Wednesday 30 July 2014

Blacktied Jewellery

Hello my laaavlies.
I've been on the hunt for some nice understated jewellery that I can wear to work for quite a while now, I didn't realise how difficult it was to find a necklace that didn't have huge jewels on or a strange chain!
Then, one glorious day, I stumbled across Blacktied and I fell in love!
Everything, and I mean everything is gorgeous, it was so hard to narrow it down to the pieces that I wanted, my shopping basket was very full at one point! 



I decided to go with a necklace and a bracelet, and I made sure the pieces I chose would go with everything so I could get maximum wear out of them!


So firstly, lets just admire that beautiful packaging! Every girl loves a little bit of leopard print so this made me very happy when I opened the parcel! All the jewellery is individually wrapped and comes with a sticker saying 'thank you' on the outside, so thoughtful and it really made me smile!

Gold Swarovski Crystal Necklace - £18.00
I chose the Gold Swarovski Crystal Necklace as my necklace. It actually took me AGES to decide on whether I wanted the gold chain or the silver, but gold won! I prefer gold on my face and neck, but silver on my arms and fingers.. Is that weird? I feel like that's weird!

But anyway, the pendant is a circular crystal just over a centimeter in diameter, and it's angled in the middle, so every time you turn your head it literally changes colour! I love these kind of crystals, they're a bit like a chameleon so you can wear them with anything! It's gorgeous and as soon as I opened it and put it on my landlady complimented it, I feel like this is a necklace that's going to attract a lot of good attention! 

Personalised Name Silver Cuff Bracelet - £12.00
The bracelet I chose was the Personalised Name Silver Cuff Bracelet, just incase I ever forgot my name you know? Only joking, I can have blonde moments but they're never that bad! I absolutely love the bracelet shape, its like a 3/4 oval with an opening so you can put your arm through, but the embossing font is my favourite thing ever! I just love the font that Blacktied use to personalise the cuff, I had to buy it! It matches with my Casio watch that I wear to work perfectly, and my special occasion Skagen watch as well, I'm gonna get so much wear out of this! Completely unrelated, but this would be so handy if you're ever talking to a guy or girl in a club, you could just show them this rather than trying to shout your name when the music is blaring.. It would definitely be easier to end up saved in someone's phonebook with the right name, rather than "Irish 5th Ave" that I got the last time I spoke to someone out! Winner on multiple levels! ;-) 

Blacktied have also been kind enough to give me a special discount code, so if fall in love the same way I did when I browsed their website, you'll be able to get 15% off your total purchase! The code is RACHEL15 and it can be used up until the 27th August! So you've got just under a month from today to make as many purchases as you like!

Just a note, if you do purchase anything, the code is entered at the last stage of the process! So you add everything to your basket, then checkout through Paypal, and when you're redirected back to the Blacktied website you can enter it before you complete the purchase!

If you have any questions, please either tweet me @Rachelvennard, leave me an instagram comment on @rachelvennard or drop me an email at vennardr@hotmail.co.uk and I'll do my best to help!

Let me know if you purchase anything, send me a picture if you do!

Thanks for reading xxx

Monday 28 July 2014

Manicure Monday

Hello ladies!

Another Monday, another Manicure!



























This time you may notice in the length and shape of my nails.. because I finally got my infills yay!
Don't know if anyone in Surrey is reading (hello if you are *waves*) but my landlady suggested I visit Horley Nails, and I did and they were very good, super quick! I think the infills, filing, painting and drying only took about 20 minutes! Super impressive! Infills are £15, little bit cheaper than I've been paying in Manchester so I was happy with that!

I decided to reduce the length of my nails, my claws look beautiful but when you're entering in numbers on the computer it's very easy to make a very big mistake so I thought it would be safer! I rounded them as well, the points are hard to keep up with and I actually broke one not that long ago and I didn't want that to happen again!


The shade I'm wearing is China Glaze's 'Traffic Jam' it's a deep raspberry pink colour, and I've kind of been obsessed with that shade for a while now, so when I seen it I knew it was going straight on my tips! If you like the colour, you can buy it for £4.17 at BeautyBay at the minute!

What are you wearing on your nails this week?
Let me know! 

Thanks for reading! xxx


Sunday 27 July 2014

The Liebster Award pt. 2


Hiii, so this is the follow up to the first part of my Liebster Award!
I felt like it was going to be a very long post I thought it would be better to split it and make it more enjoyable!

Lets get started:

My Questions from Megan:

1. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
This one is easy for me, an owl! I love them, fully obsessed! I think they're just beautiful, so wise and majestic. To me they feel like animals with power, and that's what I'd want to be like! Powerful & wise!


2. Heels or flats?
I'm definitely more of a flats girl, I love nice pumps and sandals, and I'm obsessed by trainers! I do like to wear heels too though, it's a lot girlier and you do feel so classy! And this is good life advice:


3. What book are you reading right now?
I've bought 'The Fault in Our Stars' and 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' to read! I've read TBINSP before, and it broke my heart.. So honestly I don't even know why I bought it again to put myself through the horror and emotion! 

4. What blog inspired you to start your own?
Easy peasy, my lovely bestie's blog http://beccasbeautyspot.blogspot.co.uk/, she's my best friend, my wifey and my soulmate all rolled into one. This gal keeps me sane, and as well as being my everything, she's so bloody talented with a set of makeup brushes, and some props. My girl is gonna go far!! Inspires me everyday. Pictures are below are of her work for a photoshoot for uni, I was a mugging victim - how amazing and realistic is it??



5. What celebrities would you invite to your birthday party?
The whole Kardashian family and extended fam (i.e. Scott, Kanye, French Montana etc), Eminem, Calvin Harris, Snoop Dogg, Tyra Banks, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting.. It would be a strange mix of people! But they all interest me so much in different ways so I'd love to get to talk to them all!

6. If you could change your name, what would you call yourself?
Holy moly, I'd probably revert to my middle name which is Louise, I think I suit my names so I don't know if I could decide on another!!


7. Guily pleasure?
I shouldn't do it, and I haven't done it in a loooong time because it's just SO bad. But eating a whole tube of pringles in one. Yes I'm a disgusting mess. (p.s do it with salt and vinegar flavoured ones and you'll numb your whole mouth - it's like being at the dentist haha)

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? 
My weight, for sure my weight. I'm working on it, unfortunately relationships are very tempting to let yourself go, which is fine when you're with that person.. But when you're not, you feel rubbish! I'm working on it though in a healthy way, hence no more full tubes of pringles ;-)


9. What is your favourite quote?
"A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor" - even when you're having a bad day, there's always something you can learn to better yourself and to try and be better in that situation if it ever happens again!



10. Describe your dream holiday.
Going across America in an open top car with the wind blowing in my hair with my friends around me. That would be ideal!!

11. How long have you been a blogger and what do you love about it?
I've been blogging for just about a year and a half now (since Feb 2013)! I love it because you can just come home, ramble a few words out and clear your brain. I can't sleep when my head is full so I feel like this is a good recycling ground for me!

Check out the previous post HERE to see who I nominated and what questions I asked them! 

Thanks for reading! xxx

The Liebster Award pt. 1

Evening guys!

I opened my inbox the other day and seen I'd received new comments on a blog post of mine, (always exciting) and when I clicked into it I seen I had been nominated for the Liebster Award not once, but twice by Sara and Megan! Now I can't lie.. I'd never heard of this before! So I did a little rooting around and discovered this is an award that bloggers give to other bloggers to find out more about them and share their favourite blogs with other people! I think this is SUCH a nice idea, the thought of it even put a smile on my face on a busy Thursday morning in the office! Thank you so much Sara and Megan! You can follow Sara on Blogger and on Bloglovin :) and Megan on Blogspot and on Bloglovin!

This was going to be a pretty long post so my questions from Megan will be going up in a separate post which you can find HERE:

The Rules (every set I've seen are different so this is what I'm rolling with!):
1. Thank the blogger that nominated you!
2. Answer the questions they sent you (down below!) 
3. Nominate 11 bloggers to answer your set of questions! (less than 250 followers)
4. Contact them and let them know they've been nominated!

My Questions from Sara!

1. Who would you say is your style icon?
This is actually tricky, I don't necessarily have a style icon, I have girl crushes on a lot of peoples fashion, but style icons like Cara Delevigne, Kate Moss etc are thin.. And I'm not particularly thin! Everything they wear looks AMAZING but it would never look anywhere like that on me! I wear quite a mismatch of styles and trends too, so I don't think I have one particular style icon per say? So I can't really answer! 

2. What is your favourite place to travel to or visit?
Before I moved to England, I probably would have said Spain for a holiday! But now I really appreciate going home and getting to experience the absolutely (mostly) gorgeous place that we live in! When I went home in April with Lizzie we went to the Giant's Causeway and I really enjoyed it! You don't necessarily appreciate things when you're around them all the time!


3. Your top blogging/makeup tips.
Top blogging tip: Do it because you want to do it! So many people blog now because they want to be the next Zoella and get really rich from it, which of course would be lovely! But it's not realistic for anyone that has a full time job and is busy! I really enjoy blogging now that I can come home do it and relax! 

Top makeup tip: DON'T SLEEP IN YOUR MAKEUP. I know it's so easy to come home from a night out when you're a liiiiittle bit worse for wear, but take 5 minutes, rub a wipe across your face and at least try to get it off! Your skin will thank you for it I promise!

4. Your favourite high street foundation?
Without a shadow of a doubt, Rimmel Wake Me Up. I love it, I love it's slight shimmer and I even love the smell. My favourite high street foundation for sure :)

5. Do you have any pets?
At home, yes I have my almost 3 year old shih tzu Harper. And at the house I'm living at now, my landlady has two more dogs called Narla and Milo, so I don't miss Harper just as much as I did last year!


6. What is your occupation?
Officially, I'm Nestle's Corporate Student Nutritionist :)

7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would hopefully like to be a Home Economics teacher somewhere in the world, but who knows, I might stay in industry if I enjoy this placement, you never know! Leave it up to fate!


8. Favourite high street shops?
Dorothy Perkins, Primark, River Island (sometimes) and Topshop for a good old splurge!

9. Do most of your close friends/family know about your blog? Where you embarrassed to start with?
Most of my friends and family know! I wasn't really that embarrassed, Becca had been doing it for years so I knew what to expect :)

10. What made you start writing?
I got bored one day in my flat in Manchester and then put fingers to keyboard.. It was history!


So the people I nominate are:
(I've went off their bloglovin' follower count by the way!)
beccasbeautyspot.blogspot.com

And my questions for my nominee's are..


PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE NOT THE ACTUAL QUESTIONS. Just incase...
1. What did you want to be when you 'grew up'?
2. What's your guiltiest make-up pleasure?
3. What is your evening relaxing routine if you have one?
4. What made you start blogging?
5. If you had £100,000, what would you spend it on, and why?
6. Have you got any pets?
7. (Random one!) did you watch Blackfish? What did you think of it?
8. Do you like face wipes or do you prefer a real cleanser?
9. What's your overall life ambition?
10. If you were Prime Minister and could make up one new law, what would it be and why?
11. What 3 celebrities would you have afternoon tea with and why?

Thank you for the nomination Sara and Megan and hope everyone else enjoys the Liebster Award!



xxx


Friday 25 July 2014

What I bought.. Haul!


Evening you lovely lot!
Last Sunday I decided I needed to treat myself, so I popped off into Crawley and visited the County Mall. Now, when you're used to the Arndale and the Trafford Centre this is a bit of a downgrade! I would even say that the Buttercrane at home in Newry is better, but I couldn't be bothered going to London so it was my only choice! I'm trying to pick up a few more 'exciting' things for work now I've settled in and seen what other people are wearing! At the start I was playing it very safe with pencil skirts and blouses, but I've kind of learnt it's okay to have a little bit of fun with what I wear!

So, let's get on with the fashion show then!

Primark





'Hang In There' 10 Non-Slip Hangers - £4.00
These are my favourite hangers ever (how sad do I sound?!) but honestly, I love the furry material on these! They keep all my clothes actually on the hanger rather than at the bottom of my wardrobe! Definitely worth the pricetag! I chose the mint green & grey option this time! I already have about 20 pink ones of these so I thought I should switch it up a little bit!










Angel Sleeve Dress - £13.00
I love the print of this dress! That's what attracted me to it! The colours are so bright as well! It's actually got split sleeves as well so you can flash a little bit of skin without flashing a whole bingo wing! It's a decent length, about an inch and a half above the knee so still appropriate to wear to work without tights! Result in this heatwave we're experiencing at the minute!








Weave Peeptoe Pumps - £8.00
I desperately needed a shoe update, all of my pumps are falling to pieces! How cute are these both? The brown ones are perfect for wearing with the above dress, really cute! You needa make sure your toes are in tip top condition with that peeptoe though! ;-)

Chain Moccasin Loafers - £8.00
I've seen a lot of people rocking a good moccasin lately and I wanted to join in, they are super expensive though so when I seen these I was all over it! These are from the Wide Fit section, but they're really not Wide Fit! I'd be fearful of the normal version! They're a suedey type material so keep away from any puddles that might appear after a midnight storm!






3 Chain Necklace - £4.00 - £2.00
I haven't bought any jewellery in a while, which has been tough for me I can't lie. I'm like a magpie I LOVE SHINY THINGS. I do have a cheeky order coming from Blacktied that you'll see soon though I hope! But anyway I thought this necklace was pretty edgy but still understated 'coz all the chains are so small! So I'll still be able to wear it into work without looking like 2 Chainz. Plus it was in the sale for £2.00!! That's like basically free. 





River Island




Floral Peplum Top - £30.00 - £15.00
Another little sale purchase! This was reduced to £15.00 in River Island and I had to nab it! The floral design is gorgeous, white background, navy detailing and then really black bordering (which doesn't show up very well on camera!)! Everyone says don't mix navy and black but I love it! This will be getting worn with my black pencil skirt for work, and a black mini and leather jacket at night!






Debenhams





Red Herring Floral Print Dress - £30.00 - £9.00
Now I know this isn't gonna be everyones cup of tea, but let me firstly justify it as it was £9.00, you don't even get dresses in Primark for that price, never mind a decent quality dress from Debs! This isn't your typical 21 year old style dress, but they actually suit me so well, little bit of cleavage, in at the waist and a nice length! It's perfect for work, it'll probably never get worn anywhere else other than work but that's fine.. for £9.00 I don't blinkin' care! 




Boots

No 7 Beautiful Skin Quick Thinking Wipes - £7.00
My holy grail wipes! Worth every penny, but I always wait until Boots do the £5 off vouchers, so they only cost me £2.00! Bargain!

Nivea Invisible Anti-Perspirant - £1.07
The only deodorant I've ever used that actually doesn't stain any clothes. The best I've ever used. 

Batiste Dry Shampoo 'Blush' - £2.99
I always seem to buy this when it's NOT on offer, but I don't even care it's so worth it. The best out there. Holy grail!

Collection Eye Brow Definer - £2.79 
I wanted to buy Soap & Glory's Triumph but it was all sold out! This was the best I could find! Let's see how it goes :) 

Boots Essential Toothbrush - £0.79

So that's all I bought on my little adventure to Crawley's County Mall! 
What do you think of my purchases?
Has anyone tried the Collection Eye Brow Definer? If so, what did you think of it?
Let me know! 

mwah xxx

Thursday 24 July 2014

*** MANCHESTER BLOGGERS NEEDED ***

Hi guys! 

This is just another request on behalf of my lovely old work colleagues *sniff* over at www.researchopinions.co.uk!



Research Opinions are looking for bloggers that regularly write blogs, stories or articles to take part in Market Research being held at Media City in Manchester/Salford! 

They need males and females who are 25 years old and above to come along to Media City on Monday 29th July and take part in the research.

The research is one hour long and there are slots available between 10am and 4pm!

For an hour of your time you'll be paid £30 cash in hand!

No sales involved, every group that takes place is purely for Market Research!!
If you're interested click on the link below to fill in the survey and display your interest!

If you're suitable one of the lovely staff will give you a call (this might be on an unknown number, don't be scared!!) and run through a few qualifying questions with you on the phone!!

Please share with anyone you know in the Manchester and surrounding areas who might be interested in taking part! These sessions are informal and usually really enjoyable!

Thanks for reading and please share!

xxxx

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Wishlist Series #4

Hiyaaa guys!
Week 3 of the Wishlist series is from Matalan!
Matalan isn't a shop that everybody loves, some people really love it (and I'm one of them!) and some people really hate it!
I think the stuff they sell is of a high quality, and generally really well priced!
They have student discount, that you can use on top of sale prices as well which is brilliant!
For this post everything I've chosen is under £35, usually that's the highest priced thing they sell!
Obviously I've recently moved into new accommodation so homeware is something I love to keep an eye out for in Matalan so expect to see a few 'homey' bits in here! 

I wrote this a while ago, and Matalan have since went into sale! Prices updated in bold on 18/7/14!

1. Floral Print Cropped Blazer - £20.00 - £11.00


2. Palm Print Cropped Shirt - £14.00 - £8.00


3. Ikat Print Strappy Jumpsuit - £16.00 - £11.00


4. Floral Woven Sweat Top - £16.00 - £9.00


5. Full Organza Midi Skirt - £18.00 - £10.00


6. Cut Out Block Heel Sandals - £18.00 - £10.00


7. Multi Bauble Necklace - £10.00 - £4.00


8. Cutwork Clutch Bag - £10.00 - £7.00






Rachel xx










Monday 21 July 2014

Manicure Monday

Evening guys! 
Hope you've had a good Monday! Usually Mondays are a bit depressing but today I've been feeling positive! I like this Instagram pic I stumbled upon, it's a good way to wake up in the morning thinking good thoughts for the day ahead!! 


This is just a quick post to show you what's on my nails at the minute. My acrylics are seriously overgrown so I needed something to disguise it until I could get to the salon!

On the base I have Headline Colours in 'Gunmetal' and China Glaze 'Your Present Required' on top! I think the grey background really works with all the multi coloured sparkles!!


What do you think of this combo? 
What are you wearing on your nails this Monday? Leave me a link to a pic if you've blogged about it! 

Thanks for reading!

Xxx

Sunday 20 July 2014

Latest In Beauty: The Glamour Edit

Evening guys!

I've been very active over here the last week haven't I? I hope I can keep this momentum up!
I'm back again with my third Beauty Box purchase from Latest in Beauty, and it's another Glamour Edit! 
I really like purchasing from Latest in Beauty, there's no contract and you can buy the ones you want and generally avoid all the rubbish bits they send out when you subscribe to regular boxes! 
This box is £16.95 and free delivery at the minute, and when you see what you get inside it, you'll realise how much of a bargain it is! I haven't tested everything yet but I wanted to get this post up ASAP so you could purchase it if you wanted to!

You can find the box on the Latest in Beauty website!





















Firstly, I love the packaging of these boxes, so simple but so effective! It always feels like you're getting a present!! 


So what did I get? 
Let's start!

Crabtree & Evelyn Nail Lacquer in - Apple
Toni & Guy Volume Plumping Whip


















This is a gorgeous blue toned red, so vibrant in the bottle and even more so on nails! I've just repainted my nails with a heck load of glitter on top so I don't want to take it off and do a full repaint with it, but when I get my acrylics infilled, this little beauty will be coming with me! This is the full 15ml size of the nail lacquer and it retails for £6.00.

This is the 90ml size which retails for £7.19 in Boots at the minute! It's a really strange consistency, I expected a thick gloopy gel, which do not work on my hair at all! But when I opened it I was pleasantly surprised, the product looks as if it's kind of been 'whipped' (which now seems stupid to write after re-reading the name of it!)! It's quite airy for a hair product and really easy to use - work it into your roots and then blowdry it to add lots of volume! So easy to do and works a dream, really impressed with this product!

Hawaiian Tropic Satin Protection Sun Lotion
DHC Deep Cleansing Oil



















Now, sun protection is something I generally forgo, I don't like buying it! It's pretty expensive for all the sun we generally get so I usually just end up burnt! It's stupid of me and I know it's unsafe to be so lazy! Whenever I seen this I was actually pretty happy, it's been very warm and sunny the past week in Surrey and I thought it was about time I started using something on my face at the very least! It's the 100ml size, so perfect for handbags and obviously it's carry on luggage friendly if you're jetting off anywhere! It smells beaut - it's a mix of coconut and jojoba oil, not your typical horrible suncream smell! It costs £5.99 for the 100ml size, but there are larger sizes available on the Hawaiian Tropic website if you're actually going abroad!

Now, I don't love cleansing oils, my skin is so oily at the minute that I don't really want to add to the problem! So this probably isn't something I'm going to use so much so it might go to my landlord! The oil does smell lovely though but it's just not really my cup of tea! It's £4.50 for the 30ml size you get in the box.

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Instant Tan BB Skin Perfector
Velvotan The Original Tanning Mitt





















I love fake tan, I love the slightly odd biscuity/bacon smell that you get when you wake up in the morning after tanning the previous night, and I love getting to try new tans out! Now I haven't had the opportunity to completely try this but I have rubbed it on my arm and oh my god I'm excited! This is basically a combination of fake tan and a BB cream, so it corrects the shade of your skin and makes you look tanned all at the same time! Wowza! Now the shade is pretty light, so good for day wear but I do generally prefer a darker tan but still a really good product to get in the box! It's £6.99 in shops for the 125ml version.

And when you get a new fake tan, what else do you need? A new fake tan mitt of course! It's essential to keep your tan mitts fresh, it doesn't take long for them to go hard and turn a slightly strange shade of green.. Velvotan are my favourite brand for tan mitts as well so I was so happy! Primark and Superdrugs own brands offerings are good, but the inner plastic splits so easily and I always end up covered, I think for a few extra quid it's worth spending the money to get a good non-streaky tan! These are £2.99 on feelunique!

Magnifibres Brush-On False Lashes
Bourjois Cream Blush 





















This is a laaavly orangey peach shade that literally will give you a 'healthy glow'! It's a really creamy consistency that glides straaaaight onto the skin. I don't particularly like cream blushes but this is such a tiny handbag size that is gonna be so handy to bring to work for that 3pm makeup slide touch-up! These are currently on offer at Superdrug for £5.99 from £7.99!

Now, first things first.. This name is a litttle bit misleading, if you're expecting to end up with Eylure 145 fake lashes, don't get your hopes up! Now I would say this is more for those who prefer natural fake lashes! This is a strange activity, you apply your mascara on your eyes, and immediately after brush the Magnifibres on. It's a strange texture, kind of resembles as if you were brushing tiny bits of cotton wool on your lashes! Then you wait 30-60 seconds and reapply more mascara to cover the white fibres! I used it today, it hasn't particularly lengthened my lashes, but it has definitely made them look thicker! The mascara is £21.00 to purchase online.

Now, this is the big one...

Illamasqua Glamore Lipstick
I loveeee Illamasqua, their products are amazing! I almost prefer them to MAC *shuusssh*! But their colour range is just so much more exciting and daring! I already have two of their original formula lipsticks in 'Kontrol' and 'Eurydice' but this is my first of their new Glamore formulation! The formulation is so creamy and moisturising, and unlike other buttery lipsticks it actually LASTS on the lips! It doesn't shift! These lipsticks are £18.50 each, and now consider that the box itself is £16.95 it made sense to order it and get everything else as well for less than I would have paid at Illamasqua! Minx is a beautiful rose pink and kind of a 'your lips but better'! It's perfect! I feel like this will be staying in my work handbag a lot!! Check it out in my selfies below! I also used the Magnifibres mascara and Bourjois blush in these selfies!






















One last thing - Latest in Beauty do samples of other beauty products that you maybe would want to try out before you maybe shell out a large amount of money.. The thing I wanted to try was the Therapie Roques Oneil Himalayan Detox Bath Salts! I've been lusting after these for a long time after I seen Fleur de Force review them! I've been knackered since I started working and I thought these might be perfect to help! You take a bath with them for 20 minutes approx., and then when you get out you basically just pass out! I love to sleep so I thought these would be perfect, I haven't had the chance to use them yet but I can't wait until I do! These cost me £4.00 but the full size is £37.00 so I thought it would definitely be a good idea to try the sample first!


Anyway, that's my haul from Latest in Beauty!
What do you think of this Beauty Box? Have you bought it?
Let me know if you've tried anything above!
Thanks for reading!

xxx