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Posted on 11th May 2016

Summer Ball 2016

Hey everyone! I am soooo sorry for the lack of posts in the last week; revision has had me completely snowed under. The beautiful weather has definitely compensated for that as I’ve been sunning it up in the garden with my sharpies and A3 notepad. I do love revising, the only downside to it is that it makes you feel like you shouldn’t be doing anything else. I will do a post soon about revision technique and the ways I find to be most effective, motivating and most importantly: FUN.

Today’s post is a bit of a lifestyle post as I will be showing you photos and talking about my Summer Ball at University – prom and ball season is fast approaching and hopefully my photos will show you what to expect and maybe provide a little outfit/make up/hair inspiration!

The Girls ©Gabrielle Laycock Photography

The ball I attended was thrown for all students at University of Lincoln who study PR, Journalism or English, and it was in honour of a deceased lecturer, Jonathan Taylor, who passed away in November 2015 following a short illness. His being a senior lecturer in the school of journalism, I unfortunately didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him, but from the tributes I heard at the ball in beautiful speeches, I have no doubt that we have lost a very valued member of staff.

During these speeches the wife and daughter of JT were called up to the stage and awarded just over £400, which was raised by the ball and the raffle which took place. This money went to a charity of the family’s choice and his wife gave a very touching speech in memory of her passed husband. This short section of the evening was incredibly beautiful and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house!

Group wingitwithjade.com

My flatmates kindly took photos before we hopped in the taxi, (the shoes I was wearing were literally KILLER) and I absolutely love what came out! Katie and I went for totally different looks to the ball, but as you can see they both work wonderfully!

Group wingitwithjade.com (5)

My money has been a bit tight recently, so I chose to re-wear this gorgeous number which I bought on sale from New Look last summer! I am so obsessed with coral as a colour, especially in spring and summer as it’s really complimentary for a summer tan. Katie on the other hand found this gorgeous red wine colour dress from Boohoo which looked great with her dark hair – we were like light vs. dark, I love how we both contrast and compliment each other.

Group wingitwithjade.com (6)

D’awwww, this is such a nice, natural photo! As you can probably see, our boys coordinated themselves with our dresses, which was a nice little touch! They don’t half scrub up well! I was in total awe of Dan all night, he’s absolutely wonderful.

Dan and Me wingitwithjade.com

What a lucky girl I am. Dan knew that at my secondary school prom, I hated the way I looked and moments before I went I had a teary breakdown and begged my mum to stay at home. I was very self conscious at that age and didn’t particularly want to parade myself around in front of everyone at school in a dress and heels. Dan went above and beyond to make it up to me and to make me feel special.

Dan and Me wingitwithjade.com (3)

Dan bought me a beautiful corsage (which I will show you later – I was absolutely gushing over it all night), he bought endless amounts of prosecco for our table, danced with me right up until the lights came on, bought me a HUGE amount of food in McDonalds at the end of the night and kept me giggling all the way home. Swoooooon. I really am incredibly smitten.

Selfie wingitwithjade.com

I chose to go fairly light with my make up, yet still remain bold and eye catching. I used the Makeup Revolution Flawless eye shadow palette for a pinky toned smokey eye using colours: Soft Glow as a base, Barely Pink to cover the lid, and Red Night in the creases (I’ve written a review about this product here).

I also used my Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit in Koko K (a review for this is also available here) which I thought really complimented my look, as it wasn’t too bold to take over my entire look, yet went well with all the pinky tones of the rest of my makeup.

I also made use of a set of Eyelure lengthening false lashes. I use this brand and style of false lashes every time, I feel as though they are really subtle, yet dramatic enough to make a difference.

 

Dan and Me ©Gabrielle Laycock Photography (2)

©Gabrielle Laycock Photography

When we arrived at the ball, we noticed a professional photography service which we made great use of! The woman taking photos was very kind and patient. Throughout the night SO MANY drunk people were falling over and breaking the background, which must have been infuriating for her, but she kept her cool and remained composed.

Dan and Me ©Gabrielle Laycock Photography

©Gabrielle Laycock Photography

What was really great about the photographer was that she showed us previews of each photo and allowed us to take another. I’m a bit funny with photos taken of me by others, especially when I’ve had a drink because I don’t trust my vision, so I always like to have another photo taken JUST INCASE.

Katie and Me ©Gabrielle Laycock PhotographyKatie and Me ©Gabrielle Laycock Photography (2)

©Gabrielle Laycock Photography

I love all of these photos and how professional and smart we all look! Trust me, we were all a bit more than jolly at this point thanks to the lovely prosecco. But due to the amazing photographer, we look great!

Now onto a very exciting topic: MY CORSAGE. Omg I literally love it so so so much! I didn’t get a corsage for my prom so this was ever so special and I was showing it off all night!

Corsage wingitwithjade.com

This was a fresh corsage with real flowers, so it had to be kept in the fridge to preserve it before the night arrived!

Dan and Me at the Table wingitwithjade.com (2)

This photo of me is a bit gross, but this is the extent to which I was showing it off haha!! I just couldn’t stop touching it, and even got a bit weirdly teary eyed about it after the prosecco had been a-flowing!

Dan and Me at the Table (4)

Hahhah I can’t get over Dan’s little chavvy hand motion here… WHAT IS THAT? I do love him very much, he never fails to make me smile.

Girls in the Toilet wingitwithjade.com

 Holly got a lovely group selfie in the toilets – unfortunately, thanks to my white hair and the unflattering toilet lights, I ended up looking like bloody casper – but everyone else looks absolutely gorgeous!

We had a gorgeous two course meal, I had chicken in a red wine sauce with roasted veggies which was absolutely DIVINE. I also had a chocolate praline dessert which I wolfed down in essentially two bites – I just LOVE chocolate.

And here come the very very drunk photos from the rest of the evening:

Dan and Me on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com (2)

Me and Dan on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com

Dan and Me on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com (3)

Katie and Me on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com

Dan and Me on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com (4)

Katie and Me on the Dancefloor wingitwithjade.com (2)

To sum it all up, I had an amazing time at the ball and I really hope that another one is thrown for next years students! For all ball and prom goers this year and in years to come, take my advice: don’t let any haters get to you or let anyone make you feel less than you are. You are amazing and prom is only a bit of fun after all! Let your hair down and have a giggle and a dance with your best friends and don’t take any of it too seriously, I wish I didn’t!

Do you want to know anything else about the summer ball? Have any beauty questions which you need answers to? Would you like to share your ball or prom looks, both the good and the bad? Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think – I’d love to hear from you.

Thank you so much for reading. Don’t forget to follow me on my other social media accounts.

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Posted on 5th April 2016

My Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: part one.

Hi everyone, this post today is a little different from my usual posts about beauty and life at university as I will be discussing something which effects so many of us: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – or PCOS for short. It sounds very scary and clinical but it honestly isn’t that daunting.

Now you may be asking yourself: why is she writing about something so personal? or why should I read a post like this? Well, you may be shocked to know that it is thought to affect at least one in five women in the UK – so the chances are that at least one member of your family or friends have it.  So I think it is important to spread the word about PCOS so that people are aware of the symptoms; and also to break the taboo revolving around female illness and their bodies. The following image sums up how I would like this subject to be approached and how open I try to be about my own body:

My-Womb-Says-Hi- libertyantoniasadler

Artwork by Liberty Antonia Sadler

So with that long introduction aside: In this post I will be discussing my own personal experience with PCOS – my initial symptoms, why I felt the need to go to the doctors and the diagnosis experience. Due to the length of this topic I have chopped the post into two – so in my next post I will discuss my life with PCOS and how it has been effected since the day of diagnosis. Please remember that every experience is different and if you have any concerns after reading this, ask your GP. I am not a doctor and I know through my own mistakes to never self-diagnose.

My PCOS journey began at age 16: all my friends had long started having periods and I was feeling left out and a little worried about why I was so late. I was very athletic – I danced for a minimum of 17 hours a week; 9 of which were on a Saturday and when my Mum was younger she was athletic and didn’t start her period until the age of 17 – so I chalked up my late start up to that.

One day we were doing stretching exercises before our ballet class [I was wearing the signature pale pink tights with a leotard in the box splits…. Nice and exposed. *winces at the traumatic memory* when all of a sudden I felt a warm sensation at my crotch, as though I was weeing myself. Having had many informative conversations with my friends I knew that the day had finally come. I excused myself from class and took a friend with me, and she coached me through the bathroom door the complicated procedure of attaching a sanitary towel to my pants.

Life Over GIF

After my first period, I waited with anticipation for my next…. I waited and waited and waited. Four months went by until it came again. I was embarrassed and didn’t tell anyone about this and told myself that my periods must just be irregular. I was noticing quite a bit of weight gain and skin breakouts – not helped by the fact that I was no longer dancing thanks to Sixth form and my new part time job – so once again, I chalked my weight gain and bad skin up to a lack of exercise.

My gaps between periods were becoming larger and larger each time – at one point I went half a year without one. When I was due I was having excruciating pain, but no blood. There were times when I would make the hour journey to sixth form, to have to turn back in agony. On one of these occasions my mum sternly told me that I need to book an emergency doctors appointment because something was clearly wrong for me to be in so much pain and so lethargic at the end of the day, at this point I was 18. So I dragged my sorry self to the doctors surgery, my stomach knotted with cramps, sweat covering my entire body. The doctor poked my tender abdomen [OUCH] and diagnosed me with indigestion and prescribed me with Gaviscon… GREAAAT.

Great GIF

I was too timid to say anything so I took the gaviscon and shuffled home. My mum, for obvious reasons, wasn’t content with that diagnosis and booked me an appointment with a female doctor who came recommended for issues like mine. I obviously didn’t hold out much hope, having been pretty much dismissed as a hypochondriac but I went anyway, and was told that from the sounds of my symptoms: weight gain, very painful and irregular periods and excess hair growth, she thought I had polycystic ovary syndrome and booked an ultrasound for me at the hospital.

At this point I was TERRIFIED. I’ve always been very healthy and have never been diagnosed with anything so permanent in all my life. The ultrasound experience was interesting. Apparently my bladder wasn’t full enough so I had to have an internal examination [at this point I once again hadn’t had a period in several months], and during the process I felt a bursting sensation and I came on my period, covering her “wand” as she called it in blood.

Embarrassed GIF

The consultant was really understanding and let me go ahead and clean up. When I returned she informed me that the wand and actually burst one of the cysts on my left ovary which she managed to measure before it happened – and it was the size of a golf ball! EEK! No wonder I was in so much pain! So I finally had my answer: I had polycystic ovary syndrome and my left ovary is the issue. Following my ultrasound I had to have a blood test to be 100% sure before they prescribed me with medication.

In my next post I will be discussing the medication which I am on, the lifestyle I lead and how I try to deal with the symptoms of PCOS.

If you would like to know more facts about PCOS please follow this link for official information from the NHS.

Thank you so much for reading this everyone – I hope you have a giggle at my cringy period experiences and find this post informative! Please spread the word so that others can find the medical help they need!

Do you suffer from PCOS? Do you know anyone who does? Have you found any tips to deal with the symptoms? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you so much for reading. Don’t forget to follow me on my other social media accounts. Links are posted in the sidebar. And stay tuned for my next post on PCOS.

Jade x

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