Ciate Playdate

I got this polish in this month's Marie Claire magazine (read: I bought the magazine for the nail polish...) after spying it in Sainsbury's. I've wanted to try one of Ciate's nail polishes for a while but couldn't really justify buying a full sized pot at £9 just to test it out as it's quite a bit of money for a student without any source of income!

I was so happy to find these and chose Playdate, described as a "bold pop pink with a playful coral edge" on the website, as it was a perfect colour to go with my prom dress! I wasn't sure if I was going to wear it at any other time but it's the perfect summer bright and I actually love it!

I'm not sure if it was just because it's a mini bottle or if it's a thing with Ciate brushes, but I found application quite difficult to get completely smooth and even because the brush was quite thin and the polish dried quickly making it more difficult to work with than my favourite brand, Essie. If any of you have tried the full sized polishes, let me know if the brush a consistent size with the minis and full sizes or not please?!

Once I got the hang of how to apply the polish (slightly thicker layers of polish and a bit more time to dry so it goes on shiny and even!), practically every nail came out perfect and I was really happy with the result. I'm quite tempted to buy some more if I can find a discount code for the website or an offer/sale!

With a good base and top coat, this has lasted 4 days now, including getting ready for prom, actual prom and cleaning my room, without a chip so I'm really impressed!

The colour also came with a bottle of their caviar pearls (not so sure of the name...) but I haven't used them yet as I know they'll get everywhere and will be a nightmare to get off! I'll probably try them over summer which will be fun!

Overall I think that the application of Essie nail polishes is much better but the staying power for the polishes is about equal. Essie is also cheaper which is another point in their favour but the colour range of Ciate is more appealing to me at the moment compared to Essie (though the line they've just brought out is rather pretty and tempting...)!

I'd love to hear your guys' experiences with this brand and what colours I should look at buying if I choose to!

Jess xx

1 down, 7 to go!

I've just come home from my first exam of the year which went quite well so I decided to do a quick blog post! 

- I hit 200 bloglovin' followers the other day which I'm so happy about, such a nice thing to have happen - I love that people are still reading my blog! 

- I've been quite ill for the last three days, pyjamas and flat lemonade have been my best friends.

- The only thought that has been getting me through revision is my plan to go to London the day after my exams finish...hurry up 18th June! 

- I bought a ticket to my secondary school's year 13 prom that I get to go to with my old friends and I'm so excited! My dress is so pretty and in the post! I should be getting it in the next couple of weeks so look out for that!

- I will be posting all of my 2014 Blogger Challenge posts that I've missed after exams, I'm going to try and make them extra special instead of rushing them and not really doing anything for them! 

- I haven't painted my nails for ages and it feels so weird. I just don't have the time to paint them at the moment sadly! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this little post, I hope to do a couple more as the month goes by - only 1 month and 2 days left until my exams are finished! 

Jess xx

2012

Yes, this is going to be one of those generic end of year posts, but this year has been such an amazing turning point for me that I couldn't help but feel like I should do one.

This year really has been the year for firsts. I've experienced so many new things that have impacted me and I've gained new experiences as well.

Prom
I can't explain how much I loved prom. It was everything I hoped for; dancing around in gorgeous clothes and having a good time with friends! It was nice to just have a thing with all of our year fully together again for the last time, and most of us looked really good! Obviously there had to be the girls that decided to go wotsit then wear a yellow dress...but that's just part of the fun, isn't it?!

Some of my closest friends in secondary school, I love these guys :)
That's me in the middle wearing the black dress :)

Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without these guys, Prom marked an end of a 5 year stint with them because I moved to a college away from them, but luckily, I'm still close with most of them and I couldn't be happier :)

Friends
As with most things, they begin and they end, same with friendships. I'm incredibly lucky this year to have made new friends, made stronger bonds with old ones and realised who my true friends are so I could move on and be happy.
Half the time I don't know where I'd be without my friends, they've been there for me whether I wanted advice or just a laugh, they know what I need to be happy though and I love them for it :) I love that I can have both a good laugh and a decent chat with them too, it's nice! If any of you are reading this (I know some of you do :P) then thank you for being here for me, I really appreciate it.

GCSEs, Results and College
I did my GCSE exams and got good results back, thankfully! Then I made the hardest decision of my life; I moved to a completely new college of over 2000 students where I knew a single person that is in the year above. I moved away from my friends, my old school, and basically everything I was familiar with. It was a big step for me and I was so scared, but I can confidently say, that even though I had to leave my friends behind, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm so happy and the courses that I'm doing are also fantastic, I love learning because all of the teachers are great and I think I'm actually doing pretty well! I'm also happy because it was a good decision that gives me another step towards University life. Plus I get to do subjects I enjoy and love instead of doing subjects I don't and being miserable like I would have been if I had stayed at my old school.

And obviously being the huge nerd I am, I also discovered Sherlock this year, which is fantastic and bad at the same time! I also went to Harry Potter Warner Brother's Studio tour which was just fantastic! I can't wait to go again in February!

My blog
I started my blog this year and I am so genuinely happy that I did; it's so much fun and it's really nice seeing that people actually want to read about the random stuff that I go on about!

I basically just want to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life in 2012, old or new, you're all great! And I also want to say thank you to my followers and readers, I wouldn't do this without you so thank you!
I hope you all have a fantastic new year!
Jess xxx