your hostess: 'Jessica Emily Starbuck.xxx

Welcome to my humble blog.

i love leopard print, lace and anything that resembles Cath Kidston.

i hate the ends of sausages. i hate opening gates. i hate it when you wake up and there's nothing for breakfast.

Happy reading!

lots of love.. Jessie.' xoxo

NEW BLOG

September 14, 2013
I have moved: 

You can now find me at : 

www.tangledinbeauty.blogspot.com 


Hope to see you there
xxxxx
 

Summer Makeup...

July 19, 2013

image courtesy of Google images

With all this changing weather, it's no doubt that a lot of ladies are struggling with their look. One day you wake up and put on your holy grail foundation and it's still the best thing ever, but the next, your face is oily, your foundation is cakey and your eye makeup is half way down your cheek come midday. It's bizzare. We finally combat dry, flaky skin and patchy foundation in the winter, to find that we have to find another way to perfect our makeup just a couple of months later. Oh how being a girl sucks. That's why, this week, I wanted to give you a few little tips on ways to update your look this summer time. Think girly, soft, feminine.

Top tips for a summer look: 

-Skip the thick foundation: Swap your foundation for a tinted moisturiser or BB cream. They are very sheer and light on the skin and don't go on looking cakey. They make you look fresh and dewy, which makes you look healthy and glowing. Also, most of these products have SPF included, so it's just an all-round bonus! 

-Bronze Goddess: Sweep a shimmery bronzer across your forehead, nose, cheekbones and chin with a large, soft brush which will make you look sunkissed.

-Add a pop of colour: A sweep of coral blusher, a pop of bright pink of your lips or an electric blue eyeliner under your eyes can make all the difference.. It will accentuate your features and liven up your look. I like Gosh Long Lasting Eye Liner in 002 Turquoise to give an extra pop to the eyes every now and again.

-Pretty, not gothy: Skip the heavy liner and just go for a slick of mascara for that barely-there look. If you have to have liner, a little kohl on the outer lids will frame your eyes. 

-Gloss: Use a gloss or tinted lip balm rather than thick lipsticks. They will look more fresh and they aren't too heavy on your lips, giving you that summery look that we all want to achieve this summer.  I've been loving the new Revlon Super Lustrous lip glosses this month. They're very light on the lips and have a sweet colour payoff.

-Brows a no-no: The 'scouse brow' is definitely an acquired taste- one of which that I am a huge fan of. But this summer, I will be swapping my strong, perfected brows for a softer, less edgy look. Use a lighter shade of powder to fill in your brows, and opt for a more rounded edge instead of the straight edge the 'scouse brow' generally adopts. Try Look Beauty's Brow Perfect kit which has a range of different colours to suit everyone and also comes with eyebrow stencils, which can prove very handy.

-Highlight like a boss: Using a highlighter will make you appear contoured and bring out your best features.. I like to use Benefit's High Beam under the arch of my brows, the corners of my eyes, down the bridge of my nose and up on my cheekbones.

I hope this will help a couple of you with a subtle change from Winter to Summer

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Rimmel Kiss & Stay lipgloss

June 28, 2013
Today, I wanted to review Rimmel's Kiss and Stay lipgloss for all of you lovelies.
I've been using this all week, so I've definitely trialed it enough to give you my honest opinion. I'll just say now, I got this from my local poundworld just before Christmas. and I only found it the other day whilst sorting out my makeup. I must have thrown it aside, thinking that it would be rubbish with it only being £1 (obviously), but I can assure you that I would definitely pay full price for this product, so the pound was clearly a massive bargain!

RIGHT, this is the product;
 

image taken from Google images

As most of you will know, I love my red lipsticks. I think anyone can rock a red lip - it brightens up your face, makes you look classy and made-up whilst catching everyone's attention, which can't be bad. I really liked the look of the shade and that's the only thing that made me buy it. It is in shade 080- Cherry Blossom, (i'm a sucker for cute names). The shade itsself is a very bold, statement red with blue undertones to it, which make your teeth look amaaazingly white may I just add. I hate it when you buy a lip colour that looks lovely but changes when you get it onto the lip, either dulling or changing to a different shade completely, so I was very happy when I saw that this is the exact same colour when applied to your lips.
There are two sides to this lipgloss.. One is the colour and one is a very shiny, sticky gloss that you pop on top of the colour.. Now I hate lip glosses. I used to love them when I was about 12, thinking they made me look all girly and pretty when in reality all they did was smell tasty (but usually tasted gross) and make your hair get stuck to your face. Not such a great look. And as for lipsticks- all I remember is that my mum used to wear ugly shades of brown all the time, and so I assume that was the only colour I knew- so I steered well clear of those. I also remember my mum and aunt telling me that red lipstick are only for prostitutes.. Oh how wrong they were! Anyway, the texture of the colour is very creamy and glides on with ease, coating your lips with the perfect colour. I must admit, because it's such a bold colour, the applicator that you get with it- (you know, the angled, box standard lip gloss applicator you get in most glosses) isn't the best for precision, so you may need a tissue to hand. This part of the gloss dries very quickly, so you have to get the excess off very quickly or you'll end up looking like Ronald McDonald. 
Then, you have to leave it for a few minutes so that it really soaks in to your lips, and then you may apply the gloss. Now, when I wore this to go out, I did apply the gloss because it makes such a difference! The colour on it's own is very powerful and eye-catching, but as soon as you put on the gloss, your lips double in size and look completely unresistably perfect! So pout-y and plump. Just see.. 
 
Do you see what I mean?! 

As for lasting power, this claims to last for 10 hours.. I must say, this is how it stood after 5 hours:


Not too bad really-- All I had to do was pop a little more onto the insides and it was all good. The inside bit does ware off very quickly-- probably in one hour or so, but that's probably because I talk so much!

I rate this 9/10
Would I buy this again? YES!

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A classic-vintage look for every day.

June 28, 2013

I've been re-vamping my style a lot recently... I'm not sure what's gotten in to me, but I just haven't been happy with how I've been looking-- You know when you get to that stage where your make-up just isn't doing it for you and you're desperate to find what it is that you need to change, but you just can't pin-point it? I think it's my foundation-- I usually swear by Bourjois 123 perfect, but I bought a new one and it just isn't working as well as my other ones for some reason. I sorted out all of my make-up one day last week which was a hefty job-- I think it took me about 4 hours, and even then I wasn't satisfied. I came across a lot of old foundations that I've cast aside after being excited with a new one, and I've been trying those out this week. I must say that I've been very happy with them- but that's a whole new post all together. Anyway, I've been rocking the more classic look for the last few days, and after numerous compliments and questions, I thought I'd share with you just how I get this look.. 

Okay, so for this look you need a flawless base, but it has to look natural. Obviously back in the 40s and 50s, they didn't have all the beauty products that we can get our mitts on now days, so they embraced their natural side a lot. To acheive this, I used Nivea's Express Hydration Primer which is so good for miosturising your skin and kicking some life in to it, whilst it acts as a pretty good primer too-- double benefit! I did put on a pea-sized blob of Soap and Glory's Bright Here, Bright Now, which just gives you a little glow. After this, I popped a little of Collection 2000's Lasting Perfection Concealer on to my dark circles and red areas, blending it in with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush.

Then I used a blob of Garner's BB cream, blended in with the Stippling Brush again, which achieved my wanted look.

After this, I used Maybelline's Mineral Powder Blush in Fresh Plum on my the apples of my cheeks with a Fearne Cotton blusher brush. I don't like blusher on myself- I think it makes me look too flushed. I much prefer bronzer, but blush is essential for this look..

After this, I started on my eyes. I put a dab of primer on my lids, and swept a beige-toned shadow over the top to neutralise my eyes. I used Maybelline Master Precise eyeliner pen to create a retro, cat-eye line, defining my (huge) eyes. A slick of Bourjois Liner Effect mascara and Rimmel Kate Moss 101 red lippy and this look is complete! 

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Pearly whites.

June 19, 2013
 

Hello everybody!
As you can see, I gave in and re-ombred my hair this week. I fancied a change, but didn't want it cutting, so i  thought a little change of color might help me feel a bit different. I was so tempted to dye it a little darker, but I thought with summer coming, (if it ever does), the dark hair may wash me out and make me look more drab than fab, so I opted for a little bleach on the ends and I really think it's given my hair a little something. I do think that it's gone a little yellow, so I've purchased a bottle from Touch of Silver that claims to get rid of brassiness so I'll be doing a little review of that in the next few weeks.

Anyway, I wanted to do a post on some little babies that I've been using for the last 10 days-- Crest Advanced Vivid Whitestrips. I first heard about these some time last year when a few reviews were going around the blogosphere, but I didn't really pay attention to them because I was very happy with my own way of whitening my teeth, but since I started working at Starbuck's, the coffee has taken it's toll on my usually-paper-white teeth and had left them looking dull. I saw a review on Velvetgh0st 's Youtube account last week and the before and after picture stunned me: I just had to have them! I went straight on eBay and looked for a cheaper alternative to buying them straight from the website which worked out half price and was also free P+P.. major bargain! I was so happy to find that they were here within two days, and I really couldn't wait to use them, so I ripped open the first packet but found that there were no instructions, which I was a little shocked at. I went on google and tried to find a little bit of help-- there was very little, and that's what made me want to do this post the most.. 

Okay, so here's the packet that they come in:

The only instructions that you get is an image on the back telling you which strips are for the top and which ones are for the bottom... not so helpful. So from what I gathered, the strips start to work from your first go, and you will need at least 8 to complete the course. I ordered 10, and I'm happy with the results, although I do wish that I had a few more packs, because I feel like they look very white after you take off the strips, but give it half an hour, and they go back to being a little discolored. You leave the strips on for 30 minutes each time and it's recommended to use them once a day. Again, I wasn't clear on whether this was in the morning or the evening, and I'd read on a few blogs that it works a lot better if you do them morning AND evening.. I guess that is up to the individual. I'll be honest-- I got a little sensitivity, especially on my bottom teeth, so I read that if you experience this, you're meant to stop using them for a day or two, which I did and they have gone back to normal for now, (thank God). 
As far as I know, you're meant to brush your teeth 30 minutes prior to sticking your strip on your teeth, and you have to make sure that you wipe your teeth so that they're dry otherwise you'll waste strips.

so now for the bit that everyone wants to know about! 
here is before and after the treatment:

 
As you can see- there is a real difference, and you can definitely tell that they work. I am really impressed with the results- I totally didn't expect them to be as good as this! 
I can't think of any other things to add about these- I'm just so happy! If you do think of anything to ask, please don't hesitate to message me.
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Keztival 2013!

June 12, 2013
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Last weekend, me and my family went to a festival to celebrate a family member's 40th birthday-- it was such a lovely weekend with so many memories and things that I'll never forget. The weather was beautiful which was such a bonus, even if it was a little windy, but nothing a cosy parka and blanket won't fix! There was so many different things to do, with a huge bouncy castle assault course, a pub quiz, disco and silent disco to choose from, not to mention the cosy camp fires and the times we spent outside eachother's tents. The boys spent most of the day playing sports out on the massive field which gave us girls plenty of time to chat and catch up. I spent a lot of time at the beginning doing people some body art like my own and I really did enjoy that, and then we drank throughout the rest of the weekend. It was such fun. I steered clear of helping put the tent up and down as I think we'd still be there now if I had anything to do with it haha. 


me and luke in the early hours of the morning, and luke helping to put up the tent.
Such an amazing weekend that I just had to share with you!


Also, I just wanted to show a few new buys from the other day;

Primark £3- wore these to the festival. How cute are they?!


I just thought these were nice and summery! New Look- £24


I got this dress from the Label Lounge in New Look. It's a black sheer maxi dress and the top is all lacy as you can see here. It's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen and I just had to have it! It was £29.

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domestic goddess? Not quite...

June 12, 2013
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I've never been much of a baker.. I remember struggling to make a fruit salad back in school, then it started getting really advanced with the classic apple pie, (nope, couldn't even master that), and then you get your things such a chicken kievs or quiches, which never got much further than getting in the oven, let alone being ate. I must say, I've never been one to be very creative either.. I look back at the things that I've lovingly made my mum and dad over the years and they are truly hideous. I have no idea how my parents hid their disgust, but they did it very well! Anyway, over the last few months, I've been obsessed with checking out Pinterest-- It's so interesting and inspiring.. There's an idea for absolutely everything! I think I mentioned this in a post a few weeks back, but I've been short of money at the minute, and I was looking for something relatively cheap, but individual and still really nice to give to a few of my friends.. I never realised how many friends' birthdays there are in May and June! So I started looking around Pinterest, and I had the idea of making a little bundle of goodies-- cakes, body treats, food etc. So now I just thought that I'd share a few bits that I've made with you all!

*In all my excitement of successfully making these bits, I forgot to take hardly any photos, so I will mainly show you what they were based on/ inspired by..*


First of all, baking. 
My little sister is the baker in the family- she has such a talent when she cooks, but recently she seems to take no interest in it.. When she was really into baking cakes, my mum bought her every cake-making instrument imaginable, and I just thought that it was a waste for noone to use them so introducing Jess Starbuck..
Mary Berry step aside! I based my first set of cakes on these two that I found on Google images;

  

I did a mixture of the two and put them in little fancy boxes that I picked up from a bargain store near me, and took them to a party for my friend's birthday where everyone kept asking where I had bought them from. Since then, I've varied them- once by putting names on, other times just swapping colors around- and everyone that I've made them for have been really appreciative. I love making people happy with small gifts such as cakes, and I mean, who doesn't love cakes?! 
Whilst we're on the subject of baking, last night I had the night in to myself, and I figured I'd try and bake a few different things-- so I made a chocolate caramel shortbread and a bakewell tart, which both came out beautifully! 
Here is a picture of my caramel shortbread.. 

Not too bad considering that I struggled making fairy cakes up until a few months ago! 

Then, I figured that I'd love for someone to make me some little things for my birthday, and what girl wouldn't appreciate a few homemade treats?! 


Strawberry and vanilla flavoured lip scrubs.


*taking from 'the idea room' on Pinterest*
A cute idea of making two different scrubs and layering them for a beautifully girly effect.


*taken from TidyMom on Pinterest*
I thought this was a lovely idea and is just a little bit different to your generic birthday gifts.


Vanilla body scrub.
Smells gorgeous and will leave your skin looking and feeling beautiful and soft!


Made some cute candy sticks and then wrapped them in patterned cellophane.


This was the finished product for a family friend-- my sister made mango and chilli jam and then made some sticky toffee popcorn. It looks so cute!

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Time to pursue my dreams..

June 9, 2013

little Sunday selfie for you there!

What a lovely Sunday it's turned out to be today, huh? Sat in the garden with a cheeky glass of wine, updating you guys on the ins and outs of my boring life, haha.
Today I thought I'd just share a bit of a deeper post with you- you all know that my light-heartedness is one of my very few good points, so talking about things of a more serious subject is definitely something of a rarity for me! Today, I wanted to share my thoughts and ambitions on the future with a few of you that happen to stumble across this post, and hopefully have a little bit of feedback with your thoughts etc.
For as long as I can remember, I've had a strong interest in beauty. Be it my 11-year old younger self routing through my mum's hair product box, the 12-year old me secretly shaving my legs, or the 13 year-old me putting on my Miss Sporty mascara and Natural Collection lipgloss everyday on the way to school and then quickly wiping off before I arrive home in the hope that my mum will someday let me wear my slap to school.. (it did happen, just not for another year or so..) Yeah, makeup has always been high on the agenda, especially in the last 5 or so years. In fact, I think I can count on one hand all the times that I've been out without a scrap of makeup on in the last few years.. My collection of the stuff is ridiculously oversized; anyone that ever gets to see it is always in awe and has to have a look around haha. Anyway, I've always wanted to pursue a career on the route of beauty and makeup, but whenever it was always mentioned to my parents, I always got the 'no Jessica, you got A's at school, only thick people do makeup' or the 'But I thought you wanted to be a psychiatrist'. This is such an old-fashioned response to makeup.. Yes, 40 or so years ago, if you had no hope of becoming a dentist, doctor or teacher then yes, hair and beauty were probably you're best bet, but so much has changed now, and I know some of the most clever girls I've ever met that have gone down the beauty route and are so successful now. I'm looking for makeup courses-- preferably ones that take a week or a month to get through so that I don't have to give up my job, so any help would be wonderful! I've done a few small ones, but nothing that has a recognised qualification. 
I've been doing makeup shoots with my friends and family to show what I'm capable of, and I hope to make a new page so that I can become accessible to lots of different people. 
I'd love to hear what you all think about this- an email would be wonderful!
JessicaStarbuck__x@hotmail.co.uk

thanks again, xox
 

I love a new dress or two..

May 27, 2013

It's been another beautiful day here today, so I took the opportunity to do this post whilst sunning it up, wahoo!
Everything that I've bought over the last month has been inspired by the festival that I'm attending this weekend, and I think I did pretty damn well! 


I've wanted some dungarees for as long as I can remember. Don't they just take you back to the 90's? Playing kurby and knock-a-door-run? No, just me then! I think that they're so indie, which is obviously the new trend. They look so effortless and casual, yet still can be stylish with a classy blouse underneath. FINALLY I found some that actually fit properly, and they are cheap as chips from Primark! I don't think I'll be taking these to the festival, but they were definitely a great wardrobe investment and will get lots of wear! 


I picked up this top when I was whizzing through Primark the other day. I can't believe how many lovely things that Primark have in at the moment! Anyway, I love the material of this top- it's so sheer and delicate and best of all- ITS £4! I also picked it up in the most gorgeous green-blue too, which is my favourite top at the moment. 


I lovelovelove this white dress! I love it to the point where I could carry it around with me all day long and just admire it. It was £5 from Primark! £5! For the quality of the dress, the price is unbelievable. Honestly, I felt so nice wearing it- I'm totally going back to get another one cos I already got fake tan on this one :( There's also a navy one I believe, so I'm totally gonna get that one too! hehe. 



I got this dress from Miss Selfridge in the sale. I think it's chic, it's classy and it was a bargain!


This playsuit is very festival-y if you ask me! It was from Internacional and I always get so many compliments when I wear it!


I love this little bralet! I've never had one before because I thought that I was too big to wear one, but on a wild moment, I bought it along with a high waisted, denim skater skirt and I love it! It looks so feminine and cute. I'm definitely wearing this for the weekend!


I got this parka last week because it's totally a festival coat! It'll keep me warm and dry so I'm happy with that!


How can you go to a festival without a flower headband? You cant. So here's mine!


and I just thought I'd share this necklace!

xox
 

happy Jess returns xo

May 26, 2013


Hello everybody!
I must just say, I've had a tough month. I feel like I have struggled to keep my usual happy-self up to scratch, and when I don't feel happy, I feel as though my blog posts suffer. But yesterday, I woke up, the rain has disappeared, the bright, beautiful sky taking it's place and I seem to have cheered up along with it! I went out for a lovely walk in my new dress, and that's where I decided that I'd do this little post just to show you what I've been doing in the last few weeks. 

I feel like this month, I've sort of turned over a new leaf. I've been really trying to appreciate myself in a better light. Usually, I look in the mirror and see something pretty gross looking back, but I've tried to look past that, and appreciate health etc. I've begun embracing my short, natural hair, my clear skin without it being plastered in an inch of foundation, and my big blue eyes being framed with just a layer of mascara, not a shovel-load of eyeshaddow, eyeliner and mascara. I feel somewhat radiant, and I'm forever getting compliments about my new found look. I'm glad I've finally got there- this time last year I was taking 2 hours to get ready, and now I'm up, ready and out in a quarter of the time, go me! I've also been trying not to take myself so seriously. I keep thinking about everything so darn much-- the fact that I'm 20, the fact that I REALLY should have a proper job or a degree by now but I don't. The fact that my best friend has upped and moved to London, making me feel immature and inadequate. I just need to find what I enjoy and stick to it. My auntie recently told me that one of her friends envies me on the aspect that I'm so carefree and confident. She also went on to say that not everyone could take hideous pictures of themselves and post them online for the fun of it. And when I think about it, it's true! That really has stuck in my head all month, and has given me the reason to not take myself so seriously! 

Early in the month, there was a bank holiday weekend. I worked the friday, and then Friday night I went out into town with the girls for a friends' 18th birthday. It was a nice night, but nothing special.

a nice picture at the beginning of the night! 

Navy chiffon loose dress: AX Paris £23
Black wedges: Newlook £17.99

 It was then my friends' 21st birthday on the Sunday. They're twins, so of course it was double the celebration, haha! I have been fairly skint all month, and I decided that I would just get them a few gifts, (nothing amazing), and then add a few homemade gifts-- which I think gives it a really nice touch. I decided to make them some cupcakes, which took ALL day, but they did turn out spectacularly. I used fondant to cover the cupcakes, and then made small turquoise roses and popped them on a few. I did a range of cute patterns, etc and the final result was amazing to say that I had no idea how to use most of the stuff! Very, very elegant. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures which I was so sad about! 
I also made Luke some cakes, which I did take a picture of: 

cute, huh?
I've been really inspired recently to make things, and cakes seems like a sensible place to start.. I'd love to collect the essentials so that I have my own set of things to use. I think that's one of next month's resolutions. 
Anyway, for the twin's birthdays they had a house party with all the family. It was a great night and went on until the very early hours.

oh my, we all look a little intoxicated! 

Tribal playsuit: Internacional, £16.99
Black cardigan: Vera Moda, £15

Then, after the heavy night, me and Luke decided we shouldn't waste the bank holiday Monday, so he surprised me with a trip to Bakewell. It was so lovely- such a beautiful, picturesque place- and we couldn't have picked a better day for the weather!

White lacy dress: Vera Moda, £34
Black open-toe pumps: Primark, £6
Coral blazer: Primark £14


We had a slow walk around Bakewell, had an ice cream, some fish and chips and went to a little cake shop and then had a slow walk back to the car. It was the most lovely day I've had in such a long while and I wish every day would be like that!

The day after that, me, my mum and sister took my Nanna and Grandad out for dinner to a local picturesque pub with large grounds. It's so lovely there, and the food is always spot on- so it was another lovely day!

Black bandeau top: £4, Asda
Retro red flowery skirt: Primark, £8
Denim jacket: FCUK

Then, the Starbucks that I work at, hosted an acoustic night for the university to showcase new bands, so I thought we could pop along. It was a good night, with a great turn out. All the bands were listenable, so I was happy enough- although I do think it went on a little too long! 
THEN! We finally booked our summer holiday! WAHOOOOO. We are off to Hurgarda, Egypt!

We're so excited! How lovely does it look?! So with this being booked, I've gone on a major diet! I've lost half a stone since, and I'm looking to lose at least another stone before I get there. I am also doing the squat challenge so that my bum looks decent! hahaha. eeeeek! 

This month, we also went out to a comedy club in the city center. It was a great night- the acts were positively hilarious. You get a free thai green curry, but the drinks were very expensive! It was a nice night though, and it was definitely different to any normal night out. 

I had work until quite late so was in a major rush to get ready so I just took down my hair and added a few more layers of mascara and a slick of lippy!
I wore a delicate, grey shirt with embellished shoulders from Primark, with some jeans and wedges.

Yesterday, me and my boyfriend went for a little walk around a local park which has a beautiful lake that you can hire boats etc. So that was lovely too. 


Also this month, my boyfriend's brother and his girlfriend had a little baby-- Lee Jr. So congratulations! 

Yeah, it's been a very eventful month and I just wanted to share that with you.
I've also bought quite a few things in the last month or so that I intend on sharing with you-- especially my top festival buys ready for next weekend! I'll probably share those some time this week! 
Thank you for sticking by me whilst I went through this stage! 
much love xxx