Jessica Lauren Hatcher
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Beauty
    • Travel
    • Cooking
    • Mental Health
  • About Me
  • FAQ
  • Contact

Mental Health

Lifestyle

Beauty

I am a sucker for a Salted Caramel Crunch Frostino from Costa Coffee so of course I had to find out the best way to make my own at home, it of course mimics a Frappuccino so here is my twist for the delicious drink.

Salted Caramel Frappuccino

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • 1 TSP vanilla extract
  • 1 TSP caramel syrup
  • 2 TBSP sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 ice cubes
  • 1 cup of coffee - this can be adjusted depending on how strong/weak you want it

For topping:

  • Whipped cream
  • Sprinkles
  • Caramel sauce

Salted Caramel Frappuccino

Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender, you can add the ice separately if your blender isn't high powered.
2. For topping add the whipped cream, sprinkles and sauce. 
3. Now enjoy! 

Salted Caramel Frappuccino





Instagram stories is one of the best tools Instagram has to offer to get you engaging with your followers, driving traffic to links or content and reaching a bigger audience but when it comes to making those stories stand out it's hard to do when there's limits to what Instagram gives you to play around with and sometimes you need more than a cute filter and a fun GIF to get people's attention, which is when design apps come into play.



There's no denying that there are a ton of apps out there that give you dozens of creative options for your stories from animations, collages, aesthetics and more - so I've narrowed it down to my top 5 apps that I think are the best apps for Instagram stories, these apps are also free to install. These apps are all ones I use on a regular basis so this is all from personal experience of an iPhone user so I apologise if these aren't available on Android!

Mojo - App Store | Google Play
This app has literally changed my life when it comes to Instagram stories which may seem a little dramatic but it's definitely my go to app for creating eye catching stories, especially when I want to promote a new YouTube video or blog post.

The key feature this app has to offer is animated templates, allowing your story to look like you've spent hours designing it. Mojo has a large variety of templates and they're also categorised to make it easier to find the right one, but if you are feeling creative it also gives you a dozen options to create your own story from scratch with hundreds of different options.

The app itself is free and there are several free templates, but of course hundreds more templates and design options are available if you upgrade to Pro, but honesty I haven't felt the need to pay for it as I love the free options and find it easy enough to personalise them to make each one unique.

Made - App Store | Google Play
I love the templates Made has to offer and considering there are over 50 you can use for free it's a good app to have. I personally think Made is built more for showing off photography, it is absoloutely perfect for travel photos and outfit shots, but some of the templates can also make your story look aesthetic as f*ck.


Unfold - App Store | Google Play
Unfold is one of the first template apps I started to use for my stories as I found it so easy to use and not only did I love the templates it had to offer but also found it so easy to create my own collages too. They don't have a large amount of free templates but the ones they do offer are so pretty. 

I have been considering upgrading as the Unfold+ templates are sooooo good and they constantly keep it updated so there are just hundreds of options and they're all so unique, the latest update has also included animated templates!

Canva - App Store | Google Play
Canva is what I use to create everything for my YouTube channel to a point I forget it allows you design anything and everything, including stories. Canva has probably some of the most unique professional designs for stories that are idea for promoting content, promotions or products but they also offer prompt templates such as "this or that" or "my feelings in emojis" allowing you to give a personal touch to your story in a aesthetic way.

Canva is also the perfect app for creating templates as it has endless design possibilities and allows you to make the perfect story and although you can pay for more options I really don't see the point with Canva as you can already do so much for free.

Template - App Store
Last but not least is Template, this app has a variety of templates with most of them being very modern styled, they have a "basic" section which is all free but still perfect for being more creating with your stories, but of course they have more if you upgrade to Template Plus.



In 2014 after blogging for a while I decided to venture into the world of YouTube and for a few years I uploaded a mixture of vlogs, tutorials and other videos on an admittedly very inconsistent basis. My last video was uploaded in September 2017 and although I filmed a few things since then I never got round to uploading anything again, my life got so busy and I was going through a lot of changes so I just took a step back from all my social media, 4 years later and here we are writing blog posts again and now you guessed it - I'm uploading YouTube videos!


So as you're reading this I have a new video up where I just ramble about why I left, why I'm back and what you can expect from my channel all with no makeup on an my greasy hair in some sort of bun, very attractive but my decision to film was extremely spontaneous.

I have always batted around the idea of uploading to YouTube again, but even more so since moving into my own place as it gives me the space and freedom to film whatever I want, whenever I want and really it just makes the entire process a lot easier.

My plan is to upload a main video every Tuesday at 6pm, at the moment I have managed to record and schedule a few videos already which is a good start and I have so many ideas for upcoming content. I'd love it if you could support me with this by subscribing to my channel!

Everyone talks about doing things to be more environmentally friendly but sometimes it's hard to know where to begin, so why not start with implementing a few changes in your beauty routines? It's easy to not realise how much our daily regime can impact the world around us whether it's the plastic packaging going to landfill or the chemicals getting washed down the sink.

I am definitely not someone who screams sustainability but I have become quite aware of the small differences that I can make that aren't a big deal to me but do have a positive impact on the environment. Most of the sustainable changes I have made were for my own reasoning and only later did I realise these changes were also eco friendly which shows how easy it is.

I'm going to be talking about five simple steps that will get you closer to living a more sustainable lifestyle, these are the perfect steps for people who want to do something small without it being a scary change. It's really important to understand that you don't have to change anything drastically, if you want to make a difference you need to do it one step at a time and stick to it rather than trying and changing a dozen different things, overwhelming yourself and going backwards.


#1 Ditch the pads and wipes.

There's no denying the convenience of makeup wipes but after some quick research you find out 7 billion makeup wipes are thrown into landfill or flushed down into oceans every year, and that's a pretty horrifying fact, especially when it can easily be changed. Opt for a hot cloth cleanse, I've always loved Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish paired with a muslin cloth to remove a face full of makeup without a lot of effort. 

Cotton pads are also terrible for the environment as such a large amount go into landfill on a daily basis that aren't biodegradable, I can't imagine the amount everyone else throws in the bin at the end of the day let alone the plastic packaging they're sold in. Swapping out cotton pads for reusable ones is something I did earlier in the year when I got these reusable pads from New Look. They're perfect to use with any liquid or cream product, I actually find I now use a smaller amount of product as the fabric doesn't absorb half the amount cotton does and not to mention the fabric is so much kinder and gentle to use on the skin. Really this is a simple change that is easy enough for anyone to make, the difference being they go in the laundry basket instead of the bin!

#2 Have an eco-period.

Menstrual products have a large impact on our environment with a disposable pad taking 500-800 years to break down, not to mention the amount of sanitary products that get flushed down the loo and end up int the ocean - this is your reminder to never flush anything other than tissue by the way! 

Swap disposables with reusables like period pants or period pads, there are a lot of options out there! If the idea of reusable menstrual products like this scares you then how about organic tampons, these are made out of ingredients that allow them to be biodegradable so you can throw them away without the worry of them taking many years to degrade yet it's not a massive change.

How about a menstrual cup? This is probably the most common option when it comes to a more eco friendly period, I swapped to Moon Cup and it is one of the best decisions I made. I spoke about it more in a blog post recently as I know menstrual cups can be a little daunting if you've not tried one but I couldn't recommend it more.

#3 Recycling is key.

This may sound super obvious but not everyone remembers to recycle, especially when it's to do with beauty products as most of them are used in our bathroom and mixed in a bin with non-recyclables. Ask yourself, do you always recycle everything? 

Also have a think about the products you're using, is the packaging recyclable or reusable? The majority of products come in plastic packaging and we all know by now the harm that has on our environment so if you can swap badly packaged products for ones that are in materials such as glass or aluminium, or use products such as solid soap and shampoo bars that have no waste at all then you're making a difference. Lush have a great collection of products without packaging and it's a shame more brands can't do the same.

#4 Use less water.

You may not think about it but the amount of water you use does have an impact on the planet - not just your water bill. It's quite simple really, don't leave the water running, avoid unnecessarily long showers or overfilling your bath. I am actually very conscious of this and always turn the tap off between uses, whether it's whilst I'm brushing my teeth or whilst I'm applying a cleanser.

#5 Reuse your bags.

This may not be specifically to do with beauty, but admit it when you go to Boots to do you already have a bag with you for your new purchases to go in or do you have to buy another plastic carrier bag? I don't need to tell you the impact plastic carrier bags have on the environment as you should already know unless you've been living under as rock.

 Reusable bags aren't just for our food shop, they're for everywhere and it's down to you to make sure you always have one. There a lot of pretty options for fold down bags that fold down into a little push which means they fit in your handbag or even your pocket. 


With lockdown restrictions lifting and plans for normality around the corner I want to join in and say "I can't wait for everything to be back to normal" but the reality is I am bloody terrified. 

Lockdown life is remembering to put a mask in amy handbag and panicking if I forget it, it's using hand sanitiser so often I don't even think about it, it's treating the weekly food shop like a special day out.. it's all these little things that are part of our day to day life without us even thinking about it any more. 

Lockdown life is also me getting panicked if I walk down a shop aisle and there's too many people down it, it's me sitting in my car when I get somewhere and having to talk myself into getting out, it's me getting angry when someone walks to close to me... it's lots of things that would have never bothered me before Covid.

Older Posts Home

ABOUT ME

Jessica Lauren Hatcher
Welcome to my little space on the internet where I just like to share photos and write about life. You'll find a bit of everything on here from make up, recipes, mental health chats and more.

SUBSCRIBE & FOLLOW

POPULAR POSTS

  • Review: Lush Yummy Mummy
  • Review: Ji Ji Kiki Jewellery
  • Make Up Look: Back To Basics
  • Crete: Part Two
  • Rimmel Addiction

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.

Search This Blog

UploadJess

Designed by OddThemes | Distributed by Gooyaabi Templates