Topshop SS14 Collection Makeup Haul

Holaaaa!

Summer has arrived, the sun is shining (for now anyway in Manchester) and it's so nice to be able to wear bright clothes and fun makeup and be tanned (even if it is from a bottle)!

Topshop have released their Spring Summer 2014 makeup collection and you can view the whole thing here! It's exciting, fun and includes both summer brights and spring pastels in nail varnishes, lip products, eyeshadows and eyeliners! And it's all very reasonably priced at between £5 and £10!

When I was at home for Easter my mum and I went to Topshops flagship store in Northern Ireland in Victoria Square in Belfast! They have the biggest range of stuff and generally a better size range than smaller stores. 

What I bought!

The main item I went to purchase was the Eye Duo in 'Long Weekend' after my absolutely gorgeous bestie Becca at http://www.rebeccadurrans.blogspot.co.uk/ bought it! It's such a warm corally orange and a goldy brown duo! The orange is absolutely stunning and makes such an impact, it's perfect for sunshiney days! The orange has such a good colour payoff and it really does come out the same on the skin as it looks in the packet! The same can't be said for the goldy shade, it's pretty much invisible and has no colour payoff! I have hardly used it except for a little bit in the crease, but it's nothing special! Swatches can be seen further below! But here's how I wore it a few weeks ago for a family day away :)

Long Weekend Eye Duo - Topshop ft Peaches Lashes

 The second Eye Duo I bought is called 'Time Off' and it's a blue and slate grey combo. The blue is the same as the orange, and is a gorgeous baby blue colour! These eyeshadows are so easy to blend in! The grey has more colour pay off than the second shadow from the Long Weekend set! I absolutely love both of these kits and for £6 they're an absolute bargain! 

Swatches - Long Weekend and Time Off Eye Duo

After recommendations from Becca, I also purchased the Lip Varnishes which are a combination of a lip gloss and a lip stain! They are gorgeous on and the colour is as true in the tube as it is on the lips! They're glossy on the lips and they last for ages! Like seriously, almost all night long even on a night out! I was amazed at their staying power! They're £9 each, and I love them all! I bought 'Field Day' and 'Merry Go Round' and you can see the swatches below :)

On the day that I purchased the things from Topshop there was an offer on that resulted in a free Lip Cream when you spent over £15, as I definitely spent over £15 (oops) I chose the Lip Cream in 'Double Take'. Lip creams are highly pigmented glosses that are really comfortable to wear!

L-R - Double Take, Field Day and Merry Go Round

I absolutely love everything I bought and the thing I love about Topshop makeup is that you still get Student Discount on everything! And even better when I bought these things the discount was 20%! 

What do you think of Topshop's makeup range?
Let me know!

Rachel xxx 

Nails of the daaaaay!

Hellooo!

Just a quick post to show you what colour and polish I'm currently rocking on my nails because I loveee it!

Just to let you know my nails aren't natural, I do have acrylic nails on that I get done at Lilly Nail and Beauty! They're so professional and last SO long! I've had mine on a fortnight and there has hardly been any growth at all! I usually get them infilled every 3-4 weeks! All the girls at Lilly's are lovely and so welcoming! 

Currently I'm wearing Barry M's Hi Shine Gelly Nail Paint in the shade 'Watermelon'!

Watermelon is a dark teal colour that dries lovely and dark on the nails! It's a perfect autumn colour because of its deep rich colour and I think I'll be wearing this colour a LOT. 

The colour actually dries darker on the nails than it does in the bottle!

I love these polishes - they're so glossy and shiny, they really do look like you've paid for gel nails whenever its a bargain at £3.99 from Boots or Superdrug!

It dries well on the nails even if the application is a bit streaky, within a few minutes the polish settles out to give a glossy, streak free finish!

At £3.99 these are some of the best nail products available at the moment from either the high street or high-end beauty products! They're the only type of nail varnish I even consider purchasing anymore!

If you haven't tried them I suggest you do! They have a great colour selection and every time I dander into a Superdrug store they have more colours available in this finish!

Barry M have also recently released more new autumn shades in a matte finish so I'm really looking forward to trying them and seeing how they compare! I love matte nails as well as shiny, glossy nails.. Oh to be honest I love most nail varnish finishes and Barry M have a finish to suit you!!

Barry M is currently on offer at Superdrug, and if you spend £9 on their products you get a free mascara so everyone hot foot it down there now or there'll be none left because I'll have bought them all.. :)

What do you think of these Hi Shine Gelly Nail Paints?

Are there any shades that you would recommend? 

Let me know!

I'm off to Alton Towers tomorrow for my first time so I'm hopefully going to get a good few photos up for all you thrillseekers out there!

Speak soon lovelies!

Rachel xxx 

What's on my lips...?

Hello beautiiiiiies!

I worked in a hospital allllll summer and it was damned hard work, so before I came back to Uni I wanted to treat myself, so obviously I headed straight to the MAC counter!
My friend Becca had recently bought 'Rebel' and I LOVED it on her so I definitely wanted to give it a try!

I had a £5 off voucher from my Debenhams beauty loyalty card so I decided I would treat myself, £10 for a MAC lipstick is good to me!

Rebel is a gorgeous dark berry fuschia colour that glides onto the lips soooo easily! It's my first MAC lipstick thats been a Satin Finish and I'm really impressed! It lasts sooo well on the lips, it definitely won't budge all day! Rihanna wears Rebel from time so I feel like a celeb when I wear it ;-) 

The only issue I had with Rebel was that I found it bled quite a bit around my lips.. So I dandered back to MAC and asked the sales assistant what lip liner was a good match to Rebel. She suggested Currant and whenever I seen it swatched on her hand I knew it was the one :) 

Swatches L-R - Rebel with Currant underneath, Rebel & Currant

Currant is a deeper shade of Berry and it glides on like a dreeeaaaaaaaam, it matches Rebel so well, either when worn just on the edge of the lips, or when worn all over with Rebel on top. With Currant underneath it lasts even longer! Its a perfect berry lip combo for Autumn and Winterrrr! I love it! The lip liner was £12, but they last foreeeever so I don't mind :)

Below are some pictures of me wearing Rebel with Currant underneath it. I wore it for a night out with a smoky eye, which was quite a lot having eyes and lips done but I don't really mind.. In Manchester nobody bats an eyelid even if you're wearing purple, blue or green lipstick so it's not that much of a big deal! In the second picture I was going to the pub so I just kept my eyes simple and had statement lips! If you've noticeed I got my nose pierced and I'm so happy with it! I completely missed it, it feels like an extra bit of jewellery on my face!!

Hope you enjoyed this post! 

Have any of you got Rebel or Currant? 

Let me know what you think in the comments or even tweet me.. You can follow me at @RachelVennard :) I'd love to hear to from anyone who reads this post so drop me a tweet about anything and everything :)

Until next time my dears :) 

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 

Quick FOTD!

Getting a call from your mother at 8.30am to say you've to take your little brother to the doctors for half9 is not the best start to any day, especially after a bad nights sleep! My priorities were to stay in bed as long as possible and sacrificing any chance of looking nicely made up! 

With only 10 mins to get ready, I stuck on a little concealer on my blemishes (which there are a lot of recently!!) and under my eyes to hide any dark circles! I filled in my eyebrows with just the powder of Benefit's Browzings to save time! A few coats of Rimmel London's Endless Lash Accelerator and a coating of MUA's Power Pout I'm 'Crazy in Love' on my lips! 

My hair was a mess, the only downside to short hair is that when you wake up it generally resembles a crow's nest, so I stuck on a beanie.. A comfy tee and a black skater shirt (because it's still warm in Northern Ireland!) and I was ready to go!!

Not the greatest look but easy for running about being Big Sis Taxi's and doing any messages that I had.. How grown up do I sound?? ;-) it actually felt nice to let my skin breathe in the nice weather without layers of makeup clogging up my skin!

Do you have any quick-fix makeup tricks? Let me know in the comments, or drop me a tweet @RachelVennard :-) I'd love to hear from you! 

Until next time! Mwahhhh xx

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

Drug-store Beauty!

Helloooooooo! It's a Monday, and it's actually been a gorgeous day! Spring has finally sprung!

I've got a few bits and pieces to show you that I've bought from drugstores and Tesco over the past 2 weeks!

First Tesco!

One of my closest friends is a Team Leader in Tesco and she pointed a new make-up brand they had got in one day that Becca and I went to visit her, and of course being make-up addicts we went for a nosey!

This brand is 'Along Came Betty' and the packaging is slightly similar to those of Soap and Glory! It stocks make-up, skin care, body washes & fake tan. I went for the 'All Concealed Concealer Kit'. 

This is a little duo concealer kit, with a cream concealer on the right for under the eyes, and a concealer for blemishes on the left. Underneath there is also a brightening powder to apply to under the eyes to get rid of any dark circles! 

This set is quite similar to the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot in design, however I've never tried the Laura Mercier pot so I wouldn't be able to say whether this is a dupe product! 

The 'Along Came Betty' kit is currently on offer in Tesco for £4.99 reduced from £6.99!

It's not my favourite concealer I've ever tried, but combined with my MAC studio fix concealer for spots & my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer I can cover myself up pretty well against my stressed exam-time spot prone skin!

I also picked up the Ecotools eyeliner brush in Tesco for £2.50 as I needed a new brush for my eyebrows! Cheap and cheerful, it's a basic little brush that's fulfilling all my eyebrow needs! :)

Next, I may have dandered into Superdrug and quel surpris it racked up a fair dint in my bank balance!

After recently buying the MAC Paint Pot, I wanted a cheaper alternative as it's so easy to use and saves a lot of effort in the morning on eyeshadows!

I went for the Maybelline 24Hr Colour Tattoo's after hearing Estée raving on about 'On and On Bronze' so I decided to purchase it! And obviously Superdrug had a 'Buy One Get One Half Price' offer on, so I picked up 'Permanent Taupe' .. Oops :)

I love them both so much, I have quite a hooded eye (basically I have no eyelid) so these work great for me, one quick slick over the lid and I'm good to go! They stay on well & they don't tend to crease on me which is a shock saying as I have such a small lid! Permanent Taupe is such a lovely day look, not too strong! And On and On Bronze is just my perfect shimmery gold.. I swear I think shimmery gold could be the one eyeshadow shade I wear for the rest of my life and I wouldn't mind! 

They're £4.99 and you can find them here... On and On Bronze & Permanent Taupe :D

I also dandered down to the MUA stand and it's no surprise that I found lots more to buy! There's so many good products and they're all so CHEAP! Perfect for any skint student :) 

My mum had been looking me to find her a lighter colour in a lip stain balm, as the Revlon Kissable Balm Stain she had is too dark for day wear.. So when then I found the MUA Power Pouts me and my mum thought BINGO! :)

These are super-hydrating, pigmented lip crayons with pretty good staying power! They aren't as strong as the Kissable Balm Stains but have more colour than the Revlon lip butters.. They're a great half way point between the two for a low end lip product.. These babies at £3 each!!

They were released about a week ago here in Northern Ireland, and between my mum & me, we already own 5 of the 6... (and thats only because the last one was out of stock!) OOPS!

You can find these babies HERE ...

From left to right, the shades are as follows:

'Crazy in Love', 'Irreplaceable', 'Rendezvous', 'Runway' & 'Justify'

My mum and I are so chuffed, and I definitely think we'll be recommending them to anyone that will stand long enough to listen to us!

Definitely not doing anymore beauty shopping (except my Fragrance Direct order thats on the way... :-S), my bank simply won't allow it!

What's your opinion on Drugstore vs High-end beauty? 

Let me know!

Chat soon lovelies,
Rachel! :) xx

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

New purchase!

Me and my boyfriend went shopping today in Belfast city centre, and after a lot of deliberation over different colour lipsticks.. I decided on a gorgeous purple lipstick from Illamasqua!

The girls on the counter in Debenhams weren't very helpful, so I totally wasn't sure if the colour was going to suit me, but I was brave and took the plunge anyway!

This shade is called 'kontrol' and I absolutely love it! It's a nice bluey purple, which is easily layered up on the lips to make a really deep shade of purple!

It also fades away to a lovely shade.. Some lipsticks I find fade and look like you might have some kind of strange lip disease! But this turns into a nice pinky hue on the lips!

This lipstick was £16, which to me is quite steep! But I've been wanting one for ages and I decided it was time for a treat!

Have you tried any Illamasqua lipsticks? What's your opinion on them? Are they too expensive for what the product is? Let me know!

Chat soon my lovelies!
Rachel xxx

March Wishlist..

Hi everyone!

I have a little bit of a problem with online shopping, most of the time when I'm on my laptop and not doing work I'm staring over numerous websites finding lots of lovely little gems that I want to buy with my non-existent money! The joys of student life eh? 

These are some of the pretties I've had my little eye on.. (NB.. only some :O )

1. Real Techniques Core Collection Kit

2. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush

3. Essie Nail Polish - Bachelorette Bash

4. ghd Limited Edition Candy Collection IV Styler - Lemon

5. Bioderma Crealine H2O Cleansing Solution 500ml Sensibio

6. Topshop Chunky Tribal Aztec Navajo Necklace (Not it's proper name eek!)

7. Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer - Nova

8. Nike Blazer Hi Suede - Blue

9. NARS Bronzing Powder - Laguna

I love all of these products so much!

 Especially the Topshop necklace, I'm gutted it's sold out! I'll be praying to Mr Topshop and asking him to bring it into stores again! I'm not willing to bid online for it because the price always goes waaaay beyond the usual RRP instore.. Silly eBay! 

As for the Real Techniques brushes, I've heard so many different reports on each type so I'm bewildered about which one to get, £20.99 is good for 4, while £10.99 is dear for one.. *confused Rachel*. 

Think I might need to think about that one for a bit longer before I commit to anything!

I've already made my way through one 100ml bottle of Bioderma and my skin LOVES it! 

Looks so much healthier and it really does take all your make-up off! My trusted wipes have been cast to the side of my desk where things which aren't getting much use live... Sorry baby wipes :( 

What products are on your wishlist this month?
Do you like these types of post?

Let me know, I love finding new gorgeous things I can stare at and want to buy when I have no money... 

Also, if you know of any Topshop's close to Manchester/Liverpool/Craigavon/Belfast/Newry (weird mix I know) that have the necklace in.. Tell me, I will be your best friend forever, promise :) 

I'll chat to you all soon, hopefully with my bank balance still intact.. *closes eyes*

Loves, Rachel! x 

MUA 'Undress Your Skin' Illuminating Foundation

Not so long ago, I treated myself to a little MUA & MAC haul and this was one of the (many) items I purchased.. (I'll do a blog post on everything else soon!)

This foundation is part of MUA's new ''Undress Your Skin' range, which is currently on promotion on the front page of their website! I clicked into it and seen that the Foundation was £3 instead of £5 for it's introductory price, so I decided I'd give it a go!

Truth be told, I really wasn't expecting much from this foundation due to the price but it turns out I absolutely LOVE it! I bought it in the shade 'Porcelain', which I will admit is slightly too light for my actual skin colour, but when it's blended out with face powder and bronzer it actually looks lovely!

It gives a lovely dewy finish to the skin as there's a few sparkles mixed into the foundation, making your skin look more radiant! Its got a light-medium coverage and is going to be perfect for coming into the spring and summer whenever you don't necessarily want to wear a lot of make-up on your face.

I applied this to my face this morning, covered up with powder and bronzer and went shopping, and it hasn't budged since! It hasn't slipped at all and I've not got any patches on my face where it's worn off, so I'm absolutely chuffed with it!

For the price I definitely think it's worth a try, especially if you don't want to wear expensive foundation everyday, I think this is a great alternative! It comes in 3 shades: Porcelain, Beige and Golden.
I definitely think I'll give the Beige a try next time to see if it's a better match for my skin!

As part of the range, MUA also has a Under-Eye concealer, Highlighting Powder and a Skin Primer; there is also a 'Undress Me Too' Eye Palette which may be linked to the new range... I think I'll definitely making an order from MUA again soon to try out the other products in the range after being so impressed with this one!

Have you tried any of the MUA 'Undress Your Skin' range?
What did you think of it?
Leave me a comment & let me know!