Hello Again...

Hello again...

Wow I haven't written a blog post in over 2 months! I sort of feel like I need to apologise, buuuut I'm not going to :) This was just meant to be a three-month-thing last summer and now I'm quickly approaching my little blog's first birthday *proud mum moment* and I'm amazed with what I've done to be honest! Although I'm not apologising I am going to explain ;)

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Honestly these last couple of months have been a mess for me. The picture above pretty much sums up my current emotions. So much has happened and a lot is still going on. I have had family things going on that are out of my control, things going on amongst my friends (can we all relate?!) and of course I've been prepping for my AS exams that are coming up in just two weeks time- EEK!! Anyhow with all this on my plate I have not had the chance to post anything and I genuinely haven't felt the urge to do so either.

I've always been super organised when it comes to Just Jen (and in general, ngl). I have a word document with my schedule, planned posts, dates etc. but I haven't even touched that, so there's a good 10 blog posts that I had planned but never got round to :( Saying that makes me feel so sad. Writing this I remember just how much I love writing on this little space of mine and how therapeutic it is. I need this. I need Just Jen. No matter how cheesy it sounds I do!

Last week I had a complete break down. Everything became too much and I fell to pieces. I won't go into details because that REALLY isn't necessary, but I knew I wasn't happy. Admittedly the majority of my unhappiness is a result f the stress from my exams as I'm sure many of can appreciate. However I bet not neglecting my treasured blog would make me feel a million times better.

I'm not going to make promises or have any unrealistic expectations; I'm not going to be getting back into my schedule until after my exams, which will be at least the start of June. But when I'm done I will be back here, every week (touch wood ahaha). I'm going to create beautiful content that I can look back on and be so unbelievably proud of, rather than just throwing together a post because I need to get one up.

Right, now that I've finished emptying my heart and head onto the page, I guess I'll see you in just over a months time. And do you know what? I'm looking forward to it ;)

Thanks for reading xxx

P.S. Be selfish, something I've learnt recently. You need to put yourself first sometimes because:

a) not everyone who you put first will do the same for you and

b) you make your own happiness, only you can get what you want- no ones going to do it for you.

Go To Party Makeup

Recently a lot of my friends have had their birthdays, meaning I've been going to quite a few parties. This post is just going to take you through my go to party make up look that I have been sticking to at the moment.

 

In this look I start off with the eyes because I find there can be quite a bit of fall down (pesky Urban Decay eye shadow!!). I have super oily eye lids, so it is vital I begin with the Nars Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base, it makes eye shadow stick like concrete and personally I think it is definitely worth its price. Next I use Half-Baked from my Naked Palette all over my lid. It's a gorgeous, light shimmery gold colour. On the outer third of my eye a pat on Smog from the same palette, which is just as shimmery, but a darker bronzy colour. Then from the Revolution Redemption Essential Mattes Palette I take the mid warm brown and gently blend it into my crease to add some definition. Then swapping back to the Naked palette I like to use Buck as a subtle transition shade. With my eye shadow complete I take the Benefit They're Real Push-up Liner on my top lash line and create a slight flick. Now is time for lashings of They're Real Mascara!! Occasionally I'll use falsies but most if the time I really can't be bothered with the stress! To complete my eyes I'll carefully line my waterline and tight line with my black Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Khol Eyeliner, for a little extra drama.

 

 

 

 

To make sure my base lasts all night long I prep my face using Benefit's Porefessional. At the moment I'm mixing L'Oreal's True Match Foundation (Golden Vanilla) and Rimmel's Match Perfection Foundation (Classic Ivory), which gives me a good colour match and a natural, long lasting finish. Time to conceal! Recently I purchased Collection's Illuminating Touch Brightening Concealer Pen, which I like to use in the Kim K V-shape style under my eyes for a good bit of highlighting! I pop Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer on any blemishes I have and pat it in with my fingers. To set my base I've been Using Max Factor's Crème Puff Pressed Powder just down the centre of my face, I also like to take this with me when I go out for any necessary touch ups.

 

Next I like to do my cheeks, and I start off with my Hoola Bronzer. Recently I haven't really been contouring my cheekbones I've just been warming up my face with this product. It blends beautifully and looks so natural. I pop a dusting of Gosh's Flower Power blush on the apples of my cheeks which I LURVE!! And to finish I add a little highlighter from the Revolution Hot Spice Ultra Blush Palette, which adds a stunning glow to my cheekbones. Now many people may find this a bit odd but this is when I like to do my brows. I just run a powder from the Revolution Focus & Fix Brow Shaping Kit.

 

To complete my party makeup look typically I'll go for this lip combo, but it does vary. I use The Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Line in Eastend Snob on the outer corners of my lips and then apply Mac Crème Cup over my whole lip. This is definitely my fave combo at the moment!

 

And that's the completed look! Here's a few selfies of me wearing the makeup- and sorry for the bad quality but they were taken on my phone...

Thanks for reading xxx

January Favourites

It's a bit late but I'm finally getting round to doing my January favourites! So let's get straight into it...

 

 

So first up is this HUGE tartan scarf. I picked this up in Primark for just £5! I couldn't believe this as I'd seen an almost identical one in Zara for nearly four times the price. For Primark, it's actually really good quality- it hasn't frayed and is super soft. This has been perfect in the bitterly cold mornings because I can scrunch it up around my neck to keep me warm, I've discovered it can also work quite well as a blanket in lessons (I'm constantly cold in school!).  

 



So for makeup I have loved whipping my Naked palette out recently. I feel like over Christmas I really neglected this because I had loads of new products to try, but almost every time I've been out this month I've used this on my eyes. I've got my 'go to party look' coming up in a post very soon and this of course will be making an appearance ;)

Next up is this Gosh blush in Flower Power. It's a really beautiful true pink colour that is perfect for everyday wear. It's not too bright but makes me look nice and 'cheeky' first thing in the morning, if that makes any sense?! I bought this because Fleur De Force wore this on her wedding day, but I've only really started using it frequently recently.

And finally for makeup is the Benefit They're Real Mascara. You would have seen this in my What I Got For Christmas post, and I can confirm it has become a staple for me! It literally has no faults! Personally I don't even struggle removing it which I didn't expect to find as it is notorious for being a bugger to get off. The brush is awesome, the formulation is spot on and you know- the packaging nice too.

 

This month I've had a few parties and these two hair products have been getting a lot of love due to this. I love having big loose curls and my Phil Smith Jumbo Hair Curler does this spot on. I've had this for ages but found it really difficult to actually get a curl from it. After a lot of practice I think I've work it out. Now with this you are never going to get a really defined curl, just accept it's impossible. However for a loose natural curl it makes a huge difference if you hold the curl afterwards and let it cool a bit. Although this is a curling iron, I prefer to use it as a wand because I hate the clip (my hair just gets caught in it making the whole situation far too stressful).

The L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray holds my curls all night long. This isn't normally something I struggle with because my hair does manage to hold a curl well naturally. However what stands out to me about this products is that it is so fine and therefore it doesn't make my hair feel all crispy like concrete. It just feels like hair! Also I have the infinite shine version so apparently it has light reflectors in. Now I don't know much about the science behind it, but what I can tell you is that it keeps your hair looking shiny/glossy and it doesn't look like you're earing hairspray.

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Lastly is Gossip Girl. You probably are aware of my love for this ever so glamorous series, and I hate to tell you but I actually finished it at the start of January!! I loved the ending even though I'd already worked out who was Gossip Girl, and I literally can't express just how much I love it!!

Thanks for reading xxx

Girl Dilemma | Friendship

I've decided I want to start a little series discussing various issues that I have to deal with as do so many young people, particularly girls! So I will cover topics such as being perfect, boys, confidence and more. But to kick it off I'm going to start with friendship...

 "Many people will pass through your life but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart"

I'm blessed to have lots of gorgeous friends that really care about me and I treasure each and every one of them. When we're young our lives literally revolve around our friends, we don't have careers or families of our own getting in the way. What I've really noticed recently and what I want to focus on in this post is that so many people these days care so much about having lots of friends rather than a few good friends. In today's society I completely see why this is.

School encourages your status and popularity to become important so early on in life, before we've managed to develop and identify 'who we are', because we're forever told it's not what you know but in fact who you know. No matter what teachers tell you about your achievement all being based on the effort you put in, we all know of that girl's super successful dad who got his job because his uncle owned some big business ;) So in my opinion school is just like the Hunger Games where it's considered vital to gain the MOST and BEST allies in order to do well in this competition we call life. Sorry for the extreme analogy!!

But should this really be the case? Why should people grow up these days without knowing their true and close friends? Now I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, I for one know who my true friends are and only recently this has been tested. Before I've naively thought each of my friends would do absolutely anything for me, but unfortunately I have been proved wrong. This has shown me who genuinely cares. And from this I know who I really need in my life (in case you're wondering this is mainly due to the whole moving school scenario).

Some people that I now see less haven't made the effort to stay close and some that I see more have let me see a different side of them I hadn't recognised before. I must add I don't blame them for this because they haven't necessarily done something specifically wrong, these things just happen and have to be accepted!

I also don't want you to think I'm telling you not to have lots of friends- have as many friends as you'd like! I just want you to remember having a few close friends is so important because they will be there for you through anything, when perhaps your hundreds of other friends won't... And make sure when you know who these magnificent people are you show how much you care about them to ensure you keep hold of those precious gems <3

I'd like to end this post the way I started... with a quote. I remember Eamonn Holmes from This Morning saying this once and it's really stuck with me. It's reassuring and honestly has made sense of many dilemmas I've found myself in:

"You're oldest friends aren't necessarily your best friends, they just got there first"

Thanks for reading xxx

50 Things in 2014

Today I'm doing another post reflecting on last year, so I wanted to list 50 different things I managed to do in 2014. Surprisingly it didn't take me too long! Any posts that are relevant to something on my list and linked.

From my school trip to London- a favourite!

1. Went skiing yet again
2. Began a 'Happy Moment a Day Journal' (last years new years resolution, lasted for nearly four months)
3. Had my first ever Chinese takeaway!
4. Went on a school trip to London (bit random)
5. Saw Billy Elliot in the West End
6. Completed my Junior Sports Leader Award
7. Went to Poland
8. Went to Hungary
9. Turned 16!!
10. Got my DSLR camera
11. Wrote the school hockey teams initials in the wet concrete path (aren't we such rebels!)
12. Completed my textiles coursework when I thought I never could
13. I hosted a big Easter Egg Hunt for my friends- soon to be annual ;)
14. Did SEVERAL English controlled assessment resits
15. Completed my GCSEs
16. Discovered Gossip Girl- have to thank my friend Molly for this one!
17. Left my secondary school
18. Had a post exam movie day
19. Saw The Fault in Our Stars and got 10% of the way through the book :/
20. Had my year 11 prom
21. Went on quite a few picnics
22. Started Just Jen!
23. Volunteered at my old primary school
24. Went to Airhop
25. Got Facebook?!
26. Expanded my memory box to two...
27. Completed my Silver D of E
28. Completed The Challenge
29. Went on a Scavenger Hunt around London
30. Learnt to surf
31. Went to Bournemouth
32. Began playing senior hockey
33. Started at my new school
34. Started A Levels
35. Began learning psychology
36. Began learning law
37. Saw War Horse in the West End
38. Got Snapchat?!
39. Saw the fireworks
40. Went to Safe Drive Stay Alive
41. Went to a law lecture
42. Went to the National Theatre Bookshop
43. Took thousands of pictures!!
44. Became an elf
45. Fell in love with Pintrest 
46. Bought my Reading Festival ticket
47. Saw the Christmas Lights in London
48. Went to M&M World
49. Went to a psychology conference
50. Had a New Years Eve gathering

So there we go! 50 things I did in 2014, and hopefully I'll do even more fun and exciting things this year and I'll be sure to share everything on here :)

Thanks for reading xxx

Bring on 2015...

Source- Sprinkle of Glitter

Good Morning and Happy New Year!! I hope you saw 2014 out in style and have had a wonderful start to 2015.

Initially I didn't think I would do this post because I thought it could be quick boring considering there are so many new year posts around at the moment but I felt really inspired after reading Louise's (aka Sprinkle of Glitter). Also everyone says you're more likely to do something if it's written down, so touch wood!

As I've got older I've actually got worse at sticking to my New Years resolutions (in 2009 I managed to give up ketchup for the whole year!!), but his year I'm going to give myself steps to make my resolutions more achievable. So here we go:

1. Drink more water- I'm going to continue to take a water bottle to school but I will aim to drink the whole bottle by the end of the day. Then when I get home rather than having a cheeky diet coke I'll have a glass of water. Ideally I'll only be having a water alternative with my dinner. I hope this will make me feel more alert, happy and maybe perform some miracle with my skin?!
2. Drink using straws as much as possible- I won't do this with water because the aim of this is to keep my teeth as white as possible! My teeth stain so easily so even when using a whitening toothpaste they constantly look a bit yellow :( so whenever I do enjoy that diet coke or an orange juice etc. I will enjoy it through a straw...my mum's going to buy a big box of straws in this week's weekly shop.
3. Go for a run once a week- This is to hopefully improve my stamina, as a hockey player stamina is really important for me to perform well in matches. The plan is I will go for a run on a Wednesday afternoon because I come home at about 1pm so it'll still be light and not too busy!
4. Make and stick to a revision timetable- This year is massive as I will have to sit my AS levels. I desperately want to do as well as possible and I know that means I have to get organised ASAP. This evening I'm going to plan a realistic revision timetable that I know I can actually stick to. I made one for my GCSE's and it was for too optimistic!
5. Do Friday evening bedroom tidying sessions- Recently my bedroom has been super tidy and I've been loving it, whenever I have too much clutter I feel trapped and can't motivate myself to do anything, so my Fridays will be spent keeping my room spick and span- unless I get a better option ;)
6. Do my homework as soon as I get home- With my nice tidy bedroom I'll have the space to do this. The condition with this is that I have to remind myself I don't NEED to be watching that episode of Gossip Girl and Coronation Street can be watched on catch up. When I'm doing my work I want to fully concentrate on it, so fingers crossed I will get it done a million times quicker and better.
7. Spend my free periods at the end of the day actually studying- So often when I finish early I convince myself that it's okay to grab a Costa before getting the bus home. However now there'll be none of that, I'm going to go to private study and do any work that needs doing. I might even think the night before of something to do so I know I'll have the equipment I need. The perk of this is that I'll still be able to walk into town with my friends :)
8. Do 52 posts on Just Jen during 2015- In general I'm very organised about when and what I'm posting and sticking to my Saturday schedule. However I have a very busy year coming up with my AS levels quickly approaching and another jam-packed summer. Therefore I know it's not realistic for me to post every single Saturday, so I want to make sure that by the end of the year I have done enough posts to be the equivalent of one post a week.
9. Be nicer to my family- I adore my family but I know I can be really horrible to them if I'm upset or tired or I've had a bad day, and I know that that's just not fair. So this year I'm going to remember no matter how I feel its' not their fault. If I'm nicer to them when I'm feeling crap then this might even cheer me up, no matter how stubborn I am!!
10. Save up some money- I'm spender. I always have been. Because of this I never have any money whatsoever. That jam-packed summer I mentioned- well it can only happen if I have a bit of cash! So every time I go to buy something I will think do I need it? Will I regret this in a week? How much do I want to be able to afford my summer? My purse is staying shut for the time being!

I'm going to be honest- it's now 3rd January 2015 and I'm yet to start any of these but I go back to school on Monday and I'll be falling back into routine. So for now I'm not going to be too harsh on myself :) Some of you may think I have no chance of success if I start off like this but hey-ho! To keep myself on track I'm considering doing a resolution update in about a months time and then maybe half way through the year. How does that sound?

I'd just like to add that 2014 was amazing. I've achieved so much and I'm really proud of myself. One thing in particular I'm proud of is of course is Just Jen. At first this blog was just going to be for the summer but I love it so much! I have loads planned for 2015 so be sure to stay tuned ;)

Thanks for reading xxx

What I Got For Christmas 2014

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas whatever you were doing and whoever you were with! I had a lovely day spent with family, and I can truly say I was spoilt! So today I thought I'd show you some of the gifts I got. (And as always...this isn't to show off etc. I love reading these posts and I thought you might like to see!!)

I'd been wanting some more makeup brushes for ages and was so happy when I opened these Real Techniques brushes. They're my favourite brushes by a mile and as you can see I've already got some use out of them! I got the Core Collection (base brushes) and the Starter Set (eye brushes).

These snuggly slippers are from M&S. My slippers were at the end of their life to be honest and my mum couldn't wait for me to get some new ones!! I love how soft these are and the mink colour of them is just gorgeous!

My lovely brothers bought me the Frozen soundtrack- I think it's a hint that they'd rather hear 'Let It Go' sung in tune ;). As well as this I got Zoella's book 'Girl Online' and I've actually already finished it! It was a really easy read, perfect for Christmas. This may be a bit controversial but I didn't think it was the best book, but I really liked the themes and issues the plot followed as they were really relatable. And I was also treated to the Naked Basics 2 palette! Now I think my mum gave them some help with this one because it was on my wishlist... All of the shadows are gorgeous with 5 matte and one satin. I like the cool tones in the palette because I don't actually have that many cool toned shadows in my collection. I'm certain I'll continue to get a lot of use out of it!

Sugarglam Fairies Contents

I got the Benefit gift set 'Sugarglam Fairies' which I luurve!! Now this couldn't have come at a getter time seeing as I've just finished a sample of the Porefessional and have recently hit pan on my own Hoola Bronzer. I love the They're Real Mascara and personally I haven't actually had any trouble removing it! I haven't got round to trying the Benetint yet but I like that it's just a sample because I wouldn't want the full size without trying it first because I imagine it will take a while to use up this product. Have any of you tried the Benetint?

My grandparents bought me this gorgeous Pandora charm for my bracelet. This is perfect because I think the block of pink will break up the all the silver! Also I like that I got this rather than a specifically Christmas charm because it fits in nicely with the other charms on my bracelet.

I got the They're Real Push-up Liner which is actually so nice! At first I wasn't convinced I'd like this liner because it's had such mixed reviews but I've fallen in love with it. It is sooooo black and I've found it so simple to apply- and similarly to the mascara I haven't found it too tricky to remove. Also I got the Estee Lauder Lipstick in Brazen which is a stunning dark, brown-toned red. It is definitely an evening lipstick because it is so dark but it feels unbelievably luxurious with the chic packaging and magnetic lid- yes, magnetic!!

My lovely faux leather jacket was from River Island. I have wanted one for so long because I think it's a great staple. I like the quilted cuffs and gold zip detail. Initially I wasn't sure about the faux fur collar but it has grown on me, particularly during the winter months. It is removable so I think I'll remove it for the spring and summer.

And finally I got these cute fairy lights! I've draped them on my head board and they fit in with my bedroom beautifully because they have pink and white beads entwined with them which makes them 10x prettier than my standard fairy lights!!

That's most of the main presents I got. I also got lots of sweets, chocolates, socks etc. but most of these have been eaten by now (not the socks of course!). I just wanted to say how grateful I am for everything I was given and didn't expect to be this lucky. I hope you all got lots of lovely gifts too and enjoyed Christmas 2014. I'll see you in the New Year, bring on 2015!!

Thanks for reading xxx