2015

What a year!

I can't quite put into words how utterly amazing this year has been, it just might have been the best year of my life...so far! I experienced things I never thought I would be lucky enough to experience, I met the most incredible people and pushed out the toxic things in my life. This year has been the year I really grew up, I turned 18, moved to Leeds and became independent.
I am going to talk about the things that happened to me in 2015 so I will never forgot this amazing year.

Moved to Leeds
Finally finishing my A levels, and setting off to university is by far my biggest achievement of this year. I have always wanted to go to university, ever since I can remember so to finally make it there after battling with what felt like every hurdle I finally made it. By moving to Leeds I met some great people one of them being Jasmine, and she's gonna love that I gave her a shout out! Jasmine is really great and I'm glad I faced my fears and moved to Leeds so I could spend Mondays watching Once Upon a Time with her.

Meeting The Vamps
It won't come as a surprise that this is at the top of my list of achievements. Many of you will know that I feel very passionately about this band and have supported them for 3 years so to finally meet them (specifically Brad) is amazing. Not only did I meet them in May, I met them numerous times since and now Brad recognises me from a mile away, waving at me out of car windows, pushing past other fans to see me, talking to me over other people, it's a very surreal and amazing feeling. My favourite person knows who I am and when I see them in different cities constantly reminds me that I am a Geordie and how much he misses me.

The Vamps Girls
Ok if you're not familiar with the idea of Internet Friends you're seriously missing out. This year I was lucky enough to meet so many amazing people that  I wouldn't even know existed without The Vamps. Although I love every single one of them with all my heart and I am so thankful for everything they do for me, even if it's just send me photos of Brad when I'm feeling sad, they know who they are and they know I love them forever. That being said, I want to focus on Amy Clarke and Laura Wallace, these two girls are the most caring, kind, lovely, beautiful and stupid people I have ever met. It is a privilege to call you both my best friends.
Dear Amy, thank you for getting on a plane to come and see me.
Dear Laura, thank you for always being there for me when I feel home sick and forcing me to keep going.
I love all my Vamps girls and I can't wait until 2016.

Anxiety
This year has been quite a battle with my anxiety but a battle I am proud to say I am winning! In 2015 I finally excepted how bad I was suffering and got help, and finally started talking about it rather than pretending it didn't exist. I know this isn't something I usually post on social media but I am so proud of myself. Even though yes I still panic and get extreme levels of anxiety I am learning to deal with it and will finally get rid of it. 2015 has been a real turning point for me. So if you're worried about your mental health please use 2016 as a year to try and conquer your issues, you won't regret it.

Travelling the country
Thanks to The Vamps and getting my anxiety under control I was able to travel the country with Emily Hutchinson. We travelled to; Scarborough, Edinburgh, Sherwood Pines, Blackpool and Manchester all to see the boys and without that I wouldn't have seen half the country I live in. It really excites me that I was able to sit in a car for hours, go on a train and visit a new place and only panicked a couple of times. Granted, I did forget the tent.

Photography
One of my major goals of 2015 was to get a camera and improve my photography. Safe to say, I achieved that. I now have 2 amazing cameras, Canon E0S 550D and my Sony Alpha 5000 and my photography really has improved a lot and I am falling more and more in love with photography every photo I take. This year I focused on taking photos of people and forcing my friends to model for me, next year I'm really going to experiment more.

Blogging
2015 was the year I finally sat down and focused on my blog. Jessica Rose had it's first birthday, moved to Wordpress for a while and reached over 27K views with one of my post with over 1,000 views itself. 2015 was the year companies started getting in touch and started to want to work with me. To me that is still all very surreal, I honestly never set out to gain anything but enjoyment out of this little place on the internet. I am really proud of what I post and I am hoping 2016 will bring a lot more posts that I love.

I want to end by thanking everyone who made my 2015 amazing, I love you all and I can't wait until next year.

Hair Do or Don't

As someone with long ombre'd hair I am very cautious as to how much heat I put on my hair and what shampoo and condition I use etc however, that can sometimes be an unnecessary worry, which I know a lot of people get worked up about. So I am going to talk you through some simple hair do or dont's that Madison Reed, A hair care company, came up with so we can tackle some of those mysths and have healthy stylish hair. Try out their fun hair dye quiz too!

DO Colour Hair
Be experimental with your hair, it's a good accessory and don't be afraid to dye your hair crazy colours as you can use a healthier hair option as popular hair dyes you'll find in boots or superdrug are full of nasty chemicals which will damage your hair. However, products such as Radiant Colour Creams are full of keratin, Organ Oil and other good stuff which will help strength and protect your hair as well as giving it a nice colour.

DON'T Tie Wet Hair in a Ponytail 
It's not cute and can be much more damaging than you might think, as when your hair is wet the chemical bonds are temporarily broken, which means if your hair dries in a ponytail the hair might break and we definitely don't want that!

DO Shield your hair
Although the sun is great for getting a cheeky tan, the sun isn't so good for your hair. Too much Sun Exposure fades colour and weakens hair fibres which can lead to damage. That being said don't go wearing all summer long a few sprays of a  simple UV protection product will work just as well.

DO Use heat protection
You know what they say "if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen" same applies to your hair, just replace the kitchen with your curling iron. I'm quite lucky as my hair is naturally curly however, I do like to straighten it every so often so to help keep my hair healthy and reduce my damage level I always prep with a heat protective, I recommend you do the same.

DON'T Rinse Hair in Cold Water
You might have heard the myth that rinsing your hair in cold water will help make it shine, well it wont, sorry. It's not true what they say about temperature opening and closing hair cuticles. To add a shine it's much better to get a shine shampoo and condition to give it a gentle natural shine.

DO Give it a trim
I am terrible with this one, I love my long hair and i've heard too many terror stories of people asking the hairdresser for as trim and coming out the salon with a bob. Never mind that, getting a trim is so good for your hair as it prevents split ends and helps your hair to grow. So forget the myths and get a trim every 6-8 weeks.

DO Get pregnant and dye your hair
Ok yes, you don't have to get pregnant to dye your hair, but if you already are I have good news! Dr Jan Hansen, board-certified OB/GYN confirmed that woman can colour their hair during pregnancy but DO consult your personal doctor first.

DON'T Shampoo Everyday
Personally, when someone tells me they wash their hair everyday it makes me cringe and I get quite upset about it. Washing your hair everyday can lead to loss of nutrition so if your hair is dry, frizzy and unmanageable, you might just be washing it too often. Decrease frequency and use a sulphate-free shampoo and condition, Madison Reed actually have their own which is worth a try, to help lock in colour and help make it more manageable again.

DO Ease the tension
Although a sleek, tight ponytail is a great way to get your hair out of your face or look like cat woman, don't make them too tight as tight ponytails, buns and even braids cause strain on your scalp and can eventually lead to hair loss and I don't think any of us want that! A great way to achieve these looks is to use a frizz-fighting Tame and Style to create a smooth look without having to drastically strain your hair.

Get gorgeous, healthier hair and more expert tips from Madison Reed!
www.Madison-Reed.com/blog

*I own no rights to any of these images*

Ellie Goulding Mac Collection

There's something you may or may not know about me. I am completely in love with make up, I love everything about it so when I found out Ellie Goulding was bringing out a Mac collection I had to get my hands on it.

As soon as some money came into my account I was straight on the Mac website ordering. I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted as she was bringing out a couple of things, from mascara to make up brushes, but I opted for a lipstick.

The lipstick I chose was Without Your Love, which is a gorgeous light pinky shade which in all honesty I wouldn't usually go for but it just looked so beautiful I couldn't say no.
It's not a completely matte finish but it also isn't completely glossy it's a nice shiny medium.

I'd just like to take a moment to talk about the rose gold packaging, I LOVE ROSE GOLD, hence why this blog is called "Rose Jess" so when i opened the package and was greeted with rose gold, honestly I nearly cried. The whole product is so beautiful, and it's Mac so we already know it's going to be high quality.

I am so in love with this product and it arrived on Christmas Eve too so it was an early present from me to me.
Roll on January 2016 to Ariana Grande's Viva Glam Collection.

Without your love - £17

Pamper Afternoon

On this cold, rainy Christmas Eve Eve Eve, where there's no deadlines, no plans, nothing but I still find a way to stress about something I decided to have a pamper afternoon, some quality me time.

What's the best way to start a pamper night? With a bath!

I gathered my favourite products;  Lush Candy Mountain, Champneys Cloud Nine Indulgent Bubble Bath and Beauticolgy gingerbread body wash. Turned on a little bit of One Direction and just relaxed.

After my bath I headed to the kitchen to make a hot chocolate and watch my all time favourite Christmas film Arthur Christmas all cosy on the sofa next to the Christmas tree. I love hot chocolate but this one was extra special as the mug, powder and marshmallows were given to me by my best friend Laura Wallace, as a Christmas present and I am very thankful for it.

I can't stress enough how important taking time for yourself is, 24 hours can feel like not enough hours in a day. Especially during the holiday season, when the turkey needs to be prepared, presents need to be bought and wrapped, and every person even vaguely related to you needs to be visited, and suddenly its the 22nd of December and time is running out. That being said, please remember to take a breather and enjoy this time of year, after all it's the most wonderful time of the year.

Hannah-Mae Graham | Photography

Today I met up with my Vamps Girls and I saw the opportunity to have a little photo shoot with Hannah-Mae (Blog Link) so I decided to share the photos I took. It felt so good to be back behind the camera, and today was the first time I have used my new Sony camera to shoot people and honestly I am very impressed.

For anyone wondering I have a Sony Alpha 5000 and a Canon EOS 550D

Make sure you head over to her blog and check it out its very good and I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

Hint of Festivity

Yesterday, myself, Melanie and Nina went on an adventure to the Coca Cola van and the German Christmas market in Leeds city centre. I've had so many assignments that I just lost all Christmas spirit I previously had in November so after finally finishing 2 essays I felt I deserved a treat.

We refused to wait in the winding line so we just crept around and got some snaps by the back of the van. A small can of Coke isn't worth a 2 hour wait ever, never-mind in the freezing cold.

The Christmas market was really cute there was stalls selling just about everything, from candles to gingerbread and fairy lights. It was all a lot to take in. Unfortunately, it was really busy and I couldn't quite handle more than 45 minutes, so we left.

Of course, no christmassy night out is complete without stopping for a hot chocolate.

All this festivity has made me super excited to get home to my Christmassy house and family and finally begin to get festive.