Blog awards

Hi guys! 

I am soooo  unbelievably sorry for not posting in so long. I was absolutely bogged under with A Level revision and my new job- I hope you can understand! 

So, I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely The Blonde Breakthrough 

I got these rules through The Blonde Breakthrough's Blog, who nominated me for this award and there are four rules to stick to when you have been nominated:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog
2. Answer the questions provided by the nominator 
3. Nominate and link ten bloggers that have less than two hundred followers
4. Create 10 questions for the nominees to answer.

My questions were:

1. Who is your biggest inspiration in life?

Wow- what a deep question. I look to many different people for different inspiration!

For everything, I usually would turn to my mother for inspiration; she's truly the best. For fashion and beauty, my ultimate inspiration is CarliBybel (follow her on Instagram and she'll blow your mind)

2. What made you want to create your blog?

Honestly, I just love to babble about things I'm interested in! I loved the thought that I could share tips and tricks with other people and hopefully one day be an inspiration for somebody else. It's also uber fun and satisfying!

3. If you could travel to any place in the world, where/why would it be?

I'm an absolute sucker for blue seas and white sand. I'd absolutely love to travel to Thailand, Bora Bora and the Maldives purely due to their breathtaking beaches and scenery! I've been to places like New York and Washington and I would totally want to visit more American states too! 

4.Peanut Butter or Nutella?

NUTELLA, ALWAYS.

5. What do you find most challenging about maintaining a blog?

100% the upkeep. I find it really hard to take crystal clear photos and find the time to write my blog- because I'm such a perfectionist, one post can take me hours! 

6. If someone was interested in becoming a blogger, what would your tips be?

Stick at it. No matter what, stick at it and be persistent. You're never going to get 10000 followers over night! Keep it interesting and ONLY write about things you're genuinely interested in. Unfortunately I don't think you can ''fake it till you make it'' with blogging, you've got to be yourself.

7. Best compliment you've ever received?

I always get told that I remind people of Demi Lovato which is an ultimate compliment as she's such an inspiration and empowering woman. However, my ultimate favourite was a comment on instagram where someone said I look like Megan Fox!! (I know, unreal!) 

8.If you were to throw a dinner party and could only invite 5 people (celebrities included), who would you invite? 

Scott Disick, Michelle Keegan, Kim Kardashian, Chris Brown and Beyonce.

9.If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?

BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA, hands down.

10. What is your favourite movie?

Argh, I hate this. LOL is a pretty awesome movie!

I nominate: 

1- Yeah I'm Lost

2- The Blonde Breakthrough

3- Love Lauren
4- Black is the new black

5- Never Too Experienced

6- Lipstick and Laughter

7- Sparkle Shine Heather

8- Romantiquely

9- About Today

10- Chatter Girl

My questions to you all:

1. If you could be friends with any celebrity who would it be and why?

2. What would your dream job be?

3. If you were a food, what would you be and why?

4. What do you find the most rewarding part about blogging?

5. Who is your favourite blogger?

6. If you could own any handbag, what would it be and why?

7. If you won £10,000 what would you spend it on?

8. Have you ever considered travelling? If so where would you go and why?

9. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

10. Sweet or savoury?

Time to get nominating guys- thanks for reading!

Simply Jess x

Topshop Joni Jeans: Simply Jess's Review.

Topshop Joni Jeans: possibly the most fast-fading jeans ever, but they're a pair you can't live without. 

Joni jeans are probably the most popular jeans ever at the moment. I've owned 3 pairs of Joni's, all with the same reoccurring issue... The quality!

I don't know how many of you will agree with me on this one, but when you buy black jeans you want them to stay black right? Right!

Unfortunately with Joni jeans (and most Topshop jeans) this doesn't seem to be the case. After around only 3 washes *approx* my black jeans are a faded grey. I've had many comments on last nights instagram post and many most of you agreed that your Joni jeans are either faded or they've ripped!

Here is a picture of my current pair and my new purchase. The difference is incredible! Many commented on my post asking 'how have you managed to stop your jeans fading?'

I don't want to fool you at all- this is unfortunately just the lighting and my old Joni's are verging on a light grey!

The sad thing is, and most of you may agree... Joni jeans are the most comfortable jeans ever. With the stretchy fabric and the high waist, these bad boys hug a curvylicious figure whilst also complimenting the slimmer figure (which I am not blessed with *sigh*).

However, I have one tip that my save your Topshop Jean-mare. 

BLACK DYE

That's right... Dye. If you pop to your local home store/supermarket you'll find fabric dye. I've been recommended to use black fabric dye in the washing machine next time I was my jeans (the faded ones). 

However, I'm too scared risking the dye staying in the washing machine and ruining my next lot of clothes so I'd use a washing up bowl/bucket and leave the jeans to soak in the black dye, and then put on a wash ON THEIR OWN or INSIDE OUT- this will avoid the dye running onto any other clothes you may have. 

If any of you have any black jeans recommendations, I'd warmly welcome them! I've heard that the River Island 'Molly' and 'Amelie' jeans are a good shout? 

Thanks for reading,

Simply Jess x

Tanning essentials: preparation and application.

Hi guys! 

So, I know it's only Wednesday and usually I would be preparing my tan on a Thursday (ready for the weekend) 

So, lets talk essentials.
Mine 100% come from St. Tropez.

This brand is absolutely incredible if you do not want streaks or patchy fake tan.

The steps I follow to gain the 'perfect' tan:

1. Preparation
Preparation is the key to a non streaky or patchy looking fake tan.

- I always make sure I'm fresh out of the bath/shower, with freshly shaven legs (and everything else) to ensure that the application will apply smooth.

-Moisturise! I can't stress this enough. You need to moisturise. Personally I just moisturise my knuckles, elbows and knees pre-application. However after my tan has dried I always do a full body moisturise too. 

2. Application

I doubt there's anyone that even attempts to fake tan without a fake tan mit, however if you are one of these people...INVEST IN A TANNING APPLICATION MIT!

There is nothing worse than seeing girls with bright orange palms. For a first, it doesn't look natural at all. In the sun, you never see tanned palms as they're not something that naturally catch the sun- thus making your tanning application look ridiculous.

-Orange hands would only occur if you apply tan without a mit as you would be leaving product on your hands.

- I always apply in a light circular motion, applying around one or two squirts of product at a time. The circular motion ensures that the fake tan will cover everywhere and it prevents the streaky lines that can occur.

TOP TIPS: 

- Don't apply too much product as you then increase your chances of build ups in areas, causing streaks and a heavily uneven tan

-If you over apply, you may well look orange- this is not an attractive look, the purpose of tan is to make you look TANNED (as if you've caught the sun) and most certainly not that you've had a ball with your Doritos.

-Don't heavily to the inside of your arm, your palms and the balls of your feet. These places do NOT naturally catch the sun and you'll see when you're on holiday- these areas are always paler as they do not tan as easy. If you apply lots of product to these areas too, it will look un-natural and defeats the object of a 'tan'.

-LET. IT. DRY. With nail varnish, you wouldn't  use your freshly painted nails to fold your clothes would you?! It would smudge them right? Exactly! Treat your tan the same- let the product dry to avoid any smudges, patches or stains. My worst ever experience was brushing my teeth after fake tanning (Drops of water came off my toothbrush and landed on my leg leaving some lovely white splodges where it'd removed my tan!!) 

I hope this has helped with your tanning application and I do highly recommend this product. I recently bought my new bottle from Feel Unique where it's currently only £24.00 usually £30.00 in my local Boots!

Thanks for reading,

Simply Jess x

Lil' bit of Essie loving: my new faves.

Hi guys!
So, I've been blogging for around two weeks now and I can honestly say I love it!
After monotonously drafting posts, re-drafting, re-writing and publishing posts to both my blog and Instagram, I realised I was actually getting some followers! 

I'd followed looooooads of bloggers who expressed their posts through Instagram- especially the likes of 'itslittlelauren', the author of Lauren's Looks and realised that Essie was a highly popular brand of nail varnish amongst all the 'big bloggers'.

I walked into Boots and the Essie stand was a real eye catcher however, I wasn't greeted with the most reasonable prices... '£7.99 for a nail varnish, you must be kidding right?!' was the only thought that went through my head. Given the fact I was new to blogging I decided that if this is what it would take to have nice nails, I'd buy two and give them a go... And boy I was amazed!

My first ever combo was 'Tuck It In My Tux' (the white Nail Varnish) and the glitter one came with no name? Apologies for that guys! 

Essie nail varnish is of an astounding quality- I'm no nail expert, if anything I'm a walking disaster but I found that these nail varnishes are a pleasure to work with! 

As you can see the white 'Tuck It In My Tux' shade has been applied to all nails, adding glitter to two of my nails to break up the colour and add some glitz to my look.

After realising that this look lasted me for nearly two weeks without chipping made me realise I'd found a new love for the stuff. Therefore, as a typical girl... I bought more!

This shade below is called 'Bahama Mama' and it's a deep plum colour- I'm in love with this colour at the moment. Like all Essie polishes, it sits perfectly and coats really well. 

I only have one small issue with Essie nail varnishes, and that's the time it takes to dry. I'm used to nail varnishes taking around one/two minutes to dry, yet Essie seems to take at least 5 minutes before it stops being tacky.

Apart from this issue, Essie is my new favourite nail varnish brand- with the most amazing colour selection! I'm going to be adding to my collection like I don't know what- Hopefully once I've got my Essie haul I'll do another post relating to my new colours.
Why not pop down to your local Boots store and check out the colours? You can get one for £7.99 or a duo (pre-packed set) for £12.99! Honestly, if you haven't tried Essie, I highly recommend the brand.


Go on girls, treat yourselves!

With love,
Simply Jess x

Eye make up envy: my two favourite looks.

1. The 'cut crease' look. So I've never been able to master this look and if anyone fancies advising me on how to, please let me know. This look is flawless- the perfect dramatic eye. It adds such a striking feature to the eye. Whilst procrastinating (I know, I should be revising for my A Levels...) I came across this look on Pinterest (my new fave thing) 

I mean how incredible is this look?! Girly meets diva/princess/queen. I'm utterly obsessed with this look. The sparkle adds the glitzy glamour to the eye, whilst the dramatic black liner adds the contrasting yet striking feature- really bringing the attention to the eye. 

2. This double eyeliner thing that's going on.... I looooooove it! How awesome does this look?! Although I have teeny tiny eyes, I'd love to experiment and try this look on myself. 

The fact that there are gaps between the two eyeliner lines adds an almost cat eye effect. Although this look may be slightly to harsh for the daytime- if I could master the art of it, I'd 100% flaunt this look each day and every day! 

As for the rest of this girls face (again this was found on Pinterest) - her contour is immaculate, and her lips couldn't be more defined. I'm utterly in love with this look.

I am tempted to jump on the contouring bandwagon and I've found that the Anastasia Beverly Hills pallete has the best reviews- if any of you girls have tried this palette please feel free to leave your review! 

Sunday Spends; Close up to my purchases

So, we've all heard the phrase 'go hard or go home' right?

Well... That's exactly what I did today... Slightly too hard though- you know the type of 'hard' where you realise you now don't have enough money to live off/pay for petrol etc? Yep, I overspent.

Here's a little insight into some of the purchases made today...

I did manage to get many items from Primark, including the shorts at the bottom of the photo, a couple of bikinis and the essentials e.g. Vest tops/pants/sunglasses/pj's.

However, it all started in MAC. I finally found Velvet Teddy AND Whirl Liner- so you can imagine my excitement! I realised I had been bought a MAC voucher for my birthday, so I thought 'Awesome, I can pay for my things with the voucher' However, as per... Something HAD to go wrong. 

'I'm really sorry you can't use this voucher here, it's only redeemable from MAC in Fenwicks' - I was like whuuuuuut. But regardless, I wanted them both so I thought I'll just save the voucher for something else and bought the products. 

Usually I'd have my head screwed on and think 'Wait until you get to Fenwick's and use your voucher' a.k.a SAVE YOUR MONEY. But no I didn't, and this is where it went downhill. Because I'd splurged in Primark; spending over £80 (I know, I didn't think it was possible either!!) I decided it didn't matter what I spent any more...

I managed to bag myself a beautiful playsuit from New Look for only £9.99, its a red patterned halter neck and its beauuuutiful! I also bagged a crop top too.

Then I went into Zara- one word- DEADLY. I got the most beautiful chiffon nude top for work, with baggy short sleeves.
Then, I spotted the SHOES. That's right, these beauties...

Not only are they the most beautiful pair of black strappy heels I've found in a long time, but they were only £29.99!! That's right, something in Zara UNDER £30. I couldn't believe it so I snapped up the chance to buy these beauties whilst I could. 

I'd so recommend these shoes as well, because they're suede, they're SOOOO comfy and the strappy detail makes your legs look more elegant and slimmer as the focus of attention is the delicate detail of the shoes! THESE ARE A MUST MUST MUST!! 

I also bought 3 pairs of black flats from Primark all under £10 each and PERFECT for summer! You can kinda see in the first photo however I wasn't going to take a picture of each and every individual item I bought as I didn't want to bore you guys, so I just picked my ultimate faves.

If you'd like any more information on the products I bought today or any recommendations/reviews of any products, please feel free to comment and I'll be sure to answer any questions you may have! 

Simply Jess x

River Island buys

So, I'm never usually the biggest River Island fan but lately they've been on point!
After seeing this bag on an instagram page, I thought I'd take a look....

Obviously being a girl, 'taking a look' meant buy the bag.



This River Island Grey/Nude tote is now probably definitely my favourite bag at the moment. With it's structured frame, the bag keeps it's shape and sis perfect for any of you looking for a bag to put school books ect in.
(I don't know if any of you girls get this dilemma but if a bag isn't structured it can bend and break all your school books... I definitely had this dilemma through my A Levels!!)





Again, being the girl I am I just had to buy a purse to match! Unfortunately when I ordered the purse from the internet the picture made the purse look a really light nude/cream colour however when it came it was a more pinky colour so it doesn't 100% match the bag, HOW ANNOYING!! 

The River Island structured grey/nude/cream bag is RRP £45.00 and the purse was RRP £17.00. I think delivery was around £5 (please don't quote me that could be wrong!)

This bag honestly puts my Michael Kors Jet Set Tote to the test! I sold my MK bag on eBay last month in order to fund the Dillon North South Tote, however I decided to put the money towards a new wardrobe after buying this bag and purse, given the quality and standard I don't think I could justify £310 on a new MK one!

A strong message I want to give on this blog post is that designer handbags aren't all what they're made out to be. I was the 'typical white girl' you may say and saw the desire for designer and labels as obviously  they make you feel more expensive. However, this isn't always the case. I'd definitely recommend that you read reviews before buying designer handbags as I could get 4 of these River Island Bags for the price of a designer!

This is only a short (ish) blog post- I'm going on a shopping spree on Sunday so stay tuned for a new post Sunday night!

Thanks guys, 
Simply Jess x 

Get ready with me- my daily make up procedure

You could say when it comes to make up, I'm a little, maaaajorly obsessed with it.
Here is a snapshot of some of my daily essentials, my must haves. 

How do you prep your face?
Every night I religiously take my make up off using the Garnier Skin Naturals collection- the Softening Cleansing Lotion and the Softening Toner. They do an amazing job at removing make up and keeping your face hydrated at the same time! Not only this, but it doesn't sting. I simply cannot use baby wipes/face wipes as jeeeezz they sting like a bi***h!        

 Although the cleanser and toner aim to not dry out the face, I don't think you could eliminate the fact that your skin needs moisturising and hydrating. My two fave products for this are the 'Simple- Kind to Skin collection- Hydrating Light Moisturiser' it's really light on your face so it feels incredible; I cannot stand it when your face feels heavy e.g from putting too much product on.
I've only just tested out the 'Chanel- hydrating cream' as it came as a tester with a recent purchase.... WOW! I've always always always stuck by Chanel 100% and I'm so glad I have done. This hydrating cream is incredible. If you're looking for a glowing effect- this is the product for you! It's on my wishlist now for pay day so I can get the full thing!! 

To the juicy bit.... The actual make up application:

My foundation is again my favourite brand, Chanel. Honestly, I've tried MAC, Rimmel and many other high street brand and nothing compares to this. I use the Chanel Vitalumiere in 30 Shell. This usually isn't the reason anyone would buy a foundation... But honestly the smell is INCREDIBLE. Not only does your face look amazing, but it smells amazing too!

I'd 100% recommend this foundation to anyone! Most of the time with purchases from Chanel you receive little freebies too, that's awesome right?!

P.N I do use highlighters/primers/brow kit and any extra products as my post would've almost been a full photo album if I included everything- If you want any details feel free to message me! 
The cheeks/face...

For my bronzer I use the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Bronzer in 'GIVE ME SUN'. (left product) This bronzer is perfect if you're wanting a shimmery look... But also a heavily bronzed cheek- which I do given my brunette locks and darker skin. 

I apply the bronzer using a Real Techniques Bronzing Brush to the bottom of my cheekbone, lining up with my ear and my top lip. I then apply the bronzer to my temples and blend upwards to the to top corners of my forehead.
After applying my MAC bronzer, I apply the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact in 'Beige', this is my ultimate essential, I honestly couldn't live without it... It adds so much more to the cheeks, really highlighting and complimenting my harsher looking bronzer. These two are the ultimate duo!

The eyes...

My eyes are probably the most trickiest part of my daily routine, given the dreaded eyeliner flicks. 
Firstly, I apply the Benefit 'Stay Don't Stray' eye primer and brightener- this is perfect if you're wanting to add the harsh white contrast underneath your brows to compliment them.
I then use my MAC white eye shadow and cover up and over my crease to my brow line, before applying my NAKED 2 palette colour of my choice to the creases.
For my eyeliner I use the gel paint point in black from MAC, and the MAC 209 brush to apply, this creates a strong and bold eye liner look. Because I'm using a paintbrush, I am able to thin out my flicks due to the natural fading of any brush stroke- creating a natural  looking flick or dramatic if you press harder.

For my mascara I use the Chanel mascara in black- Be careful as this has occasionally made both my mum's and my eyes itch. Weird I know!

The Lips.... 

Because this is my every day essentials, I am not getting my MAC Lipstick collection out! For every day use I swear by the Bobbi Brown Lip Pencil in Cocoa. It creates the most beautiful nude tone and most definitely compliments the other products. It's sooooo worth a try!

Although this isn't everything I use (I do apologise) these are my basic essentials I use when getting ready on a morning. If you have any questions don't hesitate to message me!

Simply Jess x

My life as a dieter

Sooo, I've tried many many times to lose weight and I could never shift the pounds. I came across the Cambridge weight plan 5 weeks ago and thought I'd give it a go.... In 3 weeks I've lost 12lb and I've only got 15 more to go until my goal weight of 8st 10! 

But... What do you eat? 

Well, the purpose of the programme is to kick your body into ketosis the stage at which your body uses your fat to create energy. This is a result of a VLCD (very low calorie diet). For the first 4 weeks I've consumed around 450-500 calories a day. 

What?! Surely that can't be healthy?

Oh, of course it is! The products are all made with every nutrient and mineral your body could ever need- trust me. 

Do you eat food? 

Currently I eat three products a day- ranging from shakes and soups to bars and spaghetti bolognese. However these are not your typical foods- they're packed with everything I need! 

Here's a shake from today... 

They're so delicious and I have sooo much fun experimenting with the products and instagramming pictures of them!! An example is my 'Milkyway shake' where I combined the chocolate and vanilla shakes to make this beauty... 

And then there's the spaghetti bolognese, probably the most 'foodie' food I get to eat: 

I'm moving up onto step two on Thursday where I can introduce food back into my diet which I'm so excited for!! Prepare yourself for some foodie pictures when I get to munch again!! 

I'm soooo unbelievably excited to shed my final pounds ready for my holidays, and finally feel comfortable in a bikini! Not only this, but to enjoy food again in moderation will be very exciting! 

Feel free to check the Cambridge diet plan out on my Instagram 'mycwpstory' or on their website! CWP

Thanks for reading, 

Simply Jess, x 

Welcome to my blog guys!

Hi guys! Welcome to my blog, Simply Jess.

A little background information: I'm an 18 year old girl from York, I'm just finishing my A Level's (exams are under way as I'm writing this!) with a new career at Nestle as of Monday. I am utterly obsessed with shopping and beauty products and I Instagram basically anything that's beauty, fashion or food related.

I'm currently on the Cambridge Weight Plan trying to shed the pounds- I've currently lost 12lb over the past 3 weeks and hope to lose a few more ready for my holidays.
-Uuuhh.. Why is she telling me this? It's just to inform you that there will be a lack of my 'foodie' pictures for the next couple of weeks, especially those that contain indulgent foods such as chocolate etc. Just until I'm back eating naughty foods again.

I'm a complete perfectionist- Yes, the annoying type. You know, the girl in class who will rip her paper out if her notes aren't neat enough. Suppose as a blogger that's not a bad quality to have right?

Anyway, moral of this post is that I'm a brand new blogger  who will be posting fashion, beauty and lifestyle posts. 

Welcoming any advice or tips that your kind hearts may want to offer, please email them to jessleaming@hotmail.co.uk if you think I may need to know anything. 

I'm so excited to see where this adventure takes me and with the help of you guys, I'm sure it's going to be a fun one!!

Simply Jess, x

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