reminiscing over Portugal

This summer I travelled 1200km around Portugal, my first experience of travelling, living in hostels and meeting such a variety of people and you know what, I loved it. I cannot wait to travel to other countries, it made me realise how beautiful the world is and I want to see way more of it.

Flying from London to Porto we picked up the cutest fiat 500 (we named her Fiona) and headed on our journey. The whole of Portugal was covered in beautiful buildings, I love nothing more than photographing buildings. A lot of buildings as you can see in my photos are covered in beautiful blue tiles, which was originally associated with wealth. 

We then headed to Aveiro, Figueria da Foz, Coimbra, Nazare, Lagos, Sagres and flying back to London from Lisbon.

Lagos I spent my life sunbathing on beautiful beaches and Sagres we went to the 'end of the world' point and watched the most beautiful sunset I have ever witnessed. Coimbra we went to what I could only call a Harry Potter style university. Talking of Harry Potter, we visited the book shop which inspired J.K Rowling, and it was incredible. The ceiling was covered in the most amazing glass work I have ever seen.

I wouldn't even hesitate in going back to Portugal, plus I loved the heat that went along with it. 

Jess x

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that you all have had a wonderful 2014 and enjoyed your celebrations last night, however that may have been. Here is to 2015! I have a lot of exciting things I want to do with my blog this year, so I hope I can put that into practice. 

For now, here are some shots of the fireworks I watched last night with my family. 

Love Jess x

Autumnal colours from Topshop

Hey guys, 

The weather has cooled down, and it's time to get out the cable knit jumpers. Before I do that, I always think about my winter makeup staples. This year it is burgundy. I've gone totally mad for the colour, both for fashion and beauty.

I thought I'd share with you some makeup must haves, if you are as obsessed with burgundy tones as I am.

I firstly came across, what Topshop are calling cheek jelly, which I think is super cool, it feels very much like a cream blush, which I love for a more dewy natural finish. When I say a little goes along way with this colour, I really do mean it. Its such a pigmented shade, which I picked up the colour 'Sibling'.

Then I found the lipliner in 'Deception' and lipstick in 'Wicked' they literally go perfectly together. I find with a rich dark lip shade, a lipliner helps create perfect definition. The lipstick is great because its highly moisturising, so lasts so much longer than a lot of the darker shades i've ever tried. The colours are a beautiful deep burgundy shade which I totally love, I didn't want anything else that was too heavy on the rest of my face, so I teamed my lip with a subtle eyeliner.

If you want to see how I created this makeup look you can head over to my youtube channel and watch the video here.

Jess x

A Tinted Moisturizer You All Need

Hey guys, 

When I hear the words Tinted Moisturiser I automatically think little coverage and oily looking skin. It's no wonder really, the majority I have tried meet that assumption.

After taking a spontaneous trip into Space NK a few months ago I saw this Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. Being the make-up addict I am, I thought I'd at least give this a go.
Turns out I'm in love with this product (if that were at all possible). I adore the fact it doesn't meet my previous expectations, in fact it has totally changed my perception on tinted moisturizer's. This product has simply become my go to everyday base, it has totally replaced my foundations. Its lightweight yet gives a decent coverage and you can build it if you like, for me personally I don't do that, as I feel one application is enough. As the formula of this product is oil free I believe this is the key to why my skin is less oily when using this product. As soon as I saw those words I was won over. This is perfect for a lightweight natural finish and is ideal for anyone with sensitive or oily skin.(Mine definitely can be on the oily side).

I've loved this product so much over the summer months, as it also includes SPF 20 in, which protects my skin from the sun, whilst still leaving me with a natural looking finish to my skin, with a dewy glow, but not at all greasy.

I am so thankful I found this product, it's totally my go to and just makes a wonderful change from foundations which I'm not always a big fan of, on a day to day basis.
Laura Mercier you have won me over with your fabulous tinted moisturizer.

Have you tried this product? Or any other tinted moisturizers you have been loving?

Jess x

V Fest weekend

Hey Guys, 

Last weekend I headed off, with my best friend to V Fest, which was absolutely amazing. Being at a festival is just fun in general but being able to see some of my favourite artists, such as Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Bastille and the Kaiser Chiefs was just incredible.
Here are a few photos from the weekend. 

Have you been to any festivals this year? If so, I hope you had an amazing time like I did.

Jess x

Summer hair care

  

                                                                      Hey guys,

As it's the summer, and if you are living in England you will know it's hotter than usual, which is why I want to share with you some products on keeping your hair protected from the sun.

The UV rays in the sun can really damage your hair, not to mention burn your scalp. (trust me I know).

Firstly I was drawn to the ORGANIX shampoo and conditioner. Doesn't the packaging look so good, in all honesty this was half the reason I picked them up. However they work so well on my hair, its left feeling so soft. They have argan and macadamia oil in, which is great for nourishing dry or damaged hair.

The Lee Stafford moisture injection conditioner is amazing especially to add extra nourishment to your hair in between washes. It's a little more pricey at £8.99 but I love it, I would definitely re purchase. 

The final two products are both from Mark hill, the first is from his holiday hair collection, which is specifically designed to protect your hair against the sun. You just spritz this on to your hair and scalp and it protects your hair from drying out and your scalp from burning. 

Finally I have been using Mark hills defrizz-ilicious anti humidity spray. Which if you watch the video you will quickly realise I cannot successfully say the word defrizz-ilicious (how embarrassing!) This one is great, if you are like me and are prone to frizzy hair, I always find its worse in humid conditions. A few sprays of this and you will be left with controllable and frizz free hair. What more could you ask for. 

If you haven't noticed I'm new to youtube, so its a totally new learning curve, but hopefully I will get the hang of it. I hope you enjoy the video, if you also have youtube I would love to know what your pages are, so I can take a look. 

Jess x

Going colour crazy

Hey guys, 

So I thought I would step into the unknown and dye my hair. I can't say its permanent though. Instead I thought I would give hair chalk a go. I bought a range on colours from Urban Outfitters, which you can get in store. (unfortunately they are sold out online).

I cannot say it was the easiest of applications to get onto my hair, there was ALOT of mess. When I say alot I really do mean it. My sink became a beautiful lilic colour, whilst the wall tiles became a wonderful speckled pattern. (I kid you not!). However after much cleaning up, I have to say I love it. This would be so perfect for festivals, to liven things up a little. Not to mention hair chalks wash out so so easily, so its perfect if you really don't want the commitment.

My top tips for putting the chalk on your hair (especially if it's long hair you have)

- Make sure your hair is wet, but not dripping wet

- Comb it through so there are no knots

- Run the chalk through in sections, start with small underneath layers first

- Focus on the ends of your hair, which will give it an ombré look, if thats what you wish for. 

- WEAR OLD CLOTHING

- Clean up before anyone suspects any sort of colour explosion happened in the bathroom.

I've never had a crazy colour in my hair before, and I absolutely love it, I think i'm going to experiment with some more colours as well. 

If you use hair chalks, or have dyed your hair a wonderful colour, then tweet me your photos, I would love to see. @jessicalaar

Love Jess x

5 favourite blushes

Hey Guys, 

Today I thought I would share with you 5 of my favourite blush colours. I always wear blusher, I just think it looks lovely adding a little tint to your cheeks to give you that healthy glow. (Everyone wants that look right).

1. Deep Throat: This was my very first NARS blusher, with its interesting name this blush is a beautiful pink tone, you don't need to apply much as the pigmentation is excellent, and it gives you a lovely rosy look.

2. Sea Me, Hear Me: This blush is part of MAC's limited edition aqua range. (The packaging is amazing, it comes in this beautiful teal colour and has sheer water droplets. I bought this more for the winter really, its a much heavier and rich pink, although for me its too strong for the summer, I cannot wait to use this in the cold winter months to infuse some colour into my cheeks.

3. Gina: This is a beautiful peachy nude toned blush, which I absolutely love, it gives a wonderful natural effect on the skin, with only a light touch to the cheeks. This is possibly one of my all time favourites, I wear it a lot, its especially nice when you have a rich lip colour on.

4. Gerbera: This is a cream blush by Stila. Can I just say how much I love cream blush, oh my gosh, for those summer days, it leaves your skin looking dewy and fresh faced, which is definitely my go to right now. Again this is more of a peachy tone, slightly darker than Gina. I literally just apply this with my finger, you find that you really do not need much at all in order to give a lovely healthy glow.

5. Ring of Saturn: This sounds terrifying really if you ask me. I think the name says it all, its a much darker colour than the rest of these blushes, but what I love about it, is that it has a very light baby pink tone entwined into the dark crimson, this definitely helps to give a wonderful highlight to the cheek bones.

What are your favourite blushes? Do you prefer powder or cream blushes? 

Jess x

3 little MAC treats

1. Creme cup, 2. Speak louder, 3. Coral Bliss

1. Creme cup, 2. Speak louder, 3. Coral Bliss

1. Creme cup - I absolutely love this neutral pink toned lipstick, I've needed something like this for a while now. You know those go to lipsticks for every day wear. This is definitely going to be the one.

2. Speak Louder - The name speaks for itself really, a loud pink toned lipstick, definitely stands out on my face, and can adds a pop of colour to a basic make-up routine.

3. Coral bliss - I'm a massive fan of coral colours, this one stood out to me because its not too over powering, and like Creme cup, I could wear this daily when I don't fancy too much make-up, yet still want to add a little colour to my lips. 

I find it so hard to go into M.A.C and pick up lipsticks, there is so much choice, and quite frankly I just want them all. I'm happy with this little purchase I have recently made, and I cannot wait to get a lot of use out of them. I definitely think so far Coral Bliss is my favourite. 

What are your favourite M.A.C lipsticks?

Jess x

Trip to Brighton

Hey guys, 

Today has been the hottest day of the year so far, and what better way to spend it, than by the seaside. Me and my friend decided to take a little trip out of London, and into Brighton for the day! What fun I have had.

I cannot believe I have never been to Brighton before, there is so much to see, and on a hot day, what more do you want that to sit down, eat fish and chips and have a cheeky ice-cream. (Definitely me!) As you can see I took full advantage of laying down, to relax and soak up some sun-rays, although you could argue it's not my most flattering pose.

What I loved most about Brighton, is not only does it remind me slightly of being back home in Devon, but it has the cutest little independent shops ever. Its so nice to see this, in comparison to the high street stores i'm faced with on a daily basis. I managed to pick up a few extra home decorative for my room, and some incense with a gorgeous little elephant holder.

I've had one of the best days in such a long time, it's so nice to take some time out now and again, and spend time with friends and just have fun! I definitely will be back to visit Brighton again, in fact I want to live there.

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful weather.

Jess x