A fresh start and a few thoughts about body confidence

 

Welcome back! Both to me and everyone else. I’ve taken a long break from blogging, and am hoping this new blog will help to reflect the new me. Oh yes, I’m going for the typical “new year, new me!” But I think now I have a valid reason for it, and that reason is bodyconfidence.

I took a long break from blogging, not because I didn’t love it anymore but because I didn’t love myself anymore, and that is such a shame! Over the past year my body and my mind has changed. I gained a lot of weight and felt foreign in my own skin. I didn’t feel like myself anymore. I would hide in sweatpants and ill fitted clothing, hoping that no one would notice the way I felt about myself, and it really was all about the way I saw myself. I felt like a failure, out of control, and kept it all inside. I would use food to cope, which was definitely the wrong coping mechanism. Thankfully I finally admitted that I need help, which for anyone else who is a perfectionist is one of the most difficult things to do! I am blessed with the most supportive family and as well as seeking professional help for some things I couldn’t change on my own, my family has worked with me to help me feel better in the most important way: on the inside.

While feeling better on the inside is most important, feeling good on the outside is almost equally so. When your pants don’t fit and you struggle to get dressed every morning, no matter how good you feel inside it’s not going to make you feel like you look better. As my Mom has always said there is nothing wrong with going an getting bigger clothes, you should use it as an opportunity to feel better, not worse about yourself. And so after picking up so new clothes, as well as a new outlook I have decided to start again.

I am going to start blogging again, and doing what I love no matter my size, shape or state. I encourage anyone else feeling down about themselves to take a step back, reevaluate, and embrace their body for what it is! Not all of us are tall, short, curvy, thin or athletic. No ones body is the same, nor should we compare ourselves to others.  So let this new blog be a space to embrace every part of us both what we love about ourselves as well as what we’d like to improve.

Let’s look forward to healthy food recipes (as well as some unhealthy ones, a girls gotta stay sane), outfits, and some beauty-both inner and outer- posts.

Lots of love,

Jess

Spring and Stripes

Happy first day of Spring! In honour of the warmer weather I decided to break out this new adorable Topshop number. It is a super soft cotton dress, and I am convinced I shall live it in it for the rest of the Spring. I’m not usually a fan of stripes, especially horizontal ones as they tend to make me look shorter, but I like how these ones create a boxy look. It also is just the cut of the dress, but when paired with heels it still looks flattering. My lipstick is Revlon’s Standout and my nails are a very chipped Essie Sunshine State of Mind.

Simple cotton dresses are great for the in between weather as you can easily layer over them, wear them with tights or leggings, and simple colours or prints can brighten up the drab winter fashions. Not that I actually chose any colour here… Still sticking with my beloved white and black, but I did wear red lipstick so A for effort! We’ve been really lucky with the weather here in Montreal recently, and I’m hoping it stays this way!

 

I hope you all have an amazing start to Spring!

xo

Jess

My Simple Everyday Makeup Routine

Hello everyone! A number of people have requested that I do a post on my makeup routine, so here it is 🙂 It’s quite quick and simple (although I’m sure some will disagree with both of those statements) and takes me about 15 minutes to complete. I love wearing makeup and will even wear it when I’m just at home or running errands. Taking those 15 minutes a day to apply makeup is my favourite, and I am always excited when I go to bed for the next days makeup. I know there are some who don’t feel like people wear makeup because they like it and that it’s to look good for others, but there will be no makeup shaming here, a negativity towards it will be met with only kindness, because that is simply not true ( ok, mini rant over).

So here is what my makeup looks like on a day to day basis:

I think it looks quite natural, and enhances my features 🙂

I have started to only use mineral foundation on my face, and I have seen a HUGE improvement in my skin’s tone and quality. No more breakouts, and my skin tone is evening out. On to the makeup look!

Face: (Basically the same as my last tutorial post)

1. I start out by concealing under my eyes and any red spots with the Maybelline Master Conceal palette. I have it in the shade Light and I mix the two concealer shades together to get a perfect match. I’ll use the lighter shade more under my eyes to highlight a bit. You can use you fingers or a tiny concealer brush, like I do.
2. Next I mix together two foundations: Bellapierre Mineral Foundation in Cinnamon (a yellow undertoned medium shade) and The Body Shop Extra Virgin Minerals foundation in Rose Vanilla ( a tan shade with pink undertones). I mix them simply because I don’t have one that matches my fake tan! I apply that all over my face with a kabuki brush.
3. To wamr up my face and contour a tad, I use the Bellapierre Mineral Bronzer in Warming Tan. I buff that under my cheekbones, along my jawline, and across my forehead, again using a kabuki brush.
4. To my cheeks I add a sweep of Bellapierre Mineral Foundation in Desert Rose. This a super natural and pretty dusty rose colour 🙂

And that’s it for my face!

Eyes:

1. To frame my face (and eyes) I fill in my eyebrows using the Benefit Brow Zings in the shade 5. Then I brush them through with Essence Make Me Brow to set them.
2. For my eyeshadow I only use one palette, the Stila Eyes are the Window Palette in Soul ( I bought this last year when I was working in a mall and never used it). I add the shade Vitality (an old gold) to my brow bone and inner corner.
3. Next I add a bronze colour called Affection to my lid and run it along my lower lashline.
4. In the crease I sweep a mixture of Individual (a matte warm brown) and Being (a matte dark brown), and then blend it out with a fluffy brush.
5. To line my eyes I use a Stila liquid eyeliner pen. This is the best eyeliner pen ever! It has lasted me since August, and that’s with almost everyday use. I do quite an extended cat eye, starting from the outer corner and working my way in.
6. Next I line my upper waterline with Maybelline’s Line Express… It claims to be waterproof but I haven’t found it to be so! Once I’ve finished it I don’t think I’m going to repurchase it.
7. I add a bit of mascara to my top lashes, I just use a sample size of the Make Up For Ever Excessive Lash. It’s a great mascara! I only use sample size mascaras because I usually apply false eyelashes after.
8. Using a bit of Duo lash glue I apply some natural false eyelashes. The ones I wear I think are Quo 800? It’s either those or I always wear the Ardell Demi Wispies.
9. Then I curl my eyelashes (once the glue is dry) to make sure my real ones and the falsies blend together.

Lips: So simple!

1. I line my lips with a nude lipliner… Sometimes it’s Mac’s Soar or L’Oreal Natural. I overline my lips slightly to create definition and make them look a bit fuller.
2. The I apply a clear lip balm and blend the edges of the liner so there is no harsh lines.

And that’s it! Seems like a lot, but once it’s a down pat routine it doesn’t take a lot of time 🙂

Most of the products that I used can be found on lookfantastic.com. They have free shipping and show everything in Canadian prices! If you click the link here it’ll take you to their website. Please keep in mind that this is my affiliate link and so I will make a small percentage. If you don’t feel comfortable using feel free to visit their regular site here.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this look! Let me know if there is any other types of posts you’d like to see.

xo

Jess

Finding Joy and a Spring OOTD

 

Hello everyone! Today’s outfit is bohemian inspired, which is one of my favourite aesthetics. It was super sunny and warm in Montreal today, and my boyfriend and I decided to enjoy the outdoors and go for a long walk. Of course no walk would be complete without a few good outfit photos (Ryan’s menswear look will be up tomorrow).

Today’s outfit was comfy but chic and feature my favourite jacket and boots!

Outfit Breakdown:

Dress: Aerie

Jacket: Zara

Boots: Hudson’s Bay Company

My hair is day two waves, with some added dry shampoo – gotta get that volume!

I’ve decided that for the month of April I am going to try and find the joy in every day, and each blog post I’ll mention what I thought today’s joy was.

So April 9, 2017 I found joy in the warm smell of spring 🙂

xo

Jess

 

 

 

Sexy Date Day Outfit

 

Hello everyone! Today’s sunny Monday brings you this lovely outfit. I didn’t actually wear it on a date day (didn’t actually go anywhere today) but I needed to dress up for a little mental pick me up!

I think that it’s simple and sexy but still very classy. Adding a little jacket on top definitely helps with the in between weather!

Outfit breakdown:

Skirt: Sirens

Bodysuit: Topshop

Jacket: Zara

Boots: Ardenes

 

I don’t have much to type today but I thought I’d share this outfit with you anyways! Later this week I will be uploading a “Best Friend does my makeup” video, so if you need some laughter feel free to check that out!

 

xo

Jess

Pretending there isn’t snow. Spring OOTD

 

 

Hi everyone!

Just a quick outfit post today. This outfit is super comfortable and I love how flowy it is. Great for those days when you feel like lounging or eating lots of yummy food 🙂

My dress is from Forever 21, it’s actually a hi-lo cut but I tied it at the side so it wouldn’t be so long (5’1″ problems). The duster is from Topshop, and I’m not too sure where the shoes are from!

For my hair, I saw a video by Jen Atkin called the “ditzy ponytail” and I thought I’d try it out. I really don’t wear ponytails that often but I thought this one was quite cute and flattering 🙂

That’s all for today!

Hope you enjoyed this post,

xo

Jess

 

 

Ultra Glam Daytime Makeup

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first makeup post 🙂 If you know me, you’ll know that I have a slight makeup problem… I have way too much! But I can’t help it, I just love it so, and I honestly look forward to putting my makeup on every morning. So today I decided I would do a quick post on my fave go to glam look for daytime. It looks quite heavy, but because I’m using mineral makeup it feels like I’m wearing no face makeup at all!

My skin is quite sensitive and dry, so for the longest time I thought that mineral makeup wouldn’t work for my skin, but boy was I wrong! I was at Winners two weeks ago with my brother and saw that they had a couple Bellapierre Cosmetics mineral makeup sets on sale for $14… So I thought I’d try it out, and now I can never go back to regular liquid foundations!

Mineral makeup is considered to be better for your skin as it is natural, and usually only contains 3-4 natural ingredients. Bellapierre foundation has an SPF of 15 which can cause a little bit of flashback, so if you’re doing a big photoshoot with flash I’d choose a mineral foundation without spf. But enough rambling, let’s get to the makeup!

Face:

1. Prep your face with a primer. I used a bit of Lancome La Base Pro, which I got as a sample about a year ago. I find using a primer helps to prolong the wear of my powder foundation.
2. Apply your concealer, or in my case the Bellapierre makeup base, under your eyes and on any blemishes. Make sure to blend this product out well!
3. Apply your foundation, if you’re using a mineral foundation tip the jar upside down and tap a small amount of the product into the lid. Swirl a dense kabuki brush into the product and then apply it to your face in circular motions.
4. Next step is bronzer! Since it’s the end of March I have started to fake tan a bit (hard to believe from how pale I look in the photo, I know) so I need to match my face to my more tanned body. On a small bronzer brush apply the colour under your cheekbones, around your forehead, and along your jaw to minimize the look of a double chin.
5. If you want to add a bit more colour to your face you can now add some blush. I added a touch of Bellapierre’s mineral blush in Desert Rose just to the apples of my cheeks.

Products used: Bellapierre 5 in 1 Mineral Foundation in Cinnamon, Bellapierre Mineral Blush in Desert Rose, Bellapierre Mineral Bronzer in Warm Tan, Bellapierre Makeup Base, Lancome La Base Pro, Kat Von D Lolita, NYC Liquid Liner, Maybelling Unstoppable Waterproof Eyeliner, Clinique Lipliner, Ardell Demi Wispies, Duo Eyelash Glue 

Eyes:

1. This is a crazy simple eye look. Start off by lining your top lashes with a black liquid eyeliner. I like to create quite a thick wing, especially one that is quite thick in the middle so that it makes my eyes look a bit bigger.
2. Once your liquid liner has dried, line your top waterline (the space between your eyelashes and your eyelid) with a black kohl eyeliner pencil. This will make your lashes look thicker and your eyes more feline!
3. Curl your eyelashes, and then apply some dramatic false eyelashes. I like the Ardell Demi Wispies as they add a lot of height but aren’t too full.
4. You may ask, no mascara? but when I wear false eyelashes I like to skip mascara, as I find my natural lashes are too long to wear falsies with when they have mascara on. If your eyelashes are blonde, apply a quick coat of mascara right before applying your falsies to help them blend.

Lips:

1. Line your lips with a warm brown lip pencil. I like to overdraw mine a little bit to make them appear a bit plumper.
2. Next using a matte liquid lipstick fill in your lips, making sure to go right to the edge. I used Kat Von D’s Lolita liquid lipstick, which is a pretty terracotta coloured shade.

And that is all! Looks like a lot, but once you break it down it’s not quite that much.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and I will see you all on Friday with a new recipe 🙂

xo

Jess

 

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Twitter: @jessicakinnari

Spring Fashion: Sweater Weather

Hello everyone! Welcome to the first real outfit post 🙂 Today it was 7 degrees in Montreal and I was so excited! The sun was definitely shining, a perfect day for International Women’s Day. Today’s outfit was very casual, just a long sweater from Forever 21 that I wore underneath my Zara leather jacket. I felt like the shirt was a bit too short, so I wore a black slip underneath to give it a bit more length 🙂

My bag is from H&M (got it at a boxing day sale for $15) and my lipstick is e.l.f cosmetic’s Bold Pink lip lacquer. For $3 it lasts quite well through coffee and food, although a touch up was needed after about 3 hours.

Super simple and super cosy this outfit is a winner for long days of class or studying.

Hope you enjoyed the look, and see you very soon with a new video!

Let me know what type of posts you’d like to see.

xo

Jess