Dear October 2014

Dear October, 

You were surprisingly warm this year which threw all my plans off track. I expected to have to wrap up warm in thick, cosy, oversized jumpers like I have in the previous years that you made an appearance. Instead I found myself wearing tshirts and thin cardigans. To me you officially mark the start of autumn, my favourite time of the year. Usually I welcome your appearance with open arms however this year, this year was different. This year you bought change in friendships, some for the better and some for the worse. You also bought back deep sadness and anxiety which I so hoped would disappear with September. Although it sounds negative not all was bad. You bought an amazing party which I attended on halloween making this the best halloween i'd had in years, I managed to earn my first pay check leading to a rather large shopping spree and celebrate Courtney's birthday by eating a meal at a rather nice Italian restaurant quite local to me. You've been an alright month october however I hope that November will bring what you bought and more. 

From Jessica.

Meet The Vamps Tour

Hello all, 

Where has the time gone? It feels like yesterday that I was writing my last post definitely not two weeks! I'm really sorry for the lack of posts in the last two weeks but now's my chance to turn that all back around. 

Two weeks ago today (Wednesday 15th October) was the day I got to see my favourite band perform once again. This band is called 'The Vamps'. There's honestly not too much to say other than the fact that they were amazing! The entire show was planned to perfection and I loved the way that each member had the chance to have their own 5 minutes in the spotlight. It was also great how they remembered their routes and exactly how they started and this was evident throughout the show. 

This was the fourth time i'd seen The Vamps live and I believe that this was definitely my favourite! If I could live the entire night again no doubt about it I would. 

I will now leave you with some photo's that I took throughout the night!

Thank you for reading! 

Jessica x

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ZoellaBeauty Soak Opera & Let's Glow Review

Hello all, 

As many of you all will be aware Zoe (Zoella) recently released her beauty range 'Zoella Beauty'. Just like many others I was extremely excited to get my hands on some of her products. As soon as it was released in my local super drug store I was straight down there to buy whatever I could. The products were so popular that almost everything was out of stock so I was left with 'Soak Opera' and 'Let's Glow' which were high up on the list of things I was most excited about. I was slightly disappointed by the fact Superdrug had run out of 'Blissful Mistful' which I got to test in store and smelt amazing. So lets start by reviewing these two items.

Soak Opera:

Well I guess the first place to start with this is the packaging! It's super cute and so Zoe. That's what I particularly like about this range; it reflects Zoe in so many ways. The bottle size is perfect and I can tell it'll last me a while. I do love a good bubble bath and tend to go a bit over the top when it comes to bubbles but I used a fair bit of this and it hardly left a dent. The scent is exactly how I like it light and fresh. I guess you could say it was slightly floral/fruity. One things for sure this scent definitely isn't is overpowering. The scent sticks to you for a fair while after the bath which is also an added bonus. The cream is in no way drying on the skin leaving it feeling super soft. Finally probably the thing I love most about this product is the fact it's bubble bath but you're also able to use it in the shower as a shower cream! I can tell i'll be using this time and time again. 

Let's Glow:

Anyone that knows me would tell you candles are literally my favourite thing! I could spend an absolute fortune on scented candles so when I heard Zoe was releasing her own scented candle I could hardly contain my excitement. This scent is super light and goes perfectly with the scent of 'Soak Opera'. It's the perfect candle to have lit in the autumn or whilst having a pamper evening as the scent is in no way over powering. The packaging is once again adorable and I especially love the fact it comes in a tin accompanied with a lid. This makes it perfect for storing avoiding damage and allowing you to get the most out of the candle. 

Have you tried any of Zoe's products yet? What do you recommend I try next?

Lots of love

Jessica x

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Choosing The Right College and Course For You

Hello all,

It's that time of year again, that time where all the colleges hold their open days and you're expected to make what seems like the hardest decision of your life. I hoping that by writing this blog post I may make you feel a little more confident when choosing your college and courses. 

In no way am I an expert in this i'm purely speaking off my own experience seeing as I was in this position just a year ago. 

My first tip would be to keep open minded about all the colleges you are going to view.  Before even viewing the colleges I went to see i'd already made a judgement of how much I'd like each one and it's fair to say that what I thought was going to be my least favourite is now my college today. You can't make a decision when you don't really know anything about the college so try not to make a judgement before visiting. 

Secondly don't be afraid to ask questions. Many people give up their own time to help out at the open evenings and are purposely there to answer your questions so please use them. In each department there'll be both teachers and students of the subject able to give you first hand information on the course. This is particularly useful if you have a few colleges in mind as you'll be able to compare what each college will be able to offer you. This is also extremely helpful if you are unsure what courses to take as you can ask for information on the subject that you may previously never thought of taking! 

As well as this i'd visit subjects that I feel i'd be interested in however not definitely going to take. You may find that one of the courses you choose doesn't work out so it's always a good idea to have a backup or two. Don't feel pressured into taking a course you won't enjoy because of pressure from friends as this will dampen your whole college experience. In the first couple of weeks most colleges will allow you to move courses around to make sure you're completely happy so if you feel you've made the wrong choice you'll always have the chance of changing courses later down the line.

Furthermore if you have a set career goal or an aim of a specific university course now is the time to start looking at this also. Some universities/jobs require certain A levels so it'd be a good idea to find these out early so you can choose the right colleges courses that can lead onto further education. 

Finally look at as many colleges as possible. Make sure you look at every college in a commutable distance so you can compare and make sure it's a place you can see yourself. Don't worry about where your friends are going just make sure you choose the right college for you. 

I know this whole experience can be extremely daunting however once you've started I believe college is 100x better than high school as long as you keep on top of the work load and attend every lesson. I could go on for hours about this topic but I won't waste anymore of your time. If you'd like to ask any questions then feel free to leave them in the comments and i'll reply asap. 

With love

Jessica 

x

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My Autumn Essentials!

Hello all

Yesterday was officially the first day of autumn and as anyone that knows me would tell you autumn is my all time favourite time of the year! I absolutely love the crisp cool air in the morning upon your face and the excuse to just snuggle up on the sofa in front of your all time favourite movie. I thought now would be the perfect time to let you in on my autumn essentials. 

1) Grab a mug of hot chocolate. Everyone knows that when the weather outside is a bit nippy we all crave the warm loving feeling that a hot drink gives us. Hot chocolate just screams out autumn for me so this had to be included in my list of essentials! 

2) Invest in red. When I think of autumn I instantly think of the colour red. That beautiful red that the leaves change to fills me with absolute excitement. If I could my entire wardrobe would be filled with these gorgeous shades of red during this time of the year. My absolute go to would be a red flannel shirt accompanied with a pair of skinny jeans and black ankle boots. 

3) Stock up on candy. We all know autumn means halloween and lots and lots of movies; this all calls for one thing! CANDY! Don't have the embarrassment of having no candy on halloween night so why not stock up now? If it somehow manages to vanish before October 31st it gives you the perfect opportunity to go and buy some more!

4) Snuggle in a big warm coat. When the weathers a bit cooler than you're used to having that extra layer is much appreciated. A nice big coat is super comfy, practical and offers a big fashion statement. 

5) Lots and lots of candles. I have a slight obsession when it comes to candles and when the evenings start drawing in I can't help but light a few candles around the room and relax in that calming glow they give off. Scented candles are my guilty pleasure and I could spend a fortune on them. 

With love,

Jessica

xo

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The Pointless Book Review

Hello all, 

Today I thought i'd try something a little bit different and do a cheeky book review for you all! As i'm sure most of you are aware Alfie Deyes (pointlessblog) recently released his much anticipated book 'The Pointless Book'. 

Ever since Alfie first mentioned the fact he was bringing a book out it was hard to contain my excitement and it's fair to say that this book definitely hasn't disappointed. For those of you that aren't sure what 'The Pointless Book' is it's very simply an activity book full of everything from playing games with your friends to baking a cake in a mug. You could say that Alfies book is very similar to the likes of 'wreck this journal' however the overall aim isn't to wreck the book. 

There's no competition with the book you simply complete it at your own leisurely pace however it's fair to say that it should take to a fair while to carry out all the activities and most of the activities you can carry out time and time again. It's definitely safe to say this isn't a book you'll get bored of quickly. 

The thing I like the most about this book is how interactive it is. The book comes with it's very own app which you can easily download straight to your smart phone called 'The Pointless Book App'. Some pages feature an image of a smartphone which instantly tells you theres a video that Alfie has created exclusively for the book giving you access to extra content! you simply open the app up and select the 'scan the page' option and a video linked to the page should pop up on screen! It's all magic if you ask me. 

Overall I believe that this book is a must have wether your a 'Pointlessblog' fan or not! 

RRP: £8.99

Available in most leading book shops.

Much love ♡

Jessica Benson

xo

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♡ NCS - Week 3 ♡

Here is an extremely long over due post about my final week on NCS a month over due in fact. So let hop back onto this old bandwagon and begin. 

Week three is all about pursuing our campaign as well as completing a 100 challenge challenge day. 

Monday was a day off however this didn't stop us from all meeting up to start preparations early. Around nine members of our team headed towards 'Hobbycraft' to buy the materials needed to create a tree. (our campaign idea is on the previous post click here to see it) We bought two massive pieces of cardboard, some paint and paintbrushes. We noticed that inside hobbycraft there was a table free so on the off chance we asked a member of staff if we'd be allowed to use it. After explaining what we were doing they happily lent us the table for the afternoon and offered all their help by supplying us with things like scissors and craft knifes while we were there. As teamwork goes I think we worked well finishing most of the tree off by closing time.

Day two was left for shopping however as our team had already bought a majority of supplies the day before and online we only had a minimal amount left to get and this included glitter.. lots of glitter. We returned back to our meeting venue early and finished the tree off completely. We were all extremely happy with how it turned out and finally felt as if Friday was going to be a success. 

On Wednesday as a team we went and volunteered at a local charity shop called 'Relate' the staff were extremely lovely and seemed very excited to have us there. They had us doing all sorts of things for example: Setting up a book sale, working in the stock room and handing out leaflets to members of the public in the street. It was a great day and gave us all the opportunity to get experience of working in retail and giving back the community. 

On Thursday we carried out 100 Challenges to raise money for 'Relate' overall we did very well and raised quite a bit of money. The aim of the event was to complete 100 challenges in our town within about 5 hours. We managed to complete about 97 challenges in the end. The challenges included things like start a conga line and get 5 people to join in, Do the Macarena in public and start a Mexican wave.

Friday was the big day, the day this had all been leading up to. CAMPAIGN DAY. As a team we all walked into town carrying all our equipment for the day. It's fair to say we got a few strange looks from the public when they saw us carrying a massive cardboard tree. We got to town and chose a spot to set up. It started off s a huge success and our tree was filling up with lightbulbs nicely however at about mid day this began to slow down a bit. Some of us went off to lunch and noticed that the town centre was much busier than where we were originally situated and so we decided to move. We managed to attract a whole range of new people and even had people asking about what we were doing and about NCS. At around 2pm a huge thunderstorm came over and resulted in us having to close the campaign early however I believe it was an overall success. 

This was then end of NCS and we were all so sad that it was all over! I haven't all met up as a team as of yet but we're trying to plan something for the near future. 

I would recommend NCS to anyone aged 16-17 and it really is an opportunity of a lifetime. 

I hope you have all enjoyed these little NCS blog posts. Let me know what type of posts you'd like to see in the future by leaving a comment below! 

- Jessica x

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♡ My Prom Night ♡

Hello all!

Last night was my prom and it was one of the best nights of my life! I thought i'd tell you all about my night and share some pictures with you all. 

I was very lucky to have my mum do my hair and my sister my makeup! I'd never been made up so much before and it made me feel so confident (confidence is one of those things that I really lack). I honestly felt so anxious about the whole evening but now that it's 

over I don't have a clue what I was so worried about! If I could go back and relive it I definitely would.

Preparations started at 2pm where I had shower to wash my hair followed by a bath using my Honey Bee bath bomb from lush, it smelt amazing! After this I painted my toe nails with Tanya Burrs Riding hood nail polish and put some fake nails on my fingers which I bought from Primark for just £1. I then waited for my sister to come back home from school and we cracked straight on with my makeup. We went for a natural look which went well with my colour theme of deep red, black and gold. My mum then moved onto my hair. I wasn't sure what I wanted for my hair literally up until the night before! We needed something quick and simple because we were tight for time. I went for the halo braid, we used the tutorial that Zoe did and I was so happy with the results! I didn't just want the braids so I curled my hair also. I'd never curled my hair before so it was exciting to see the final image. 

Once I was ready Emily came pick me up. We took a few pictures outside before getting into the car. I'm so happy with how these pictures came out (all thanks to my amazing sister Hannah).

After this we went to pick up Kayleigh from her house. We stood outside and once again took loads of photos together. It was lovely seeing us all dressed up as we hadn't really seen what each other were doing so it was a lovely surprise!

We then left Kayleigh's and did a long route round to the school to allow our parents to get there before us. We were one of the first to arrive and everyone cheered as we got out of the car which was lovely. It was great being one of the first as we got to see all our friends arriving and what they were arriving in, my favourites being an Ice Cream truck and a Delorean. Once everyone arrived we went inside and the party began! The theme of the hall was 'The Great Gatsby' and it looked amazing! There was a buffet (I think I ate about 10 mini pizzas), tables for card games and a dance floor.

Overall the night was amazing and below i'll leave some pictures from throughout!

I hope you all enjoyed this post and i'll speak to you all again at the beginning of next week!

Jessica x

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♡ A Walk In The Sun ♡

Hello all!

Yesterday I went on a lovely walk by myself down to the shops. The weather was glorious with the sun beating down which meant it was very hot. You never realise how lovely the area you live in is until you take the time to take it all in! Whilst out I took a few snaps that I wanted to share with you all. 

One of my favourite things to do when the weather is nice is to go and take myself on a nice brisk walk. Not only does it feel great to be out in the sunshine it's a great form of exercise to get your body moving without too much effort or money involved.

What's one of your favourite things to do in the sun?

Speak to you all soon ♡

Jessica x

As you can all see this is a brand new blog! My previous one became invalid and after being told by Google that they couldn't fix the problem I thought it best to make a new one. I hope you all continue this journey with me by making sure you follow me! 

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