Style Birmingham Live AW13 Show

Wow what a day! I've just got back from the AW13 Birmingham catwalk show, it was the first time I had ever been to a catwalk show and only my second blogger event. I got invited due to the fact I had signed up as a blogger on the Bullring website and every now and then I get invited to shows and events. At first I was a bit nervous to say yes as I am a beauty blogger and not a fashion blogger but I decided to go anyway just for the experience.

So me and around 20-30 bloggers met at 10am outside the Town Hall and were taken upstairs to a press room for champagne and a chat with a company called Francesco we were also given a goody bag from them.  We were then taken downstairs to the main room were we picked our seats to watch the show, I made a bit of a mistake as I sat in the paid seats but no one claimed it so I spent the rest of the show in the second row. The show was great we were shown 9 collections my favorite being the Galvanise a party selection, It was all rather bright and flashy with some loud music but I did enjoy the show. After the lovely Emma Willis, Rylan Clark and Brix Smith-Start came out for a chat and to answer some questions as well as there being a competition. I was lucky enough to meet Brix and have a photo with her she is so lovely and has a fantastic personality.

It was then time to hit the shops my first stop was House Of Fraser for a mooch at there stands and to pick up another goody bag, I also wonder up into the clothes department but did restrain myself as I'm on my spending ban. I then popped over to Harvey Nichols which I must admit I've never really been into before so was surprised to see a benefit stand and some other well know brands, I also got another goody bag from there.

Then unfortunately I had to go back on the train home, I had an amazing day and am so thankful for all the lovely goodies

I got. I can't wait for another event and hope they have one soon!

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

GlossyBox September Reviews

This month's theme is the UK, it came in a lovely box and had a great little magazine. It also had a little postcard list of the item's included rather than the large booklet, I enjoyed the changes and really feel it has improved the Glossybox experience. The product I received were all mini's apart from the Eyelure Lashes, which isn't to bad but I would've prefer 2 full sized products like the last few Glossybox's.

Elizabeth Arden Untold
This perfume is lovely and came in such a cute sample bottle. It has a rich scent with hints of floral, it lasted all day for me and seemed to get stronger as the day went on. I loved this product so much I did buy the full size one for £46 from The Perfume Shop.

Dr Lipp Nipple Balm 
This product did make me chuckle but it turned out to be great, my lips have yet to tune into the Autumn weather and have been extremely chipped and sore but this product has made a massive difference and has been a little life saver. It's £11.50 for the full size product which I would pay but the only downside is it doesn't have a scent and I love all my lip products to be scented.

Onyx Eye Liner
I was surprised to see another eye liner as the last 2 GlossyBox's all had a very similar product, but this one I found had a great cat flick which the other's I had trouble with. The only downside is it didn't seem to last a long time, it would be completely of by around 6 hours which was extremely disappointing. So I won't be paying the $14 for a new one.

Toni and Guy Shine Gloss Serum
I haven't really ever tried a Toni and Guy product so I was happy to receive a product in this month's Glossybox. At first I went to apply it to my damp hair to get ready to blow dry and then I read you are suppose to apply to dry hair and just the roots, I pumped 2 blobs of the product into my hands what came out was a liquid which smelt really nice, I rubbed it into my hair and brushed through. I was left with lovely shiny ends, I was quite impressed and for £7.19 its a lovely alternative to some of the more overpriced products.

Lastly I received Eyelure Pre Glued Lashes, I'm yet to try these as I've not had a night out yet or a special occasions to show them off!

Keep In Touch, XoXoxo

Make Up Tag

So today I thought I would do the Make Up Tag, I saw it on Caroline's Blog and thought it would be great to do, so here goes!

How many times do you wash your face daily?

Twice, In the shower in the morning and then just before bed
 

What skin type do you have? (dry, oily or combination)

 I have combination, I have an oily forehead and chin and they dry around my cheeks and nose

What is your current facial wash?

My tea tree and witch hazel set from Boots, It cleans my face well but also works to clear spots

Do you exfoliate?

I do around once a week

What moisturiser do you use? 

Atm it's Vaseline Spray and Go, but it's always changing

Do you have freckles?

I have some very light one's around my nose and cheeks

Do you use eye cream?

Not right now as my eyes are still young looking

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?

Yes! My skin is awful, I wouldn't call it acne but it's pretty bad

Did you ever use ProActiv?

No, I've heard of it but just never used it!

What foundation do you use?

A few MUA's BB cream, MAC's Studio Sculpt and Body Shop's foundation 

How about concealer?

Collection 200 Lasting Perfection

 

Do you know your undertone colour?

I would say yellow but that is just a guess

What do you think of fake eyelashes?

I've never really tried them, as I have glasses I don't see the point

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?

Yes, I'm due a change!

What brand of mascara do you use?

Natural Collection as they have the best brown shade and Jelly Pong Pong's Fairy Lashes

Sephora or Mac?

MAC I'm yet to try any Sephora products

Do you have a MAC Pro-Card?

No but I use my Debenhams card whenever I shop there 

What make-up tools do you use in make-up application?

Just brushes from Primark and my fingers

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?

I use my MUA Primer

What is your favourite eye shadow? (Colour or Shade)

I love my MUA's palettes I'm addicted to a grey sparkly colour 

Do you use pencil or liquid eye-liner?

Pencil

How often do you poke your eyes with an eye liner pencil?

Lol not to often!

What do you think of pigment eye shadows?

They look great I just can't apply them to myself

What is your favourite lipstick?

MAC's Coral Bliss and Rebel

How about lip gloss? 

I've not really got a favorite, I use my baby lips quite a lot

What is your favourite blush?

Rimmell's Live Pink
 

Do you buy make-up on e-bay?

No I'm scared I will get a scam product

Do you like drug store make-up?

Yes  I used it most days

Do you go to CCO's? (Cosmetic Company Outlets)

I can't seem to find any or I miss them all

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?

No, I just cheat and go to my local MAC to get some lessons

Are you clumsy in putting on make-up?

No I'm quite good

Name a make-up crime that you hate?

To much is to much!!! You don't need eyeshadow, blusher, falses, lipsticks and big eyes all at the same time

Do you like colourful shades of make-up (lipstick, eye shadow) or neutral tones?

I prefer neutral tones I think they suit me better

Which celebrity always has great make-up?

I like Emma Watsons make up

If you could leave the house with just ONE Make-up item, what would you use?

MUA's BB cream

Could you ever leave the house without any make-up on?

No!

Do you think you look good even without any make-up on?

Not really no =/

In your opinion, what is the BEST make-up line?

Drug Store Rimmel , fashion MAC

What do you think of Make-up?

It's great if it's used right 

So that was the beauty tag, a rather long post! 

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Lush Happy Pill Review

A great product from Lush for £3.75 the bath bomb is massive it was bigger than the palm of my hand and it smelt amazing. It was a citrus scent or orange and lemon, most of the ingredients are oils. The website did say it can be divided to save for another day but I decided to pop it into my bath whole, it fizzed away for around 30-45 minutes which really impressed me as I could relax in my bath with the scent still smelling strong.

Once I have finished my bath the water still smelt really strong, my water however looked a lot like wee! So I didn't get a snap of it, the smell did however last in my bathroom all night and all morning which really impressed me.

I was however disappointed as it's only available to order online or if you live near the poole shop. I would've loved to of kept buying this product as I don't make that many online order's or live anywhere near poole I won't be able to buy it as much as I would like.

Have you brought any Lush product's you fell in love with, let me know!

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

3 Month Spending Ban

Sad times, i'm now on a spending ban! Due to the fact I have a few bills and some important things to save for I've set my self the challenge of going on a 3 month spending ban.

I'm hoping it will make my blog a little better as at the moment I feel my posts are quite rushed or the same posts, so i'll be planning my posts more and taking better photos.

In my spending ban I will only be buying essential items like shampoo, toothpaste or deo but i'm not allowed to buy things I don't use daily or I can do without. I also won't be buying any new clothes, as i'm going to try and re invent some of my old clothes.

I'm going to be saving for Christmas, Paris/New York and to pay of my credit card. Hopefully I will be able to cope with the 3 month ban and not crack when I go passed a MAC counter!

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

My Favorite AW13 Nail Varnishes

This Autumn and Winter they have been a few trends and blog posts about makeup and clothes but I'm yet to see one about nail varnishes to wear, so here is my post on what I will be wearing on my nail's the next few months.

For everyday wear it has to be Sally Hansen Fiery Island, Barry M Gelly Hi Shine in Pomegranate and my Barry M Matt White styling it with my Nail Art Pen. The Sally Hansen Fiery Island is perfect as it's a really warm colour and lasts for ages. Barry M in Pomegranate is a nice alternative to the red's and berry shades as it in the Gelly Hi Shine so it adds a nice gloss. I'm also loving my Matt white and nail art pen, you can do some great autumn designs and really add a different look to your nail for this season.

For going out and special occasions I've picked Barry M Red, Miss Sporty Black, Barry M Emerald Green and Primarks Magnetic Nails. When I'm out drinking I stick to Black and Red as they both go with most of my outfits and right into the Autumn Winter months. If I'm out for a special occasions or it's something more than a night out drinking I go with Emerald green a lovely christmas shade or my Magnetic nails, these shades are really dark and mysterious which I love.

I would love to see some blog post's about your must have AW13 nail varnishes.

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Lush Haul

As everyone know's I'm addicted to Lush, I love the customer service they give, there affordable bath goodies and the fact they bring out around 4 new products a month. But recently I went to my local store which is quite a small one in Oxford and noticed they had nothing I wanted to purchase from my list, I still didn't leave empty handed! But I did an online order and came away with these lovely new product which I've never tried before!

Rose Jam - £4.95
Back by popular demand as a limited edition but only online! This product smells so sweet and nice with added vanilla and goji berry. It also has Rose oil which Lush gets from Turkey, which I think is a lovely alternative to the English Rose's.

Happy Pill - £3.75
A cheap and cheerful bath bomb, another product back by popular demand also only available online or in there Poole shop. It smells like really strong citrus almost as if you have got an orange and lemon and just squished them together. I love the design of this product as well as the fact it is massive it's bigger then my hand!

Ne Worry Pas - £3.95
I was really intrigued by the design of this product, it's just plain white and then a small round hole which is filled with purple glitter. Again only available online or in the Poole shop. It has added soya milk to help soothe this skin which I think its a lovely touch as my skin has been playing up as well as being scented with violets, Not one of my favourite scent's but I thought I would give it a go!

Waving Not Drowning - £2.80
Another cheap and cheerful product! As well as only being available in Poole or online, I was really impressed with the price as well as being the perfect little bath bomb scented with floral scents it's a nice alternative to the impressive over used products.

Happy Bubble Bar - £3.25
I love the design of this bar, it's really simple yet adorable. It's also in my favorite scent ever Orange, The reviews all said there were lots of bubbles so I can't wait to try this product! Again only available in Poole or online.

Orange Blossom Solid Perfume - £5.50
A product in my favorite scent yet again! I tried this in my local store and loved it but due to being on a budget I wasn't able to pick it up, but it's in a lovely scent. You can also warm the product up and get a whole new scent which I thought was quite fun.

Breath Of God Toothy Tabs - £2.50
This was a product I bought for the fun side of things I wasn't sure what they did or how they worked so I picked up Breath Of God. The way they work is you pop one into your mouth and chew then brush your teeth with just your brush no toothpaste. I like this alternative if you are camping or on a holiday which involves carrying as little as possible.

So there you go a rather long post but all the lovely item's I got in the post from Lush, So if you are online or live near Poole I would suggest some of this lovely item's.

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Sally Hansen Fiery Island Review

I was after a warm deep orange nail varnish and was really struggling to find the right shade until I went into boots and noticed Sally Hansen did a really nice one called Fiery Island for £6.99. Usually I would buy nail varnish for around the £4 mark but as I was so stressed out I though bugger it! and brought it.

I love the shade it's reminds me of Autumn and halloween, while being all warm and chic. I have a few items from the Sally Hansen range and her nail varnish never fail to amaze me, they go on well as they have a nice large brush I also find with two coats you get a nice bold glossy colour. I wore mine for around 7-10 days before they got way to chipped and I had to remove it.

I've noticed recently there are more and more Sally Hansen products in discount shops, which is a great way for me to get my kick without spending £6.99 on one nail varnish! Recently I picked up a manicure set for around the £3 mark and I saw some products in the pound shop / savers.

What your Autumn must have nail varnish?

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Autumn Tag

I wasn't actually tagged to do the Autumn Tag but thought it was a fun post to do! 

For Autumn, what is your...

1.  Favourite thing about it? I love to laze about and snuggle up watching films, it a great season for snuggling and relaxing with a good book.

2.  Favourite drink? It would have to be peppermint hot chocolate 

3.  Favourite scent/candle? I love berry scents, also Yankee Candle had a lovely berry candle last year that I adore it was a berry scent I'm sure.

4.  Best lipstick? MAC Rebel my new love this season

5.  Go to moisturiser? Atm it's my Vaseline Spray and Go, for my face I don't change my moisturiser for seasons

6.  Go to colours for the eyes? I've been using my MUA Palette's a lot more recently, one of the colours I love is a grey glittery one

7.  Favourite music or band/singer to listen to? The 69 Eyes I love there gothic style they have and it's perfect for Autumn and Winter!

8.  Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)? I love my woolly tights and a cute dress combo, for outerwear it would be my newly bought Parker and purple skull scarf

9.  Autumn treat? Would be my Parker and new boots

10.  Favourite place to be? Snuggled up in bed!

So the person I tag is Juyey ! Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

One Direction Kiss You Lip Polish Review

Whilst I was in Superdrug I went past the One Direction stand and noticed they had lip polish's now and not just the nail varnish and other bits, I was after a new one and thought why not the nail varnish worked well so this might be a good product to. For £2.50 you get a 9g pot in a small circle tub which is nice and handy for my handbag. I picked up Watermelon as I thought it was the nicest shade.

It goes on well and looks great on as well as the scent being nice overall its a great product, You do however get what you pay for as it drys out quite quick and I need to reapply every 2 hours or so. But they are boys so I can't complain to much! As they did do quite well.

Overall I found the product to be cheap and cheerful but I'm not to sure I would re purchase.

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Miss Sporty Goth Me Black Review

I was after a nice cheap nail varnish in black and noticed Miss Sporty did one for £1.99 which is a great bargain! You get a small 7ml pot and it has a really cute bottle design. I love using black in winter and in autumn mainly to go out drinking as it is a great colour to go with outfits.

The Miss Sporty nail varnish went on well due to the fact it has a nice large brush, I needed to coat to get a nice deep black colour but it went on nicely and I found it dried quite quick. It lasted around 3-4 days before chipping and I felt the need to remove it. I did have some trouble with staining but that's mainly due to the fact I can't seem to find a good base coat!

Overall I was really impressed with this product and for £1.99 I really can't complain, I will have to have another mooch at there colours and stock up.

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Christina Aguilera By Day Perfume Review

At the moment this is my everyday perfume and I can not get enough of it! I brought it awhile ago for around the £10 mark from TKMaxx, I was mainly loving the bottle at first as its really vintage and screams glamour but then the scent really impressed me.

It has a really musky scent with hints of flowers I would say it's quite a sexy perfume scent, I have the bottle in 30ml but I wish I had picked up a larger one now. I used to have the By Night scent from Christina Aguilera but never picked up a new bottle when I ran out. I think I may need to invest in some more of her perfumes!

I would say this scent is very summery but it doesn't stop me using it! What are your favorite scents at the moment?

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

MAC Rebel Review

On a recent Blogger chat I asked what lipsticks would be good for Autumn and Winter, the response was mainly pointing towards MAC's Rebel. At first in the shop I was like wow way to dark and almost vampire like, but once I tried it on it was a really dark red rather then the purple it showed up as.

MAC has put its prices up now to £15 for lipsticks and I do think this is a good price for the lipsticks you get, it's really pigmented and stays on well as well as the shades being in a massive variety I think MAC have a great range and would happily pay £15 for most of the lipsticks.

What AW13 shade do you currently love?


Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

6 Month's on Blogger!

Wow Happy 6 month birthday to my blog! It's gone by so fast and I've had some much fun reviewing products, joining in in #BBlogger chats, attending a Blogger event and most of all reading everyone's blogs. I have so much I want to do with my blog, first to improve my blog post's just spend more time writing them as well as trying to take better photo's, I see some great shots people have taken and then look at mine and just think eurgh. I also have some giveaways planned and I'll be visiting some amazing new destinations (shops!) like Paris in January and New York! in August 2014, so stay tuned for the blog post's.

If you would like to keep up to date with my post's and reviews just click the Blogger follow button or my Bloglovin button and please leave me a comment so I can have a look at your blog! All my social media links are below.

Facebook - Jessica Barnes 

Twitter - @jessbarnes 

Pintrest - Jessb1991 

Bloglovin - Jessb1991

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

DIY Triangle Nails

I was looking into the world of Tumblr when I came across a trend for nails which was to put triangle on the nails, So I thought I would try it myself and was extremely surprised at just how easy and fun it was to do!

Step one - place nails stickers onto your nails creating a cross

Step two - Paint the small triangle closes to your cuticles 

Step three - Carefully peel of stickers and paint the rest of your nails with a different shade!

It was really fun to do although I still definitely need some practice!

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Primark AW13 Haul

I recently made a AW13 Primark wishlist but when I visit my local store there wasn't any of the items I liked or the ones I found didn't look right. But I did however pick up some lovely items I'm hoping to use this Autumn and Winter.

I picked up a lovely matching red bag and purse set with a gold lock front, there were £5 each. There was surprisingly a lot of room in the purse which I thought most of the purse's I had picked up recently were lacking.

I also recently picked up some sleep in rollers which I loved so this time I picked up the bendy curlers for £1.50, it was a pack of 8 so I picked up 2 just to make sure I don't come up short when I use them.

I was also on the hunt for some dolly shoes and found some lovely black ones with a gold bow on the front for only £6. I was really impressed as the bow was a hard one and not a flimsy one with I'm not a fan of.

I was on the hunt for some new black socks and came across a three pack of Bamboo socks and thought the pattern was cute (little triangles) so I picked some up for £3.

Lastly I went to the home section and found a 3 wick candle in a lovely Blueberry and Blossom scent for only £3.50! I was so happy they had some in stock as I've been dying to get my hands on a 3 wick candle!

Have you been in to have a look at the AW13 collection from Primark, what did you think?

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

August Glossybox Reviews

This months Glossybox has been impressive, all the items I got I've enjoyed using and have been great quality.

My favorite product to use has been the make up remover pen by Oceane, it's been great to you when I've been getting ready for a night out. Its really easy to use and works really well. It also came with replaceable tips which really impressed me.

I also got the Emite Eye Lash curler which was spoke about quite a lot in the blogger community. I use it before applying mascara to create a soft curl, so I press quite softly. I was also impressed as this eye lash curler didn't pinch the sides of my eyes like previous ones I've tried.

I was extremely pleased to get a Jelly Pong Pong product as it's one of my favorite online stores I love there brand. I got the eyeliner/shadow I enjoyed using this product as an shadow as it smudged well and gave a great coverage, using it as an eyeliner was a little tricky due to the tip of the pencil being quite large.

I also got a purifying exfoliating facial polish by the brand Urban Veda, this wash has a minted scent to it and one of my favorite skin care products witch hazel. I enjoyed using this product it left my skin feeling fresh and cleared my skin nicely. It also had pretty cute packaging which is a nice bonus.

Lastly I got the TRESemme keratin smooth which I still haven't used yet,naughty Jess!

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo

Having A Sensitive Month

Every now and then my face, head and hands have a little moment and go all over sensitive, which means I have to stop using all my favorite products and switch to non scented and soothing products. I don't mind to much as it only happens a few times a year but I usually do a whole month detox on my body to clear it up and start fresh.

My head is usually the worse I get really bad spots all over and it goes all dry and itchy, which is not the most attractive thing in the world. But to clear it up I have to use a really strong smelling shampoo called T-Gel and in between washes I use Simple shampoo. It smells so strong it sometimes makes me gag, and it always leaves my scalp feeling tingly. But thanks to this wonderful product it allows me to use strong smelling shampoo's for a few months.

My face always comes up with this horrible spot rash across my forehead and I can never seem to get rid of it, so I'm always using my collection 2000 concealer and sometimes I go out with my MAC foundation on as it covers it better, this is always a bother as I try to save my MAC products for special occasions and not for when some pesky spots want to appear!

My hands are horrible when I have sensitive months, they go so dry and crack sometimes as well as around my nails being so dry I tend to also have really soft nails so they break or chip easy. I have to use a really strong moisturizers like Sudo Crem and wear cotton gloves in the night to try and soften my hands.

I've been quite lucky recently as I sometimes get eczema which is not a pretty sight, but recently its been under control which I'm happy about.

Do you ever get super sensitive skin, how do you cope and what products do you use?

Keep In Touch, XoXoXo