Birthdaaaaay Post!

Helloooo!
I'm back in Manchester and I'm officially 21! EEK - I'M SO OLD.

Just a little post to show what my lovely besties got me for my birthday makeup wise!

I was well and truly spoilt, so please don't think I'm trying to show off by this post!!

My lovely housemates bought me the bright orange lipstick in 'Morange'! Its an orangey red in an Amplified Creme finish and it's absolutely gorgeous on! I've been lusting after it for so long after seeing the lovely Zoella raving about it!! It's such a perfect consistency and applies soooo easily! Check below for a pic of me wearing it!

Another one of my flatmates Hayley bought me lots of owl related pressies, including the cosiest blanket and a handwarmer! Think that's gonna be necessary for Manchester life!! Hayley also got me some Malibu, if no-one has ever tried Malibu and Milk you are MISSING OUT! It's like ice-cream, I definitely recommend it!!

Lizzie my classmate/housemate/right-arm got me my current favourite perfume.. ONE DIRECTION! It's so sweet and just smells amazzzing! I am aware I'm 21 and the target age of the perfume is 12, but I don't care.. If it smells good I love it! She also got me an owl keyring and owl chocolate.. But I'll never wanna eat it!

Nexxxxxxt my bestie/wifey/soulmate treated me to some lovely MAC makeup! She bought me the Cremeblend blush in the shade 'Something special' - it's so nice, easy to apply and the perfect orangey peach! It's definitely the shade of blush that can be worn everyyyy day regardless of season!

She also veryyyy kindly bought me an Amplified Creme lipstick in 'Up The Amp', it's a really vibrant purple in the bullet and it looks even more vibrant on! The finish on both the lipsticks is so easy to apply and it's beautifuuuuuul. I absolutely love this shade, I don't know if it's one I would have picked up in store but I'm so grateful that Becca bought it because I LOVE it. In the pic below I'm wearing both the products Becca bought me!

My other bestie Jill who I am unfortunately separated from due to Uni treated me to some absolute beauties when I was at home, including my first Sausage and Egg McMuffin! It was delishhhhh! A new treat for hungover mornings me thinks! Paddy McGurgan has recently opened a new Pro Make-up store in Newry! She picked me up an absolutely beautiful Make-Up Atelier Paris Eyeshadow Palette in shade T02! It is beautiful! Not a palette I would have chosen for myself but honestly, I think it might be love! Two gorgeous light coloured peachy tones, a rusk shade, a purple shimmer and a black with a hint of glitter! Its perfecttt for day and night wear, just depends on how strong you use the darker shades! Sorry the lights not great on the lighter shades, my house hasn't got the greatest lighting situations!

She also treated me to a Lush Fresh Facial Cleanser in 'Angels on Bare Skin'! It's a cleanser designed to even out skin tone and improve the health and appearance of your skin! It's made of ground almonds, you take a pea sized amount of the cleanser, add water and make a milky consistency then apply to the face, and remove with warm water! Your skin feels so fresh and clean after using it! And I think it really has improved my skin since I started using it, because I've been suffering from a few breakouts recently but this has helped it stop! Have a nosey at here on Lush's website!

I just want to thank everyone who got me anything! I was absolutely spoilt and also got gorgeous presents from my Mum, Dad and someone else special! I had the best birthday celebrations and it made turning 21 a lot easier! I wish it could be my birthday every week!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you've tried anything above!!

xxx

Treats to myselfffff!

Hellooooooo!

I have to admit I have been spoiling myself a bit recently, a few treats here and there, after work etc.. It needs to stop!! But I thought I'd let you see what I've purchased!!

Firstlyyyyyy... DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Rihanna recently launched her Rihanna Hearts line for Autumn, and ohhhhh glory days it is BEAUTIFUL! Everything had the most gorgeous rose-gold packaging and all the colours were beautiful! Now mostly everything has unfortunately sold out online (click HERE to see if there's anything left!) but in a few stores there are a few bits and pieces left but it really is just pot luck! I was the lucky lady that managed to buy the last 'Riri Woo' in Selfridges at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.. Sorry to anyone that wanted to go and purchase it! It's a really matte deep red and it's gorgeoussss! It lasts for absolute donkeys on the lips and even manages to stay on quite well after eating and drinking! It is quite similar to Ruby Woo which is in the permanent collection but the girl instore said it's easier to apply and is not as drying on the lips! This little baby was £16.50 which I know is expensive.. But look at it - HOW COULD I SAY NO?!

There'll be a swatch further belowwww!

Neeeext.. As you know I flew home last week for my birthday, and unfortunately Terminal 1 at Manchester airport has a MAC counter... I however was VERY restrained and only treated myself to one eyeshadow! I bought 'Brown Down', a matte warm brown! Have a little looksy here! I really wanted a shadow like this for my day-to-day makeup look, I have an Urban Decay Naked palette but it just doesn't have a dark matte shadow for the outer corners of my eyes! In the airport products are Tax Free (I THINK :-/) so instead of £12.50 for this lovely little number I paid £10.40! It was a birthday present to myself and it is something I am gonna get a lot of use out of! Check it out below and see the swatch further belooooow.

They say to leave the best to last.. And I certainly have..

Have a little look at this beauty.. 

I am finally the proud owner of Nars 'Orgasm'!! Gorgeous peachy/pink blush with a hint of gold shimmer just running through the blush!! So so pretty on the skin, I now understand why this product has become such a cult product, I loveee it!! It can easily be worn as a daily blush, or layered up for a more dramatic look at nighttime! £21.50 for a blush seems steep, but when it's so wearable I think it's worth it! However I didn't pay £21.50! ASOS offers 10% student discount at all times, and you can buy it on ASOS HERE! But on Tuesdays if you have an O2 Priority code and you have a student discount code from Unidays you get 20%!! To most people this doesn't seem a lot, but any students know that this is a looooot! I paid £17.20 for the blush and I'm absolutely chuffed about this!! SO HAPPY ARGHHHH!! I also love how cheeky NARS name their products, very tongue in cheek!

L-R - 'RiRi Woo', MAC's 'Brown Down' and NARS 'Orgasm'

I know I've been on a complete shopping haul recently, and particularly high-end products but it has been my Birthday, my money is all spent now so I'm back to being a poor student so shopping is FINITO.
I hope you enjoyed reading this! 

Let me know if you have any of these products and what you think of them!

xxx

High Street Beauty Purchases!

Hello everyone! It's been 2 months and I seriously apologise for that.. I've had SO much going on and my life has been chockablock with changes, from work to other more serious things! But I'm back and hopefully here to stay :-)

I've got myself a job and been treating myself to a few little splurges with my new wages... Haven't been going all out because saving for Manchester is my number one priority.. I need money for PARTYING! 

Real Techniques Blush Brush & Powder Brush

I've been looking for these babies for a while, but everytime I go to Superdrug they've sold out! I found them in a local chemist and they were £1 than in Boots or Superdrug! Not much but every little makes a difference!

I also picked up a new MUA bronzer in Shade 1! This is my everyday bronzer and it's so cheap! Can't say no to something thats £1!!
Also grabbed a MUA Cream Blush in the shade 'Lush'.. It's a gorgeous barbie pink! Swatches further below!

L-R - Cream Blush in 'Sneakpeek' & Lipstick in 'Bombshell'

On a little trip with my bestie to Belfast I picked up some Topshop Lipstick and another Cream Blush in the sale! I know these babies were a limited edition collection at the beginning of their lives! The Lipstick was £9 originally and the Blush was £10 but I got these both for £3 each! The Lipstick is super barbie pink and I love it! The blush is a corally shade of pink and lovely as well! They also had the blush in an orange shade and a orange lipgloss! Worth looking out for if your in Topshop, bargains are hiding in the sale section somewhere! Swatches below!

 I noticed the Kate Moss Lasting Finish Range for Rimmel was on offer at £3.99 on a recent trip to Superdrug so decided to pick up my first lipstick! This has been the hardest colour to photograph! Its a vivid orangey red but comes out pink on camera! It's Shade 22!

Theres a poor attempt at a swatch below!

L-R - Swatches
Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Shade 22
Topshop Cream Blush in 'Sneakpeek'
Topshop Lipstick in 'Bombshell'
MUA Cream Blush in 'Lush'

I hope you all enjoyed this quick little post! I'll try and get into the swing of things again on my blog! 

It's been a busy few months but I'm in the mood again to get my blogging hat on!

Talk soon lovelies!

xxx 

Multi-use blushes?!

Heyyyyyyyy! 

It's been such a nice week! Summer has finally arrived! So jealous of my friends getting to go to Parklife in Manchester this weekend, I totally regret not buying tickets now :( SAD RACHEL!

Anywooo, my boyfriend dozed off on me when we were sitting in the living room watching TV the other day,  without anyone to talk to I got a little distracted and picked up 'Bon Bon', one of MUA's 2013 blushes!

There is a range of 6 which have been released and for a change they have names!! I love the fact MUA ae starting to name their products, it gives so much more character to the product!

The little beauties are all named after sweeties or munchies.. and they're £1 each! Bargain :)

You can find all 6 shades HERE!

Bon Bon is a gorgeous apricot colour, and a lovely creamy consistency! 

All of MUA's blushers are so easy to blend and I love that, makes it so easy to use!

Due to my boredom I decided to whack some of this beauty on my lips to see what it looked like.. And oh my goodness I was so surprised!! It was gorgeous on, and totally different to any lipstick shade I've ever had!

It sits really well on the lips and blends in lovely! It really doesn't take a lot of product to cover the whole lips, but with the price tag at £1 you can afford to use as much as you like!

I like a very matte lipstick so this is perfect for me, but if you prefer a sheen or a more moisturising finish I'm afraid this alone won't be enough for you! However if you used a lip balm before putting this on it would stop it being such a cakey finish and slightly more forgiving on the lips! This is the result I ended up with when I tried with some Vaseline underneath! A darker shade but still loooovely!

Definitely going to try and use this method with some of my other blushes! It's automatically increased my possible lip colour options dramatically!

What do you think of blusher as a lip product?
Do you like the finish it gives?

Let me know in the comments :)

I've a lot of MUA products floating around in my new product inbox so expect to see that name pop up regularly on the blog in the next few weeks!

Chat soon you beauties! x

Junction One Cosmetics Store Haul!

Hi Everyone!

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I visited Junction One after hearing from my gorgeous bestie Becca that Northern Ireland had an Outlet store for make-up with brands such as Bobbi Brown, MAC, Clinique and Ojon! I was very excited to visit and after being repaid money I was owed, the money was burning a whole in my pocket!

Firstly, after whining on and on at Reece about how amazing the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara apparently was, he bought me the little Gift set that was on offer from £30 to £15! Saying as the mascara alone is £11 in store I thought this was a great bargain! Unfortunately my mum threw the box out of this kit so I don't know the full name! She didn't give me time to snap pics, doesn't understand blog life!

It also included a mini High Impact Mascara in Black (£16 full price), a mini Cream Shaper for Eyes in Black Diamond (£14 full price) and a Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo in Champagne which is £20 full price! 

The lighter shade of the duo is very pale, but a gorgeous shimmery gold colour, while the darker is a warm brown! Think these two are perfect for a easy everyday look, and they come in a handy little case which is mirrored so it's easy to apply anywhere and everywhere! :) 

Thank you Reece for this little pressie!  

Now MAC... *dum dum duuuuuuuum*

I went a litttttle bit crazy! I had money to spend and it was one of those I NEED EVERYTHING moments... But I restricted myself to 5 products and this is what I chose.. :D

1. MAC Paint Pot in 'Treasure Hunt'

2. MAC Double Feature 6 - No names on this :(

3. MAC Sheertone Shimmer Blush in 'Dollymix'

4. MAC Dazzleglass in 'Dressed to Dazzle' 

5. MAC Matte Lipstick in 'Lady Danger'

This store was meant to sell only discontinued products, but from the links you can still see it's possible to buy Lady Danger & Dollymix, so I just got on the shelf products for cheaper! :) 

I love the paint pot, its so handy for days when you don't have time to do full make-up, just throw a layer of this on and you're good to go! It's quite a light shade of gold which is new to me but I'm adjusting to it.. All about trying new things isn't it? I believe I paid around the £9 mark for this, which is good considering they're £14.50 instore! 

I'm a bit disappointed that the duo eyeshadow don't have actual names, I feel it takes away from the uniqueness of the product slightly. :( again this has a gorgeous shimmery brown and also has a gorgeous taupe/mushroom colour with it, which was slightly hard to get a good photo of! (sorry!)

Again, these are easy peasy colours to throw on whenever you're in a rush! They're actually quite similar to the Clinique shadows, so I'm gonna be good and give my mum one set.. I don't need them all :) I believe I paid between £11 and £14 for this set, which is good when a single MAC eyeshadow is £12!

Dollymix is a gorgeous Candy Pink which completely satisfied my inner Barbie! Its so easy to blend onto the skin and I literally think I've worn it everyday since I bought it! This is a big deal to me, because I really only started wearing blush in about January of this year! Big steps to go for a bright one for me! I'm properly impressed with MAC blushes and I will be buying more.. (shh.. don't tell my mum or my bank balance!) 

I think I paid £14 for this :)

MAC's Lady Danger is a bit of a cult beauty product, everyone, their dog & their auntie's sister has it, and after being bullied/forced into buying it by my boyfriend I now know why! It's gorgeous and so bright, it will literally cheer you up when you're wearing it! I live in a small town and I get a few funny looks from the granny's and granda's, but it's time to realise those funny looks don't matter! :) I always struggled with the dreaded LIPSTICK ON TEETH moments, but after discovering MATTE lipsticks this issue has vanished. I swear I'm such a make-up virgin not knowing these things can be fixed, I thought I was never going to be able to wear lipstick! Lady Danger was one of the dearer lipsticks available at £9.50, but still a steal compared to the £14 instore pricetag!

Finally the Dazzleglass! I heard Fleur talking about how much she loved the MAC Dazzleglasses and I had to treat myself. So shiny, so sticky (but sticky in a nice way) and oh the taste! I'm a sucker for anything vanilla related, and these babies are another item on my vanilla hit list! A sparkly lipgloss with an ever so pinky tone to it.. I love it, layered over a nude lip, on it's own.. Anything. They are PERFECT. Favourite lipglosses ever, I'm in love! <3 

I think 'Dressed to Dazzle' was £11 as it was a limited edition colour!

Well this was a long one, but it was a big haul in my eyes! Altogether we spent £70.. WOW. 

But instore it would have been close to the £120 price mark, so I don't feel just as bad.. Plus one item was a present :D

No more high-end beauty products for a while I think.. However I do have a Drugstore mini-haul to post about soon as well too :) I swear the bank are going to cancel my debit card!

Hope you enjoyed reading :)

Chat soon!

Love, Rachel :) x