Have you seen this show? Leave a comment in the comments section below telling me what you think about Stranger Things!

Hello Everyone!

If you're anything like me, you're looking at the calendar and wondering where the heck the summer months went. It's almost the end of August and all you've done is sit on your couch binge watching Buffy The Vampire Slayer on Netflix! So you forgot to rent a cottage and campsite back in April, we've all been there, but I'm here to be your summer fairy godmother and tell you that there's still lots of time left to make this summer memorable. Here's a list of some last minute things you can do to have fun before the summer is over:

1. Drinks on the patio:There's nothing more summery than a pitcher of margaritas and your best gal pals hanging out at a restaurant patio. The best part is you can do this any night...or morning/afternoon. I don't judge. For a more affordable option, grab a bottle of margarita mix at your local store (split the price between each person) and host a cocktail hour in your own backyard. 
   
2. Spend the day at your local beach: You might not have time to rent a cottage or a campsite, but that shouldn't stop you from spending your final days of summer by the water. Find the closest lake to you, pack a cooler full of snacks, and make a day out of it. Even if it's a long drive time, nothing screams summer more than a road trip, which brings me to my next idea,
3. Plan a spontaneous road trip. Take a couple days off of work (or you could call in sick, again, judge free zone) and plan a spontaneous road trip to that place you've always wanted to go with your favourite person. It doesn't have to be a long trip to be a fun one. No hotels left? Not a problem! Here's a link teaching you how to sleep comfortably in your car in a Walmart parking lot: http://themorningfresh.com/2012/06/29/a-guide-to-car-camping-in-walmart-parking-lots/
   
4. Watch a movie at the drive-in: This is a more affordable option if you're looking to have some summer fun on a budget. To save extra money head to a bulk store and buy your own snacks! 
5. Go to an outdoor concert. Enjoy the warm weather and some good music! Check your local theaters to see who's touring in your area. 

Hello Everyone!

I never really make posts about my life and what's currently going on with me and so I decided to do just that. I think it's a great way for you all to get to know me and keep up with my life if you want to. This will just be a super generic post about some major things in my life/what I'm doing.


I'm heading in to my fourth year of university this fall in the Brain and Cognition program. I'm not a makeup artist and I'm not trying to become one; I'm just a science student with a passion for beauty products. I'm hoping to head to med school within the next couple of years so we'll see how that goes! If any of you are premed or want to talk about anything science/med school related let me know!


I've spent most of my summer studying for the MCAT and volunteering in a lab at my university which has been amazing! I never thought I'd like doing research that much but turns out I quite like it. Finding a lab that would take me on as a volunteer was quite difficult so if you're in the same position don't feel bad about it! Just keep contacting as many people as possible and something will come up.

I'm a huge animal lover! I currently have three cats and recently got a new german shepherd puppy whom I love dearly. His name is Colt and he's the apple of my eye. I've always dreamed about opening up my own animal shelter but that'll be in the very far future if I ever can afford it.



So after all that, I'd like to hear more about you! Tell me one thing about yourself in the comments section below.

Do you have bloglovin? Use the button at the top of the page to follow me on bloglovin and I’ll check out your blog! I follow back similar blogs :) 

Hey Everyone!

I had the best long weekend at my cottage and arrived back home yesterday morning. I absolutely love being able to spend some time during the summer up at the cottage! The days are responsibility-free and are loaded with lots of eating, swimming, more eating, and campfires. How can anyone hate that?

Before I left I tried out a couple of looks using Maybelline's The Rock Nudes eyeshadow palette and I wanted to review it for you all. You know I'm all about saving money and finding good quality products for cheap so I was really hoping this palette would work out. I got this palette as a gift and when I first saw it I thought the colours were gorgeous. They even have some unique colours like a sparkly teal and a deep plum purple for anyone who wants to adventure out and create a more bold eye look.



One of the most helpful features of the palette is the info they provide you with on the back. There's 3 different ways in which you can categorize the eyeshadows in the palette, and there are diagrams to help you figure out colour placement on the eye. Very helpful if you're new with makeup and not really sure what to do. Of course if you're more advanced you can easily just create your own look with whatever colours you choose.


Now it's time to get to the actual product! I found most of the colours to be pretty pigmented and blendable, but some were also chalky and clumpy. The lighter shades in the palette tend to be chalky and not easy to work with, while some of the darker shades can create quite a bit of fallout. For a drugstore eyeshadow palette I do have to say that I'm pretty impressed with it. The eyeshadow formula isn't the greatest, however for the price you're paying you can create quite a few wearable looks.

Hello Everyone!

As I mentioned in a previous post I recently traveled to Atlanta, and I thought I should do a post about my travel purse essentials! The key is getting the right sized bag with the right amount of pockets. I've made the mistake (believe it or not more than once) of bringing a tiny crossbody purse which made it difficult to carry anything but my wallet. It was horribly tight and anytime I went to grab something out of it, everything else in my tiny bag would come flying out. I've picked up tampons in front of strangers one too many times and I've decided to graduate to a larger bag. I still recommend purchasing a crossbody style purse as your travel bag as its so easy to carry and leaves your arms open for more important things, like carrying a travel book or a croissant- whatever floats your boat.

Now let's get inside my bag!

Disclaimer: None of these items actually end up inside of my bag, not to worry though, they're still loved dearly

• First, my wallet and passport are a must and need to fit comfortably in my bag. Also, I won't be able to leave the country without either of these and so if they're forgotten I should really reassess my ability to travel unsupervised 
• Purel/ santizing hand wipes- these bad boys come in handy all of the time! When I'm travelling I'm generally out for majority of the day and find myself touching tons of door handles/ railings/ bathrooms, and I absolutely need to sanitize my hands right after 
• Hair ties- Unless you're hair is gorgeously voluminous and wonderful from morning until night without any touch ups, I recommend bringing along some hair ties. There's nothing worse than looking in the mirror and seeing the frizz mop on my head, and not having a hair tie to tame that sucker with
• Water- I can't stress how important it is to be hydrated while on vacation! It's very easy to lose track of the day and forget to drink water which can lead to a heaping amount of problems, such as headaches and dizziness. Unless you paid hundreds to thousands of dollars to stare at your hotel room walls, I suggest you drink the water 
• Powder and powder puff- this may seem silly, but since I'm out for such long periods of time while on vacation, I like to keep some powder and a powder puff/brush in my purse so that I can quickly freshen up my face. Although I have dry skin, I tend to be more oily when I'm in hot/humid places, and so the powder is a must unless I plan on frying an egg on my face as one of my travel activities. 
• Tissues- this also may seem silly but believe me, when you find yourself walking down the streets of New York with your street meat in hand (or street veggie meat for all of my vegetarian/vegan followers out there) and you watch as some ketchup releases itself from your hotdog bun and onto your shirt, and all you have left is the greased up napkin you've already used to wipe your mouth, you'll reach into your bag and find your tissues and you'll think of this moment and thank me

Hello Everyone!

I know I've been MIA lately and so I just wanted to jump on here and give a quick update. My mom has been having some health issues and I've had to do some travelling to take care of her and help her out. On the brightside things are looking better for her and so I'm hoping to have this blog back up and running again! Hope all is well you everyone!

Jess

Hello Everyone!

I've been super lazy since the end of my exams in April and I haven't been able to get out of this lazy funk. I did get a chance to go to the Pearl Jam concert in Toronto on Tuesday and I have to say it was the best concert of my life! For those who don't know, Pearl Jam happens to be one of my absolute favourite bands and I've never been able to see them live until now! They're so talented and sound just as incredible live as they do on their album.

Quick tip for you concert goers, it's much cheaper to wait until 15 minutes after the concert has started and buy scalper tickets outside of the venue. Tickets are instantly 50% off and it's wonderful!

I'm still obsessed with my outfit from that night and here are some photos:

Hello Everyone!

My skin has been super dry lately and so I wanted to try a moisturizing face mask to see if it would help. I looked up some recipes for homemade face masks and found that oatmeal is really helpful for dry skin. The recipe I found was from this website: http://skincare.allwomenstalk.com/amazing-homemade-face-masks-for-dry-skin and they have a ton more to choose from!

It calls for:
- 1 tablespoon of oat bran or oatmeal (cooked) (I used oatmeal)
- 1 tablespoon of yogurt
- 1 table of honey
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil (I used coconut oil as a substitute)
- 1/8 of a teaspoon of bee pollen (optional- I did not include it)

I noticed the mask was quite liquidy so I added a few more tablespoons of oatmeal to thicken it up a bit. I kept the mask on my face for about 10 minutes and then rinsed it off. I found that it worked wonderfully and didn't leave my face dry and tight as other face masks have. Oatmeal masks are also used for acne and I noticed my current breakout reduced in redness. It also smelled delicious!

The leftover mask should stay good for about a week and I plan on using it at least once a day for the rest of the week. I'm so happy I actually found something that moisturizes my face! Let me know if any of you give this a try and let me know how it works!

Jessiré

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to pop in for a life chat with you all. Today's topic is friendships and how not to be a crappy friend, such as myself. My life gets super busy sometimes and it's so easy for me to forget about my friends and focus on my school or the boyfriend. This past year has probably been the busiest as I'm in third year university and these grades are very important for graduate schools. I'm all for being focused on my future career and sometimes that means putting myself first, but I think I did too much of that this year. I really neglected some of the people who care loads for me and realizing that has left me feeling kind of shitty.

Considering I've semi-abandoned some of my friends, the true ones still stuck around and I was still able to pick up the pieces. At first I had no idea how I was going to make it up to any of them until I realized that an apology can really go a long away. Step 1 is to acknowledge you were a crappy friend and to validate their feelings, which I did. Step 2 is to spend time with said friend , even if it means sacrificing something to show them that you care. I'm currently working on this step. Unfortunately this is as far as I've gotten in this Friendship Rebuild Program and so I'll have to update you on future steps.

I read this quote once that basically said that there's a difference between people who have time for you when it's convenient, and people who make time for you. I definitely want to work on making more time for the people that matter.

It's never too late to save a friendship. If there's someone you want to have in your life it's up to you to make sure they remain there.

Jess

P.S If step 1 doesn't initially work, attempt it again, but this time with the addition of a doughnut. If that doesn't work I'm afraid there's nothing you can do.

Hello Everyone!

 Welcome to Cooking For Twenty Somethings Who Are New Adults And Don’t Know How To Adult. Today is all about bacon! I used to hate the thought of cooking bacon as the grease would rocket launch out of the pan and onto my arms and it just wasn’t pleasant, but I’ve discovered an easier way of cooking it! If you're looking for a fancy way to cook bacon that's relatively danger free and will impress your parents/roommates/significant other keep on reading!


You’ll need:
 • One baking sheet
 • Parchment paper
• 1 pack of bacon (make sure it’s not frozen)

It’s very simple. First you’re going to preheat your oven to 375°F and let it warm up while you prepare the bacon. Cut the parchment paper to the size of the baking sheet and place it on the baking sheet. Next you’re going to take the bacon and lay the slices one next to the other on the parchment. Depending on how crispy you like it the cooking time will change. I left mine in for about 30-35 minutes and it more on the crispy side, but make sure to keep an eye on the bacon and remove it when you feel it’s ready. I forgot to take a photo of the bacon prior to cooking but here’s what it looks like when it’s done to get an idea of the placement.

Hello Everyone!

First things first, my exams are finally over and my summer vacation has officially begun! I'll have tons more time for my blog and I'm so happy about that!

Today I wanted to talk about my latest jewellery obsessions! My current favourite combo is my Sterling Snake ring from Pandora paired with my Elephant bracelet from Divinty LA.


The ring was more expensive ($90) but worth every penny! The entire front side is covered in little jewels to keep the snake sparking and makes it look more realistic (like actual snake skin). I've had it since November of 2015 and it's still shining and sparkling like the first day I got it. The picture does not do it justice.


The bracelet was cheaper (about $15 US I believe) and I'm fairly impressed with the quality. The company provides meanings for the beads that are used which is very whimsical and I love it! The elephant charm is fading a bit but nothing too major. Plus, when you purchase their products a portion of the money goes to a particular charity (depending on the bracelet you buy).

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm officially on twitter (@jessirebeauty)! I wanted a more instant way to communicate with the blogging/beauty community. Let me know if you have a twitter in the comments and I'll follow you!

Looking forward to tweeting you all,

-Jessiré

Hey Everyone!

This is going to be a bit of a cheesy and emotional post but I just feel the need to write about it. Lately I've been feeling really down on myself self-esteem wise and I don't  exactly know why. I'd say I'm 90% confident but there's always that 10% that creeps up on me sometimes and I struggle with it every now and then. I think it's hard to see what the ideal look of beauty is these days and to know that you don't fit that exact mold, and that can be quite hard to deal with. I also know that looks aren't everything, but I'm only human and realistically it's hard to comfort yourself with just "my personality is great" sometimes. Whenever this happens though I like to remind myself of a quote I read somewhere that basically went something like "I look at other girls and think 'wow she's pretty I wish I looked like that' but then I think 'I'm not pretty like her but I'm pretty like me' and that's okay." I'm 100% paraphrasing and I don't know the source but it definitely stuck with me.

I'm pretty like me. I think we fail to realize that there isn't one type of beauty or one look that is the most loved. I mean, there's no doubt that Angelina Jolie is beautiful and also that Jennifer Aniston is beautiful, and those are two very different looking women, but both are beautiful. I mean Mila Kunis doesn't look like Gigi Hadid, but they're both beautiful! I think you get the point.

I just want to let everyone know that you're pretty like you and nobody will have the same uniqueness that you have.

Okay the cheesiness is over and it's  back to fun and food and happy things!

Lots of love,
-Jessiré

Hello Everyone!

I've lately been loving the L'Oréal Paris Voluminous Original mascara and I wanted to review it for you! I have super long lashes but not very many of them so I'm always looking for mascara that can give me a bit of volume. This mascara not only does that, but also lengthens my lashes a bit further making them look like false lashes! My only issue is that a lot of product comes off in a few swipes and can get clumpy, so to fix this I use either the Voluminous Million Excess or Physicans Formula Organic Wear mascara to remove any clumps and help me get the look I'm going for. Other than that I absolutely love the colour as it really gets your lashes black! I've had this product before an left it in search of something else, only to always return back to it. Sometimes you just have to stick with the classics as they're the best.

Here's a photo of each product mentioned: