birthday trip to austria

Hey Everyone, 

So if you couldn't work out from the title of this post I actually spent my birthday in the mountains of Austria. My boyfriend took me out there for a few days, it was my first time visiting, but he goes a lot with his family. I was so amazed by the beauty of this place, it was just incredible. 

We flew into Munich and then got the train to Austria close to where we were staying in Wörgl, and then got a lift up into the mountains of Niederau where we were staying in a cute and very Austrian looking chalet.

I was gutted that I came down with a cold for the entire trip, but that was not going to stop me having the most amazing time, and I even made it up a giant mountain. We spent a lot of time hiking, as there wasn't enough snow to ski (but there was snow, yay). The view from the top of the mountain was absolutely incredible, it was so worth struggling to breathe for. 

I vlogged the whole trip, so you can see what I got up to in more depth, and hear my manly ill voice (it's not attractive, I warned you), but to sum up, I had the most amazing time, I watched the sun rise and climbed snowy mountains, and relaxed in the sauna after the days we spent hiking. It was honestly the most perfect get away for my birthday, there was so much time to chill out and be in a beautiful calm and quiet environment, which is just what I needed, from the stresses of working life and the hustle and bustle of London. 

Jess x

Winter skincare routine

Hey everyone, 

Today I wanted to talk to you about my current skincare routine. Now that the winter is here and lets face it, its bloody cold. So what better time than to discuss how I try and keep my skin looking fairly decent and hydrated through those dreaded winter months (I actually enjoy winter, but my skin definitely doesn't). 

I try to use oil based products, such as the oil infused micellar water from Garnier, as it gives alot more hydration to my skin and stops it feeling so dry. Just bare in mind that if you have oily skin, you shouldn't be put of by oil based products, I too have oily skin, mainly on my t-zone but I swear by this product. 

I also talk about my love of Origins and their drink up intensive mask, oh my gosh it's so good, I can't tell you how amazing my skin feels after using this, when I wake up in the morning. 

I recently spoke about all of the products I am currently using, and what I think about them, in my latest youtube video. 

I hope you enjoy!

Jess x

organising your life

Do you ever feel unorganised? 

I definitely get times where I feel as though my life is all over the place. However, come December time I get so excited to re purchase a new diary for the upcoming year, that my organisation goes into full swing. 

I have been searching for the perfect diary for a while now, and I kept seeing advertisements for Kikki.K on Instagram and thought their products looked so aesthetically pleasing... and then they opened a store near where I live. Well I could live in that store, its a stationary girl's dream. I routed through the different 2017 diaries and finally decided on this one. It's in my current favourite dusty pink colour and it's got the perfect week view layout, but even better it comes with stickers! 

At the back of the diary, it has pages where you can jot down your favourite movies, restaurants/bars, books, tv programmes. I think that is such a cool idea, because I always make a mental note of the places I want to try out, or the books I want to read, but they very easily get lost among the rest of my thoughts. 

Are you like me and love the excitement of purchasing a new diary, ready for the new year? I feel like i'm talking about the cliché 'New Year, New Me'.

Jess x

3 AUTUMN OUTFITS

Hey Everyone,

I recently shot a lookbook over on my youtube channel, and I thought I would share with you the outfits. I had so much fun shooting this, although let me tell you, behind the scenes is not so glamorous, its bloody freezing in November, but I'm so pleased with how it turned out. 

I'm completely obsessed with this dust pink colour I have in my top and bobble hat, that I teamed with my current favourite dungarees. 

My third outfit was the zara faux suede coat with the most beautiful bell sleeve jumper, which is just so cool I absolutely love it. And the final outfit, was a super casual cream oversized jumper with of course black jeans and my trusty vans. 

 all of the clothes shown are all linked in my youtube description box, let me know what your favourite outfit is.

Jess x

a weekend vlog

Hey guys, 

Sometimes I have fun weekends, which are often few and far between, but hey they are there none the less. I thought that since I have been doing alot of sit down chatty videos recently, it would be nice to do more of a raw vlog, so you get to see more of my personality and who I am. I can't say for my first attempt it is brilliant but hey, this is a learning curve, right. 

I spent the weekend with my boyfriend, where we spent the morning roaming around Richmond park, in search of deer (yes we found them). We also came across a rope swing, which I had far too much fun on, I am pretty much a kid at heart. 

We then made our way into London, so that my boyfriend could get the train home *cries*. I then chatted about the struggle of long distance relationships, so if any of you would like a full video/ blog post on this, then please do let me know, and if I can help someone else out there going through the same thing, then that would be amazing. I know too well how lonely it can often be. 

Anyway, enough of my rambles, I have included the vlog below if you would like to see the things I got up to. Let me know if you like it, and you would be interested in seeing more. 

Jess x

50 facts about me

Hey guys, 

If you are anything like me you are kind of nosy. (Just being honest) I'm obsessed with watching peoples 50 facts about me, or just those sort of tags in general. I thought it would be quite a nice idea for me to do one, so you guys can get to know a little bit more about who I am, what I like/dislike and just my personality. I'm warning you now, I struggled to come up with 50 facts, so read into that what you wish. 

I would love to know a random fact about you, so I get to know you guys a little bit better :) 

Jess 

autumn and winter try on haul

Hey guys, 

I have recently been loving the change in weather, now that we are in Autumn, those cold mornings so many people hate them, but me, I love them. I'm completely obsessed with autumn winter fashion, and if I am honest with you, I personally think that what the high-streets have to offer this season is perfect, the trends are my kind of thing. I mean a girl can never have too many knitted jumpers, right!? 

I've been a bit spendy recently, and can you blame me, with asos offering free next day delivery. I managed to pick up some lovely inexpensive pieces from asos, topshop, zara and H&M. 

I have uploaded a new youtube video so you can see what I have bought and I have even inserted a try on for you all as well. 

I hope you enjoy. 

Jess x

get ready with me

I decided to do a chatty get ready with me, for a evening out with the girls. I've kept my makeup simple, but have used a colour chameleon eye pencil by Charlotte Tilbury just to take the look from day to night. As its getting a little chilly now, I thought it was the perfect excuse to get away with wearing a nice big knit with a skirt, keeping it less casual for an evening out. 

Let me know if you like this look

Jess x

Homeware haul

I'm obsessed with homeware. Anyone else with me on that one? I'm always on the look out for new pieces to make my flat feel a little more cosy and I notice that it makes such a massive difference, I feel so more relaxed and at home. I thought I would make another youtube video with the bits and pieces I have recently picked up. All items I purchased are listed on my youtube. Let me know if you like the video or the items I have shown. 

Jess x

Malta video

I recently took a much needed trip away to Malta, with my boyfriend and two friends. Its such a beautiful place and it was amazing to get some sunshine and swim in the sea. I decided to compile the video clips I have together and make my first vlog style video. I hope you enjoy watching the video, let me know what you think.

Have any of you visited Malta before? 

Jess x 

obsessed with marble

* these items were kindly gifted but all opinions are my own

I feel like I am not the only one who is completely obsessed with marble, honestly I see it everywhere. Doesn't it just look so chic and classy though! I've seen people with marble laptops for years and i've always wished mine looked the same, instead of the plain boring silver. 

Well now here it is, my jazzed up laptop with a beautiful marble print.

Both the phone case and the marble laptop print are from a company called caseapp they have hundreds of designs online, not to mention you can customise your own laptop skin or case just by uploading your own personalised photograph onto case app. I honestly could not be happier with both of these products, the phone case is sturdy and I feel as though it will protect my phone well. All of the products are really affordable pricing (as I know some phone cases can be mega expensive). Not to mention I have fed my obsession of marble even further.

Case app have kindly given me a 20% discount code for all my followers, so you can get a new case or skin a little cheaper. Just type in the code JESSICALAAR20 at the checkout to get your discount. 

let me know if you buy anything from caseapp or if you have used them before, I will definitely purchase from them in the future as im obsessed with my new marble designs. 

Jess x

Exploring Amsterdam

 Lets go back to May... 

I finally submitted my 10,000 word dissertation and under went exams for my final year of university, along with Ben's birthday, what better excuse than to jet off to Amsterdam. We were greeted with the best weather, I think we were tremendously lucky, everyone else i'd spoken to suggested coats, but we didn't need them once, in fact I wish I had brought shorts with me.

We decided to stay in an Airbnb, something neither of us had done before, but I was throughly impressed, and it felt so much nicer living in the culture of someone else's home in a different country. Everything about the apartment was amazing, and gave me apartment envy. 

I'd recommend walking, Ben and I walked miles around the city, you will definitely sleep at night, but it really is the perfect way to see all those side streets and things you would miss via public transport. One of my favourite things to do is just wander and explore and Amsterdam is such a great city to do this in.

As you can see, we took a trip to the sex museum, which is located close to Amsterdam Centraal, it's definitely worth the 4 euro, its a funny trip and lets just say they have some interesting characters which jump out at you. As the red light district is so famous on Amsterdam we thought we should check out the museum first, before heading along to see the real thing, I found the museum very interesting and it was interesting to see how things have changed and evolved over the years. 

* all photos taken either by myself or my boyfriend Ben

Valentines makeup look

As Valentines day is approaching, I thought I would do a look, its pretty natural with a subtle red lip and a bit of a warm pink toned eye. I thought this would be perfect for Valentines day, what ever the occasion may be.
If you are celebrating Valentines, then I hope you all have a lovely day and I hope you enjoyed this really easy and quick look I created. 

Jess x

Healthy pancakes

 As it is approaching the famous pancake day, I thought I would share with you these healthy pancakes which only consist of 2 ingredients. 

I love all types of pancakes, in fact I think everyone should eat pancakes more often, not just for pancake day. Whilst these pancakes are healthy, they don't actually taste healthy, they taste so good and are really filling as well. You are able to get a fair few pancakes out of one batch, so more for yourself, or for sharing if you wish. 

All you will need is:

- 2 very ripe bananas

- 2 medium size eggs

 Method:

1. Mash up the bananas into a mixing bowl

2. Crack both the eggs into the bowl and mix together with the banana

3. On a low heat put some oil of your choice into a frying pan (if you want to stay with the healthy theme i'd recommend coconut oil or an oil spray)

4. Using a small spoonful to judge the size, spoon some mixture into the pan

5. Allow a couple of minutes to cook one side and then you can carefully flip them with a spatula (You have to be careful here as it's a fairly runny mixture it can be a little harder to flip than some pancakes)

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have no mixture left

7. Decorate them how you'd like, I just used blueberries, strawberries and maple syrup.

Let me know if you have tried these and what you thought about them, I personally love them! 

Clothing haul

Over the course of December and January, I have picked up a few clothing items from Topshop, ASOS and Urban Outfitters, so I thought I would share them with you guys in a new video. It's only a short try on haul, i'm happy with the purchases I have made, although sadly I wish it was more summer items I was buying. Is it just me or is anyone else ready for the summer now!? 

Let me know which are your favourite items. 

Jess x

Natural everyday make up routine

 

I'm not a massive fan of wearing a lot of makeup on a daily basis, just for things like running errands and going to university. I like my skin to feel really lightweight, almost like I don't have any makeup on. So, I thought I would show you what I have been using every day on my face, just to create a really natural look. If you want to see how I got this look, and the products that I have used then just watch the video on my youtube. I hope you enjoy.

Jess x