Professional Work/School Fall Essentials

If your a reader of my blog than you know that come September I will be attending Post Grad studies in PR. PR is a very image conscious profession in which it is always important to present yourself in a professional way. During my orientation session it was stressed that we are to dress everyday to class as we would in a business atmosphere. This is a drastic change from the Ugg boots and sweats I would throw on before dragging myself to 9am lecture in University. Thus, I have found yet another reason to shop. REJOICE! 

These are a few items that I plan to purchase as new staple items in my wardrobe. For the most part they can be mixed and matched for a multitude of different outfits with a polished look.

The low-rise heel:

As much as I LOVE 4 inch heel (only being 5 foot 4) they are just not practical for every day use, especially taking the subway everyday.

http://www.myspringshoes.com/ca-eng/clearance/women/shoes/75345089-pel/95

 Classic Button-down:
I love the look of a crisp, white button up shirt. With so little effort it makes you look so polished and professional. I prefer fitted ones like this one rather than the popular "boyfriend" style. This is much more work appropriate.

http://bananarepublic.gapcanada.ca/browse/product.do?cid=51166&vid=1&pid=715604&scid=715604163

 The Trench Coat:
Even though this one is probably the least "essential" of all the other items I still want one so bad for fall! They are so classic and it goes with almost anything. I especially like trenches in their quintessential taupe colour. AND they remind me of spies, which are ALWAYS cool, duh.

http://www.asos.com/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=1637093

Pencil Skirt:

This is a definite work/school staple. Pencil skirts have been, and always will be in style for a reason. They are very flattering on many body shapes because they elongate your torso. 

http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265546705342&c=Page&cid=1309521932127&pagename=vsdWrapper&search=true

 Dress Pants (or for my UK followers- trousers):
Again, these go without saying. A couple pairs of dress slacks are a must have. I prefer them in dark colours like black, navy and grey. This way they are a. more slimming, and b. you can have more fun with bright coloured tops.

http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265547063469&c=Page&cid=1309521939147&pagename=vsdWrapper

Essie Wars: A Comparison and Review

Left: Vanity Fairest, Right: Fiji

At a quick glance at these two Essie Polishes they look almost identical, although, as you can see, on the nails they have two totally different looks. I already owned Fiji and just received Vanity Fairest for my birthday from a girlfriend. When I opened it I though, "Oh I already have Fiji" then looking at the label I saw it wasn't Fiji, and as I've come to realize quite different.

Fiji: This is a very popular nail polish colour, and for good reason. It is the quintessential opaque baby pink. Even though I love this polish there is a downside to it. It tends to be streaky and a bit hard to work with. Although, in the picture I applied it over a base coat and it seemed to apply a bit easier.

Vanity Fairest: This colour surprised me. I expected it to be opaque like Fiji, but as I applied by first swipes I quickly realized it is very, very sheer. It also has a very slight shimmer to it, so slight that you may not even notice it. The photos show the colour after three coats. The result is a very subtle and sheer pink. It almost gives a freshly manicured nail type look. It is quite different from Fiji, but I love it just the same.

Have you tried either of these polishes? Let me know in the comments below. Which one do you prefer?

Don't forget to Follow!
Love you girlies :)
Jessica

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me

photo from weheartit.com

1. I am a University graduate of English Language and Literature with a minor in Psychology. In September I will be beginning a Post Graduate program in Public Relations 

2. I have been with my lovely boyfriend for 5 years and I love him to bits

3. I am ADDICTED to sugar and candy

4. I am the middle child of three and the only girl

5. Reality tv is one of my guilty pleasure

6. I looooove diet coke...a little too much

7. During my gap year after uni I've been working as a waitress 

8. I "happy cry" all the time- emotionally touching commercials are the worst culprit :S

9. I love the Spice Girls and saw them during their reunion tour

10. I love nothing more than staying in and watching rom-coms and chick flicks

I tag everyone that reads this! I love reading other's posts like this!

xoxo Jessica

Mac Lip Product Haul

I went to the Mac Store in Toronto last week with the intention of buying a new lipstick/lipgloss combo. I told the girl (who was immediately on me like white on rice- which I hate!) that I was looking for a coral-ish lip colour. I also told her I had very naturally dry lips so didn't want anything overly drying, like a matte. The products she tried on me were "Ravishing," a creamsheen, and "Richer," a Luster. I'm really liking the combo. It's bright, yet still warm and suites my blue eyes and skin tone.

I also use a lipliner in a colour similar to my own lip colour before I apply my lipstick. The Mac sales girl suggested it and I think it looks much better than by itself. The one I used here is from Covergirl.
What do you ladies think? What's your favorite lip combo at the moment?


Don't forget to follow my blog
xoxo
Jessica

Small Sephora Haul

Hi girlies! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! 

Today is my birthday and this past weekend I celebrated it with all of my friends. On Friday my friends and I set up an outdoor movie night and watched bad teen 80s and 90s movies and had a midnight swim in my friends pond. Then on Saturday I had people over for drinks and then went out dancing. I am so grateful for all of the loving people in my life.

On Friday during the day I went browsing at Sephora, mostly because I wanted to redeem my Sephora insider bday present. :) I picked up a Sephora by O.P.I gold sparkly topcoat in "Only Gold for Me". I love it- it has large and small chunks of glitter and looks gorg over my bright pink polish underneath. 

For the month of July the Sephora bday gift is a delicious smell bath gel from Philosophy appropriately titled, "Happy Birthday, Beautiful". It smells like a freshly baked vanilla birthday cake. YUM.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend! :)

xoxo Jessica

PS make my birthday wish come true and follow me? :)

John Frieda Go Blonder Lightening Spray Review

Now, before I begin I just want to start off by saying I was extremely scared to try this product. I envisioned watching my brown roots turn bright orange right before my eyes. Luckily this was not the case. The packaging says that this product is for blondes only, although I have medium brown hair and it worked amazingly on my hair- although please use this product as your own risk.

As you can see in the first picture (please ignore my dirty hair) my roots are fairly dark. I started by taking newly my newly washed hair and sectioning it into 2 inch sections and sprayed the product just on my roots trying my best to get everywhere. Then, I dried my hair as usual focusing more on my roots, as this product is HEAT activated.

These are my results after just one use, even though the package says you will see results after 3-5 uses. Although, I think I might have been a little heavy handed with the nozzle and used a bit too much than recommended- but I LOVE the results! The only small complaint I have about this product is that it made my hair very very dry feeling (it's main ingredient is hydrogen peroxide), but I quickly solved this problem by sleeping with a deep conditioning masque on my hair and it was back to normal in a couple days.

Have any of you tried out this product? Let me know in the comments your experience with it!

Don't forget to follow :)

xoxo Jessica

Spreading the Love: Favorite Blogs

Photo from weheartit

Hey ladies, I recently saw a post written by Katie on her blog: Blueberries "n" Strawberries about some of her favorite new blogs. This gave me the idea of doing a similar post of some of my favorite blogs to read in general. I love posts like this because it helps others discover awesome blogs that you maybe would have gone undiscovered, and also because it helps support fellow bloggers- it's all about positivity and spreading the love :) Here they are in no particular order:

1. Blueberries 'n' Strawberries I'll start the list off with Katie because she was the one who inspired me to write this post. She always has great reviews and posts, and her blog layout is sooo cute. It makes me smile every time I click on her new posts

2. Gaby's Beauty Blog - I love Gaby's blog, and I LOVE that she's a fellow Canadian. She always does amazing reviews, great hauls, and she always hosts contests and giveaways. Her blog is definitely worth checking out.

3. Pammy Blogs Beauty- Pam's blog was one of the first beauty blogs I stumbled upon. She always has great reviews on many different products and lots of awesome tips

4. Rachinald - Rachael, like myself, id pretty new to blogging, but she is definitely off to a great start! SHe has a clean, simple layout, great pics, and great posts

5. Sofia's Journal - You know those bloggers that when they pop up on your dashboard you get super excited and read right away?... this is exactly how I feel about Sofia's blog, and I'm sure you will too. SHe blogs about a variety of different topics, and always seems so positive!

6. Which Way to Wonderland -I love Hannah's blog because she always blogs about interesting things, and she blogs consistently. She also has recently started a series of blogs in which she interviews other bloggers- I LOVE this idea.

7. With Love, Freckles - Just by reading Lauren's blog I can tell I would definitely be her real like bff if we ever met in person (no creepiness intended lol). She has amazing style and is so beautiful.

8.Superficial Girls - I have only recently became a follower of Carlinn's blog and I am SO happy I found it! She has AMAZING style and always puts together the best outfits. She currently lives in Malta and her pictures are always outstanding. You NEED to check out her blog, you won't regret it!

Let me know of any other blogs that you guys love, or better yet, write a post like this yourself! Spread the love <3