Happy Halloween!

Think I have finally recovered from Saturday fancy dress night out! Having only had about 4 hours sleep the night before due to a nasty eye infection then spending the day in work looking ridiculously lob sided with my freaky red, puffy eye, I'm surprised I had any energy left.
Anyway, all in all, it was a really good night!


I took a few pics before going out...

My mate idolises Nicki Minaj - hence the outfit! I think there was 2 pillows used to create the arse!

My slight obsession with baseball decided my outfit! Was such a nice change to go out in comfy clothes and trainers instead of heels! Made dancing a lot more fun.

My bf decided to go as Mario. Which went down quite well, turns out everyone wants a photo with Mario! 

We met with some friends, who were dressed as normal Halloween characters like zombies and pirates, complete with fake blood and messy hair. We decided to do Halloween American-style instead haha.

Now I need to dash to the supermarket to find a last-minute pumpkin and buy some sweeties! Better get deciding how to carve it too. xo

New converse!

I have a slight obsession with all things stars and stripes. So it was only natural for me to purchase some stars and stripes print converse! Right now they are way too 'new' looking. I prefer the more lived-in look (similar to my cream ones I've had 5 years) I have some major wearing in to do!

I  made a few 'looks' on polyvore. The first one (below) is quite a feminine, soft collection, lots of neutral and pale pink tones. I do tend to stick with the whole jeans and trainers look (sometimes a bit messy and grungy), but for night time I think its nice to dress a little prettier.

Romantic Blush by jenkiln featuring pearl jewelry

In contrast, I've made one thats a little more daytime and slightly more me.

Meet my cat, Maki! And yes that is a lid on her head... which, surprisingly she didn't seem to mind wearing as hat.

I need to go and find some navy shorts for my halloween outfit! It's a lot harder than it sounds, and I don't want too spend much as it's silly if I'm only going to wear them once.

I miss summer!

In other news, I got my Tinie Tempah tickets in the post today!

They were a birthday present for a friend, which I ordered in March! I was beginning to think they were never gonna come.

Oh and I made the most delicious spicy butternut squash and sweet potato soup! A definite must as the days are getting shorter. Which I will be adding to my Moleskine recipe book (geek).

Now I'm off to go for some food and watch Paranormal Activity 3!
Sorry for the short post! xo

Fallen Leaves

Another weekend has passed by! I do love Sundays though, so nice and chilled. I'm just waiting for my lemon drizzle cake to cool so I can ice it, whilst watching Ace of Cakes :)

I saw these halloween themed oreos in the supermarket and couldn't resist! I'm super excited for halloween. I've bought my pumpkin, but I'm not sure how I'm going to carve it yet! Got a week to find some inspiration.

Few pics from last year! (I'm not sure why I've got a cat face, it was no fancy dress occasion. Possibly too much punch!) I have this tradition with my best mate, where we always carve our pumpkins together and light sparklers ect. Child at heart I know! xo

Hello Autumn!

I did eventually find a maxi skirt. Not really in the colour or material I was hoping for, I guess I just settled in the end. I saw some lovely autumnal shades, but unfortunately they only had a deep chocolate brown in my size. Typical, I really wanted a burnt orange! Anywho, I'm going to check out some in American Apparel next week, so fingers crossed they'll have what I'm looking for.

 

I've got a list as long as my arm of new bits and bobs I want for winter. A new coat would be nice, but I'm annoyingly fussy when it comes to coats. Shoes however...

I'm in love with these Liberty for Nike Dunk High trainers. The plane print is really cool! 

And also these lined Converse. I reckon they'll look good with some tall, thick socks and tights. 

One day I might start wearing practical footwear but until  then...

I've noticed there have been some really beautiful sunsets lately. This was one I snapped last night :) xo

Berries

I've recently warmed to berry lips which is unusual for me. I go for corals, reds and occasionally pinks. But nearing halloween and all that, it seems fitting. I've found the perfect berry shade for me. It's super sheer and easily buildable. For the daytime, one stroke is definitely enough (as not to scare) 

And for a stronger, more striking look... a few more layers!

The shade I'm in love with is a Nars lipstick called Fast Ride. Okay, it looks a scary, but does come out much sheerer!

(However, the only downside is that it doesn't stay on for very long)

Anyway, I'm off for a shop. Hopefully I'll find some inspiration for some Christmas presents. I'm not being overly keen, but it's good to get ideas as I hate leaving things 'til last minute!

A pic from the beautiful gardens I found the other day! xo

Winter is coming

Despite the cold, cold weather, this weekend it was quite pleasant. The sort of weather, if you wrap up well, its perfect for a stroll. The winter sun is so harsh though. Not that I'm complaining! Wont be putting my sunnies away just yet.

   

At least I got to wear my new snood! 

There's something so relaxing about baking on a sunday. I decided to make lemon cupcakes and then I cut out a small groove in the top and filled it with lemon syrup.

And finally decorated it with lemon buttercream (I know lemon overload!) And some sprinkles. They turned out pretty tasty :)

Now I'm off to nibble on one with a cup of tea.
Also if anyone knows where I can buy a nice full length maxi skirt from, then please send me a link! I've been trawling the shops for weeks and I'm yet to find a decent one. xo

Friday feeling

This week's gone super fast! 


This is my latest look. When I say latest, it's actually from about a month ago. Its no where near warm enough to go tightless.

 

I'm actually a bit gutted that summer is over. Well not that we had a proper summer in England. But the slightly warmer weather was a bonus! I was in denial of it getting chillier for a while, but now I've decided to embrace the cold weather. Look forward to the little things like the christmas markets and gingerbread lattes instead. And I also bought a snood. 

From Urban Outfitters. I love their accessories. And I'm a little bit obsessed with navajo print still.

So glad its Friday! Enjoy your weekend! xo

WAVES

So as I said before, I was going to tell you about my new Babyliss Waving Wand. It's similar to an ordinary curling tong, but the barrel is slightly flatter, not quite as spherical, which is great if you want loose, natural sort of waves, rather than corkscrew curls. 
Don't get me wrong, I do love curls, but waves are so much more low-maintenance. And you don't have to be to careful when using the wand. In fact, the messier the better, I reckon!

<< I know its not easy to tell, but you can sort of make out the shape of it! 




The easiest way to do it is to point it downwards like you'd do with a curling tong.




There are 5 different heat  >> settings, ranging from 155 - 200 degrees.
I usually use the highest heat (even though it's so bad for your hair) just because its quite thick and it's quicker to use on this setting. 


You do get a lovely (cough) black satiny heat-proof glove. I'd say when you get the hang of it, you wont need to use the glove anymore. 


Only downfall there is though, is that the power button is basically a click-on, click-off one... and a few times whilst I've been holding it, I've turned if off, which is slightly irritating.


I must admit, they stay in pretty damn well, and I wasn't even wearing hairspray!
An idea of the waves, from a walk in the woods yesterday! >>

Anywho, this is my latest look...

I better dash, I've got my 3 month eye check-up since I had them lasered. Super excited to know the final result! If they tell me I have x-ray vision, then y'know, its a bonus.


xo

Happy Wednesday

It's been a long time since I last posted on Lookbook. I don't take it too seriously, I'm not one of those girls who can buy a new outfit everyday and spend a long time on editing photos unfortunately. But all the same, its a bit of fun.


I decided to post a pic of one of my outfits on a recent trip to Milan anyway (below)

Such a great trip! Which was spontaneously booked 2 days prior to flying. Can't say I've ever booked anything that last minute before. I wasn't 'wowed' by the food like I thought I would be. Slightly disappointed if anything! (minus the gelato, which was to die for) I did have a slight (understatement) obsession with the Vespas. I can't explain why, I mean, I don't think I have the confidence to scoot around on the roads, ducking and diving between cars! But every time I saw an attractive looking one I had to snap a pic (sad, I already know!) This one is my desktop background...geez I need help...

Anyway... one thing easier (and not to mention cheaper) to change rather than an outfit, is one of my vices - nail varnish! Im a bit of an addict to put it fairly. So I've picked out 5 of my favourite colours to share. They're all quite different to one another, which I like. I get bored easily so rather than dying my hair every other week (which i shockingly used to) its much better to just paint away!

From left to right:
1. Nars - Dovima 
The perfect pillar box red! (The photo doesn't do it much justice if I'm honest!)
2. Nails Inc - Jermyn Street
An easy to wear shade of greige. Probably the colour I wear the most. There's pretty much no outfit it doesn't go with.
3. Chanel - Riviera
Perhaps not my favourite colour, but suits perfectly when I'm in a pink mood.
4. Rimmel - Ultra Violet
Love, love, love this colour! Its a bit unusual but it's amazing how easy it goes on (and a brilliantly cheap price!) I prefer varnishes with wider brushes.
5. Gosh - Forest Floor
At first I thought, hmm green? But its grown on me loads since then. In fact it's the colour I decided on wearing today :)

Also, I recently purchased a new electrical gadget - Babyliss Waving Wand! It's an alternative to curling with my straightening irons, and I absolutely love it, so much so I will post pics of how my hair has turned out later on.


Ciao! xo

Hello Hello!

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Jen, here's me below:

I generally don't wear my hair up (as it makes me look like a boy) but sometimes its just easier and it means I don't have to worry about straightening irons and whatnot :) Plus change is good every now and then. 


I plan to post about things I like and enjoy, shockingly. Things I buy, things I want to buy, things I wear, things I want to wear ect ect. 


I'm a self-confessed product junkie, and have shelves and shelves (and boxes and boxes) of beauty products. Which I'd love to share all my favourites with you! 


My latest beauty related purchase was in fact something I don't have that much interest in, perfume. I mean don't get me wrong, who doesn't like a nice fragrance? It's just I tend to be quite timid in this department. I stick to what I know and love. I tend to explore more with make-up and fashion.
Anyway I saw this whilst wandering Selfridges beauty halls the other day and it caught my eye from a distance...

Such a lovely fragrance, and in the most beautiful hat box as well!
I've worn other Vivienne Westwood perfumes for years, like the Boudoir Sin Garden (amazingly fresh for summer) and Boudoir Jouy Edition which is quite sweet and girly. However, I thought I'd try something a bit more sophisticated and heavier for nighttime usage. It has notes of bergamot and rose which keep it girly, but also tabacco flower which gives it a slight musk. All in all, its a stunning fragrance.


Ok I've ranted enough for now. If anyone has Tumblr, feel free to follow me, and I will back - http://jensparkles.tumblr.com/ - I'll be honest, I rarely use it anymore but maybe some new followers will give me some encouragement! I'm always looking for new blogs to read!


Peace out xo