Monday 30 June 2014

Instagram snapshots #6

I haven't done one of these since April so there are quite a few photos! 
I'm trying to get back into blogging as much as possible and I hope people start to come back to reading posts as well, I liked chatting to everyone in the comments! I'm hoping to do more of my old series posts like these snapshots and the favourites posts I sometimes did, I enjoy finding pieces for those posts!

Great day out today!
Jane Eyre revision and a rice krispies cake!
Prettiest early Easter egg ever!
I love Easter chocolate!
A bit of relaxation before going back to revision!
Cute little post it note I found on the wall in college!
First ice cream from the van of the year!
Definitely a good way to revise...
So bored of revision, I still have 6 exams to go!
Mini doughnuts from Sainsbury's are my weakness...
Such a cute message!
In love with Playdate by Ciate! Such a pretty colour!

Hope you guys enjoyed!
Jess xx

Friday 27 June 2014

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

Tuesday 24 June 2014

London Adventures!

I went to London with the family on Saturday as a celebration of the end of exams! As always, we went to Covent Garden which I love to bits - it's easily my favourite part of the city as it's so pretty and lovely! 
We went to lunch at this amazing Steakhouse called Hawksmoor - I had the most gorgeous steak and I also tried lobster which was so good, it was a really lovely meal to celebrate.
I ended up buying some Laduree macarons too as per usual - there were a couple of new flavours to try (peach and red fruits) and I'm excited about seeing what they're like! 
I saved up all of my money to spend as a bit of retail therapy to treat myself after exams but there wasn't anything that really caught my eye so I ended up only spending out for the macarons which was a bit of a shame! However, me and mum ended up going into Chanel and picking out a lipstick for me as an end of exam present. It's such a pretty colour and I'll definitely be doing a separate post on that soon! 
Jess xx
P.S. I'm going to be posting more after tomorrow as I have prom then, but nothing planned for afterwards until August! 
P.P.S. We also bought some cakes from Laduree, I had the most delicious Rose and Raspberry Saint-Honore, it was so pretty!

Friday 20 June 2014

I'M FREE!

I finally finished my exams on Wednesday and I couldn't be happier! I actually think most of my exams went pretty well so I'm hoping that it shows in my grades!
It's a weird feeling that I'm completely finished with school/college now and that I'm hopefully moving on to a whole new stage of life in October where I get to be much more independent. I'm so happy I don't have to revise anymore too!
I have so much planned for this week which is exciting - I went round my friend Katie's for a sleepover yesterday/today and I'm going to London tomorrow, then on Wednesday I'm going to my old school's prom which will be exciting! I love actually having time to do things, I have loads to read and do over the next few months.
I've been collecting loads of post ideas over the last month, including reviews, tags, wish lists, the blogger challenges I've missed and a few other little bits and pieces! 
I've really missed blogging so expect quite a few posts when I'm not out!
Jess xx