So it has been a few weeks - heeeeey *waves*.

Exams are finito and I am free as a bird for a while to enjoy the beginning of summer. However, we have a lot of catching up to do.

A few weeks ago I went to my University's Grand Ball. If you follow me on Instagram you will have already seen plenty of pictures, but I wanted to show you it all in a blog post. 

It is a great way to end the University Society and Sports year - everyone gets dressed up in their finest, eats a great meal and dances the night away. Some a little more sober than others. I've mentioned before that I don't drink or go out, so it is always interesting watching these nights unfold - tehee!

It was best of all - a masquerade ball - so there was no way I was missing out.



I used my Sleep-In Rollers for my hair to give it a good bounce. The only thing is I didn't sleep in them. Just a self blow-dry and put them in my hair for around 4 hours with A LOT of hair spray. 

I don't really like my hair fully curly, or in an up-do, I just love big and soft curls falling over my shoulder. This definitely achieved that. However, if you feel like sleeping in an extremely uncomfortable position all night with a sore neck in the morning - be my guest and wear them overnight!


Here are the results:


I just love getting dressed up with my besties. The Christian Girls are some of the sweetest, loveliest people I know. They have such a huge heart for people and all looked amaaaazing on the night.

Lucy told me off for taking too many selfies, hehe!

But hold on Lucy, there are many more to come.


Lucy was dressed up in the most beautiful Gatsby style dress with her matching 1920's hairdo. She honestly looked like she could have been in the book. 


Outside was buzzing with different taxis arriving with men in suits and ladies in heels. All wearing glittery masks to match. 


I got some pictures with my two flatmates who looked UNREAL. Literally could not have looked more beautiful. 

Lucie was wearing a self-confessed "iron-bru" Ted Baker number and Lois was wearing a vintage velvet dress. Both were just stunning. 


Poised. As always.




Let's take a closer look at these beauties...



That red lipstick with the gold mask - mmhmm! You can find her glittering gold mask here.


Then Lucie - just wow. She can really pull off that bright number with her blonde-bombshell look. I just loved it. You can find her mask here.


I wore a simple black dress. Nothing too fancy. You can find it on Missguided here 

My shoes are New Look (similar here) and you can find my mask here

Can I just say that my shoes were beyond comfy. Instead of limping home with sore feet I could not wait to get off, these were medium hight and kept my dancing going all night.

Happy feet = Happy Jess!







The actual ball was a secret garden filled with leaves, birdcages and fairy lights. 




We giggled, caught up and watched the award ceremony unfold with good food. 


Lucie even won an award - YAY! She has been such an inspiration in the CU and I can't wait to see where life leads her in the future. 

The girls at CU are all so inspiring with their stories, lives and great fun.




We danced the night away to (I must admit) a not-so-great DJ. The band were great, but the DJ would not shut up during the songs, meaning we couldn't just dance to our favourites. He swore a lot and kept slagging of people, but it didn't get in the way of our fun.


It is sad to see the end of another year of uni. Time is flying by so quickly. I am glad to have some time off now for a while and return home, but goodness, these really are the good days!

Thank you everyone for making my night so fantastic, you all looked breathtaking! Bring on final year!!
Hello everyone!

It's taken over - the assignments, revision and all the caffeine. So I have decided I wont be blogging for the next 2 weeks - I will return on the scene on the 1st May. 

So instead, here is a little final motivation for you...keep your head up! Exams are a huge pain, but they are worth it. And if you feel the pressure of exams getting too much, do what I do - Treat Yo' Self. Especially when treats are food. 

I can't wait to return to blogging and share with you all the exciting things that have been happening over the past month. I have some exciting new collaborations which you are going to love, balls with pretty dresses, some gorgeous summer fashion, and lots more. These next 2 weeks cannot go in fast enough!
 

So until then folks!

Bright Red Wellies xo

P.S. Follow me on Instagram if you can't wait until then!
It's that time of year again for us students...the late study nights, the tons of coffee and break outs with stress!

My skin can be cranky at the best of times, but exams really do bring out the worst. So to try and combat the pimples, I try to come home after the library a couple of times a week and put on a face mask.

Beauty Masks were kind enough to send me some lovely Timeless Truth - Facial Sheet Masks to help me on my way. 


They are fusion masks, which are fabric and 'face-shaped' to set on easily. They have dehydrated products which are then packed with serum. This freeze-dried powder is released onto the skin once the mask is applied.

The 2 masks I have are:

The Green Tea Phenol Soothing Mask - it has natural extracts of green tea, aloe vera, and chamomile. It is used for both anti-aging and uneven skin tone and texture. It helps minimise pores, fortify the skin through oxidation, and regulating oily secretions.


Herbal Rejuvenation Immortelle Mask -This is made using organic immortelle extract with hylauronic acid. It helps reduce fine lines and visible signs of aging...which hopefully I don't need yet. But for me, it helps nourish, hydrate, and stimulate the skin which helps reduce blemishes . It even helps boost cellular activity leaving the tissue more toned.


So what do you do for velvety, silky, fresh skin I hear you cry?

Rip open your sachet - but watch out as there is a quite a bit of excess serum. You can leave this excess in the sachet and use it again - either on other areas of your body or pop it in the fridge to use a couple of days later.

Now do you want a refreshing mask in the morning? Pop it in the fridge overnight before using.
If you want soothing and pampering - place it in warm water for 5 minutes before use.

#treatyoself


 Firstly, cleanse your face of all makeup and impurities.

Then open the sachet and remove the plastic film.


 Place the mask on your face, starting from the chin up (I made that mistake). Put the darker side on your face. Well done - you now look like a beauty monster. Go scare your flatmates with your green face! I took pictures of the face mask on - but I do not look attractive and no one wants to see that!
 
Leave it on for 15-20 minutes.
 
Gently massage the remaining essence into the skin so you get every drop of goodness.
 
You can use it 3-4 times a week if your feeling generous.

So what did I actually think?

I used this product when my skin was inflamed and especially spotty last week. I was skeptical in case it made my skin worse but I had a ball to go to, so I was desperate.
And you know what - I love it! It was so soothing for my skin and brought down the redness by the next morning. I'm not saying it removed the acne, as you would have to be consistent for it to work, but it definitely helped as a quick-fix.
 
I am saving the 2nd one for my exam weeks, so I can take a moment relaxing with some candles and a cup of tea. The library air hates my skin, so it is going to be amazing to have this up my sleeve.
 
So how can we actually help our skin survive these stressful weeks and months:
 
Tip 1: STOP touching your face. I mean it - STOP. You probably don't realise how much you do this, I sure didn't. So every time you go to rub your face, slowly put your hand back down. Your touching library keyboards with all sorts on it. Your face doesn't need that.
 
Tip 2: Drink more water. It's simple, straightforward and much needed. Grab a water bottle and put it on your desk - you will be surprised how often you reach for it. It keeps you hydrated, alert and your skin very happy.  

Tip 3: Do you have spots on your cheeks? Try wiping down your phone daily with some alcohol wipes and you'll notice a massive difference. Think of everything your phone touches every day with tables, sofas, pockets! Yuck!

Tip 4: Use this time away from your normal social life to try and go without makeup more often. Let your skin breathe, even for a day. I find this quite tough as I love my foundations and BB creams, but sometimes your skin needs a rest too.

Tip 5: No matter how long your revision hours have been - always get your 8 hours of beauty sleep. I struggle with this because I love revising late, but I am slowly trying to get myself up into a normal routine which I can stick to.

Lastly, Tip 6: Take your makeup OFF before bed. Your skin loves to breathe. Even put your makeup wipes on your pillow in the morning so you won't forget. Mind you, I don't always recommend makeup wipes, they don't like my skin. I love using a good facial cleanser - sometimes twice to get my skin squeaky clean. Get into this routine and you will never look back. I am using the Boots own brand Tree Tree and Witch Hazel Charcoal Facial Cleanser right now - it really gets the makeup off and leaves my skin so fresh.

Happy revising people...summer is nearly here!
"That's the most beautiful thing in the world: when two people become fluent in choosing one another"

Over the next few years I have quite a few weddings lined up (including my own - eeek) so you are going to see a lot of breathtaking brides and bouquets.

I love love love weddings.I count down the days until every single one. There is nothing more wonderful than seeing two people want to spend the rest of their lives together - to choose one another, cherish and care for each other.

Do you remember my post in February about my lovely friend Laura coming to visit? Well it was her turn to walk down the aisle!


I packed my bags and headed home for some watery eyes and dancing!

An early morning of make up and hairdressers was a little bit of a rush, but we were on our way.


Ello ello!

Poor Andrew has to bear through this, it was a long drive!


 We arrived to a buzzing church with happy guests chatting away.

I was given Laura's Polaroid camera to snap pictures of the service for her. Big task...

...And of course I didn't know how to turn it on and missed the whole thing. Whoops.


 Then the church hushed, the music started and the beautiful Laura glided through the doors.

She was stunning. Absolutely stunning. Her dress glistened as she walked past us and her veil just flowed beautifully down.



I have never seen a groom look so lovingly at his bride. They stared at each other through the whole ceremony which brought a tear to my eye. They could not have been happier in that moment!

Laura was quite secretive about the wedding - not giving away any clues. But it paid off big time when we thought the colour scheme was going to be lilac from the invitations, then the bridesmaids came in a royal blue. I loved the bright blue against the soft lilacs. It was perfect for a Spring wedding.


She added little touches of vintage vases and gorgeous lace across the church, how cute!



Laura and Matthew are just a wonderful couple and so easy to get on with.

My friendship with Laura has been since I was only 16. She was the first call I made to tell her I was going out with Andrew. I remember all the boy talk. I remember screaming down the phone when she said they were engaged. Its been a joyous journey with an everlasting friend.




I got to catch up with other wonderful friends too from church teams in the past. I love seeing people who can just encourage you and have a great time with.



We all sat down to a heap of nibbles to keep us going. Most tables had around 8 people, we had 4 and still managed to devour the whole lot!


We were able to take some time and chat to the new happily married couple!

They showed us the presents they had got for each other - his new dashing pocket watch and her sparkly new earrings. They are beyond cute!



Isn't her dress just wonderful? I couldn't stop smiling because she looked so beautiful!



With her quirky shoes as well to top off her wedding day! They both changed into matching converse shoes for the dancing to keep their feet happy the whole night.



Before I forget, my outfit is:

Coat: Zara
Fascinator: ASOS
Handbag: A Friends
Dress: Stylist Pick (Down to £23 - yeah!!)
Shoes: ASOS - Similar here and here



Laura's touches continued at the wedding reception. A rustic style design of a frame for the table plan alongside a self set-up photo booth with disposable cameras and cute props.




We loved this little photo booth, Andrew particularly *ahem*...


The cutest thing for the guests was a coffee table we all got to sign for them to have in their new home. I love this idea as an alternative to a guest book which they can use and see daily.




Each table was named after a different sweet, so we were the 'Licky Lollies' which was lovely having something to munch on during the speeches.



All of our names were on small personalised chalk hearts...some guests started wearing them on their pockets during the night. I have them up in my room now!


The cake was made by their dear friends who did a great job. One of my favourite things in life is cake...just slightly behind my love for burgers!


I have been able to see some magnificent people grow around me and Laura will continue to be one for a long time. I cannot wait to see her as a little wife with Matty. She is a woman on fire with God, so as a team they are going to be inspirational.

Thank you for an invitation to your day. I feel overwhelmingly privileged to be one of your close friends.

Andrew was equally as emotional!

We danced until my heels could not take any more and it was time to say goodbye. A fantastic day!

I will finish with one of my favourite photos of Andrew and I. Happy and carefree - HAH! We want to recreate this on our wedding day...romantic as always!


Lucie, your wedding is next! EEK!
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