My favourite things - comforts.

I love writing lists of things, whether it's about books or songs I want to remember, or a list of things I want to buy. 

There are loads of little things in life that I love!

 1. Movie days
 2. Spending all day in my pjs
3. Good books that make me feel anything
4. Long train journeys
5. Big jumpers/cardigans
6. Spending time with my older (secondary school) friends
7. People saying they still read my blog after telling them about it ages ago
8. Watching Disney films wrapped up in my duvet
9. Reading magazines before going to bed
10. Getting into my lounge trousers after a day at college
11. Writing blog posts that I'm completely happy with
12. Listening to Ingrid Michaelson and Lisa Hannigan
13. Chocolate chip cookies
14. Shopping without looking for something specific
15. Watching my favourite TV shows
16. Scarves
17. Getting my nails painted
18. New stationery
19. Learning new things
20. Finding a new singer/songwriter who is really talented
21. Mint choc chip and cookie dough ice cream

Hope you guys enjoy! I might have to do some more lists because I liked writing this!
Jess xx

Bloggers rant.

I was looking through people who share the same interests as me today in hope of finding some new blogs to follow but instead, I end up looking through at least 20 different blogs by different people that had maybe one or two posts on it from 2009/2010!

Each of the posts said something along the lines of 'I'm excited to start blogging, I have so many great ideas!' and then nothing! I don't understand how someone with enthusiasm for writing a blog can just forget about it and leave it unattended for three or four years without even thinking about it once! I know I feel guilty any time I leave my blog for a large amount of time (more like 2 days!) so I don't really understand how they can abandon it. Some of them had pretty interesting names as well which is disappointing! I suppose if like me they do quite hard subjects and they have to work a lot for them, then don't have much time for anything else so the blog is forgotten eventually. It's still a shame to see how many times this happens, especially as I wasn't looking through any type of blog, just people with the same sort of interests so it doesn't seem to be an uncommon thing found in only one type of blog! 

On that note, I'm going to share some links of my favourite regular bloggers! 

• The College Prepster - Based in US, guaranteed at least one post a day and they're always really interesting, Carly gives regular suggestions for music, clothes, stationary etc! This blog is one of the first things I read in the morning to get me awake because I know it will always be there. (thank you time differences!) She also does an email every Sunday which is an extra little thing that I just love to read come Monday morning!
• MissBudgetBeauty - Based in UK, guaranteed at least one post a day, but get two or three most days! Mikhila gives really good suggestions and reviews for beauty products widely available in drugstores (Boots and Superdrug) and online! I've bought a few products based off her recommendations and I haven't been disappointed yet! 
• Kerralina - Based in UK, Kerry isn't as frequent with posts as she used to be, but when she does post they're always amazing and make you envy her life! I usually get some good laughs out of reading her funny little life stories and sometimes she has good advice and suggestions for products to try! 
• Someone Like You - Based in US, there is nearly always a daily post. Lauren has pictures of her outfit each day at the top of the post and she has some really nice outfits that are pretty simple to imitate if you have staple items! She is an avid thrifter and sometimes gives really good tips for shopping and for going to Uni which is helpful at my age! 
• Sophee - Based in UK, there are posts maybe once a month but when she posts it's always something interesting, be that a product or a day out she had! 
• Classy Girls Wear Pearls - Based in US, also a non-regular blogger but Sarah's posts are always filled with her and her friend's outfits and days that look so perfect and are really fun to look through every now and again. I'm majorly jealous of her and her boyfriend's lifestyle! 
• Smilingismyfavourite - Based in UK, Kate posts quite regularly and is really lovely! She does posts about her life, products she's used and little reviews about various things! We also started our blogs at roughly the same time and she's now a real life friend (if you regularly read you will know this!) so it would be nice to give her some extra views!

Hope you guys enjoy my little rant and suggestion for blogs to look out for, I really love all of them! 

Jess xx

Blog's first birthday!

It's been a year since I wrote my first blog post (I was the ultimate cringe, forgive me!) and what better way to spend it than with my one and only friend made from blogging, Kate! We went to Guildford and did quite a bit of shopping which was loads of fun!
A year has gone by stupidly fast and even though I only have 10 followers, I appreciate every single one and anyone who reads my blog for that matter! Every page view makes me happy! -virtual hug-

Getting in to Guildford was rather stressful - my train decided that it would be delayed for 20 minutes before showing up and Kate also had train problems so yeah....that was a good start! We ended up wandering around for a bit and then decided to go to New Look where we ended up buying the same skirt! Luckily we don't see each other often enough for it to matter, just another thing to show our similar tastes! I've been looking for a floral skirt that I like for ages and this one is perfect; I have lots of nice tops that have pinks, reds and white in them so they'll go perfectly with it! The skirt is made of a really light and soft material and is really swishy (if that's even an adjective...) so it looks really pretty!

I love it so much!

I love the pattern so much! 

It wasn't a true trip to Guildford without a visit to the American sweet shop. I haven't bought any for ages so I think I was well restrained! That, and the fact that the stock they had wasn't terribly good. I got my usual favourites and also picked up a box of berry flavour sour patch kids which are really good!  

I've heard countless bloggers rave on about these tinted lip balms for months now, but they've only been available in UK shops since the beginning of the week. There's a 3 for 2 on Maybelline at Boots so instead of just getting the 2 colours I wanted, I also got a 3rd free of charge! 

Baby Lips are supposedly super moisturising and make your lips softer and I can tell you, the hype was definitely worth it because these are the best lip balms I've ever had (either equal to or better than my tinted Burt's bees lip balms but yeah, still really good!). Their claims are pretty big but they're definitely up to scratch; I've been wearing one for an hour and a half or so now and my lips already feel softer. Quite a few lip products are quite sticky but these aren't at all, they feel light and you barely notice them! It takes a couple of goings over to get a really strong/bright colour but it also means that you get a choice with the strength of the colour you decide to make your lips which I find really good!  

From left to right: Pink Punch, Cherry Me, Peach Kiss

How cute is the packaging?!

They each have a smell corresponding to their names (Pink Punch is just fruity) and they're just fantastic! I think overall Peach Kiss is my favourite because the colour is more wearable every day as it matches my lips almost exactly and I'm a sucker for anything peach so it's perfect! Cherry Me is also a lovely smell but it takes longer to get it to an equal colour over all of my lips so it isn't as good for me. I really like Pink Punch but I have a feeling I'd need to be in the right mood to wear it because it is pretty bright. The colour and smell are still nice though! 

We went to H&M because there are usually pretty good deals in the sales and boy did I find one! This deep orange jumper was originally £7 in the sale but it had 2 holes in (one on the shoulder, one on the left of the jumper on the pic) so I managed to get the price down to £5 because they were pretty bad! Luckily my grandma is a dab hand at sewing and sewed the holes back up so now it looks brand new and I got a big discount from it! It's quite baggy but still looks good, plus it has a really cute neck too! I can't wait to wear it through autumn with some leggings and my brown boots, hopefully it'll look good!  

As I said earlier, I'm a sucker for anything peach and when I was at Sicily, the only alcohol I liked was Bellini (Prosecco and Peach puree). I came home from my trip today and mum had bought me this! It's a non-alcoholic version of Bellini but it tastes almost identical, even keeping the slightly sharp/bitter aftertaste and fizziness of the Prosecco! It's also amazing because it apparently has 1 of your 5 a day so it's even healthy!

All in all, I think today was a pretty brilliant way of celebrating my blog anniversary, thanks to everyone who's been a part of this so far! I hope you keep reading! 

Jess xx

P.S. You know I said I'd keep you updated on the Barry M nail polish? Yeah...it hasn't worked out so great! 

Left hand

Right hand

As you can see, they haven't lasted very well! I haven't used a top coat because I don't own any but they had already chipped a little bit the night after I had put the nail polish on which doesn't bode well. The nail polish also stops looking as shiny and nice quite quickly and now looks dull and smudged even though I didn't touch it at all while it was drying (I left my nails for about half an hour before checking them). I'm quite glad that it's only cheap because it wouldn't be worth any more sadly! It's a shame because the colours are amazing! I might just have to invest in a top coat so my Barry M nail polish isn't a waste!

Sunshine Blogger Award

So my friend Kate has nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger award which has made me so happy today! Apparently people are nominated for their blog if someone thinks that it "positively and creatively inspires others in the blogosphere" (had to nick that from you, Kate, I haven't seen anything else about this award apart from this!). I feel really happy and proud that she thinks that my blog is good enough to qualify for that!!
Another part of the award is that the nominator sets the nominee 10 questions, so here are mine!

1. What was the best day of your life? The first day I think of when people ask that is Prom. It was so amazing and it was spent with some of my favourite people in the world! 
2. Your favourite thing about your bedroom? I love my room but I can't choose anything that I like the best! Probably my bed though...it's a good bed. 
3. Your proudest achievement to date? I'm not sure if I have a proudest moment! I would probably say when I got my GCSE results back because I had proof that all of my hard work had payed off! 
4. Favourite TV show? I love a lot of TV shows, including Sherlock, Merlin, Bones, House and Doctor Who, but my ultimate favourite is NCIS. It's so funny and has amazing, constant story lines, plus it's had 10 seasons now which is awesome, season 11 will begin filming in September so I'm super excited! 
5. Something you're addicted to? (or practically addicted to!) American sweets, internet window shopping, Starbucks and sleep are probably the biggest ones! 
6. Who's your celebrity crush? I don't really have a celebrity crush...I have people I think are awesome (Hugh Laurie, Robert Downy Jr, Matt Smith...hello? All awesome and funny!) but no one I have a crush on!
7. Where do you hope to be in 10 years time? As my friends like to say; "digging a hole in the ground somewhere!"... Yeah... Something to do with archaeology hopefully so if that's fieldwork or museums, I don't mind as long as I'm enjoying it!
8. Your favourite ever smell? Oooh.....I really like the smell of coffee shops, bakeries, orange, scented candles (most Yankee candles smell sooo nice...I spend so long in their shop smelling each candle until I feel like I have to leave due to the cashier giving me evils...) and my favourite perfume ever, L'elixir by Nina Ricci. It even comes in an Apple shaped bottle! 
9. Something you own more than twenty of? Scarves. Or shoes. I have so many, I swear I have a problem....
10. If you had to pick one song to start the 'soundtrack to your life', what would it be? Oh gosh, that's such a hard question! Umm.....I don't know! Definitely something by Ingrid Michaelson, Regina Spektor, Gabrielle Aplin, Hudson Taylor, Orla Gartland or Lauren Aquilina... Maybe King by Lauren Aquilina, it's such a nice song!

Hope you guys enjoyed this! I have no one to actually tag or nominate which is slightly rubbish! 

Go and check out Kate's blog because she is awesome and is so lovely. If I had to nominate someone, I'd nominate her again but I wouldn't want her to have to do even more questions so yeah! 

Jess xx

Lazy Day

I found out today is that you can now pin some things straight from another website if you want to! It's actually the most handy little thing EVER. I didn't know you could do this until yesterday because I basically spend my life on my phone and don't use a proper computer very often. It's actually such an awesome feature and it increases my love for Pinterest just a little bit more.
I've been needing a lazy day pretty much since I started revision. Lazy days are the best because it means you can do what you like and just relax. My stress levels have been way over normal or healthy lately so I'm quite glad that I finally get to have a (in my opinion!) well-deserved break. I've spent the day in bed with the laptop browsing Tumblr, Twitter and many other amazing websites. I've read a bit, tidied my room a bit (well overdue), showered and I only really got up (if you can call it that) at 12! It's been so nice to just have a me day. It's also been nice to not have to concentrate on anything in particular and just getting to do what I like, when I like. I've changed my mind about what I want to write for this blog post about 3 times today. I've written half a post, run out of steam and just started again which is actually really nice because I don't have anyone telling me what to write or that I need to write about one thing or another. I can write about what I like and if I change my mind then it doesn't matter! When I tell some people that I write a blog as a break from essay writing and college, they don't understand because surely writing a blog post is just even more writing, right? I find that just writing whatever is in my mind at the time is actually such a relief from writing essays that have structure and go towards a grade. Essays have specific subjects and a question to answer while the only thing a blog post has to do is fit with the title. Even then that's not really a given!
I've run out to say for this post so I'll post again soon!
Jess xx