2015 Revisited: Was I Successful?

Hey hey lovely people!

Okay, now here's the time where I just embarrass myself...willingly.

So in January 2015, I made a post called 'My 2015', where I had 10 goals to achieve in 2015. 

Of course I completely forgot about it like every person that makes a New Year Resolution. 

So, it's New Years Eve, I'm folding and putting away some clothes, watching the news (#TurntLife) when I suddenly remember about that dreaded post. 

So, let's judge how much of a failure 2015 was! 

1. 

Blog More Frequently - FAIL! 0

Yeah, definitely didn't achieve this at all. My blogging has been beyond awful this year, what with my

The Jadelist: NOV 15

Hey hey lovely people!


PANIC! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! 2015 IS NEARLY OVER!

Don't mind me, just casually having an existential crisis over here about how I'm gonna have to start remembering to write 2016 in the date, but inevitably screwing up and putting 2015. 

But seriously, where has 2015 gone?! Only one more Jadelist of 2015 left after this!

On that note, here we have the Jadelist for November 2015, which can only be described as basic, predictable and pop packed!

A lot of big names appear this month because damn, there were way too many big catchy songs. 

But don't be startled! There's still a few hidden gems within the post that'll hopefully make your day

Let's get on with this!

1. 

Afterglow by Big Wild

So, I heard this song at the beginning of the month after going on yet another YouTube music channel rampage (Shout out to TheSoundYouNeed). 

After spending way too much time listening to all their fab songs, I came across this little lovely number and was floored!

I'll be straight up, 9 times out of 10, lyrics in a song don't matter to me at all, but if you have an

The Jadelist: OCT 15

Hey hey lovely people!

Am I the only one who thought October dragged this year?

Seriously, it feels like I've known some of the songs in this months Jadelist for years, when realistically, it's been just a few weeks!

Nevertheless, I think I've been lucky enough to find a few life-long favourites this month, so let's check them out! 

Okay, so one of the basic rules of Jadelist is that it's not a Jadelist unless it somehow relates to The

The Jadelist: JUL 15

Hey hey lovely people!

The month of August (a.k.a, my birthday month) is finally upon us, which means another edition of The Jadelist is ready and waiting.

This month definitely features a pretty diverse mixture of music, from dance to folk, with the oldest track being from 1968! Take that, 47 years of music!

So without further ado, let's get into this:

1.

Hey Hey by BYNON & BISHØP

So first up, we have Hey Hey by BYNON and BISHØP.

After a quick little Wiki search, I found out that the family of BYNON, real name Richard Glenmor Beynon, are actually from South Wales! #Represent, my fellow Welshie!

This track is one of those relaxed dance songs (which is apparently is the 'in' thing right now. I'm down!) that just pulls you in and makes you click replay and unholy amount of times.

I need to start taking notes down or something because I can never remember where I find half of my songs. I'm gonna guess and say I heard it as a backing track to a Vine or something.

Either way, enjoy what was my favourite find of the month of July.

2.

Sometimes by Break ft Hilton

Yes, that does say Hilton. Like Paris Hilton, the heiress and Socialite.

This track does not feature Paris Hilton.

No, Hilton is actually a producer and, as far as I know, not a socialite or heiress, though I did initially

The Jadelist: JUN 15

Hey hey lovely people!

Another month is over and I'm back with the June edition of The Jadelist

There's a lot of acoustic, happy and folksy types of music this month, with some new artists and, of course, some of my all time favourites.

Let's get into this!

1.

Nothing Arrived by The Villagers

First, let me point out that this isn't the original version of the song. Though the original is still great, it simply cannot compare to the live acoustic session at Spotify.

I'm guessing that I first heard this on a Spotify Ad. Either way, I fell in love with it after hearing just the first five seconds.

It's so simplistic, with just guitar and vocals, and I think that's what makes it great. 

2.

I'll Do Better by Jarrod Gorbel

Obligatory One Tree Hill song, my old friend.

Honestly, I don't mean to do this. I really just have a ton of OTH songs on my regular playlist that I

LUSH Oxford Street Haul

Hey hey lovely people!

So last week, I went on a little trip to London with my go-to travel gal pal, Dayna! 

Shamefully, we spent 9am - 5pm in just five shops and truly outshopped ourselves.

By the time we got to LUSH Oxford Street, we were probably carrying shopping with the weight being equivalent to a two year old child, so we unsuccessfully tried to tame ourselves in the store.

Now, here's what a picked up in LUSH heaven, with a little description on each! I'm hoping that every one of you cutie readers get a chance to pop in there!

Let's do this!

Okay, now I think of this as the lighter cousin to Shoot For The Stars. Seriously, visually, it looks like someone just brightened SFTS!

It smells really fresh and personally, very minty and cold. According to what I can still read on the description label, it has some popping candy in it!

Seeing as it's now summer, my body is now officially ready to use this bad boy on a hot summers day!

All the points to this bubble bar for being the most majestic LUSH product I've ever seen.

First off, don't make the mistake I did and pick up a broken one, thinking they're individual sticks! 

Seriously though, this product in total is unbelievably weighty! 

It smells kinda spicy, almost like a Christmas cinnamon spice, which isn't helping my LUSH

The Jadelist: APR 15

Hey hey lovely people! 

Now, I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and now that I have a bit more free time, I've finally got around to doing it.

Okay, so at the end of each month, I'm gonna be posting The Jadelist: a 10 song playlist of songs that I've been loving in the past month.

To make things easier for you all, I'm gonna create each playlist on Spotify and leave the link for it at the end of each post.

Each post will have a varied music selection which will very much likely not go together at all!

There's only one rule: Listen to each song until the chorus before you dismiss it.

So without further ado, here's the Jadelist for April 2015:

1.

 Slo Mo Tiger Glo by Fiona Bevan

Without a doubt, this has been my favourite song of the month, which I surprisingly first heard on a TV advert.

Fiona's voice is so unique and beautiful, plus I can't resist a song with a ukulele!

Seriously though, how does this video only have just over 1000 views?! Someone make this girl No.1  right now!

2. 

Goodbye by Who Is Fancy

I have the TuneIn radio app to thank for finding this lovely little song. 

As soon as this song is released in the UK, I think it has potential to be number, or at least a top 10 hit.

The music video is definitely a lot more captivating than the typical 'Ooh, look! I'm having a party' music videos that are all too common these days.

3. 

Post To Be by Omarion, Chris Brown and Jhené Aiko

Disclaimer, this song is not limited to groceries.

Honestly though, I've been a fan of Jhené for a while, and this song does have a really catchy beat that will stay in your head for days.

Plus, nice to see Omarion around. Last song I can remember from him was Icebox. Nostalgia time!

Though, my inner grammar nazi does scream out. Supposed to be*. 

4. 

My Silver Lining by First Aid Kit

Now, this song was kind of a random find for me.

Lately, I've become a bit obsessed with country style music, and while on a little YouTube spree on one of my favourite bands, The Common Linnets, I heard them perform this song. 

Little did I know that it was a cover.

It looks like I have a thing for European Country Music, considering The Common Linnets are from The Netherlands, and First Aid Kit are from Sweden. 

Now it forever holds a special place in my heart as the first song I learnt on guitar. 

5. 

The Girl by City and Colour

First up, let's clarify why this is in The Jadelist. 

I've loved this song for about three or four years now, ever since I heard City and Colour perform a live version of this on One Tree Hill (That Valentines Day ep though!).

Yeah, I've somehow gone all this time without hearing the actual studio version, and I'm OBSESSED!

Initially, it sounds pretty similar to the acoustic version, until it hits 2.18, when the pace picks up.

A beautiful song, by a very talented artist, who surprisingly used to be in a post-hardcore band! 

6. 

Aftertaste by Ben Lee

 

Surprise surprise, there's somewhat of a One Tree Hill theme in this Jadelist. I may or may not be rewatching the series.

 Either way, have you ever heard anybody say that the music in One Tree Hill is awful? No, because it's not!

This song is pretty laid back and just reminds me of a lazy summer day in a pretty empty place. Too deep? Okay.

7. 

Five Years Time by Noah And The Whale 

What a lovely song that I've just gotten back into.

Now, I'm sure you've already heard this song way too many times, but it's popped into my playlist again recently.

I'm not sure why I started listening to it again, but it's been a favourite of mine to play on the ukulele lately.

8. 

No Envy, No Fear by Joshua Radin 

Okay, so Joshua Radin may be a guilty pleasure of mine. I'm still to find a song of his that I don't like. 

Following with the OTH theme, I found this song somewhere in season 6. Now, I physically can't stop listening to it. 

It's an addiction.

9. 

Once When I Was Little by James Morrison 

Whoah, a song that's from One Tree Hill?! No way Jade! That's such a shocker!

I can't help it, One Tree Hill did use a hell of a lot of great tracks, including this one.

First up, I need to state that I get James Morrison and Chris Martin confused way too often!

I love how it starts off pretty calm but changes when it gets to the chorus, and I hope that you will too!

10. 

Got It by Marian Hill 

Lastly, this is kind of a wild card pick, considering the majority of these songs have been pretty acoustic guitar heavy.

This song is pretty simple when you think of it, but damn, it's way too catchy.

Marian's voice is just pure perfection, and I have a feeling that she's gonna be a big name to watch this year. 

Either way, she's got it!

You can follow this playlist on Spotify by clicking the link

So, that was it for the first ever Jadelist! Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!

Question of the post: What has been your favourite song this month?

As always, thank you so much for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!

Lots of Love

Catch-up Recap: What I've Been Loving Lately

Hey hey lovely people!

Whoah, first off, how are all of you?! It's been WAY too long!

I've had a really busy (and extremely fun) past few weeks in University, but the academic year is nearly over, so expect your usual posts every Sunday!

Side note, I know this is being published on Monday. Virgin Broadband was down on Sunday in my area. #bbloggers chat was indeed a struggle. 

So, to kick things off, I wanna so you all what products I've been loving over this blog hiatus! 

Plus, the majority of these products are under £10 too. Mini bargain hunt here guys. Please take notes! 

Okay, so first up is the L'Oréal Super Liner. 

I was recommended this during a bbloggers chat a few months back. Initially, I hated the texture, because it dries almost like how a glue would, in that it will peel rather than smudge. 

WHY DID I NOT APPRECIATE HOW GENIUS THAT IS?!

An eyeliner that doesn't smudge! Plus, the brush is pretty thin too, which is great for precision. 

I'm already on my second one, and it looks like it's gonna be a favourite of mine for a while.

Next up is Rimmel's Clear Complexion Clarifying Powder.

Now, I'll be honest, I'm pretty much a powder noob. Not that I don't wear powder, but that I'm really not educated when it comes to powder. 

The most money I've ever spent on a powder is probably £8. Yeah, definitely not a powder snob.

I think this powder works really well though. I don't recall being left with what I call 'patchy powder syndrome'. 

Plus, I've already hit pan. Too real! 

After being recommended this by a lot of people, I finally left my basic e.l.f eyebrow kit and converted to the Sleek Brow Kit. 

First off, the colour is so much better. With e.l.f, I felt like it was almost a reddish tinted brown. With Sleek, it's pure brown. 

I also liked that there's two mini brushes and a set of tweezers. I don't use the mini angled brush, but I do use the mini rounded one to apply the powder. 

On a whole, I'm really impressed with how well Sleek can compete with the high end brands, at a much lower cost. 

Now, I've been after some Spring lip colours, seeing as I'm lacking in anything that's not plum, red or a shade of nude! 

These next two products fulfil that need.

First up is Rimmel's Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in '16'.

So, it's somewhat of a peachy coral colour, which looks great with this sunny weather we're now having. 

I also like that this has a thicker consistency that stays. 

Plus, it smells SO good!

And to contrast, this is my go-to for minimal make up days.

The Maybelline ColourSensational Lipstick in 418, Peach Poppy, gives a sheerer appearance, which is perfect for a little pop of colour when you're not having a heavy makeup day. 

Now, I bought The Body Shop's Vitamin E Overnight Serum in Oil a few months back as a little fad, used it for a few days, then just stopped.

It wasn't until recently, after watching Wayne Goss' video that I started using it again...IN MY FOUNDATION!

Honestly, what a fab technique. I tried it out one day, and I had so many compliments from people about my skin, before I even told them what I had done differently.

I suppose this would work with all face oils, but this one is £13, whereas I've seen a lot of face oils being sold at a much higher price. 

Plus, considering I'm only using 1 drop per application, it's gonna last for a reallyyyyyyy long time.

And now for something that is, dare I say it, life changing.

As an oily skinned girl, I was pretty naive on the whole moisture front. I mean, My skin has way too much oil, surely I don't need to add moisture on top of that?!

Turns out you do, and that maybe your body is producing too much oil from a lack of moisture.

I'm happy to say that I've found a moisturiser that doesn't feel like it's gonna clog me from Simple.

Again, I'm on my second tube of this already, and I've definitely noticed a decrease in oiliness and  breakouts from when I didn't moisturise.

Okay, I'm already obsessed with face masks, but give me one that has a unique feature and I'll FREAK OUT!

I bought this a while back during Boot's 3 for 2 offer on skincare. I already trusted the Sanctuary brand, and after seeing that it said deep cleanse, I had to pick it up.

Is it bad that, despite reading the word 'thermal', I was surprised when my face started heating up?!

Not only that, but my skin was definitely a lot clearer.

Only issue I have is that you REALLY need to get all of this product out, or it'll get stuck in your pores. 

And finally, we have my now all-time-favourite dry shampoo; COLAB! 

Okay, so London is not my favourite scent (it's ALL about New York), but honestly, I've ran out of New York and Paris! 

What I love about this dry shampoo is that it was an even finer texture than Batiste. I like comparing it to a HD powder, in the sense that it has a finer consistency than a normal coloured powder.

Plus, since this product is still relatively new in the dry shampoo market, it's usually still got an introductory price. Bingo! 

So, those are the products I've been loving lately! Have any of you tried these? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Question of the post; What product have you been loving lately?

As always, than you so much for reading & I hope you have a lovely day! 

Lots of Love

Lush Valentines Haul

Hey hey lovely people!

I've finally managed to take some photos of my LUSH Valentines Day haul after having an inner struggle with how to take decent blog photos, #bbloggerproblems.

Seriously though, the struggle to get natural lighting in Winter, let alone in Wales! 

Nevertheless, I'm super excited to show you the 2015 edition of LUSH's valentines range. There's a lot of fun colours and fab designs this year, so enjoy!

First up, we have Unicorn Horn, the product which has generated the most buzz this time around. Seriously, look at how majestic this is! It's super colourful and slightly iridescent too, so I'm interested to see if this will make your bath water sparkly.

I've seen a lot of debate over what scent this is. To me, it smells like a little bit like Brightside bubble bar, but with Lavender. 

Next up is a returner, Love Locket. This is my first time purchasing a 3-in-1 bath bomb too, so I'm really looking forward to opening this. It's like next generation Kinder Surprise or something!

This splits with two halves of the outer bomb and one central heart bomb. Only problem is finding the heart (pun not intended) to split the thing in two. 

It smells sweet, but also like jasmine scented, kinda along the lines of the typical 'romantic' LUSH scent.

Honestly, this was the one I was most looking forward to. I love all the bubbleroons in LUSH, but to see a heart shaped one, well, I started freaking out! 

It's a bit bigger than the other bubbleroons, and smells like Butterball bath bomb, but more floral. The 'filling' between this is covered in golden glitter too. Expect a blog post on this very soon.

Now for this newcomer, the lovely Floating Flower. I'm really impressed with the shape; it's nice to see a bath bomb that isn't just round. 

The scent is full on floral, and fresh, which makes me wonder why it wasn't released with the Mothers Day products (blog post to follow on that btw!), still, I can't wait to see what my bath water looks like after using this. 

What a little cutie this is! Lonely heart is a red bubble bar that's covered in golden glitter, which is currently all over my hands right now!

To me, it smells almost identical to Fizzbanger. Only criticism I have is that, for £3.50, it's pretty small!

Ooh, looky here, a new soap! This is cupids love, and it comes in two designs: this red one with hearts running through, or a full white one, which is part of the arrow going through this heart shaped soap.

It smells so sweet and fruity, like berries, but a bit more exotic. 

Finally, something I really need right now, a lip scrub. But this isn't just a lip scrub, this is practically a food! 

The Kiss is an orange scented sugar lip scrub with sprinkles and edible hearts. How fab?! It's uncanny how many people have told me that they secretly eat the stuff, but what's worse is that I don't blame them! This stuff is sooo good!

That's all I picked up from the LUSH Valentines collection! Did any of you guys get anything? Let me know in the comments below.

Question of the post: If you could design a bath bomb, what would it be like? I'm interested in hearing what you guys love!

As always, thank you so much for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!

Lots of Love

First Snow

Hey hey lovely people!

Well, it finally happened.

I'm the type of person that gets the flu as soon as winter starts. Every October, you can guarantee that I'll be spending a week in bed, accompanied by my flu survival kit. 

Well, for some reason, I didn't this year. Personally, I thank Fuel Juice Bars obsession. Seriously, I think all the fruity vitamin goodness helped me stay well for the first time in my 19 years of existence, but back to the story.

I finally got the flu this week, which meant a week being bored at home. Seriously, I really wanted to be productive this week. I've just got another set of ALEX drawers and a fancy shoe-case thing which I'm dying to fill up!

Anyway, on Thursday I was sat in bed, when I noticed that it began snowing for the first time this winter where I live. 

With my camera by my side, I thought I'd take a few photos, which lead to videos, which then, because of severe boredom, lead me to create a little snow video, which I thought I'd share with you guys

Enjoy!

Happy Sunday everyone, and enjoy the weather where you are!

Thanks for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!

Lots of Love

A Day In... Bath!

Hey hey lovely people!

I can happily say that all of my deadlines and other commitments are now over, so you can expect m posts to be a lot more regular now. 

To celebrate this (Let's be honest, I was really just looking for an excuse), I went to Bath with my long time gal pal, Dayna!

I thought I'd take my camera along and document the day, so enjoy!

So, after getting off the train (and having a brief pause, in awe of how much we adore Bath), we headed on down to Debenhams, in search of a MAC counter and Arch Angelz.

Yeah, we were left pretty disappointed when we found out that Bath's Debenhams doesn't have a MAC counter. #FirstWorldStruggles. 

Okay, so we essentially used Debenhams as a refuge for the freezing cold temperatures on that day, but we did manage to gain the courage to continue shopping, and headed onwards to Hollister, where I picked up a lovely summer dress for £20! BARGAIN!

Obviously, I also got a refill of my favourite body mist, Solana Beach. Basically, I'm just screaming on the inside for it to be summer again.

Afterwards, we headed on into Boots, mainly because I needed some wet wipes to wipe off my awful lip colour. Yeah, we were immediately distracted by the spray body lotions, though, they were on offer, so it was justified.

Now for a Pro Tip: Are you covered in makeup from swatching in Boots? Now, I don't know if this is unique to Bath, but they have boxes of tissues on top of all the makeup stands, so no more covered hands. You're welcome. 

Next up, we went to our favourite shop, LUSH! 

Now, the last I went to Bath was in the summer last year (I know, pity me), and in that time, LUSH had moved to a unit on the opposite side of the street so they can accommodate the LUSH spa that they're building. Yeah, I'm now feeling so much jealousy on behalf of my regular Cardiff LUSH.

Since I needed an incentive to finish my deadlines, I said that I wouldn't buy any of the LUSH Valentines stock until everything was submitted. I kept that promise, so me and Dayna went all out with the Valentines products.

I picked up everything I wanted, except for Unicorn Horn, which looks like it's a big seller, considering that a few LUSH stores have sold out of them. 

It was all good though, because the fabulous LUSH in Bath had some Snowcake soap left over from the Christmas stock. Needless to say, we both picked up a hefty chunk.

Also, shout out to the two lovely ladies who were working in LUSH that day and invited us to the bloggers event they're having this February. I'm beyond excited for this, especially considering that it's my first bloggers event!

So by now, it was around lunch time and we were both starving, so we thought we'd try and find somewhere to eat.

When we came to Bath a long time ago, someone told us to turn left at LUSH and we'd find all of the restaurants. 

*Cue a hungry Dayna and Jade getting lost in Bath, but taking some cute photos*

In the end, we gave up and went to the place we know best: Jamie's Italian.

Seriously, we're way too used to this place now. But seriously, the food here is so good.

Before we were seated, we waited at the bar, where you can see all the fabulous fired meats, herbs and spices, as shown in the photo above. It really just has this small, Mediterranean deli feel, which you don't usually get from many 'Italian' restaurants. Nice one Jamie's! 

Our plan was to share some sides between us; Our favourite Funky Chips and some garlic bread. Unfortunately, Jamie's Italian don't serve any garlic bread, so we chose the Artisan Bread Basket.

Artisan being the key word in the name, because it was presented beautifully. Credit to them for making something as simple as bread look really exciting. 

Dayna didn't really like the dips, but I LOVED them. There were all different types of breads, though my favourites were the really fluffy one that was drizzled in oil and sea salt, and the seeded flat bread. Yum!

We also thought we'd give the mocktails a go, considering that I hate anything alcoholic (Top student). 

I picked the Berry Blast, which tasted like my favourite fruit, raspberry, but with a slight zing. Seriously, it was the perfect amount. I usually hate citrus fruit, but this was just right, though, it did get foamy and too citrusy at the very end.

Our food came afterwards. I ordered the carbonara, which tasted absolutely stunning, especially the pancetta. 

Of course, I ate it all, and totally regretted it afterwards, trying to shop on a full stomach!

Afterwards, we went into the new (well, I say new, it could've been built anywhere between last summer and now!) Primark in Bath. Admittedly, my Primark snob came out, in that in just doesn't compare to Cardiff's Primark, though, I'll give it credit for trying. 

Lastly, we had a quick look in H&M, where I picked up a lovely pair of shoes, which I'll show you in a later blog post. 

After that, we headed back to Wales on a very busy commuter train. Note to future self: Always book trains.

So, that was my day in Bath. Question of the post: Have you ever visited Bath? What's your favourite part of the city? Let me know in the comments below!

As always, thank you so much for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!

Lots of Love

Blogmas Day 18 - 5 Reasons Why You Should Moisturise

Hey hey lovely people!

So, as you know from reading my last post, we're getting new windows fitted in my house, which means that for the past few days, all we've really been doing is tidying and cleaning, hence the poor post timings. Sorry!

Today though, I thought I'd do another 5 reasons post, one that links to the last one!

So, here we go, 5 reasons why you should moisturise.

1) To restore moisture in your skin

Okay, let's start with the obvious one. They're called moisturisers for a reason, because they restore the moisture that your skin has lost. 

2) To seal in moisture

Now, we just talked about how your skin can lose moisture right? Well, applying a moisturiser (Preferably petroleum based) can form a barrier on your skin that stops moisture from escaping. 

3) To soothe and stop irritations

Is it bad that I immediately feel itchy after writing this?! It's so annoying when your skin becomes irritated and you can't help but scratch it. Seriously, that just makes things worse. Well, moisturise! Products containing ingredients like Aloe and chamomile help to soothe irritated skin. 

Plus, remember that barrier we were talking about? It also helps to protect the skin from dryness and allergens, two of the biggest allergens!

4) To heal the skin

Now, I know this one all too well after my lip struggles over the past few months. Dry skin can't properly heal itself, so keeping it moisturised will just help things heal quicker. In my case, using Vaseline, a petroleum based moisturiser, helped to seal moisture in my lips and voila, I now have super soft lips again!

5) To look younger

Let's prevent those wrinkles! Moisturised skin is plumper, thus reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. As simple as that! 

So, question of the post: What moisturisers do you like to use? I ADORE Simple's oil balancing facial moisturiser. Seriously, I use it daily. 

For a body moisturiser, I love Vaseline's Spray & Go, mainly because I'm lazy and it smells like Hollister! Yum!

Finally, I love to use Vaseline to moisture my lips, BUT NOT the lip therapy tins, I'm talking about the full on original Vaseline. I'm convinced it's a different formula. The original one is definitely thicker.

As always, thank you so much for reading & I hope you have a lovely day!

Lots of Love