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Tuesday 30 September 2014

It's that time of the month again...

...and I'm feeling so rubbish and I never want to leave the bed.

The pain is unbearable, the mess is gross and i've got five days of it. Food is the best way to get through it. You can eat as much as you want for the next five days, because you deserve it. Your body is aching, it's doing natural stuff that is gross and painful, and your hormones are making you cranky and sad. I am one of those girls who can't take the period pain (even after paracetamol) and end up crying to sleep. This is my way of coping:



Eat
I basically eat comfort food. I try to eat warm things and nothing stodgy. I don't tend to eat as much during my period week as I always feel bloated. I try to eat things that won't take me ages to cook like...

Grilled Cheese Sandwich(es)
If you've always made regular sandwiches at home, please try this. Turn on the cooker/stove/hob, put a small frying pan on it. You take two slices of bread, butter them like you would normally. On the un-buttered side of the bread, you add your fillings. I add cheese, a lot of it, and then if I can be bothered to in my period-state, slice tomatoes and add that, and maybe some ham. Put the other slice of bread, un-buttered side down, onto the fillings, then transfer to the pan. It's like making a cheese toastie, but better. Squash the sandwich down with a spatula, making sure that the bread isn't burning but is toasting nicely. When one side is toasted, flip it over. Careful with the flipping, especially if you've got a lot of filling in there, as it could be a disaster when you're turning it over! When the cheese is oozing, and the sandwich is toasted, you are ready to eat. Eat with soup, for extra warm-stomach-comforting goodness.

Banana Nutella Waffle(s)
I am just using store-bought waffles for this. Get your waffle(s), toast them for a minute, spread some Nutella (or other spread, like jam or peanut butter) and put some sliced bananas on top. Chocolate is supposed to make you happy (or maybe that only exists in the wizarding world) and bananas are natural pain-relievers, and are also energy boosters. Great for if you're feeling tired. I'd recommend eating this with a cup of tea, and re-runs of Friends on Comedy Central.

Drink
You need to drink some kind of liquid so you don't dehydrate and feel even worse. I like to think that it'll help to flush out a bit more of the blood when you pee, but I don't have any evidence with that so... don't take my word for it. Drink hot liquids. From soup to tea, it'll warm up your insides and take a bit of the pain away. While your mug is hot, carefully put it on your stomach to relieve some of the pain. This is quite useful if you're at work and can't do the next step...


Comfort
I don't bother with hot water bottles as I'm deadly afraid i'll burn myself trying to pour water into it. I choose those microwaveable bean bags you can stuff into a bear. I prefer these as they provide the right amount of heat to my stomach and back. I try not to listen or watch anything emotional, like Marley & Me or The Notebook, or any Adele albums. I will also wear comfy, loose, stretchy clothes. Or a onesie.

How do you cope with period pain?
Jenny xo
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Friday 26 September 2014

Nail Art #11 | Bubble Nails & Exciting Nail News!


This manicure was one of the most annoying yet easiest to create. I painted my nails in Barry M's Sugar Apple and let them dry. Then, I put some white acrylic paint onto foil, mixed with a bit of water, then used a nail art brush to put blobs of paint onto the nail. I dabbed the excess onto a paper towel, then put the brush back into the blobs to soak up the paint. While it was easy, it was annoying trying to get the right amount of water to paint ratio, and making sure the paint wasn't drying up.

What do you think of this weeks manicure?
Jenny xo
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Monday 22 September 2014

Special Delivery #5 | Glamour's Beauty Power List Box



Glamour and Latest in Beauty have come together again to produce a lovely box of goodies! The theme this time round is the best of Glamour's Beauty Power List, featured in the October edition.

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser
I use this every other day, switching between my regular Avene soapless cleanser. I love the muslin cloth that comes with it, as it isn't tough on my skin and washes off the cleanser with no problem.

Eyeko Eye Make Up Remover Wipes
These wipes are a lot smaller than I was expecting, and therefore the packaging doesn't need to be that big for the size of the wipes. The wipes do their job, removing traces of mascara from my eyes without my eyes stinging or becoming sore. I also don't need to rub the wipes over my mascara. The wipes are a bit oily and smell pretty good.

Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence
(I've given this product to my sister, so I didn't get a chance to try it.)
I am not entirely sure what to make of this product. I get that I should use this every day to protect my hair from daily heat-styling, breakage and environmental effects, but i'd be worried that if I did use it every day, my hair would be weighed down by day two of freshly washed hair.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
Although it's stated that it's a gel, I would say it is more like a cream. It absorbs fast into the skin, and does provide a nice canvas for make up. But oil-control was poor and at the end of the day my t-zone was shiny, and my mascara had given me panda eyes.

James Reed Sleep Mask Tan
I have yet to try this as I'm not a fan of anything fake-tan-like. I'm seriously worried that i'll wake up with random dark patches in poorly exfoliated areas (my nose and it's blackheads). I am tempted to try it, but just not yet.

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara
Uh. I think I just found my new favourite non-clumping volumising mascara! It's like, Maybelline Colossal Go Extreme good. I honestly thought that the brush would be pretty rubbish at applying mascara but I was so wrong. It doesn't clump my lashes together to form spider legs, it doesn't clump, and it provides me with natural looking lashes, with volume. Perfect.

Maybelline Stripped Nudes
This lipstick is not for me. It's the palest shade ever and looks so odd on me. Personally, I am just not sure about nude-coloured lipsticks.

It's a great starting point for those looking to expand their make-up collection, but honestly, I'd just go buy other products suited to my complexion. I think I caved and bought it because I saw the Laura Mercier primer...

What do you think of this box? Is there anything you like from this collaboration?

Jenny xo
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Friday 19 September 2014

Special Delivery #4 | #madeforfreshers

This month, is basically the month of new school years and freshers at university. Eastpak have a competition running on Twitter where you can win a new Eastpak bag and luggage bag if you tweet a freshers tip to Eastpak, using #madeforfreshers in your tweet. Being a recent graduate, I had so many tips to give, I'm not sure which one they picked!


I am a huge fan of Eastpak, and I wish I bought their backpacks sooner. In my first few months of university, I used a canvas type back pack, which soon had holes in the pockets, so things kept getting lost in between the materials! My lovely boyfriend bought me my first Eastpak bag 2 years ago, on a trip to Bristol as I needed another bag for all of the shopping we did. It's one of the best bags I've ever used. It's survived through the whole of my university life. If i'm planning a long day at the library, it can hold several large, heavy dissertation books, my laptop and it's charger, a note book and food! These bags have a 30 year warranty on them, something many bag brands do not offer. My boyfriend wanted a new backpack, but from another brand, but I didn't get it him because I wanted him to own an Eastpak bag because of how reliable, sturdy and tough they are.

The luggage bag is super light and can hold 77 liters. It's got two wheels and a handle, as well as a handle on both ends of the bag so one person can hold the other end if you're going up some stairs. I was pretty chuffed with that little feature, because all of my luggage bags just have one handle on one side...

Anyway, thanks Eastpak for the goodies! I really wish I was going on holiday so I can use my new luggage bag and wheel it around with me!

Jenny xo
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Monday 15 September 2014

Special Delivery #3 | YOU Beauty

On Friday, I received a (slightly damaged) box from YOU Beauty Discovery, which is a bit of a lengthy name for a beauty box, and it is not as popular as Birchbox and Glossybox. The difference with YOU Beauty Discovery box is that you can pick two products each month to go into your box, as well as receiving products picked by the YOU Beauty team.


Having already received Toni & Guy Volumising Whip in July's Latest in Beauty Box, I wasn't really excited about the other products picked by the team. I was much more excited about the products I picked myself! The team picked two flavours of tea from Crabtree & Evelyn, which I gave to my sister as I only drink milk tea. 

I also received a powder sponge and a £25 Hello Fresh gift card. I probably won't use the gift card as my mom buys the groceries, and the food boxes are a bit pricey for what they are. Hello Fresh produce recipes and step-by-step photos to show you how to cook them, as well as providing you with the ingredients to cook the recipes with. The problem with this, is that anyone can Google a recipe, or watch cooking shows on TV, or even, get a recipe book, and then go out and buy the ingredients, probably for cheaper too. The other problem is that, what if you hate the recipes they give you? then what? It's a nice idea, but not for me.

 This month, I picked (from what was still available) Mavala Fast Drying Nail Polish Finish and Wild About Beauty Nutrilips Colour Lipstick SPF 15 in Betty. First of all, the Mavala Fast Drying Nail Polish does not rival Seche Vite's Top Coat. It does not penetrate all of the layers of polish, but it does dry the polish fast, so it's great if your layers of polish are thin. I have already noticed a bit of chipping on my nails, having only worn it for one day. In a nut shell, it's a good glossy top coat for one day of wear, but for anything longer, opt for Seche Vite.

The Wild About Beauty lipstick is super moisturising, and quite sheer. It's like a tinted lip balm, containing Wild Mango Butter and Argan Oil ensuring the lips are moisturised, as well as with a hint of colour. It's also got SPF15, so it'll protect your delicate lips from the harsh sun rays. This lipstick was full sized, and it's worth £15. 

This is my first YOU Beauty Discovery box which I got for free, but I've also accidentally signed up for the next two months because I didn't read the T&Cs with the code I got! Oops. It's not a bad box, but it cannot rival the bigger beauty boxes like Birchbox. 

Did you get this month's YOU Beauty Discovery box? What did you think?
Jenny xo
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Friday 12 September 2014

Special Delivery #2 | September Birchbox!


It's that time of the month again! Beauty boxes are being sent out and every blogger posts about it. Including me. Anyway...  This month's theme is 'Happy Days', focusing on photographs and sharing memories. The Birchbox can be reused to make a photoframe, which is such a cute idea I can't believe I've never thought about doing that before. This is one of the best boxes I've received from Birchbox. I mean, seriously, I got another Beauty Blender! That's worth more than a monthly subscription itself! I also got to choose one of the free samples from Model Co.

The Review
Beauty Blender & Blender Cleanser 
I can't even... This is the best tool to apply liquid foundation and concealers. Whenever I applied concealer under my eyes, it'd go on cakey, no matter what I tried. This is a seriously life-changing product! As I already have one, I'm going to give this to my sister, who's back on Sunday from Australia for a mini holiday back in her home town.

Korres Citrus Showergel
I don't particularly like receiving shower gels in beauty boxes, because I've got so many to get through at home. It smells lovely and really refreshing, so it'd be great if I was going on holiday, but i'm not so... Probably another sample for my sister!

ModelCo Lip Lacquer in Viva
It's moisturising, it's glossy, it's sheer, it's not sticky and oh man it smells SO good. It smells sweet and like candy. I am trying to think about what fruity candy it smells like, but I just can't put my finger on it.

Agave Healing Oil Treatment
OMG this is... this is so good. I washed my hair and it normally gets a bit frizzy and tangled after I wrap my hair up in a towel, so when my hair was about 90% dry, I applied this oil to the lengths of my hair, focusing on the frizzy bits and the ends. I brushed it through to get rid of knots and now it's all dry, I've got the smoothest, softest hair, that isn't flat from the oil. And it smells so good too. Perfect.

Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream
YES! I've been looking at buying eye creams for awhile now that i'm in my 20s and afraid of crow's feet. I did look at this eye cream, but I found it was a bit pricey (£25.50) for something I've never tried before. So to get a sample is great! I will be using this every night and if I don't notice any difference, then obviously I won't be purchasing the full size.

Extras
Urban Fruit Magnificent Mango & Happy Days Photo Clip
I love the extra bits that Birchbox thinks about. I love dried fruit as long as it's not raisins or sultanas, so mango is perfect for me. I love the photo clip, because I've ran out of photo frames and I can easily change the photos.

Well done Birchbox for another great box. You can subscribe to Birchbox using this link and we'll both receive 50 points, which is worth £5 in the Birchbox e-shop.
What do you think of this month's Birchbox?

Jenny xo
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Monday 8 September 2014

Special Delivery #1

Hey everyone! So I'm starting a new series of posts, called Special Delivery! It is going to be about what I get in the post as I buy most of my things online, and I sometimes get lucky and win things too!

Which leads to this very first post in the series...I entered a Twitter competition and I won these!
I won this beautiful Eye See You necklace from Astrid and Miyu as well as an liquid eyeliner from Eyeko.


Astrid and Miyu create delicate pieces of jewelry, and I am so glad I stumbled upon them! I love all of their jewelry on their website and they're suitable for all occasions. Their collection of jewelry is so gorgeous and different. I love the little details, like their logo imprinted onto the jewelry box.
Eyeko started out in 1999, first branded as a very cute pink anime girl. I really miss their old look, when I could find them in Superdrug and their packaging was the best shade of candy pink. But they've rebranded, and I have accepted it, and their products are still amazing as ever. Especially their black liquid eyeliner! It's smudgeproof and is honestly one of the best liquid eyeliners I've ever tried.

Thanks, Astrid & Miyu for the competition!

What do you think of these two brands? Will you be ordering anything from them soon?
Jenny xo
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Thursday 4 September 2014

September Wishlist!

1. Bare Minerals Bare Skin Foundation, £26 / 2. Daisy Dream by Marc Jacobs 50ml - £45 / 3. ASOS Marathon Leather Loafers in Tan, £35 / 4. Trevor Sorbie Keratin + Argan Magnetic Multi-Wand - £69

I've only got four products on my wishlist this month. I am at the point in my life where I won't buy things because I don't need them, but having these things would be a bonus, despite already owning loads of shoes, perfumes and foundation.

I just want to try out the new Bare Mineral's Bare Skin Foundation even though I've got the Bare Minerals powder foundation. I mean, is it better than the powder form? What's the coverage like? Will it hide the redness on my spots?

The Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream perfume bottle is SO cute, I haven't even smelt it yet, but I just love the bottle. It is just so girly and pretty. It looks so inviting, and I bet it smells great, judging from the bottle.

I don't even NEED more hair curlers.
If I had the money, I would probably have bought all of these things within a heart beat. But I don't. Sooo...

Do you ever want things, but don't need them? Do you ever internet-shop with no intentions of buying anything?
Jenny xo
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Monday 1 September 2014

It's September 1st! Where's my Hogwarts letter?


Hogwarts, I am very much aware that I am 21 and will not be attending any further educational courses, but seriously, where was that letter when I was 11 years old? Hogwarts (and the whole wizarding universe) have some serious explaining to do! Like...

  • Why weren't care services involved with Harry's upbringing? A room under the stairs?! Threatening to not give Harry a week of meals?
  • Did the students have some sort of, birth-control spell? 
  • Why couldn't they have other pets at Hogwarts... like a dog? I know they're not magical looking but uh I am not a cat, owl or frog person. Who would want a frog?!
  • How did muggles obtain the money needed for wizarding tools? 
  • What about the families who couldn't afford the wizarding stuff that was needed for Hogwarts? Did they get help?
  • Why was Hagrid assigned to look after Harry? He left him at Kings Cross station to figure out how to get to Hogwarts!
  • Were there ever students with learning disabilities? 
  • Harry Potter bought the whole trolley of food from the train, what about the rest of the students? Talk about greedy!
  • If the dark forest was off-limits, why was Harry & co allowed to wonder off there? With no repercussions? 
  • Could they choose to attend different wizarding schools other than Hogwarts?
  • Did students take polyjuice potions to see what it was like being the opposite gender? And well, do stuff? 
  • Did students ever fall off of those moving stair cases?
  • Did they ever have sex education lessons?
  • ERM why did Hogwarts let a three-headed dog stay in the castle? 
  • WHERE IS THE HEALTH AND SAFETY?
Don't get me wrong, despite all these questions I'd love to have joined Hogwarts.
Jenny xo
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