Guess who's back?

HELLO!

Yes it's me! I'm back!

Not for a long-time but I'm back for nowwwwww!!

Soooo, basically I've been out of action for over two months! 

There's no explanation to this other than the fact I've been busy as hell!

Uni has taken over, I was working two jobs, placement stuff, coursework..

I HAVE HAD NO LIFE.

All this stress has been sending my anxiety haywire, panic attack central.

My head has not been in a good place!

Just wanted to do a little post to let you all know I will be back soon!!

I thought this pic was quite appropriate, I wish it was true!!

Anyway, back to being a busy bee!

I'll be back soon with a proper post!

And if you have any tips for anxiety/panic attacks/stress PLEASE let me know.

Lots of loveeee

Rachel! xx

"Shopping Is My Cardio" - Pt. 2.

I'm back with Part 2 of my rather large Christmas Sales haul!

I'll get stuck straight in, and once again I'll try and post links to anything that's still available online!

New Look Blue Platform Shoes, No7 'The Eyes Collection', Origins 'Make A Difference Rejuvenating Set', Soap & Glory 'Powder Trip', Muse Neon Green Chain Necklace & New Look Blue Double Ankle Strap Heels.

The loveliest, most beautiful thing that has EVER touched my skin. I tell no lies, this is amazing!! I stumbled upon this in Boots the sale section, not expecting it to BE in the sale, but it WAS! £19.33 for ALL of this!! That is a FULL SIZE moisturiser that costs £34.00 alone!! It smells beautiful and refreshing on your face! It contains the 'Make A Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Moisturiser', 'Make A Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Treatment Lotion', 'Make A Difference Rejuvanting Hand Treatment' and the 'Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask'.  I'm just head over heels in love with it all. The overnight mask is my favourite, I just want to use it everyday, my face is loving it! If you can, go to Boots, nosey about and I hope you will stumble across this beauty. :) 

This little lovely kit was £6, I really couldn't leave it behind! It has 3 Limited Edition No7 eyeshadows, a No7 eye colour brush (A MAC 217 BRUSH DUPE - HOLY SHMOKES) and a No7 smokey eye brush! The shadows don't have names but check out the swatches below :) The eye colour brush  and the smokey eye brush are £7.25 each so the full kit with 3 additional eyeshadows for £6 is a steaaaaal. 

I told myself I didn't need this palette, I reassured myself when I got home that I didn't need this palette.. A few days later I turned off a motorway on the way home from a shopping excursion at 7pm at night to get this palette. Some may say I have issues, I just say I'm dedicated. 

The Soap & Glory 'Powder Trip' was £10 down from £20, and contained 3 of their legendary face products, 'Solar Powder' (bottom left), 'Glow All Out' (top left) and 'Love at First Blush'  (top right) alongside a half-moon powder brush. Solar Powder was my FIRST ever bronzer and I adored it, even when I was a makeup virgin.. So I wanted it back in my life whenever I seen this kit! I was worried that it would be bulky but compared to having 3 individual powders it's actually a lot easier! The three individuals also have a hefty £33 price tag, so all three for £10 is a steal. It's still online, buy it now. You won't regret it. ;-)

This was my New Years Eve outfit! All sale bargains (except the shoes but that's okay!) 

Top - River Island Black Abstract Floral Turtle Neck Body - £5

Skirt - F&F Leather Mini Skirt - £5

Necklace - Muse Neon Green Chain Necklace - £5

Earrings - Topshop Chunky Chain Hoops - £4

Shoes - Blue Cross Strap Chunky Platform Shoes - £27.99

I'm pretty chuffed with this outfit, considering the top and skirt only cost me £10! The accessories are more expensive than I would generally buy but the shoes are so comfy I know I will get SO much wear out of them.

The other New Look shoes I bought aren't in the sale online but they were £8! I didn't think I could wear the strappy style shoes but they're so comfy. Perfect interview or night out shoes.. You'll last all day no matter what you're doing!

I also treated myself to my first online Illamasqua purchase! I bought the Light Liquid Foundation in Shade LF140. I did struggle to find the shade I should buy but I recommend googling swatches in comparison to other foundations you own, there's enough beauty bloggers out there someone will have what you're looking for! The foundation is so lovely!! And it smells like vanilla, I'm in love! Really good coverage for a light foundation and turned out it was the exact match for my skin! It's a bank breaker at £27 usually for 30ml, but for a tenner in the sale its great! Free p&p as well! Brilliant! 

Finally, just a pic of my nails that I rocked on New Years Eve, for approximately 1 hour because I'm pretty sure by the time it hit midnight I only had 3 left...

Hope you enjoyed my splurges!

I'm seriously considering cutting up my bank card.

NO MORE SHOPPING.

Everyone, say it with me!!!

Have a lovely week guys and I'll talk to you sooooon! :)

xxxx

Let's get Physical...

This is just a short oneeee! 

I fell out with gel liners a long time ago, I've very hooded eyelids so it generally just ended up on my upper lid.. The same applies for most liquid eyeliners as well.. Lucky me!!

Buuuut my mum came home with a little surprise for me.. My first MAC Fluidline from their new Magnetic Nude collection in 'It's Physical'. 

It's a gorgeous duo-Crome shade, it's described by MAC as brown with a purple pearl, but on me it's more a brown shade with pink and gold glitters.. Whatever the case it's gorgeous!!

Applies so smoothly and lasts for EVER. no smudging, no product on my upper lid and the glitter lasts, it's been shimmering away behind my lashes all evening! 

This is definitely going to be one for all the time wear, subtle enough for a day-to-day look and can be built in for evenings and nights out!! It also works as a cream eyeshadow, I'm sure you'll see a pic of it worn as such sometime in the near future!

These limited edition fluidlines retail for £15, and they're selling out fast! There's there in the range, alongside some new extra dimension skinfinishes, blushes and shadows and also some new lipsticks, glosses and brushes! Definitely worth a look if you're near a MAC counter soon as it's mostly sold out online!

Just wanted to post this video I put on my Instagram to let you all see the glitter in the product!!

What do you think of 'It's Physical'?? 

Let me know in the comments, twitter or Instagram! 

Xxx

"Shopping Is My Cardio" - Pt. 1.

I absolutely love that quote, it's sarcastic, but I do shop that much it could nearly be true ;-)

This is a post of what I picked up in the Christmas sales! 

There are a few clothing bits that won't be included, I haven't had the chance or a willing victim to take photos of me, SORRY. :)

(I'll post links to anything that is still available online!)

Topshop underwear, No7 'The Skincare Collection', House of Holland 'Get Nailed', No7 'Beautifully Bronzed', House of Holland Suspender tights & Nike Air Royalty Lite perforated trainers. 

I found this in Boots half price sale! So £8 for a gorgeous highlighter in 5 different shades that you can blend together or use individually for different areas and the softest, hugest kabuki brush I've probably ever seen. Bargain. 

Check it outtttt HERE.

House of Holland Get Nailed false nails! £8.99. These are beaut! White with a black outline and then they have stickers with letters on it that can be applied! I did my name - so cliche! There'll be a pic in the next post! The nails didn't stay on that long but I find the glue that come in these false nails packets never last as long as strong glue that you can order from eBay so that may be where I went wrong! These are expensive for false nails, especially now as Primark do ones at £1 but this was for New Years Eve so it's allowed to be a little more expensive!

The No7 'The Skincare Collection' (sold out online) was another thing I picked up! £8 for all of this! I think that's an absolute bargain! I love No7 products, but tend to avoid them because they're generally quite expensive for being a 'drug-store' brand! In this kit there wasssss... 

No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser (Liz Earle Dupe!!)

No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-up Remover

No7 Protect & Perfect Day Cream

No7 Protect & Perfect Night Cream

No7 Headband

No7 Muslin Cloth

That is A LOT for £8!! I picked my mum one of these kits up too and if you haven't had a nosey in Boots yet I seriously suggest you check this out! It's all gorgeous & super nice on your skin!

I love Topshop underwear, but only ever buy it in the sale, everything is either £1 or £2, Primark prices but such a higher quality! Also the House of Holland x River Island suspender tights are amazing, they were in the sale for £6! Seems steep but the quality is excellent! But be careful not to snag them, it's a devastating moment when you do! Finally the Nike Air Royalty Lites, I got these in the Nike outlet in Banbridge (N. Ireland).. I've been lusting after them for ages so I treated myself when I had Christmas money! I love the mint green colour, perfect for Spring & Summer!! They cost me £27. 

This is the end of Part 1. I know I've bought a lot, but it is in the sales so everythings a lot cheaper!

Part 2 will be up soon! Please check it out!

Mwahhhh. 

What I got for Christmasssss...!!

It's 2014! Holy guacamoleeeee!!

Hope everyone has made their New Years Resolutions and all that jazz, I haven't! I never stick to these things so I'm not calling them resolutions, it's a lifestyle change..MOTIVATIONAL TIMES FOR RACHEL.

We'll see how long this lasts anyway!

This post has all the beauty bits and bobs that I got for Christmas from friends & family! I'm in no way trying to boast or anything by posting this, just wanted to point out what's gonna be appearing on my face over the next few weeks :-)

From my Auntie Sharon -
The Soap & Glory Eyes Box

Whats inside?

6 'Lid Stuff' eyeshadows, Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara, Smoulder Kohl Waterproof Eye Liner, a brush & a huge mirror!

From my Auntie Lynn -

Be Enchanted Starlight Shadows Colour Palette

What's inside?

9 Eyeshadows, 4 Lip Glosses, 1 Blusher, 3 Brushes and a mirror!

From my step-sister Clare -
The Limited Collection Lip Gloss & Nail Duo

From my lovelyyyy best friend Becca -
Illamasqua Hydra Veil & Lipstick in 'Eurydice'

CAN WE JUST ALL TAKE A MOMENT AND SAY "WOW".
I was spoilt rotten by Becca!! Hydra Veil is a new holy grail, it is amazzzzzzing! So perfect on the skin and foundation goes on like a dreammmmm over it! Also, the lipstick is the perfect shade of hot pink! Blue toned so makes teeth pearly white and it's not too barbie pink!! I wore it on New Years Eve for Becca's 21st!
What do you think?!

I got loads of other amazing presents and I want to say thank you so much to everyone that bought me anything! You's are all the loveliest of people and thank you all for a beautiful wonderful Christmas at home!

Next post will be some of the bits and bobs I treated myself to in the Christmas sales!
Talk soon!
xxx

The Glamour Beauty Edit.

Hellooo lovelies!!

I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas, ate a little too much turkey, drunk a little too much alcohol and fell over a few too many times - I know I certainly did, in front of a club full of people. SMOOTH.

But anyway, enough about me! I hope Santa was good to everyone and everyone got exactly what they wished for :)

Today's post is about a lovely little beauty box that was on offer at Latest in Beauty! It's currently sold out but if you clicky on my linky HERE you can be entered into a competition to get your mitts on one of these little darlings! The box originally retailed at £14.95 and delivery was £3.95!

So, I hear you ask - WHAT'S IN THE BOX???

I shall show you..

1. Balance Me Daily Care Radiance Face Oil - RRP £15.00

2. Maybelline Baby Lips Balm Repair - RRP £2.99

3. Eyeko Lash Curler - RRP £12.00

4. Philip Kingsley 'One More Day' Dry Shampoo - RRP £5.95

5. Toni & Guy Glamour Firm Hold Hairspray - RRP £2.19

6. Benefit 'They're Real' mascara - RRP £9.00

7. HD Brows Eye and Brow Palette 'Foxy' - RRP - £19.96

So as you can seeeeee there is a LOT in the box, you pay £18.90 and receive 7 products that are worth approximately worth £67!! That's a saving of of nearly 50 quid!! The majority of the products are full size, and those that aren't give you the chance to try something out you would never think of purchasing!

The Balance Me Daily Care Radiance Face Oil is gorgeous!! It's designed to replenish the skin with ingredients to boost and balance your skin! It's particularly effective on oily skin, as oil on oil helps to balance the skins natural oils out! I've noticed it made such a difference to my skin, because since I've moved into my new student house I've suffered from a really oily T zone and it's helped so much! Also the smell is beautiful! It's got chamomile in, and it really helps me sleep if I use it last thing at night, it conks me straight out! I've been so impressed by this product I'm definitely gonna try some more Balance Me products in the future!

The Maybelline Baby Lips have been such a hyped up beauty product over the last few months on Youtube, blogs, instagram, you can't avoid them! I'm glad I got one in this box and was able to try it out because every time I went to Superdrug they were sold out! I'm not going to lie to you, I don't think they're amazing, I much prefer my eos balm to the baby lips, but if you want something easy to carry around with you to avoid chapped lips in the winter it works perfectly.. It's ultimately a pretty looking chapstick! Maybe if I had got a flavoured one I would have been more intrigued or impressed :)

I am one of those people that constantly forgets to curl their lashes, I always forget about it until I'm half way through applying my mascara and at that point it's too late! This Eyeko Lash Curler is super pretty with its limited edition blue velvet handles, it catches my eye on my dresser and now I actually remember to curl my lashes! It makes such a difference and this one is such good quality it really helps my lashes become a lot more curly and noticeable! It comes with 3 silicone pads for the curler, all which last for 3 months! It means for £12 you get 9 months of pretty eyelashes, to a lash freak like me that's a bargain!

Philip Kingsley is some kind of hair product God, however for me with my very short hair I tend not to pay much attention to new hair products on the market. However dry shampoo is my BEST FRIEND. I am a lazy person, I hate washing my hair - even though there is so little of it, so I love being able to reach for a can and getting another day out of it! I also think Dry Shampoo is so good at adding volume to a style for a night out - guarantee it'll help you're hairstyle last all night!! This Philip Kingsley one is brilliant, which is to be expected for the slightly hefty £5.95 price tag! That's like 3 HUGE cans of Batiste when they're on offer! But the price really shows in the quality of the product! Not one I'd repurchase myself but it's lovelyyyy when you get it in these beauty boxes - a treat to my little short-haired head!!

As anyone else with short hair knows, hairspray is essential to ever holding any style! Toni & Guy are another haircare brand I tend to pass buy as I stick to VO5, Got2be and Elnett for my hairsprays! This hairspray gives a good hold without making your hair feel sticky or really stiff! But I'm more in love with my current brands so I don't think I would rebuy this one either! It's nothing against Toni & Guy or Philip Kingsley - it's just once you get used to products that work for your hair and the way you style it you tend to stick with them! 

Benefit do these cutesy little versions of They're Real for magazines, beauty boxes and freebies with other purchases and I know they're valued at £9, however you can't buy them!! You can only buy the full version which is 8.5g and retails at £19.50! I cannot lie, this is a holy grail product to me! I can't just live with the mascara on it's on but it's part of my mascara holy grail trio! I use it first to separate my lashes, as the wand has such small individual bristles it separates them so well! I then have a coat of Rimmel Lash Accelerator Endless Mascara and then finish it off with Lancomes Custom Drama mascara.. As Jay-Z would say, HOLY GRAIL. But anyhooo, anyone who hasn't tried this mascara yet, I advise that you do.. You probably will hate it at first, but stick with it, eventually you'll NEED it in that makeup bag of yours. ;-)

Finally, the real reason I bought the beauty box.. The HD Brows Eye and Brow palette... This is amazing! I have ditched my Benefit Browzing's (for now anyway) as this is such a handy palette, perfect for a good dark brow and also can be used for a great smokey eye.. It's handbag friendly and easily carried!! The colours can be seen below from left to right - 'Nude' (the really light yellow shade), 'Carbon', 'Warm Brown' and 'Dark Brown'.. You have to mix the shades slightly to make sure you get a good shade on your brows just to make sure you don't go full scouse brow or end up looking like you dyed your eyebrows! But it's brilliant none the less! The colours are so matte and so easy to blend in, quick and simple!! It's cheaper than Benefit's version and I think it has more uses as I've really gone off the gel in Browzings! I much prefer a powder for my brows now, gels tend to melt!

Have you ever purchased a Latest in Beauty collection box such as this one?

What did you think - do you think they're good value for money?

Let me know!

Have a great New Years whatever you's are upto and I shall speak to you in 2014 *eek*!!

xxx

No chocolate in the duty free..

There might not be any chocolate in the duty free, but in Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport I can fully confirm that there is a MAC counter..

I will admit I have issues in regards to shopping, but I was flying home to go back to my old job in the hospital as a domestic assistant and I needed some form of motivation!! 

I re-purchased my holy grail powder "Mineralize Skinfinish Natural'; but I got shade Medium this time! I felt Light Plus was just a little too light for me, and I generally like to use bronzer to give my gave some colour so I just thought I'd get the shade up! 

I also grabbed a lip liner in Cherry, a beautiful deep red, it'll go perfectly with Riri Woo and my new e.l.f lipstick I searched in my last post! The thing I love about Lip liners is that it can be completely two different looks, alone or with a lipstick or gloss!! Double the value ;-)

The lip liner was £10 and the powder £18.30! 

I have a post on a lovely new beauty box coming up and it'll be up by the end of the week!! 

If I'm not back before then, I hope everyone has a super super Christmas and I hope Santa brings everyone everyyyything that they want!!

Merryyyy Christmassss!!

Xxxx