Durham Lumiere Festival of Light

On Sunday, my parents and I decided to visit my sister and while we were in the area, we thought we'd take a trip to the annual Durham Lumiere Festival of Light. 

Luckily it wasn't as cold as it has been these past couple of days (anyone else wake up to pure solid ice on their windscreen this morning? Phwoar it's sure getting cold), and there was only a sprinkling of rain so it wasn't too unbearable being out in the cold for so long. 

The main show area opened up at around 7.30pm and I have to say the organisation of the event was fantastic. We followed hundreds of people on the path round and up to the Cathedral with minimal waiting, where we were met by some gorgeous lights being projected onto the beautiful cathedral. 

Apologies for the rubbish-y images; my camera doesn't seem to like the dark

We then continued through the Cathedral to the smaller but equally as pretty attractions, my personal favourite being a phone box filled with tropical fish, which sadly I couldn't seem to get a good photo of. Stupid camera.

We also grabbed hot chocolate and a homemade cookie each from a cute little stall along the way for just £1 (which was yummy!) to warm up a bit before continuing to a couple more sights further on. 

Dresses made of tiny lights

As we were all working the next day and had a beastly drive home that night, we left at around 8:30pm having seen less than half of the lights on show, which was a huge shame. But it really was worth the journey; there was a lovely atmosphere and we all really enjoyed spending time together as a family.

Who would have thought plastic bags would make such a pretty Christmas tree?!

Unfortunately, Sunday was the last day of this years show so if you do want to take a peek, you will have to wait another year for the next show! It is completely free so a great little event if you're struggling to occupy the kids or just want to fill an evening. 

I just wish I could have told you about it sooner! 

Love, 

Jo xx

Offer | Amazing Discounts and Free Delivery at The Body Shop!

I thought I might share this amazing offer that popped into my inbox this morning...because I'm just so nice like that.

The Body Shop are offering some fab discounts this weekend so now is definitely the time to be doing your Christmas shopping. The offers are;  

£5 off when you spend £15

£10 off when you spend £25

£25 off when you spend £50

plus free delivery on all orders over £30!

Just use the code 'SPICE' at the checkout!

Shop away ladies! 

Love, 

Jo xx

eBay | Scottish Tartan Scarf

During the winter, I have always admired the tartan trend but this year it seems to have made a full-force comeback and I am loving it!

A good few months back I spotted that red tartan scarf in Primark and stupidly didn't pick it up. After heading back to my local store for it and to my horror finding it wasn't there, I turned to eBay in search of an alternative. That's when I stumbled across this little beauty. 

Tartan scarf | £9.99 + £2.50 p&p | here

The scarf is made by a Scottish brand called Berrydale. It's the perfect shade of red; not too bright, not too deep, and is 100% lambswool, so it's pretty cosy and is good quality. Admittedly I did expect it to be a little little wider, but it's nice and long and all in all it's pretty much perfect. I love it!

How have you been working the tartan trend so far this year? 

Love, 

Jo xx

Guess Who's Back...Back Again

Oh my word have I misbehaved this past month or so.

Since starting my new job as a Radiographer (oo, how grown up and sophisticated am I?), life has been pretty much non-stop! Trying to adjust from having more time on my hands than I could imagine to barely having time to brush my teeth has been strange, but now that I have begun to settle into work properly I feel like I can (hopefully) get back onto the blogging bandwagon. Granted, my posts won't be as frequent as they used to be, and I will have to somehow fit blogging around my shifts but all I can do is my best, eh?

I'm on late shifts this week anyway so hopefully I can schedule some posts during the day for the next couple of weeks. 

Anyway, how are you all doing? I've missed you! Give me updates!

I haven't been doing much exciting outside of work to be honest. My sister visited home from Newcastle a couple of weekends ago and we went bowling with her boyfriend and my dad for the first time in so many years. I lost (expected), but we had such a laugh and had some fun on the arcade games after.

We also had a bonfire gathering at our house with a few family friends, food, fireworks and lots of alcohol which was lovely. It's a nice yearly tradition that we have which will hopefully be continuing for many years to come.

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Did you have a nice Halloween/Bonfire night? 

I also started my Christmas shopping on Monday (sorry to those who are still not allowing any mention of the 'C' word, but I am far too excited this year!). My best friends and I are doing a Secret Santa this year so I already have that one in the bag. For once I have actually managed to be organised. *fistpump*

For some reason I've found this post really hard to write up! I think I just need to get back into the swing of things and hopefully things will start to spill out onto the page again soon enough.

Anyways, I've probably really bored you here but I will get some posts scheduled and hopefully get back to normal(ish). Hope you'll forgive me for my absence just this once! 

Lots of love, 

Jo xx

30% Off Rimmel Products at ASOS

Just a wee quickie to let you know about the 30% off Rimmel products at ASOS!

From left: 

Rimmel Apocalips | (L-R): Big Bang and Celestial | £6 £4 each

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipstick | (L-R) 05 and 08 | £5.49 £3.50 each

In standard Joanne style, I decided to take advantage and ordered myself a few goodies.

I've been hankering after trying the Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquers ever since they hit the shelves, so I got two in the shades Big Bang (which is the most stunning bright red I've ever seen), and Celestial. 

I also treated myself to a couple of the Kate Moss lipsticks, in shades 05 and 08. I'll pop up some reviews soon if you like, just let me know in the comments! 

Altogether these four products came to just £15, rather than the RRP of £22.98.

Bit of a bargain if you ask me.

Go on, what are you waiting for? Get spending ladies! 

The discount page can be found here.

Love, 

Jo xx

What I Wore | 23.09.13

So I thought for a change I'd try taking a couple of outfit photos outside in an attempt for clearer images; whether the images actually are better or not I'm undecided, so I'd love it if you could let me know which you prefer in the comments! 

Jumper - H&M | Disco pants - Daisy Street | Bag - Matalan | Glasses* - Firmoo | Necklace - ASOS | Converse All Star* - Amazon

Shamballa bracelet - Tresor Paris via Peter Jackson | Bangle - gift | Chain ring - H&M | Stone ring - Vintage | Star and eye rings - Primark | Nails - W7 10

This jumper is a current favourite of mine; you may recognise it from my 21st birthday present haul as my mum bought it for me after I picked it out in store. I've worn it a ridiculous amount of times already, it's so easy to just shove on and go, although it's not really for the faint hearted!

These Daisy Street disco pants are fab as well - I actually sized down in the hope they would suck me in more and they definitely do, although I may have been tempted to reach for them more often if I'd have bought them in my size. They are a little uncomfortable to wear for a full day just because they're that darned tight, so I only wear these when I know I won't be out and about for hours on end. I'm such an idiot.

The Tresor Paris bracelet is a new favourite of mine; I don't own another expensive bracelet and so this is a lovely treat for me which again I received as a birthday gift from a family friend. 

The lilac colour is just so perfect. 

What do you think of this outfit?

Don't forget to let me know whether or not you prefer the outdoor photos! 

Love, 

Jo xx

Polka Dot Nails | W7 10 & Revlon Rock

Quick nail art post for you today! I'm trying desperately to have a bit of fun with my nails before I start my new job as a radiographer on Monday (eek!). Obviously, working in a hospital I won't be able to wear nail varnish for infection control reasons so I've been applying new colours like there's no tomorrow!

This was just a really quick polka dot design I created using the gorgeous W7 pastel purple (which is just named '10' as far as I can see on the bottle) and a deeper purple Revlon shade called Rock. 

I thought the colours looked really cute together!

What do you think? 

What nail art have you been doing recently? 

Love, 

Jo xx

Painted Glitter Turns 1!

When I set up my very own little space on the internet exactly a year ago today, I actually wondered how long it would be until the novelty of my new hobby wore off.

Yet here I am; a year down the line and I am more in love with blogging than ever.

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The blogging community is a far more amazing and supportive place than I could ever have imagined. 

You provide the perfect escape from day to day life and are the perfect audience for me to share my opinions, thoughts, loves and lusts. 

I don't think you guys realise how much that one little comment can brighten up my day; it means the world to me that so many of you care enough about what I'm saying to subscribe to my blog, comment and take the time to come back and visit again and again. 

In short, I'm seriously grateful to each and every one of you, so thank you.

Here's to the many more years of blogging to come.

Love always,

Jo xx

H&M | Chain Rings

Okay so I may have fallen a little bit in love with these rings. So much so that I thought they deserved a blog post of their own; aren't they just the luckiest rings in existence? 

Go with it, guys.

Rings | H&M | £1.99

Admittedly I don't think I'd wear both rings together, but I just wanted to show you what they looked like on. They were just £1.99 for the pair; absolute bargain and I'm sure I'll get a ridiculous amount of wear out of these beauties. They don't feel half as flimsy as you'd imagine at that price either! 

What do you think?

What jewellery have you been buying lately?

Love, 

Jo xx

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Blush

I have to admit this is one product that really did excite me when I first saw it. 

L'Oreal claims their Nude Magique BB Blush to be a unique gel which 

"goes on clear and transforms on contact with the skin, self-adjusting to the skins pH level to deliver a natural glow specific to your skin tone".

That all sounds very scientific, so instead of expanding on that quote and pretending I know what the hell I'm on about, I'm just gonna chat about my opinion instead. I can manage that.

The packaging of the BB Blush is so clean and simple and in my opinion, you really cannot beat it. 

Sure, I do love the pretty, eye-catching packaging by brands such as Benefit and Soap and Glory, but sometimes all I want is something simple and uncomplicated, and L'Oreal really hits the nail on the head in that sense.

The product does indeed dispense as a gel-like consistency as claimed. 

However, do be warned that you have to be quick when applying the product after it has been dispensed. It doesn't take long before it starts to stain your skin to the garish colour (garish for a blusher, anyway) shown in the picture above. 

Trust me, the first time I applied this it was not a pretty sight. I looked like i'd been slapped with a belt on both cheeks. But, as long as you blend it onto your cheeks relatively quickly (I use my fingers rather than a brush and it seems to blend well enough) and don't just leave it all blotchy for a few seconds, it provides a beautiful, natural rosy glow to your cheeks.

I'm not actually sure if the colour differs for different skin tones, as obviously I only have my own skin tone to go by, but the colour really did compliment my tanned skin. I was surprised at this due to the shocking pink pigmentation I could see on the tube nozzle, but once blended it became much more subtle and natural.

One thing I would say about the blush is to apply it in a dabbing rather than a rubbing motion. When I tried to rub it in, it left very little pigment on my cheeks. It was only when I dabbed that I could begin to build up the colour nicely. 

However, even using the dabbing motion, I did find that I needed to apply a good 2 or 3 layers of the product before I achieved my desired look. I believe this could be purely down to my deeper, more olive skin tone. I think the blusher would be much easier to work with on pale-skinned girls, where the pigment can really stand out and quickly give a healthy pink flush.

Bottom: dispensed product | Top: blended product

I was expecting to be left with quite a dewy finish seeing as the product is a gel, however this wasn't the case. Once applied, my skin felt silky soft to the touch and I was left with a finish that was probably more on the matte side; a really natural, muted glow.

It also seemed to last well on my cheeks; I'm usually not a massive fan of the more liquid-based cheek products purely because I find that they tend to disappear relatively quickly on my combination skin. However, this one stuck around pretty much all day with no unsightly blotching or uneven fading.

Overall, I really do like this product and have started using it on a pretty regular basis, purely due to how healthy and hydrated it makes my skin look. Once you get the hang of applying it evenly, the finish it gives is pretty much flawless.

L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Blush can be purchased from Boots for £7.99 here.

Having read a couple of reviews on this blush before, I know that not everyone has been as impressed with it as I have so I'd really love to know your thoughts!

Have you tried out the Nude Magique BB Blush?

What do you think?

Love, 

Jo xx