Where to eat in London: Dinerama, Shoreditch.

I have to admit, I am a self-confessed foodie. There is nothing my boyfriend/family and I love doing more than going for dinner and eating until it gets to the point we're on the brink of a food coma. If I'm honest, this (accompanied by my shopping addiction) is what most of my spare money goes on and when I'm happiest. I just love finding hidden gems and trying new places and reporting back to my friends and family on my favourite finds.

A few months back I was watching Lily Pebbles on snapchat and saw she was in Shoreditch eating, what looked like, the most incredible street food I'd ever seen. Being the food obsessor that I am, I swiftly got my ass on google and looked up food markets in Shoreditch and came across the website for Dinerama. This was just what I was searching for; A place which offers so much choice and is edgy and cool with it. After looking at the different types of food on offer I was hooked and debating when I could visit.

I don't live near Shoreditch, or very near London for that matter so popping to Dinerama for me isn't easy. It just so happened that I mentioned how obsessed I was with the idea of this place, to my parents a month or so ago, and they came up with the idea of going to London for my birthday and stopping by Dinerama whilst there. And that, my friends, is exactly what we did!

This was my first visit to Shoreditch, and I quickly began to realise that this area of London differed from some of the areas I had visited before. This place was more urban and stylish.

When we first walked into Dinerama, this place looked a little underwhelming. Old containers are piled up and it seems a little bit dodgy if I'm totally honest. Now I'm not going to lie, I could have easily turned around and waked away upon first look but I am soo glad I looked past the initial picture and continued to walk in. Once I got to the main area where all the eateries are and the seating area is, this anxiety diminished and I instantly fell in love with this place. Dinerama is hands down one of the coolest places I have ever been to. The design is so effortless and stripped back and as a result everything just felt so laid back here. The area is scattered with booths selling a variety of different foods and then there are just a few long benches in the middle for you to grab a seat and take in the edgy London atmosphere.

When it comes to food, I am not joking when I say this was some of the best food I've ever tasted. My family and I all chose something from a different stand and then brought all we had together to share. This I would definitely recommend because then you get to try a bit of everything! I cannot tell you how amazing the Yum Bun pork belly buns were, OMG I need a lorry full of these! Another favourite were the ribs accompanied by Cajun fries! (If I could insert a heart eyed emoji right now I would). We also tried BBQ chicken wings, hoi-sin duck wraps and duck fat chips. It was all amazing. One thing I didn't try, were the sliders which looked incredible - one for next time!

I cannot recommend this place more! Dinerama is a place I can't wait to visit again and Shoreditch as a whole is a really cool place to go. We also went to Box Park whilst in Shoreditch and that again was a really different and fun experience. I can't help but think how amazing the night life must be here and that Dinerama must come alive in the night time!

I hope you've enjoyed me rambling on about food. Let me know if you'd like more of these sort of posts! Oh and please tell me more amazing places to eat both in London and elsewhere!

Okay now I'm hungry.
Lots of Love,
Jade

I think I've found the one: Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Foundation.

Yeah, that's right...I'm making the bold statement and saying I think this may be the best foundation...ever. Not that i've actually tried all the foundations in the world, but i have tried quite a few in my time and none have wowed me like this one has. If your not a foundation lover then this post is definitely not for you. Get ready for a whole lot'a swooning!

So lets talk packaging first of all. I love it (surprisingly). I think it looks so luxe and classy. The bottle is glass and has a bit of weight to it and isn't totally clear; kind of frosty. I just think it is slick and very chanel! Also.. it has a pump! Thank you chanel, thank you! I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to use a foundation such as Nars Sheer Glow which doesn't come with a pump. Mess central!

Moving on to the actual product! So as the name suggests, this is a glowy foundation but not as I've previously known it.  It doesn't look wet when you apply it, if you know what I mean. It isn't shiny but instead offers a 'lit from within' sort of glow. Which i'm all over (who isn't?). The texture of this foundation is actually quite thick but it blends so nicely and flawlessly and leaves your skin feeling hydrated as well as looking god damn amazing! I love the way it wears as well. When I first put this stuff on in the morning I love the flawless finish it offers, but by the end of the day, after a good 7 hours, my skin looks dewy and plump and I love that look also!

Can we also just appreciate the scent! OMG this stuff smells bloody amazing! It has the beautiful Chanel scent; fruity and fresh!

When it comes to the coverage of this product, I would say it offers medium coverage which gives a 'my skin but better' look. But it can be built up really easily into a full coverage.

Lastly I want to talk about the shade. As you may have already noticed, I am a pale gal! Very pale actually! I don't know why because my mum and dad have more olivy skin and tan up like a dream, but hey ho.. what can you do! Anyway this foundation is the best colour match I have ever found! I can't really touch drugstore foundations unless it's the middle of summer time due to the fact they just don't go pale enough for me. But this 'beige' is the perfect colour. Ironically it isn't actually that beige! I hear beige and think yellow (i don't know why) but actually this foundation has the perfect pink tones and yellow tones which balance your skin tone and actually look like skin! I wear N10.

So theres a lot of positives for this bad boy! If i was to touch on negatives, which I don't think there are many, I would say:

- It is quite expensive, costing £36. But I think it is defo worth it!
- I personally love the packaging but some may not see it as travel friendly due to the weight and worry of breakages.
- There are only 9 shades (that I can see) which isn't actually that many and therefore it could be seen as a bit restricted. I would definitely advise going to a Chanel counter and having a good swatch! The ladies are usually lovely and always happy to help! The lady I brought mine from put me a whole face of foundation on and also some lipgloss and blush before I even committed to buying.

So there you have it, my holy grail (ahhh). Let me know if you've tried this foundation or any other products in the Les Beiges range. Or give me some recommendations for other foundations.. I am always up for some enabling!

Lots of love,
Jade

Choosing a career path: It's ok not to know.

As someone who has kind of drifted through life (career-wise) with no real direction and who has struggled with making decisions, deciding upon which career is best for me has been really difficult. Don't get me wrong, I have got more of an idea in recent years of what I want to do but deciding and sticking to one career kind of scares me. When I was at school I was always an Arty, Drama, English sort of girl and maths, well lets just say neither I liked it nor did it like me! So I suppose I always thought I'd end up doing something along those lines, but as I got older I gave less time to my loves and instead spent more time focussing on friends and what they were doing. When it comes to education, I wouldn't say I'm an academic person but then again I'm not stupid.. and I suppose I'm a bit sad that I prioritised other things in my schooling years and only put in the effort I had to, as I think my grades could have been better!

I didn't do bad in my GCSEs and following this, I stayed on at school and did my A levels in English Language, Sociology and Health and Social Care. I think when I was doing my A levels I realised I needed to put a bit more effort in (well in the second year especially, after having multiple break downs over work) and as a result I came out with quite good grades. It was at this point that I gained a real love for sociology and also writing.

University was never on my radar and throughout sixth form I remained adamant that I was not going to go to university and steered away from UCAS at all costs. However the day I received my A level results this all changed. I don't think I, nor my teachers, expected me to get the grades necessary for university so when it turned out that I had actually managed to get them, the head of sixth form kind of gave me the shove I needed and advised I looked into the possibility of uni. Not only that but I was met by the realisation that I had my A levels but had no idea what to do next. People say don't go to uni just to buy you more time.. but if I'm honest that's exactly what I did and I wouldn't say it's such a terrible thing.

When it came to choosing a course I returned back to my love for art and I researched courses in art and fashion but I failed to find a course that was right for me; I wanted to stay at home and therefore go to a uni near me, and all the courses available required A level art, which I didn't have. This highlights an issue which worries me; that the decisions you make when you are 16 can affect your opportunities in later life. Who really knows what they want to do when they are 15/16?

Anyway, after research and visiting UCS (university in Ipswich) I decided to totally switch it up and signed up for a Bsc in Criminology (where did that come from?). I mainly chose this because I found I had a real passion for sociology at sixthform and one of the modules was the sociology of crime.At multiple points in my degree I genuinely questioned whether the course was right for me and whether I should actually quit, but I didn't. I stuck it out, and now have completed my degree!

So now I am met with the same question.. what to do next? And if I'm honest I don't really know the answer but I know there are so many possibilities! I am contemplating a masters, mainly to change my career path (so, not in criminology) as I have decided that crime isn't the career I want. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that it is so easy to feel overwhelmed and to worry about what to do next. Life might seem a little muddled and as you can see from my story so far, some decisions may not be the perfect ones but it is never too late to do what you want to do! I would also say that education is never a bad decision. Yes I may not have chosen a degree which suited me the best, but it is a degree and that surely is never a bad thing! So if like me you are a bit stuck with what career is best for you, my advice would be to try everything and anything out and trust that you will find something which suits you. Don't see it as a negative but instead see it as a positive; life has ALOT to offer and you can be whatever you want to be (how cliché)

Lots of love,
Jade xx

Keep calm and carry on.

Hello Lovelies! Today I wanted to talk about stress and ways to stay calm and level headed. I am someone who easily gets stressed and I am a major worrier. Whether I'm worrying about what to do next in life, or if everyone is ok or even what to have for dinner on Thursday; my mind just won't switch off sometimes. So I thought I would write down some of the techniques I use to de-stress and to make myself feel a little less bogged down.

So as you probably may have guess from the photos in this post, I love to walk it off. Now if I'm honest, a lot of the time the thought of going for a walk (especially when its grey and raining) is unappealing and I really have to push myself to get out there. But once I'm out and doing it, I feel 100% better. I feel healthier and my mind feels clearer. I also feel that going for a walk with someone sometimes is a good idea too as I feel it is the perfect time to just let out everything that's stressing you out. In my opinion its best to talk it out and then the problem is less of a burden.

Other things I do to de-stress include reading, or watching friends, tidying and getting creative. Now this may sounds completely boring but all these things help refocus my mind. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but when I got to high school I spent my time doing 'cooler' things and forgot to read. But recently I've allowed myself more time to read and I find it really helps you to switch off and just focus on what you're reading. The same applies with watching a TV series. Now tidying may sound a strange thing to do when stressed but I find tidying my bedroom and having a clear out to really empower me and make me feel a lot better! A tidy house means a tidy mind and all that.. does that even make sense? You know what I mean! And lastly I find that being creative also makes me feel a lot calmer! I've recently started scrapbooking and I find it so relaxing and enjoyable!

So I hope you've enjoyed this post and got some new ideas to de-stress! Let me know what you think!
Lot of Love,
Jade xxx

Charlotte Tilbury's Book of Makeup Magic Review.

Buy The Book of Makeup Magic Here

Hello Lovelies! Today's post is a review-kinda-style post where I will mainly be swooning over the products but also giving my honest opinion on them! So can we just start by appreciating how gorgeous the packaging of the overall product, as well as the individual pieces, is! OOOOH MY GODD I am completely in love. 

I was very lucky and received this as a Christmas present from my mum and dad after mentioning how beautiful it was as a passing comment really! I cant explain how excited I was when I opening the wrapping paper on Christmas day and saw burgundy and gold appear from underneath.. I knew straight away what it was (is it obvious I had been lusting over it online for a good while? hey.. I'm not even sorry).

I completely did not expect to get this gift as it is just soo expensive and that is why I was so shocked! But I must admit I love it and I think it is the most amazing gift! So lets talk about what's inside..

MAGIC CREAM (Mini)

TAKE IT ALL OFF (Mini)

WONDERGLOW (Mini)

MULTI MIRACLE GLOW (Mini)

SUPERMODEL BODY (Mini)

GODDESS SKIN CLAY MASK (Mini)

K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick: Penelope Pink (Mini)

MATTE REVOLUTION Lipstick: Red Carpet Red (Full Size)

LIP MAGIC (Full Size)

ROCK ‘N’ KOHL Eye Liner: Supernova (Mini)

NOCTURNAL CAT EYES Eye Shadow: On The Prowl (Full Size)

MAGIC NIGHT CREAM (Mini)

I have tried all of these products now and as I expected there's none that I dislike. What do I like the most though? It's got to be the magic cream, magic night cream, matte revolution lipstick and mini K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick.

As someone who has very temperamental skin which is really dry in some places and slightly greasy in others (joy) I was super excited to try both of the magic creams! As you are probably aware, these creams in full size are crazy expensive and although I've wanted to try them for ages, I've never been able to justify the price! But if I'm honest they are actually worth the money (if you have that sort of money spare). My skin has levelled out since using them and the dry patches, which usually my foundation would cling to, have seemed to disappear and my face has felt truly moisturised. The day cream is light yet moisturising whereas the night cream has a more gel-like consistency which offers total moisture over night.

The lipsticks.. well they were probably the things I was most excited about! The Matte revolution lipstick is just the perfect red with a pinky undertone. It is seriously long-lasting yet isn't chalky and uncomfortable to wear like Mac Ruby Woo. It has fast become my favourite lipstick! And the mini Kissing Lipstick is the most gorgeous nude and although it is small, it is easy to apply and its so damn cute!

Other products that I also have come to love are the Wonderglow and the Clay Mask which again have made my face feel fabulous! Overall I love this set! It allows you to try some of Charlotte's most loved and popular products in mini form. Obviously I know the price tag is a little outrageous but I hope that this post has helped you decide which products are worth the money! If you can't afford the whole set.. maybe go for one of the lipsticks or splurge on the face creams!

Hope you've like reading this post! Let me know you're favs!
Lots of Love,
Jade xxx

Reflection and Moving forward..

I know you are all probably sick of new year posts by now but I really felt like I needed to write my thoughts and feelings down in a post for you all to read and as a new year has started with all new opportunities (cliché I know) I thought now was better than any other time to have a chatter. So if you are interested in a chatty post then grab a cuppa and get comfy!

My blog has been out of action for a while.. as you may have noticed and I thought I would explain why and give you a little insight into my life in recent months. I love fashion and I love writing! I studied English language at A level and since then have always loved any outlet to write my musings. Over a year ago I started my blog after very little research and thought. I just loved the blogs I followed and loved the way a blog was a platform to display as little or as much of your life as you wanted to as many people as possible. I felt truly inspired when reading blog posts and after stumbling upon 'blogger' I started a blog there and then. As I've said I love fashion and am definitely a self-confessed shopaholic so I thought a blog was an amazing way to show my personal style to the world whilst yabbering on to my hearts content.

Blogging is really fun and really inspiring but let me tell you it is not a walk in the park. After over a year of blogging I am nowhere near where I want to be.. I definitely do not have the amount of followers I would like and am not even close to being happy with the visual appearance of my page. And this led to me feeling very disheartened. So this is why my blog has kind of come to a stand still in recent months. I lost my love for blogging because if I'm honest, I put so much effort in but saw little recognition in return and I compared myself to others which is always a bad idea.. in blogging and in life (seriously!).

So yeah.. I kind of gave up last year. I was at a stage in life where everything was uncertain; I had just finished uni and had no idea where I was going career-wise, my friendships were unsteady and everything seemed a bit difficult. But after giving myself some time to breath I have refocused and realised that it is okay to be unsure but that giving up gets you nowhere. With the things such as my career and people being mean.. these are things which may be out of my control at the moment.. But blogging is very much within my control and therefore I have decided to come back to blogging but am going to mix it up a bit and post things I love and hope that you guys love too!

From now on I plan to post twice a week; Chatty Tuesdays and then one other day (not sure what days yet). Chatty Tuesdays is something I want to do which will allow me to write more personally like this post. I want to cover topics which I am enthusiastic about such as university stress, anxiety, travel and anything else I feel I want to share with you! Then on the other day I want to continue to share my love of fashion and beauty and share my ootds.

So I think that's all for today. I hope you don't mind me chatting on, but I hope you enjoyed reading and getting to know me a little bit better! Please let me know what you think about my new ideas for the blog!

Thank you to those who have continued to read my blog and welcome to any new readers!
Lots of Love,
Jade xx

My favourite summer dress.

Hello lovelies! Today's post features my favourite dress (can you tell I'm not ready to let go of summer yet? haha). There's a story behind this dress; when I was on my way home from Menorca a couple of weeks ago I was on the plane and I saw a girl wearing this dress and the whole flight home I was thinking.. I need that dress (magpie over here). So when we landed I had to ask her where it was from! When she said Boohoo I was very excited because I knew for such a pretty dress, it wasn't going to break the bank!

Dress: Boohoo

Sandals: Primark

Necklace: Primark

Bag: Mulberry

 

So anyway, I got the dress in the end! And I love it! I just think its so damn cute and would be a great dress to wear to a BBQ or on holiday. England is starting to get a bit chilly so I don't think I'll be wearing this dress much longer.. but it will definitely make a come back next year! Now.. who's ready for roll necks?

 

Let me know what you think of this dress and what your favourite dress is!

Lots of love,

Jade xxxx

P.S. I think I had my camera on the wrong setting for these photos but I thought I'd use them anyway, sorry about the questionable quality!