London Days...

Hey guys! 

It's Sunday again, where does the week go?

But only one more week and it's a bank holiday.. Which means one thing..  4 day week!!

Yesterday, Alice and I went into London for some shopping, food, and just to chill! 

I've just got a few pictures of what we got up to, what we ate, and what I bought!

We bought a deal on Wowcher for Blocks Cafe which has locations in Soho & Charing Cross! We got 2 waffles and icecream and Bubble tea each for £8 which was actually so good! I had a banana waffle with vanilla icecream, and a lychee & passionfruit bubble tea! Bubble tea was weird, it was strange to drink and all of a sudden swallow a little ball, I nearly choked! But the flavours were great!

We then dandered around MOST of London, once again I swear we walked the whole Monopoly board and did some 'sightseeing'! Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Pall Mall, Westminister, we did the lot! There was a Festival going on in Seven Dials so the whole area around there was buzzing, such a good atmosphere! We loved the guy in Trafalgar Square with his 'You should be here sign'!  

'Bufalo' Pizza from Cafe Vergnano 1882 - YUM.

When it came to shopping, we didn't specifically go anywhere, we just walked and seen where we ended up! We made it to Illamasqua on Beak Street (just off Carnaby St) and they had the sale in store rather than just online which was amazing! I picked up a few things, 'Speckle' Nail Varnish (keep an eye out for a Manicure Monday post to see what it's like on the nails!) and 'Growl' Lipstick. Both of these were £5 in store so a lot cheaper than online!! Swatches of Growl further below :) It looks like quite a deep brown colour in the bullet but on the lips I'd say the colour is more like the lip stain you get after drinking a big glass of red wine! It's beaut but it is a bit tricky to apply, a lipbrush is the easiest way!

I also popped into MAC (cheeky, I've not been in in a while!) and discovered they had 'Whirl' lip liner in stock, Whirl is the lipliner that Kylie Jenner has been apparently wearing to perfect those huge lips! It's been sold out everywhere so it was pretty lucky to discover it! It's a dusky pink shade and it's gorgeous on, typical MAC lip liner, it's quite drying to apply but once it's on, it's on. I definitely think it's what Kylie's been wearing now I've tried it! It's so easy to overexcentuate your lips with!! Pics below:

MAC - Whirl

Illamasqua - Growl

The eyeshadow I'm wearing in both shots is Vernau by Illamasqua, I got it, Vapour and the sealing gel as well! Vernau has definitely become my new go to easy eyeshadow, it's a warm yellowy brown and it's SO easy to blend out. It's going to get a lot of wear! Vapour is a Tangerine orange and it's got the same easiness to blend as Vernau, I'm loving it under my eyes with Vernau on my lid!

L-R - Vernau, Sealing Gel & Vapour

Hope you've enjoyed reading this and seeing what I've been up to in London this weekend!
What do you think of 'Whirl', do you think it is what Kylie Jenners been wearing??

Haul time!

Hi Hi!

So in my last post about my family's visit I mentioned that over the few days I had went shopppping! 

As you can tell before, shopping is a major hobby of mine, I would probably put it down as a skill on my CV because I love to bargain hunt that much!

This is just going to be a brief summary post of everything I bought, and links to the products if I can find them online (some were sale items!). If you'd like to see anything else in more detail, leave me a comment and I can do a more indepth post :)

Forever 21

Jade stone statement necklace - £3.99 (SALE)

Peach stone drop earrings - £3.15

Pink & gold multi chain necklace - £4.99 (SALE)

Hoop and stud multipack - £3.90

Coral & gold statement necklace - £4.99 (SALE)

I love Forever 21's jewellery, it's always so reasonably priced and really effective. I do hate their website though, it's so hard to find ANYTHING on. Hence why there's no links! Sorry guys! Worth a nosey in store if you're interested in any of the sale pieces though!

Paperchase

Owl Lunchboxes - £7.50

I know these lunchboxes are out of stock on ASOS, but they're not on Paperchases website either :( but hopefully there will be some left in store! This is a pack of 4 mini lunchboxes, they're perfect size for bringing in fruit and yoghurt, and so much prettier than my old boring tupperware boxes! Paperchase also give 10% student discount, so these cost me £6.75! 

Boots

So obviously Boots is where I spend the most money.. Typical! This particular day the Daily Mail had a £5 off voucher if you spent £30, so obviously I did. Unfortunately I don't have up close pictures or swatches of the two eyeshadows, one was smashed when I was taking the pictures in Starbucks (lol, classy) so as I humped off to get another one, I forgot to take pictures.. If you google the names I'm sure there will be swatches online :)

Supercolour Fabulipstick in 'Pom Pom' - £9.00

Supercat Eyeliner Pen in 'Carbon Black' - £6.00

 

Archery Brow Pencil in 'Brownie Points' - £8.00

Super Liner Perfect Slim Intense in 'Blue' - £6.99

Two eyeshadoes are Seventeen Solo Eyeshadows in 'Shocking Pink' and 'Viva Diva' and these are £3.89 each!

Topshop

Stippling Brush - £4.00 (SALE)
Gel Liner Brush - £2.00 (SALE)
Tweezers - £2.00 (SALE)

Zebra iPhone 5 Case - £1.00 (SALE)

So that's just a very brief overview of what I bought when the fam were over! 

If you'd like anymore info or a post on anything specific let me know and I can do that!

Thanks to everyone for reading :) 

xxx

Family Time!

Hiii!
Last week I was lucky enough to have a visit from my Dad, little Brother and Step-mum!

They came over to visit me, so I just thought I'd let you all know what we got up to and share some pics!

Especially good if you're coming to visit Surrey/Sussex & want to know what kind of things there are to do!

Wednesday 30th July

Everyone arrived at the gloriously early time of 8.30am, I was off work and actually had to get up a lot sooner than I would have had to if I was working! We went into London basically as soon as they arrived, had some breakfast at EAT (my first time, I know it's a chain but it was actually really good!) First we did a little bit of sightseeing and then traveled out to the Imperial War Museum!

Below L-R: The Shard (Photobombed by my Brother!), Big Ben, and a Horse Guard.

View of the Thames taken from London Bridge!

  IWM was SO busy, like there was hardly room to move, and for someone with a little bit of claustrophobia it was freaking me out! It's recently just reopened with a new exhibition so I think that's why it was so busy! 

I'm pretty uncultured, I can't deny it, and usually museums don't interest me that much but the First World War exhibition which has newly opened was so interesting, I actually really enjoyed it! 

A little bit of the Berlin Wall. 

Huge-ass rocket and plane. 

Might make this my new saying?

The first pair of Uggs?!?!

A picture taken in Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles.

We then chilled at Westminster for a while, had some lunch, went for a walk down the Embankment (and discovered some cute deckchairs along the way (see below) and then headed back towards Gatwick because we were all bloody pooped.

Thursday 31st July

Thursday was my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday again Dad) and we went off to Brighton for the day. 

Hopped on the train and in less than 30 minutes, we were there! None of us had ever been to Brighton so it was very exciting!

It's literally the nicest place, so happy, the weather was gorgeous, had fish and chips on the beach, had shandys in the cutest pub, we all got sunburnt, we went on some amusements and we went in the sea.. It's basically the perfect holiday isn't it?? Mind you, the stones on the beach look easy to walk on, they hurt!!

Typical Tourists...

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Family shot! Me, Dad, Irene and Ryan!

Dipping my feet!

Friday 1st August

 We kind of wanted a more chilled day because we'd exhausted ourselves the first two days so we headed off to Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent. This place is hugeeeeee. It's similar to the Trafford Centre with the shops it has, it's one you could go to with a lot of money and blow it in quite a short period of time!! 

We dandered round and bought what we wanted (I'll do a separate post even though I didn't buy much!) and then played Crazy Golf. These things are kind of family traditions, Dad and I will always go on a water ride if we see if, and as a family we'll always play crazy golf or go bowling if there's the opportunity! We're all really competitive so it's so much fun! I actually even managed 2 holes in one! I was so proud of myself!! Dad was the overall champion, but obviously we let him win coz it was the day after his birthday ;-)

We ate a lotttt that day! Started the day off with a Toby Carvery all you can eat breakfast - naughty but very nice! We all had drinks at Comptoir Libanais, a Lebanese restaurant we'd never heard of! I had a Mira Frozen Blended Lemonade which was mint, lemon, lime and orange blossom lemonade - so refreshing! We all had Krispy Kreme and then finished it off with a trip to Byron Burger. So much food but SO good.

Saturday 2nd August

This was my last day with everyone so I can't lie I was a moody little bitch, I didn't want them to go :( We went to Windsor to see the Changing of the Guard, because we've all missed it everytime we've ever been in London! Windsor is the cutest little town, check out the crooked house in the smallest street in the UK!

 

As I've said I'm not really into history, and unlike IWM which is free in, it was £16.75 for a student to go into Windsor castle, I felt guilty so I decided to sit it out, relax, shop and drink coffee while my family looked around! My brother did send me a snapchat of what it looks like inside the gates though!

My brother and me!

After that I drove them to Stanstead and they flew home (after quite a few delays I must add!!) and I drove back to Gatwick! I had the best few days and I was so glad to see them! I've booked flights home for September now so at least I know when I'm going to see everyone again which has cheered me up no end!

I know this was a long post (sorry!) but I hope it maybe gave you a few ideas of places to go if you're ever coming to visit! If you have any questions or want any more details of prices etc leave me a comment or tweet me @RachelVennard and I will do my best to help!

Thanks for reading, and can I just say thank you to all my new followers!! At the start of June I had 2 followers (1 of which was myself!!) and I now have 28 Bloglovin followers! I'm astounded, thank you so much!! I will do a giveaway when I reach 100 followers (even if that is 3 years away) so please recommend my blog to anyone you think might like to read it!

lots of love xxx

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