2017; time to sort my s**t

I don't want this to be another cliché blogging post. The last three or four months of last year were hectic for me. I started a new job which I absolutely love, I kept my part time job (which is also great) and tried to maintain a social life in between. You're probably thinking it sounds easy but it's sooo much harder than I first thought. Over the time, I did realise one thing I have missed is blogging - not necessarily blogging about the latest makeup trend or gift guides but just blogging my thoughts, feelings and what I've been up to recently.

Therefore for 2017, I'm not going to make any unrealistic goals or guarantee posts 4 times a week or anything but at least once a week and a few insta snaps in between would start me back into the swing of things. I go through these periods where I'm completely on the ball and plan a month odd worth of posts and then go social media MIA for a few months so I need to find a happy medium and stick to it. I'm determined this time round. I want to do more of what makes me happy, so blog more, read more, exercise and just make the most out of every possible opportunity really. This was a bit of a brief one today but the intentions there - I'll not disappear for months on end after this! Hope you stay tuned :)

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo

P.s what are you planning on doing more of in 2017? what makes you happy?

Beauty Wishlist

As of late I've been working irregular hours around the clock, full time through the week, full time weekends and very little time in between for eating and sleeping let alone shopping. This means there's a lot of new releases and products that I haven't got round to trying yet, probably good for my bank balance but not for me. I thought I'd share with you a few of the things that are on my need to buy list.... and who knows with Christmas coming up, they might make for a nice gift ;)

The one I'm probably most excited about is the Kat Von D range which has just launched exclusively to Debenahms. I've heard so many good things about the brand but with it being based in the US of A, I had no chance of trying it for myself. Therefore I'm keen to make a hugee order starting with the Lock It Liquid foundation (which has a pale enough shade for me and is full coverage, hallelujah), it's matching concealer, the Tattoo eyeliner and the Lock it Setting Powder. I also really want to pick up some products from the new Benefit Brow Range, I've heard so many people raving about them and they look soo pretty!

With the Autumn months rolling in now, a range of darker lipsticks are a must so I'll be repurchasing the Rimmel Kate Matte lipstick in shade 107 and hopefully pick up some NYX lip products at the same time. If you've read my Nyx Haul post (link here) you'll know how difficult it is to get my hands on the products but there's a few things I might try and order online such as the setting powder (winter = matte everything) and the countour sticks. Im really keen to see if these work better than the powder alternatives to get that fake bronzed glow.

Lastly, I've had my eye on a few things from Urban Decay including their new full coverage foundation and their Matte eyeshadow palette. I have a lot of love for the original Naked palette and my Naked 3 but sometimes you're not in the mood for shimmer and want to strip it back to basics so I'm hoping this'll do just that. I also need to pick up a new Mac paint pot in Painterly because nothing sets my eye makeup quite like it and it's such a close colour match to my eyelid. The final thing I've been eyeing up is something that's been on possibly every wish list since I started blogging - Nars Sheer Glow. I still haven't got round to getting to a stand to swatch the two palest shades but I'm determined I'll get my hands on it at some point! So there you have it, a pretty hefty wishlist 😊 

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo 

P.s are there any beauty bits and pieces on your wish list? 

NYX Haul // First Impressions

For the past so many months, all beauty bloggers have been raving about NYX coming to their local Boots and unfortunately for me, it took a lot longer for it to be introduced to my local. In fact it's still pretty out of the way to get to the only NYX stand and because it's the only one, it's always half empty (the stock I mean, it literally flies off the shelf) crowded or I just can't get my swatching on so when I went to Manchester and saw not one but several NYX stands I couldn't contain my excitement!

My brother had already jetted off to New York earlier in the year and I made sure that he had a huge list of makeup I just needed to have and that's where my love for NYX started. I usually hate ordering a lip product online with no idea what the shades really like but with an ocean between us and a few hours of researching shades online, I decided on Antwerp. It's a similar colour to my Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream in Fairy Cake which is more of a coral shade and since its usually never off my lips, I thought I'd buy a similar NYX one that I knew I would get my wear out of too!

The Soft Matte Lip Creams are my favourite NYX lip product so far as they give such a smooth application and aren't drying in the slightest. I've found they last hours before needing re-applied and when they do eventually fade, they fade evenly so you're not forever checking your lipstick situation after eating or drinking. Therefore when I saw the NYX stand, I needed to pick up another and this time in the shade Cannes. It's a beautiful muted brown/pink, the perfect nude for everyday wear in my opinion! I actually ended up wearing this to the wedding and only needed to top up once (I had it on roughly 12 hours), after drinking copious drinks and a three course meal!

I'm not really a lipgloss kind of gal, lipstick yes, lipgloss no so although I'd heard lots of positive things about the NYX butter glosses I still wasn't sure. I thought I'd pick up one, quite close in colour to Cannes that I could apply over it and Tiramisu seemed like the perfect match. I was over the moon that it wasn't as sticky as I'd expected (think sticking to your hair in the wind) and long lasting. I also needed one of the NYX Lingerie Liquid Lipsticks in my life too - if I'm honest there wasn't that great a shade selection on the day I was there. It was drawing to the end of the day and you could tell that all the most popular shades had already been bought, that being said I was able to spot Embellishment which is a really unique shade, I think.

It's described as a dusky lavender shade and surprisingly I love it! Since I'm so pale (think ghostly) I try and avoid really dark or out there colours or most nudes so that I don't look completely washed out but this is amazing! It's a really flattering colour and I feel like it would suit most skin tones. Again, it's a matte formula but it feels almost velvety smooth on the lips and lasts ages! Overall I'm so happy that NYX is finally available in local Boots and I can get my hands on little beauties like these - my bank balance would probably disagree lol but I can't wait to pick up some more!

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo

P.s what are your NYX lip favourites?

Zara Bag Haul: I think I'm addicted

I definitely think my handbag obsession started from a young age, I always remember having a mini version of my mums usually from Claires or somewhere and thinking I was a big girl. Over the years my handbag collection grew until finally I had a huuuge clear out and stripped it back to a few of my favourites and told myself I didn't need anymore! I always thought bigger bags were better because I could practically fit everything but the kitchen sink in but with my back forever hating me, I knew this needed to change! I'm a real sucker for Zara and its beaut clothing but they're accessories are so underrated especially their bags and a few weeks back after I saw the red handbag online I knew I needed it in my life and because you can't just buy one thing one it's own, I picked up two more ....

My favourite of the three is definitely the Red Crossbody Bag which has intricate insect details and a gold chain strap. At first I saw this in black and was on the fence but once I saw the red, it was perfect. I wear a lot of monochrome and so a bag like this would give any outfit that gorgeous pop of colour. I actually brought this with me when I went to a family wedding a few weeks ago and it went perfectly with a black & white skirt and black, I think I shared it on insta! It's also really affordable at £15.99 and I know I'll get so much use out of it! Any excuse I have I opt for this little bag and with it just about fitting my phone (which is bloody massive), lipstick, purse, chewing gum etc basically the essentials, it's a winner!

As I said the other two bags were impulse buys but with the transition into Autumn, burgundy or maroon is one of my favourite colours to wear and whereas the red bag seems more Summery, this will last me well into the Autumn/Winter months. It's  crocodile skin texture (fake of course) but it makes it all the more interesting, it has gold hardware again and two little sections to keep all the important bits and pieces in! It also has a long strap too so I can either carry it or wear it over my shoulder, all depending on the outfit. This one I haven't used too much but I can definitely see me wearing it non stop in the coming weeks.

Lastly, my brown clutch. Now I know this one won't be to everyone's tastes but I love it, there's three sections to the clutch. One is a leathery effect, the second suede and the third snake skin. I'm definitely seeing an animal theme going on but I feel like it just makes it stand out all the more. I thought this would be perfect for a darker or plainer outfit throughout the Winter, giving it something without being too in your face! I also love tan and have plenty of tan/nude shoes that this will match perfectly. It was only around the £5/6 mark so I couldn't say no, one of my best bargains in a long time.

All in all, I'm loving all three and although I could say I've probably got the bag buying bug out of my system, that's probably a lie and it's only made me want to buy more cute bags! I think I'm addicted. Have you bought any new bags lately or for A/W?

Thanks for reading, Jenny xo

Also what do you think of the new photography setup, yay or nay?