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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Wardrobe Dreaming











Wardrobe goals, something every girl dreams of having when owning their own home. I spend way too much time flicking through Pinterest and screen shotting far too many inspiration pictures. Here are some of my fave pics of things I would like to do with my wardrobe/desk area. 

Love Jen x


















Friday, May 15, 2015

Mini Makeover



So a little while ago, I went to trusty old IKEA with a friend of mine and I may have bought far too much than my wallet would allow. Heading inside, I couldn't help but notice a trend that us women love to go to these places and act like a kid in a candy store browsing through endless interior goodness. In the mean time, the male goers look like they are entering the gates of hell and would prefer to be getting a very invasive prostate exam than bare the aisles of IKEA's finest. 


First on my list of must haves was a clothes rail. I don't have any drawers for clothes so I have to hang everything. This being said I don't have very much room in my wardrobe. After searching through pages and pages of incredible Pinterest inspiration I came across lots of external stylist racks and knew I had to join in on that band wagon. 


At the base of the stylist rack, I have laid out some of my black footwear for all occassions and these are all placed on an IKEA faux fur sheepskin rug. This rug is so soft and now my little staffy puppy has claimed it as his bed when I'm doing my makeup. I'll forgive him though, cause he's a cutie.



One of my good friends surprised me with this deer skull as a birthday present and it is honestly now one of my most prized possessions. Anyone that knows me knows I have an unhealthy obsession with skulls. I don't know what it is but I find them fascinating. This bad boy definately needed to take his proud place on centre stage so is now the focus piece in the room.


As I have almost everything in the room white, I thought I would add some sort of pop of colour and inject some pastels with my clothes hangers. I am a little OCD when it comes to hangers and hate when they are all not the same, I have to admit I even arranged them into colour code for this picture... I know, I'm sad.


This woven lampshade is everything! When I saw it in the store, I wasn't so sure. The more I looked at it though, I knew I would regret it if I didn't bring it home. I brought it home,oped it up and fell instantly in love. At night, it's even better as it creates a textured light effect on the walls giving you the feeling of being in a giant basket .... Something to that effect anyway.


On the shelving, I of course need my skull head money boxes. I don't know if anyone else is the same, but I hate coppers and small change in my purse so these guys look after my needs and take the burden off of me. These I got in Urban Outfitters.


On my desk I have my Muji acryllic drawers for my earrings, jewellery, lipsticks and lip glosses. Here I also keep my everyday makeup brushes in a glass vase and my magnifying mirror to do all my makeup. 


Up on my Alex drawers, I have my excess brushes that don't really get used that much, a picture frame that desperately needs a photograph inside and my latest sunnie faves that I am desperately dying to wear when we get a bit of sun here in Dublin.


That's everything for my mini room makeover. 

Love Jen xx


















Monday, May 11, 2015

Seven Eleven




The chaos that is my everyday makeup bag!

 

Everyone that knows me, knows that Revlon Colorstay Foundation is my holy grail of all foundations. If you love a full coverage that doesn't budge throughout the day, then give this a shot. I have quite oily skin and not many foundations stay that well for a full day around my nose area, however, this foundation doesn't move whatsoever and I don't have to worry about powdering on the hour every hour. I mix Natural Tan and Buff to achieve the colour I like. I would say that the combination to oily version is the one that I use, I have tried the dry to normal however I found it was like water. 
I love this Mac Pro Sculpting Powder in Definitive for contouring. It's the perfect cool tone to achieve that sculpted shadow under the cheekbone. A shadow on the contours of the face would naturally have a cool undertone. Many people make the mistake of using colours that are too warm however by mixing in a cooler shade you will see an instant difference in your sculpting technique.
As I don't have much tan on today, I mixed Inglot 502 and 505 HD sculpting Powder to warm up my face and blend out my contour. 


Mac Blush in Melba is the perfect peachy tone for nearly all skin tones. My kit is never without this little gem. I also love to use this to warm up colours and blend out eyeshadows.


So when doing brows we clearly need some Queen B on in the background. I am obsessed with this song at the moment. I use Mac Dipdown Eyeliner in my brows and set it in place with Essence Clear Brow Gel which is less than €3. 


I store all of my lipsticks in my Muji Acrylic Drawers facing bottoms out so I can see what colour I am selecting.




Finally a bit of sun here in Dublin even though it is still cold out. The finished look including my essential aviators.




Love Jen xx















Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter Obesity

I'm not usually one for baking. If you bake, the usual proceedings afterwards is to eat which results in me devouring EVERYTHING! It tends to be safer for me and for the people around me to just stay clear and leave the baking altogether.
Being Easter however, I have decided what's the harm in half a dozen Easter eggs (Cream Egg of course), a huge family roast dinner (courtesy of the mother) and to make 60 triple chocolate chip chocolate cupcakes with marshmallows (yes I counted 60, I got a bit carried away and I'm not even sorry). While we are on this truth buzz, I also had pancakes for breakfast. I can feel the diabetes creeping into my body already.


For my cupcakes I used the Betty Crocker Devils Food Cake Mix in Chocolate. It is the easiest All-in-1 recipe to follow and being close to midnight that I finished these, it was just Aswel.


I used to make these all the time as a kid with my next door neighbour so it was mandatory to listen to some old school Green Day albums to relive my youth before endulging into the chocolatey madness. 
You pop all your ingredients into a big bowl and stir. It couldn't be more simple unless Betty Crocker came over to your house to physically do it herself but one can only dream! 


Once all stirred up, I clearly have a chocolate obsession so I add far too many chocolate chips into the mix to give it that extra obesity factor that I am a little ashamed of at this stage. Pop into cupcake cases, into the oven for roughly ten mins and decorate as desired.


I did have hopes of hand making teeny pink icing Easter bunnies and cute yellow icing chicks but we can all imagine how they turned out like a three year old had made them with there eyes closed using their left foot so that was abandoned quickly.
Of course I knew this was a very strong possibility so I had a backup plan of these cute pink and white heart shaped marshmallows which worked just fine.


I hope everyone has a great Easter and gets ridiculously full on chocolate so we can all feel super regretful together next week.



Love Jen

Xx




Thursday, April 2, 2015

Ruby Who?


Coming home, even after just a month, is definitely a transition. In a place like Central Phuket, you find out a lot about yourself. You find yourself in so many ways, but you can also lose a part of yourself too. It's important to live your life as you. Nobody can write the chapters of your story except for yourself, so get creative.  


I have gotten myself into a bit of a rutt when it comes to makeup. I missed being dramatic and adventurous with my appearance like when working in the industry, so I am starting to put more of an effort into my creativity again and glamming it up!


Growing up, I was always under the impression that a woman with a red lip was the definition of confidence. I have gone through tonnes and tonnes of red lippes but I always go back to my trusty Ruby Woo. I am willing to sacrifice dried out lips for the matte finish that I love. If you're not a fan of your lips feeling like they have graized the deserts of the Middle East for days.... a matte finish may not be for you. However, I love matte because I know it is going to stay on my lips all day without moving. There is nothing worse than catching a glimpse of yourself and seeing your teeth with a beautiful corner colourfully coloured in with your favourite red. Or that perfect defined line you spent ages to achieve for that Angelina Jolie shape has decided to drift off to the side to have a chat with your nostrils. Never a good look. Ever. 


To achieve the perfect lip, follow these top tips:

I always do my lips as the last stage of my face, I feel like it brings everything together and finishes the look perfectly. While doing the rest of my makeup, I always use a good lip conditioning balm to nourish my lips before sucking all moisture out of them for the rest of the day with my matte obsession. By the time you get around to doing your lips, they will feel smooth and soft and perfectly prepped for your choice of colour. I always pat my lips down to get rid of any excess balm before applying my liner or lipstick as this will dilute the colour if not removed.

I always apply my lip liner before lipstick. This will define the shape and size of your lips while also keeping the colour strong , vibrant and will last make your perfect pout last longer.

After applying your lip liner and lipstick, line the edge of your pout with concealer. Make sure your concealer matches your foundation colour, you are not trying to highlight, just make your lines look nice and crisp.

Pop a bit of matte bronzer under your bottom lip creating a shadow which will make your bottom lip look fuller. A tiny dab of highlighter on your cupids bow will also draw the eye to your upper lip making it appear bigger, just make sure your not heavy handed as if you apply too much you're going to look like a Sweaty Betty.....never a good look!


Hope these tips are useful! Love Jen x








Sunday, February 22, 2015

Road Trippin'


This weekend me and the boys headed down to Cork for a Muay Thai Boxing event. We thought it would be a good motivation trip before heading to Thailand to do the same ourselves with the natives. Eek. The boys were there to support some of their Thai Club friends and they did really well so it was a good trip all round. 


Here is the makeup I wore. It was a little rushed 'cause I did it at half nine in the morning and it had to last me until midnight. My outfit, I went for Topshop Joni jeans, a Topshop crop top and a flannel shirt I picked up in Singapore. I also had Timerland style boots from Penneys on.




Monday, February 16, 2015

All Black Everything

When someone is talking about a wardrobe staple, you can presume they are talking about a good leather jacket! I am a firm believer that the more worn a leather looks, the better.
This River Island beauty was a present from my brother when I turned an innocent eighteen and I have honestly not stopped wearing it since (we won't mention that being over six years ago.... Sigh!). 


I thought I needed a bit of colour with this outfit, so I added a black Fedora and black accessories.... Can you tell what my favourite colour is? 

Jen x

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Here Today, Tartan Tomorrow

Today's essentials are a black and gold type of affair, and tartan, tartan is always welcome in my book... and my hair!


Sunday, February 8, 2015

Luggage Essentials



So, with only three weeks left until I jet off to paradise, I thought I should pick up a few bits to make the journey a little easier. I popped into trusty Penneys and purchased some really cute bits and bobs to make travelling a little more organised......and colourful!


The first item I picked up was this gorgeous little silicone passport holder. My passport has been on a bit of a journey since I got it a couple of years ago and basically it's starting to fall apart. This little number will keep it protected while looking super cute and girly for only €2.


How boring would luggage be without this adorable little owl head keeping all of my contact details safe and sound. Again, only €2 and you can trust if your luggage goes on a little side tracked detour that they can find you again in style.





Last time I was in South East Asia, I learnt my lesson when it came to sunglasses. Currently there are twelve pairs of my sunglasses washed up somewhere on the coast of Thailand.....TWELVE! This time I come prepared. I got this gorgeous floral print sunglasses case for €3 and three sets of sunnies ranging between €1.50-€4. You just can't go wrong!



Where are you jetting off to this year? 

Lots of Love
Jen x