August faves

I don't normally do favourites, I'm a student so I can't really afford to be trying loads of different things out each month, but I've really been loving these things this month so I thought I'd share.

1. Body shop shimmer cubes - This is probably the only eyeshadows I've been using this month, they are the perfect shades for every day or add the darker ones for the evening! Last really well and super pigmented, I love the dark brown and gold.
2. Nars Laguna - This is definitely a cult beauty product and I definitely understand why! I absolutely love this and have been obsessed with it this summer, but unfortunately I've hit pan and I'm having to be super super careful with it!
3. Natural collection blush in pink cloud - Such a lovely pink flushed colour, it's hard to apply too much of this which is really handy for blush newbies like myself.
4. Lipstick combination - Rimmel 107 and Sleek Smother - Creates a really lovely dark burgundy, love this look with a good tan! The Rimmel one creates a nice base and then the Sleek one adds extra colour and a nice glossy finish, my favourite  look for nights out this month!
5. Seche vite - Yes I finally purchased Seche vite and I love it! It dries so quick and makes your nails look really glossy and healthy on any colour! I know there are a lot of health risks with this but I have been trying to only use it when I really need to.
6. Accessorize glitter - I'm not sure whether they still sell this because I'm have it for absolutely years but I've really been loving it this month on the top of the dark brown for nights out and it looks incredible, I'll take a photo next time I do it, the glitter is really finely milled and is really comfortable to wear.
7. Max Factor false lash effect waterproof - I've ranted on about how much I love this before but it definitely had to be in my favourites, holds a curl perfectly and is great for volume and length! 
8. Real techniques blending brush - I purchased the set and the start of the month and this is definitely my favourite, it's super soft and blends everything really nicely, I really want to get another one but it's annoying that it only comes in a set.

Jess xo

 

 

 

17 instant glow pink bronze bronzing rocks - Review

I've had my eye on this for a while but was never really sure whether I needed it or not!

 17 instant glow pink bronze bronzing rocks - £4.99

I don't have any products like this so I thought I'd give it ago and at the moment Boots have an offer where if you buy something from the 17 Instant Glow range you get free blotting papers so I thought I'd give it a whirl. 

You can see how beautiful they are and I think that's what attracted me the most, as you can see there is a combination of pink and gold coloured powder rocks which you swirl your brush round and then dust all over your face. I would say they are more highlighting than they are a bronzing product but they do create a really nice glowy look. I have been applying them all over my face to create a sun kissed glowy look then a little bronzer over the top and I love it, they give the perfect amount of shimmer without being too heavy and noticeable. I made my mum buy them as well because she's going on holiday in a week or so and I thought they'd be perfect for her in the evenings. 

The only thing that annoys me about these is that because the packaging is so bulky I have no where to store them! Ha! But I do really like the packaging and it's going to last me ages because you get so much for the price! 

I have really been enjoying 17 products recently and I'm looking forward to trying out more.

Jess xo

17 Lip Lustres - Review.

Normally I'm not really a lip gloss girl, I prefer a lipstick to a gloss, although I do like a glossy lipstick, ha! I just seem to reach more for lipsticks, but I was in Boots and these instantly caught my eyes!

 Left - Talk that talk 

Right - Kiss the stars

Both - £3.99

I got the two shades talk that talk and kiss the stars. Talk that talk is a stunning peach gloss with gold glitter in it, my favourite out of the two and Kiss the stars is a nudey pink with silver and pink glitter in it's more opaque where as the other one is more sheer. They are both quite thick glosses and sticky which is really annoying on a windy day but these just look so stunning on that I put up with it. 

They both have doe foot applicators which apply a nice amount or you can layer them up to create a really eye catching kissable look. My boyfriend absolutely hates these but he hates anything that's sticky when he kisses me and then they get all over his lips which I find really amusing!   

In terms of lasting power these do really well, they definitely last for a good few hours and then leave your lips looking really glittery without the glossy look which I don't really like the look off but I just make sure I reapply before it gets to that stage. However, they do wear evenly and don't cling to any dry patches which is great when you've forgotten to scrub your lips! 

I have been wearing these on nights out and they looking incredible in photos, definitely gives you the "porn star lips" look, which if I'm honest I sometimes quite like!

These are the most glittery from the range, they also do some with less glitter in and some without any in which I want to try next, I've got my eye on a red one! 

Any glitter lovers out there these are perfect and with such a cheap price tag they are definitely worth checking out!

Jess xo

Wishlist #15 - Jacquard camo

Wishlist #15 - camo by jesscotton featuring a red skirt

Topshop knot front top, £36 / Topshop red skirt, £49 / Miss Selfridge high heel shoes, £55 / Topshop floral print purse, £36 / Topshop bracelet jewelry, £18 / Topshop jewelry, £26 / Barry M nail care

Revlon nail varnish in smokey canvas - Review

I'll start off by saying sorry with the lack of posts lately I've been mega busy with a lot of things and I'm moving back to Nottingham soon so that's taking up a lot of time but I will try me best to get back on track! 

Anyway on to the review!

Revlon nail varnish in smokey canvas - £7.99

Personally I haven't been impressed with the Revlon nail varnishes before, I found they chip really easy and aren't very pigmented at all, I had only tried one or two before and I feel bad for not giving and others a chance! I've been really really impressed with this one, I don't know whether the formula is different depending on the colour or something but I wouldn't of thought it was even the same brand! 

Anyway, I have currently had this on for 5 days and it's still going strong which is amazing for my nails! It's also really really pigmented, you could definitely get away with just using one coat if you wanted but I always apply two or three just so it lasts a little longer and then also a quick dry top coat on top because I can never be bothered to wait round for it to dry! 

I shall definitely be checking more of this range out to see if I can see what colours last really well or whatever it is that changes in the formula!

Jess xo

Nottingham Caribbean Carnival

As you may know I go to Uni in Nottingham and live there most of the time but this year was the first time I have experienced Nottingham Caribbean Carnival so I thought I would share it with you.

 The Caribbean Carnival in Nottingham began in 1970. A group of West Indians, mainly from the island of St Kitts, held a carnival parade in the Meadows and this became a major annual event for Nottingham’s black community. However, the struggle to secure funding for the Carnival meant that a number of years were missed in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Nottingham Caribbean Carnival was on for two days, being at 12 noon on the Saturday and ending the following day in the evening. The first day comprised lots of live acts and rides on the Forest Fields recreation ground, it's almost like a smaller festival with a big stage where you watch live music acts while having a few drinks laying on the grass. We were really lucky both days as the weather was lovely, the first day there was a little rain and you definitely needed a jacket towards the end of the day as it got quite chilly. There was plenty of food stalls and rides which weren't overly expensive (I got some chips which were £1.50 which I didn't think was too bad) we sat watching the live music acts for hours and hours with a couple of Bulmers and Red bull (which the stage was sponsored by.) The atmosphere was really nice and there were some people taking Polaroids pictures and taking some surveys which were didn't mind at all. 

A group of us went and the girls and I heading home earlier than the boys because we needed to get ready and we obviously take a longer than the boys, we ended up actually falling asleep on the sofa for an hour or so because we were so knackered.

Anyway, later that night there were loads of events on for carnival after parties and we ended up going to one at Bodega hosted by Detonate where one of the boys were djing, the tickets were £8 per person which is a lot more than I am willing to pay to get in some where normally but as our friend was djing we had to be there to support him. There were all sorts of different djs on that night as well and it was such a fun night, as usual the night ended with a gross take away and passing out a bit drunk in bed! 

The following day as we all slowly emerged from our pits there was constant loud Caribbean music on, which was quite annoying to begin with when we were trying to sleep our hangovers off but we got into it quite quickly. We were all staying at my boyfriends house which is located right in the middle of town and where the carnival parade started which was really handy because we all sat on the balcony and watched all of the parade walk past for about hour which was really interesting and fun to see. 

This was one of the most fun and interesting weekends I've had, I really enjoyed the Caribbean experience and was all completely free (apart from the after party obviously) you obviously do still end up spending money on food and such like but all in all it was a really cheap weekend and I'll definitely be doing it next year! So if you're in the Nottingham this time next year I'd definitely recommend checking it out!  

Jess xo

L'oreal colour infallible eyeshadows - Review

I've seen these around for ages but I've only just been interested in them for some reason. They have such a lovely range of colours and are available in the US and UK.

I bought two from Amazon for a lot cheaper in burning black and endless chocolate, I probably have so many colours like this but I couldn't help myself.

 L'oreal colour infallible eyeshadows - £6.99

These are basically powder pigments but they have a little stopper that keeps them compact which is really handy and keeps them tidy. 

Burning black is lovely dark purple, very similar to Mac's beauty marked eye shadow, it looks really purple in the pot but when blended out on the eye it look black/dark grey with a deep purple tint, it looks really beautiful when it catches the light. I have worn this all over the lid and just blended into the crease which a goldy brown all over the lid. 

Endless chocolate is a lovely chocolate brown really compliments brown eyes and I can imagine it looking amazing on green eyes. I've been wearing this a lot all over the lid in the day and adding some fake lashes for the evening. 

These eye shadows are really really pigmented, some of the most pigmented eye shadows I've used actually. They actually last really well too, I've tried them without a primer and they last quite well but 10 times longer with a base, I've used the urban decay primer potion or some sort of paint pot which work really well. 

I've seen some really lovely shades that I'm going to be getting soon I think, like Amber rush, they have mostly the same colours in Boots or Superdrug but if you look around on the internet you can find some different ones, like I have never seen Burning black in the shops but found it on Amazon for a lot cheaper than in the shops. I got both of these for a couple of pounds each from Amazon but some are only £1.50 from fragrance direct (link here) so it's definitely worth having a look around on the net first. 

I would definitely recommend these, they're really blended and extremely pigmented, how ever they sometimes give quite a lot of fall down so be careful about that and definitely do not loose the stopper because they just go back into pigments and become very messy. 

Jess xo

Wishlist #14 - Tropical print...

Wishlist #14 by jesscotton featuring black studded booties

Topshop lycra mini dress, £49 / Topshop print shirt, £49 / Topshop , £54 / River Island black studded booties / Topshop vintage black purse, £29 / Topshop black necklace, £24 / ASOS black earrings, £8.76 / ASOS band ring / Topshop nail polish

My hair history...

I fancied doing something a bit different today and thought it would be quite fun to share my hair history. I have been so many different colours and I've liked all of them to be honest! 

WARNING.. There might be some shameful photos of me so prepare yourself!

So let's start..

This is my natural hair colour completely, this was taken when I was about 16 I think. Yes, I am a natural blonde and if you saw my roots you'd believe me! It was really short after having it cut off due to heat damage, boo!

I then decided I wanted to go for a dramatic change! 

Boom! Bright red, I literally don't know what came over me, I'd been through a tough year and think I just wanted to make a statement! As you can see, this was the first time I'd dyed my hair and I made a really rubbish job of it, it looks like I've got highlights but that's actually just where I had missed, ha!

 Cringe at the posey photos ha! 

Anyway, I then got my mum to dye my whole head of hair properly and it was super bright red! I absolutely loved my hair this bright but it was so hard to maintain, I was dying my hair every other week to keep it this bright. Slowly getting longer and longer! This was probably a year on from the first photo!

I then went for a darker red for the winter, I also really loved it this colour and kept it this colour for like twoish years. It was a lot easier to maintain and I didn't dye it nearly as much and my hair gre so so quickly as you can see from the last two photos. 

 This was about a year or two later and just wanted to show how bright it still was! Gawwwwddd this is making me wanna go back red! 

I then fancied a change and my housemate persuaded me to try a dark brown semi colour which as you can see had hardly any effect at all.

I then went a really deep chocolatey brown which was one of my favourite hair colours, although it was dark brown it still had a lovely hint of red but unfortunately that was hard to keep.

I then went even darker and went for a really really deep brown, it looks almost black in this photo but it wasn't. I kept this for about a year but wanted something lighter for the following summer.

I then got my housemate to give me highlights (which she did an amazing job with) just to lighten up my hair and give me more of a summer kissed look. At this point I was debating between having highlights or having it ombre!

I then wanted to go darker again for winter and went for a deep plumy brown which looked really healthy! This is from my 20th birthday night out with my lovely boyfriend!

A few months later I couldn't control my urge for ombre anymore and just got a subtle hint of blonde on my tips.

Then I went blonder and loved it! I kept it this colour for a long time but eventually my ends got a bit dry and I went dark again.

As I was really happy with the colour and ombre for a while I decided to change my side fringe and got a full fringe cut in. I really lovely my full fringe but as soon as it got a little long, it drove me insane so to be honest it didn't last that long. 

Cringe! 

I then just went dark again and got rid of my full fringe and ombre which I stayed for a while but now it's summer I wanted to lighten up my hair again. 

I then got my mum to give me a few highlights which I really love! I've had so many compliments on my hair lately and I'm really happy with it at the moment so will be sticking with it for a while! I love going for a tanned sun kissed look in the summer! 

I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Jess xo

Rimmel Kate Moss salon pro nail varnish in hip hop - Review

Finally tried one of the Kate Moss nail varnishes! Yay!

Rimmel Kate Moss salon pro nail varnish in hip hop - £4.49

As you probably already know I absolutely adore the Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick collection and thought it was about time I tried out the nail varnish version. I saw my mum with this on and just had to get my hands on it, it looked so classy but summery, just perfection. I love coral colours for summer they are about as girly as I go with my nails, but I really think corals suit all skin tones, from English rose pale to sultry tanned babes! 

Anyway on to this polish, I shall definitely be buying and trying more colours in this range because I really got on with this one. It has a lovely thick brush which means you can apply colour in one sweep which is perfect if you're on the go and just want something quick. It applies a lovely coat of colour in one coat as well but it does look better with two which I always do if I have the time, it also has an almost gel like finish which is just perfect! To be honest when I first went to buy this I was not too sure about getting it because I've tried the cheaper Rimmel 60 seconds nail varnishes and I wasn't too pleased with them but I was really pleasantly surprised with these! I applied two coats and it didn't chip for at least five or six days which is brill in my mind, I just really love everything about these! They claim to have Lycra in which could be the reason for their long lasting- ness and their glossy finish!

So if anyone is looking to try out some new nail varnishes then definitely go for these, they are really pigmented, long lasting and have a really lovely glossy finish. I will 100% be buying more of these, the only reason I haven't tried these before is just because I didn't spot any colours that I really liked the look of but I will be keeping my eye out from now on and at £4.49 I think you can't really go wrong!

Jess xo

Sally Hansen dry kwik nail colour dryer - Review

Sally Hansen dry kwik nail colour dryer - £2.99

Personally I think quick dry top coats are one of the best things ever invented! They're so handy if you're on the go, for nail art or if you've just applied really thick coats of polish. 

This one however, is a bit different rather than being a top coat it's actually an oil that you paint onto your nails after painting them with your desired colour and after you've used it you can rub the rest of the oil into your cuticles which is a really nice factor. I actually bought this from B&M home so I'm not actually sure where you can buy this normally but I'm sure you can probably find it on the internet somewhere if you fancy getting it. 

It definitely makes your nail varnish dry dramatically quicker and definitely does work for what you want if for. However, I will not be repurchasing this because I personally prefer quick drying top coats rather than an oil because I like it to add extra shine to your nails, but this is great if you're wearing a matte polish and you want it to stay matte but to dry quick! 

For how cheap it is it's definitely a great quick drying oil and I would recommend it for someone who wants to see how they would get on with a quick drying top coat without going too expensive!

Jess xo

Wishlist #13 - Dressy cas...

Wishlist #13 Dressy casual by jesscotton featuring topshop

Topshop , £49 / Topshop , £34 / ASOS leather boots, £71 / Topshop rhinestone jewelry, £12 / River Island / NARS Cosmetics , £29 / NARS Cosmetics

Sleek pout polish in The Afterparty - Review

I absolutely love all of the Sleek products I've tried, they've got a great reputation, the colours are really pigmented and are always lovely quality. 

I've actually had this product for nearly two years but I've only just been getting use out of it. It's basically a tinted lip conditioner, a bit nicer than a just a tinted lip balm and it has spf 15 in it which is an added bonus! It's really great for on go if you've forgotten your lipstick and you want a hint of glossy colour. It's really easy just to throw in your bag and the packaging makes it easy to keep in your purse or a small make up bag without taking up much room. 

The texture of it is really buttery and quite thick which makes it really glossy and moisturizing, it doesn't cling to any dry patches or anything which is perfect. 

I will be trying more of these out, I'm not sure what the colour range is like but if there's a red or orange one I'll definitely be getting those as well. Also, I just think the name is super cute!

Jess xo