All things Rachy

BLOGSALE- Nars, Mac, Laura Mercier, Bobbi Brown, Charlotte Tilbury etc

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 20:15:00 +0000

Hi, Have a browse..see if there's anything you fancy!

P&P- £2 (UK only)

PAYPAL payments only.

No returns.

If you are interested in anything, leave a comment below with your paypal address so I can invoice you.

or tweet me @allthingsrachy

First come first serve

If you haven't sent payment for your order in 8 hours, it will go back up for sale.

All product descriptions listed from left to right:

~~Nars Audacious lipstick- Janet. Used twice- £12~~ [SOLD]

~~Mac Lipstick Sunny seoul- usage shown- £8~~[SOLD]

~~Mac Lipstick Honey love- usage shown- £8~~ [SOLD]

~~Astalift light analyzing foundation - Ivory. Used Twice. £12~~ [SOLD]

~~Laura Mercier foundation primer 50ml tube, around 40%-50% remaining- £8~~ [SOLD]

Topshop Glow Stick, used twice, writing on packaging slightly rubbed off - £4

Laura Mercier illuminating eye colour- Gilded Bronze (LE) Used twice- £9

Mac mineralise eyeshadow- Shimmermint (LE) Used twice- £9

Mac Mineralise eyeshadow- Hold that pose! (LE) Used twice- £9

Nars eyeshadow duo 'misfit'. Usage shown (used around 5 times) £9

Bobbi Brown eyeshadow 'rose gold'. Used twice £7

~~Charlotte Tilbury lipgloss- Bardot Beige. Used around 4 times- £9~~ [SOLD]

Gosh forever metallic eyeshadow sticks. Used a couple of times each- 02 Beige, 03 light copper,

01 silver rose- £2 each
£3 for 2 or £4 for 3

~~Stila 'tis the season to dazzle palette. Slight dip in highlighter, everything else only swatched- £2.50~~ [SOLD]

Dainty Doll powder blusher- 003 money talks. Used a couple of times- £3

~~-MAC mineralise eyeshadow- She who dares (LE Disney villains collection) Slight dip on green side- £15~~ [SOLD]

The Body Shop Honeymania lip balm- brand new and sealed- £1.50
~~Bourjois Rouge edition velvet - 002 Frambourjoise. Used 2/3 times~~- £2 [SOLD]
Covergirl lipstick- 405 fairytale. Used once- £2

Free with any purchase- If you buy something from my blog sale you can choose one of these if you like and I'll include it in your order. First come first serve.

Charlotte tilbury lipstick samples, Essence 3d eyeshadow 04 caramel cream, 08 vanilla late, Wet n wild single eyeshadow- nutty, ~~mini Benefit Watts up~~, Rimmel keep calm and party on tinted lip balm, ~~mini hourglass opaque rouge- icon, Nars sheer glow foundation sample- 4 deauville~~, Dior capture totale sample

My Perfect Orange-Red Lip: Hourglass Opaque Rouge 'Raven'

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 May 2013 16:49:00 +0000

Over the bank holiday weekend I spent my time watching one too many episodes of Kourtney & Kim Take Miami and became slightly obsessed with Kourtney K's trademark Orange-Red lip. So the next day I went shopping with one thing in mind: finding the perfect orange-red lip product! Now I know I look NOTHING like a Kardashian (that was never the aim), and I know that orange toned reds are typically more suited to olive skin tones than us pale english roses, but I try not to let makeup 'rules' restrict me too much. If I see a colour I like and it makes me happy to wear, then god dammit I will rock that colour, pale skin or not!

Mostly I just admired the way Kourtney wore this bold lip colour casually in the daytime and was having a bit of fun with colour. It encouraged me to be a bit more daring with what I wear on my lips in the daytime, and reminded me that a bold red lip doesn't have to be reserved for special occasions.

At the moment I am super pale and I still like the way this colour looks on me, but I think the colour will be most flattering once I've been on holiday and have my minuscule tan with some bronzer and gold highlighter on. I like to pair this colour with a nice thick line of black liner and strong brows, but the great thing about a colour like this is you can really let the lip do the talking and keep the rest of the makeup minimal if you want.

After a couple of minutes scouring the internet I discovered that Kourtney's orange-red lip product of choice is YSL's 'le orange'. I wasn't fussed about getting the exact product that she had, I just wanted to find my own version of this trend. So when I popped into Space NK and found myself hovering round the Hourglass stand, namely the 'opaque rouge' liquid lipsticks which are a formula I've heard raved about, the colour 'Raven' jumped out at me.

The Hourglass Opaque Rouge liquid lipsticks have a doe-foot applicator which makes for a precise application of a thin layer of the product, which is all you need. After a few seconds the formula dries into a comfortable matte finish. The formula is very long lasting on the lips and lasts through eating and drinking and you will have to scrub it off when you want it off. The only thing I will say is that if you are eating and drinking, the product does wear off slightly around the corners of the mouth, but I expect that of most lip products, and the applicator makes it easy to perform touch-ups.

So what do you think, is a bold red daytime lip for you?

Have you tried any of the Hourglass Opaque Rouge's, and if so what do you think of the formula?

Let me know some of your favourite Orange-Red lip shades because I feel a new phase coming on!

Rachel xx

May Birchbox UK

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:24:00 +0000

My monthly Birchbox just arrived through the door this morning and after ripping it open with a slice of peanut butter on toast in one hand I have decided I am happy with the contents of this months box.

Each month there is generally a theme, and the May theme is 'red carpet ready' (am I the only one who wonders when they think us average Joe's will be hitting the red carpet?!) Along with that, and perhaps more relevantly, Birchbox has teamed up with 'Fashion Targets Breast Cancer' to create awareness and generate funds for the cause.

The contents of my May Birchbox:

1. OPI nail lacquer mini- the shade name of this one isn't actually on the bottle or the information card but I was happy to see this in there as it's a very 'me' colour. A very pretty purple with gold/bronze shimmer running through it, unlike anything else in my collection.

2. B/Attitude body soufflé- The information card tells me that this product is from a brand who own a London restaurant and Paris Spa and the price tag suggests it to be a luxury brand. It will be interesting to try the soufflé texture and the product has a nice clean baby powder-ish smell.

3. Elemental Herbology Cell Plumping Facial Moisturiser Spf8 - This is a brand I've seen in Space NK and is probably the product I was happiest to see in this box. I've recently run out of moisturiser and have been putting off buying a new one so I'll be using this straight away. At 30ml it's a nice size sample for a luxury branded moisturiser.

4. MakeBelieve 'enhance' cream highlighter - This product is from a brand of tanning experts so is presumably designed to enhance your skin to give it a healthy glow for the summer. I am a fan of cream highlights and only have one that I use regularly so I'll definitely be giving this one a try. My only concern is that the sheen looks to be quite a frosty one so perhaps this is one for the night time.

Beauty Extra: Doctor Duve Anti-Aging & Firming eye cream sachets

Lifestyle Extra: Kushmi Detox Tea- I always find it quite random when they include food-y samples in the boxes but I do like trying new teas so this will get used up (if it's nice).

Swatch of the nameless OPI polish:

All in all a decent box this month full of products that I'll be using straight away.

What do you think of this months Birchbox?

Did you get similar contents in your box?

If you're not already subscribed would this box persuade you?

Rachel x

Essie 'Cute as a Button' and 'Mint Candy Apple' dupes for £1.79

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:34:00 +0000

So Spring is here (debatable) and all of the drugstore brands are hitting us with their selection of spring shades for the nails. Pastels aren't usually something that particularly excite me, but when I spot a dupe for something as popular as one of Essie's cult shades for such a low price, I think it's worth picking up so at the very least I can let others know about it.

I have a few of the NYC quick dry polishes already as I think they have a really nice shade range and when I was a student, the £1.79 price tag was perfect for a quick nail fix on a budget. I also much prefer these polishes to the drugstore nail ambassadors Barry M. I'm not a huge fan of the Barry M formula or lasting power, so at around half the price I'm happy there's another budget brand with decent quality nail polishes.

Without further ado, here are the two polishes which could be considered dupes for the notorious Essie 'mint candy apple' and 'cute as a button'.

NYC quick dry nail polish: 320 Blue Sky, 300 Spring Tulip.

I don't actually own Essie's 'mint candy apple' myself but have seen enough pictures of it online for the colour to be permanently fixed in my imaginary colour palette. From what I can tell, NYC's '320 Blue Sky' is not an exact dupe for Mint candy apple, because as the name would suggest, it leans more blue than mint. If you are a fan of light blue/minty shades this is a really pretty one that you may enjoy.

NYC 'Spring Tulip' and Essie's 'Cute as a button' without flash

As for NYC's 'Spring Tulip' you can see for yourself what a close dupe it is for Essie's 'cute as a button'. The Essie polish is SLIGHTLY darker in the bottle but they look like the same colour on the nails.

NYC 'spring tulip' and Essie's 'Cute as a button' with flash:

And as if the price of these polishes isn't low enough, they are currently on offer in Superdrug on 2 for £2.99.

Hopefully this post will be useful if you are looking for some pretty spring nail polishes on a budget.

Rachel x

L'oreal Confetti Top Coat

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:23:00 +0000

A little while ago Illamasqua came out with their 'speckle' polishes from the Im-perfection collection which seem to have captured the eyes and hearts of beauty-junkie's everywhere. I have to admit I was amongst this gaggle googling swatches to salivate over, but with so many nail polishes already in my collection I found it hard to pay out the hefty Illamasqua price tag for one more polish.

Cue L'oreal saving the day with their dupe, the 'Confetti' topcoat. For those of us not willing to part with £14.50 for one of the Illamasqua polishes, at around £5 this topcoat serves as a purse-friendly alternative. Of course the two polishes are not exactly same, the Illamasqua option has a built in base colour and and the Loreal topcoat has the addition of white speckles as well as black. The absence of a base colour with the Confetti top coat could be seen as a pro or a con depending on how you look at it, whilst there is one extra step to the process you also have your choice of any colour to pair it with.

So although the two are not exactly twins (they could be cousins), for a 1/3 of the price I am very happy with my choice to go for the Loreal Confetti top coat.

As a base I used O.P.I Nail Envy and as a base colour I used this lilac KIKO polish (it doesn't have a shade name)

So with a couple of coats of colour and one coat of the Confetti top coat, here's what my nails look like:

I really like this Top Coat and find that as well as adding a pretty effect to any colour on your nails, it makes them feel sturdy and chip-resistant.

What are your opinions on the L'oreal Confetti topcoat?

Did you opt for the Illamasqua speckles, the cheap and cheerful L'oreal option, or could you not help yourself and went for both? ;)

Rachel x

March 2013 Birchbox UK

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:57:00 +0000

Today marks the second month for Birchbox UK and my first month as a Birchbox subscriber! My year-long Glossybox subscription has just ended, and in it's place I now have a 12 month subscription to Birchbox. Coming from the other side of the pond I'll find it hard not to make comparisons between the two camps but for now I'll just focus on what I got in my first box.

There were no full size products in this box, only sample sizes. I have written the cost of the full sizes next to the product names.

A nice little addition to the boxes is the Birchbox magazine. I was always slightly envious when subscribed to Glossybox seeing the Joliebox subscribers get their Jolie mag every month so I'm happy to finally be part of the gang and look forward to having a flick through the glossy mag later.

Inside the box you get a little draw string bag containing the products and a couple of information cards with the products and brief descriptions written on them.

A Sneak peek inside the draw string bag

And here are the Sample's that I received in my box:

1. RMK cleansing balm (full size costs £29) - This cleansing balm has a heavy rose scent to it which might not be to everyone's taste but I've had good experiences with skincare containing rose so have positive associations with the smell. I have heard a little about RMK before and from what I gather it is quite a luxury brand. I've been loving using my Emma Hardie cleansing balm for a while now so look forward to giving this one a try and seeing how it compares.

2. La Sultane De Saba body lotion with Argan Oil (full size £26.50) - This body lotion has a gentle, clean smell and it will be nice to try a body product with Argan Oil in it as I am so used to only using Argan Oil in my hair. The problem with body products this size is that you can't really get a good enough trial out of them to see if they are worth buying.

3. Laura Geller Inkwell Waterproof Gel Liner - I love my black gel liners and have been pretty faithful to the Maybelline one for a good year now. Laura Geller is an intriguing brand that I've seen pop up on QVC before (they are famous for their baked blushers) so I look forward to giving this liner a good test when my Maybelline one is on its last legs.

4. Molten Brown Navigations Through Scent - Valbonne (full size £65) - As far as perfume samples go, I am very happy to see this one appear in my box. I am a big fan of the Molten Brown Navigations through Scent range and already have the full sizes of two perfumes from the line. I love the descriptive story behind the notes in each perfume and how those notes correlate to the destination the perfume is named after. This must be a new fragrance in the line as I've not seen it before, and I can tell you that from one spray I am slightly in Love. With notes of bergamot, orange flower, mimosa, rose, vetiver and leather this fragrance is described as 'Spontaneous. Elegant. Chic.'

5. Yu-Be Moisturising Skin Cream (full size £19.50) - This is one of those cult multi-purpose products than can be used as a moisturiser, a lip balm or a balm for chapped and dry skin. I have been given a couple of samples of this in the past from Space NK and I have to say, it boggles my mind a little. As a lip balm I found it has too much slip to it and seems to disappear almost instantly. I am yet to find my use for this but if anything I think I will end up using it on my hands.

And these are the two 'Beauty Extra's' that came in the box.

1. Sanctuary 30 day Thermal Transformation Mask

2. Lindt heart filled with Chocolate truffles (Don't mind if I do!)

All in all I am very happy with my first box from Birchbox and think is has a nice array of products. I was particularly excited to see the RMK cleansing balm in there and am really happy that the perfume sample included was one I turned out to really like (I usually hate receiving perfume samples as they are never to my taste).

I was a little heartbroken when I checked the Birchbox hashtag on Instagram and saw that some boxes contained beauty blenders, but a little disappointment comes with the beauty box territory sometimes if you go hunting for spoilers like me!

Did any of you get the March Birchbox?

What do you think of the contents this month?

Rachel x

Discount Dainty Doll Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:25:00 +0000

It came to my attention a few days ago that there were Dainty Doll products being sold extremely cheaply on Amazon (we're talking MUA prices), and after blasting out a sceptical tweet it emerged that fragrancedirect were also selling the products for dirt cheap.

Having previously tried a blush from this brand I was familiar with the product quality and jumped at the chance to grab a few discounted items. After frantically googling swatches of a few products, I settled for one powder blush, the notorious pale girl contour shade 'money talks', two cream blushers and a lipstick. With the prices being around £1.99 all of this came to under £10 including P&P. Considering the Dainty Doll blush I already own cost me £13.50 from boots I think this was a bloody good deal!

So here is what I got...

If you don't know much about the brand Dainty Doll I'll give you a quick briefing: It was a brand developed by Nicola Roberts (a very pale red-head) from the British girl group Girls Aloud to provide makeup suitable for paler-skinned ladies. The price range is mid-high end and the products can be found in selected Boots stores.

The cardboard packaging for Dainty doll products has a really pretty illustration and gold embossed 'Dainty Doll'.

The Product packing is a sleek matte black design (matte plastic not rubberised like Nars packing) with gold writing. I am a big fan of the packaging and because of how compact the blush packaging is I find I am more likely to pick these out of my collection over other bulkier blushers for taking on a weekend away or holiday. This is no hinderance on how much product you get as the powder blush contains 7g of product compared to the 6g of a standard sized Mac Blush.

The only issue I have with the product packaging is that the actual product name isn't on it, only a number. You have to check the side of the cardboard packaging to see the shade names.

L to R: Powder blush in '003 Money Talks', Cream blush/bronzer in '003 Billion Dollar Babies', Cream blush in '002 Orange County Girl'.

'Money Talks' Powder Blush: After hearing so much about this shade being dubbed the ultimate pale girl contour shade by Daisy of DaisyNation, this was the first product I knew I had to have. I previously held off on buying this because of the price and being a little unsure, but after nabbing it for £1.99 I'm convinced I've got myself the deal of the century. The shade is an extremely cool toned taupe-y brown with fine shimmer. When swatched the shimmer doesn't translate too much and instead gives more of a satin effect making it perfect for a contour shade.

'Billion Dollar Babies' cream bronzer/blush: This blush was a bit of a gamble as I couldn't tell the colour clearly from online swatches, but after seeing it described as a cream bronzer shade I couldn't resist for the price. Now I have it, this is the product I am probably most excited about. I have been so into cream cheek products at the moment and as it gets closer to spring/summer a cream bronzer is exactly what I was after! Similar to 'Money talks' this is a very cool toned almost taupe-brown shade making it perfect for contour.

'Orange County Girl' cream blush: Not much to say about this shade other than it's a pretty peachy pink with gold shimmer. It is pretty much an exact colour match of the Dainty Doll powder blush I already have called '004 you are my sunshine', so if you prefer powder blushers go for that one and vice versa.

L to R: 'Money Talks' powder blush, 'Billion Dollar Babies' cream blush, 'Orange County Girl' cream blush.

'003 It's My Party' Lipstick: The lipstick is (quite obviously) a bright pink. The colour is not particularly unique but it is a really fun shade. I Imagine this colour would look stunning on all skin tones as well as pale skinned girls. As far as the formula goes, I have only tried it on once but from that application I can tell you that it is very pigmented. I would compare it to a Mac Amplified finish in pigmentation but it is slightly drier to apply than amplified so probably more like the satin-finish texture.

Lip swatchy swatch of 'It's my Party'.

So that brings me to the end of my bargain Dainty Doll haul and all the products that I got for under £10.

I hope you found this post useful if you were considering a dainty doll purchase, and if you didn't already know about the cheap deals for this brand floating around the web, then what are you waiting for...go shop!

Any Questions, please ask :)

Rachel x

International ladies night - FOTN

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 09:19:00 +0000

What better way to celebrate International Women's Day than by getting together with your best girlfriends for a few drinks!

So this is just another quick FOTD post (I will supply something of more substance soon, I promise) to show you what was on my face last night.

Face: Bourjois Healthy Mix serum foundation - 51 light vanilla

Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer- 1 fair

Rimmel match perfection powder- transparent

Bobbi brown bronzer - Golden Light

Mac Blush - Style

Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

Eyes: Mac Charcoal brown eyeshadow (brows)

Mac eyeshadow - Nylon (inner corner/brow bone highlight)

Burberry eyeshadow - Chestnut (lid/lower lash line)

Mac eyeshadow - Woodwinked (centre lid/ lower lash line)

Maybelline gel liner- black

Loreal volume million waterproof mascara

Lips: Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil - Dolce Vita

Rachel xx

Face and Nails of the day 05/03/13

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:14:00 +0000

If there is anyone still reading, I know I have been off of the blogging radar for a LONG time and I can only apologise for that. I have no real excuses to offer but you could say I lost my blogging mojo. Whilst at university last year I found myself more motivated to make videos for my Youtube channel, and any extra writing was starting to feel like a chore for me.

Skip to now... It's been a few months, I finished my degree and I have no excuses anymore. I'm trying to get my life sorted out (call it a late new years resolution) and a large part of that is self-motivation. I am hoping that if I throw myself back into a hobby that I used to really enjoy, then the rest will follow.

I'm not making any promises of regular posts every day and I can't say that I won't drop off the radar again, but I am going to try.

So here I am, easing myself back in with a good old Face of the day. All products listed at the end.

Before I show you my mug here's whats on my nails:

I painted my nails with my Red Carpet gel manicure kit, using the colour 'Ooo La liscious'. The colour looks a bit more red on the camera but in real life it is a gorgeous coral and I can't wait to wear this shade in the summer.

I am fixated on trying to bring out any hint of green eyes lately (I should just give in and admit that my eyes are actually more brown than green) so today I went for a bronze cream base and warm brown eyeshadow to try and bring out that 'green'.

Once I had created the brown eye look I added a touch of Mac 'Woodwinked' eyeshadow to the centre of the lids to add a bit more dimension.

And this picture with flash is just to show the glow that the cream cheek products add.

Products used:

Nails: Red Carpet Manicure gel polish 'Ooo La Liscious'

Face: Bourjois Healthy mix serum foundation - 52 light vanilla

Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer - 01 fair

Rimmel stay matte powder - Translucent

Bobbi Brown Pot rouge - Powder Pink

Jemma Kidd dewy glow radiance cream - Rose Gold

Eyes: Mac 'Charcoal brown' eyeshadow (brows)

Maybelline creaseless cream shadow 'Bad to the bronze' (base)

Burberry eyeshadow 'Chestnut' (lid & lower lash line)

Mac eyeshadow 'Woodwinked' (centre of lid)

Inika organic eyeliner - Coco (waterline)

Loreal Volume million lashes waterproof mascara

Lips: Nars Velvet matte lip pencil - Dolce Vita

And there you have it!

Thanks for reading xx

Lush recycling for a Free Face mask :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 10:34:00 +0000

If you are a major Lush-y like me I'm sure you will be aware and have taken full advantage of their black pot recycling scheme. If not, the idea is that you use up 5 of their products in black pots and take them back to Lush to recycle and swap for a free fresh face mask of your choice. I think this is a great scheme because before I became obsessed with Lush and aware of this deal I was probably less conscious of recycling than I am now. I am now so particular with my recycling that I labelled myself 'Queen of Recycling' at uni (no one else called me that...how sad.)

So I think it's a great idea of Lush to give incentive to recycle as it gets you into the positive habit and you get a free little treat every once in a while.

Here are the empty products I took back:

For a few weeks previous to visiting Lush I'd had a terrible breakout around my chin so was considering choosing the 'Cosmetic Warrier' face mask which has garlic in it (gross I know- but it acts as an antiseptic for problem skin), but by the time I went to Lush the breakout had calmed down slightly so I went for my old favourite, 'Catastophe Cosmetic'.

This mask is still great for troubled skin as the packaging will tell you, 'When disaster looms, Catastrophe Cosmetic calms and cleanses the skin. Blueberries rich in beneficial anti-oxidants, soothing chamomile, Irish moss and gentle cleansing action of calamine to save the day'. I agree with the claims this product makes as it is wonderfully soothing on the skin (especially straight out of the fridge) and leaves your skin feeling fresh and smooth. But for me the best part of this mask and the reason I keep going back to it has to be the smell. It has a delicate floral tinged blueberry smell which leaves a sweet scent to your skin for a little while after, which only adds to the feeling of cleanliness.

And here's a cheeky shot of me smothered in face mask. I have to say, of all the Lush face masks this one is probably the most attractive looking on the skin (if that's possible), so pick this one if you don't want to give your boyfriend TOO much of a scare!

Which one of the Lush face masks is your favourite?

Rachy xxx

My A/W Berry Lip Picks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:54:00 +0000

If you have been watching any of my Youtube videos over the summer you will know that I have not shut up about coral lipsticks. But the seasons are inevitably changing and as much as I love my coral lipsticks, I am a serious Autumn/Winter person. So at the first hint of frost last week, I dug out my spicy Christmas candles and woolly jumpers and sectioned off the berry lipsticks in my collection.

As a pale girl the berry lip trend seems to work in my favour, so I tend to take advantage and go all out with the bold shades. That said, there are so many different shades of red/plum/purple out there so whatever your skin tone, this trend can work for you, it's just about picking the right shade.

So here are a handful of my favourite Berry lip colours, ranging in price from drugstore to high-end and ranging in shade from tomato red to Gothic blue-purple!

L to R: Nars Velvet matte lip pencil-Cruella, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable balm stains- Crush & Romantic, Revlon lip butter- Red Velvet, Rimmel Kate Moss Lasting finish Matte lipstick- 107, Mac Pro longwear lipcreme- goes and goes, Mac lipstick- Rebel.

L to R: Revlon- Red Velvet, Revlon- Romantic, Crush, Mac- Rebel, Rimmel- 107, Nars- Cruella, Mac- Goes and Goes.

Revlon Lip Butter- Red Velvet

I'm sure you've all heard the Revlon lip butters talked to death so I'll keep it short. Gimmicks aside this is a lovely moisturising brown toned berry red. You can wear it sheer or build it up like I've done in the picture. Because it's a lip balm it is easy and comfortable to wear and fades evenly.

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains - Romantic & Crush

Again Revlon has done good with the massively popular 'kissable balm stains' and I was really impressed by the formula of these. They are the right amount of glossy without being tacky and last extremely well on the lips leaving them stained when the product fades. As you can see I have had ALOT of use out of 'Romantic' over the summer and I am still very much in love with it so it is firmly in my handbag going into the colder months.

I actually only got the shade 'Crush' today (it has been hard to get hold of so I ordered it off good old EBay). As my first time wearing it I can tell this will be a go-to A/W Berry shade for me and I already know I love the formula.

Mac- Rebel (Satin Finish)

Mac's notorious berry shade

Everyone and their dog talks about this colour during the colder months and for good reason. It's a fun and flattering plum/purple shade which I like to wear subtly dabbed onto the lips with a lip balm as well as boldly. One thing I will say about Rebel is that because it's a Satin finish it can drag a bit with application so I have found that I prefer to Pat the product on layer by layer rather than swiping it across my lips.

Kate Moss for Rimmel Lasting finish - 107

At £5.49 from Boots and Superdrug this is the cheapest of my berry lips picks but by no means is it inferior in quality. It has a pleasant watermelon scent and for a matte lipstick it glides on really nicely and is not at all drying. The shade is a really pretty berry red (getting sick of the word berry yet?), and I was surprised by how instantly I loved it. Out of all of the lipsticks mentioned, because of the price and the quality this is the one that I recommend you run out and buy.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil - Cruella

(Recently dubbed 'The Mother of all Matte Reds'- by me)

This photo doesn't quite do the lipstick justice but hopefully gives you an idea of how amazing this colour is. 'Cruella' is a Matte shade so is really on trend for A/W, and Nars has done brilliantly with the formula because it sits really comfortably on the lips, making it feel like you are wearing nothing. Another great thing about this product is that because it's a jumbo-pencil you can get precise application with no need for a matching lip liner.

When I wear this product I get a feeling of ultimate 20s glamour, like I am fresh out of the pages of Gatsby. Because of this I think Cruella will be my go-to Christmas lip colour as it is so easy to wear and who doesn't want to feel like a starlet around festive season.

This last lipstick is something of a Wild Card and remains in my collection from when I was a little more daring/wacky with colours. These days I mostly reserve it for Halloween and scaring off little kids. But here it is anyway, just in case it is up your alley:

Mac Pro Longwear Lipcreme- Goes and Goes

Not sure what else to say about this one other than "EEK what was I thinking", but if this shade does happen to tickle your fancy, I can assure you that the pro longwear lipcreme formula is very creamy and long wearing (obvs). It's a Gothic looking blue-toned purple with subtle shimmer that really doesn't translate onto the lips.

And those were my A/W Berry Lip picks!

Let me know what some of your favourite A/W shades & formula's are because I have a major berry yearning as of late.

Rachy x

April Glossybox - 'Natural Beauty'

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:23:00 +0000

This months Glossybox has come very late which I know alot of people weren't happy about (myself included, I was a little confused) but mine has finally arrived and I am really happy with this box. In aid of Earth month the theme of this months box is 'Natural Beauty', meaning that all of the products included are natural or organic in some way, they are 100% ethical and all of the packaging is biodegradable. I think this is a great idea, the box is really pretty and I am always interested to try more natural products having sensitive skin.
Here is my box and the products I recieved:

The main reason I am happy with this box is because of the large (200g) bottle of Coconut showergel. I love the Coconut scent and like recieving body wash because it is a necessity and means I don't have to buy it myself.
Having recently fallen in love with the Caudalie beauty Elixr I am also looking forward to trying out the sample of the 'Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum'.

As for the rest of the product, A brown eyeliner is definately something I will use and you can never have enough lipbalm.

Overall I really like this months box!
Let me know if you recieved this box/what products you got and what you thought of it!
Rachy x

Topshop glitter nail polish- Adrenalin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:46:00 +0000

I was in Topshop the other day, and on my way to pay I noticed that clever Topshop had put these extremely eye catching glitter nail polishes close to the till, and I couldn't resist! There was a silver colour and a pink colour Adrenalin and I went for the pink for a bit of a change.
This nail polish is totally worthy of a post to itself, so here goes:

Topshop nail polish- Adrenalin

I am absolutely in love with this nail polish, it is chocked full of irridescent and pink glitter of different sizes. I'm not a fan of sheerer glitter nails but this polish actually looks pretty with a sheer 1-2 coat. To get my nails how they are in the picture I applied 3-4 coats with the Seche Vite topcoat.

Thanks for reading!
Have any glitter polishes caught your eye recently?
Rachy xx

FOTD & NOTD- Nars Paramaribo and Madly, Maxfactor Fantasty fire

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:35:00 +0000

Hello! I did a spot of shopping the other day and treated myself to a couple of items from Nars. I only have one Nars eyeshadow duo which I love (but it is not the most wearable of duos) so I knew I would love whichever one I picked out, and I also wanted to buy my first Nars blush.

With the eyeshadow duo I was thinking for summer and went for Paramaribo from the new collection, which is made up of two gorgeous gold toned khaki greens, one darker than the other meaning I could use the duo to create a khaki smokey eye. I also went for this duo because I know these are the kind of shades that suit my colouring and greeny/hazel eyes.

As for the blush, when I was browsing the Nars blushes I was struck by how bold alot of them are, and that wasn't really what I was going for. Origionally I was looking at Luster but after the lady tried it on me with a REALLY heavy hand, I was put off and settled on the more muted Madly. I am SO glad I went for a sensible shade because now I have used it a couple of times I am in love! Because of my super-pale complexion this blush almost acts as a sculpting bronzey-blush and is really flattering.

So without further a-do here is a little collaged picture of said Nars products and my FOTD:

Products used:

Face: Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation-light vanilla (loving this foundation at the moment!), Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer- 1 fair, Nars Madly blush.

Eyes: Mac brow pencil- spiked, Bobbi brown corrector- porcelain bisque, Collection 2000 concealer, Too faced shadow insurance, Wet n wild walking on eggshells trio (highlight shade), Nars Paramaribo e/s duo, Mac pearglide eyeliner- Lord it up, Covergirl lash blast mascara- brown.
Lips: Estee Lauder lipstick- Crystal baby.

And now for the nails!

This is Maxfactor nail varnish in Fantasy Fire.
Ok so this nail varnish is really sheer and took a whopping 5 coats to build up to the colour in the picture, but I actually don't mind that. Considering the amazing effect the nail varnish gives and the drugstore pricetag, I don't mind putting in a little more effort for such pretty nails!

Thanks for reading!

If you like the collaged FOTD picture and have the Instagram app, go and follow me! @allthingsrachy I'm obsessed with Instagram so will be posting many more collaged FOTD pictures.

Also, I've been getting quite into making Youtube videos recently so check out my channel if you havn't already, I've been uploading hauls, favourites videos and spring picks :)
http://www.youtube.com/user/Allthingsrachy

FOTD- Spring pinks

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Hello everybody! Today I woke up and was feeling pink, so the makeup I went for includes a lot of glowy gold-pinks (accept the lips which are just straight up barbie pink). Excuse the bed hair!

Here's the look:

Once again Blogger isn't letting me put the curser to type at the bottom of the post, if anyone knows how to solve this please tell me in the comments :(

So I'll have to list the products up here:

Face: Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation- 51 light vanilla, Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer- 1 fair, Sleek Blush by 3 'lace'- Guipure, Mac Fix +

Eyes: Mac brow pencil- spiked, Too faced shadow insurance, Mac eyeshadows: Nylon (browbone & inner corner highlight), Gleam (lid), Paradisco (outer corner), Sketch (lower lash line), Loreal Super liner- hazel eyes, Prestige my blackest lashes mascara.

Lips:Revlon lip butter- 090 sweet tart.

My first Glossybox! February box

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:11:00 +0000

Hello everyone hope you are all well. I have been completely bogged down with essays after coming back from New York and my birthday so I havn't had much time to breath, but I've handed the essays in and now have a week or so of freedom! What makes me happier is that my freedom was marked by the arrival of my first glossybox this morning (may have screamed at the postman).

The reason my box is late is because I was gifted 12 months of Glossybox for my birthday on the 22nd february so ordered my first box quite late in the month.
I'm sure you've already seen some reviews but I can't quite contain my excitement at my very first Glossybox and had to do a post.
I'm also VERY excited for the March box, I've seen some sneek peeks of it and it's a very special looking collaboration box with Harrods! (so expect to see a post on that when it arrives)

For now, here is the February box:

Ok for some reason Blogger is buggering up so I have to write the rest of the post here :S

I am really happy with my first box and I was particularly intrigued to see the Paul Mitchell wild ginger styling oil and the Becca beach tint in watermelon.

I love the idea of hair oils and have been using the Lee Stafford one for a while now, but they are quite pricey to buy of so it was a nice treat to recieve one in the box (and I loveee ginger).
The Becca beach tint is exciting because I hear alot about these products through blogging but can't get hold of Becca easily myself. I have included a swatch at the end of the post. What I noticed is it blends in really nicely to the skin and becomes a subtle stain like consistency.

All in all a lovely box and I am excited for the next one!
Rachy xxx

MAC Viva glam Nicki Minaj

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Hello everyone, hope you are all well! If you follow me on twitter you will know that last week I was in New York, and I had an amazing time! The sights were amazing and the city was beautiful (Brooklyn bridge was perhaps my favourite sight) and I did A LOT of shopping (mostly makeup) out there. It's my 21st birthday tommorow so I had some birthday spending money to take out there, and I didn't come back with a penny! (well..I came back with $1)

Hopefully my next post will be a makeup haul of what I bought out there, but for now I'm going to focus on one item; Mac Viva glam Nicki Minaj. The lipstick was launched while I was out there, and whilst I wasn't entirely sure on the colour I couldn't resist a cheeky limited edition impulse buy..and all of the proceeds from these lipsticks go to the MAC aids fund which is justification enough.
So for those of you in the UK waiting for the lipstick to be released, here's a sneak peak:

Viva Glam Nicki & Ricky billboard at Times Square

The lipstick is a satin finish which means it is slightly drying and you need moisturised lips. The Mac website describes the shade as a yellow-pink which is fairly accurate but I would say it has a touch of coral to it. Possibly comparible to Mac Impassioned.

Bit of a naff swatch, but I suppose I should include one.
The lipstick looks alot more muted and wearable on than it looks in the tube, the colour you see in the tube is quite scarey.

Overall I think this lipstick is a great buy if you are a fan of bright, unusual colours. There were a couple of darker skinned Mac ladies wearing it in store and it looked gorgeous on them so I think this lipstick would suit darker skintones well.

What do you think? Will you be buying Viva glam Nicki?

Rachy xxx

FOTD- natural look with false lashes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:33:00 +0000

Hello! Long time no see! (third year of uni and all that jazz, won't bore you with the details AGAIN)
So today procrastination has hit an all time low and I found myself applying false lashes on top of my normal makeup to avoid reading. The result looks surprisingly natural and is a look that would actually allow me to wear lashes in the day.
Here is the look:

Boots No7 lashes- 40 Intense Volume
I think I went a little mad when I decided to apply lashes, seeing as I'm not even going out of the house today (well I am going to see The muppets movie tonight..werhey!) but seeing how natural they look with my makeup has made me consider wearing lashes for daytime special occasions.

What I'm wearing:
Face: Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer, Mac Style blush, Mac Hush cream colour base
Eyes: Mac brow pencil-spiked, Too faced shadow insurance, Benefit creaseless cream shadow-skinny jeans, Mac Satin taupe e/s, Loreal Carbon gloss super liner, Soap and glory smoulder kohl (smudged into outer lower lash line), Tarte lights camera lashes mascara, No7 40 intense volume lashes.

Lips: Clarins Instant light lip perfector- 02

Thanks for reading! I am going to New York for a week on Monday so will hopefully be back soon with a New York haul post :)
Rachy xxx

Last night's FOTD with No7 lashes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:58:00 +0000

Hello ladies hope you are all well and have had a nice start to 2012! Appologies for being a bit absent recently, I've just been settling back into uni and all that jazz.
Recently (well the last two nights out I've been on- and I shall be wearing them again tonight) I have been absolutly loving Boots No7 false lashes. If you havn't tried them before then now is a great time to try them out because boots are giving out the £5 No7 vouchers meaning you can pick up the lashes for just £2.50. I have taken full advantage of this deal and have picked up two pairs already and am going back today for another two!

As a girl who never usually bothers with lashes I am so impressed by the No7 falsies, the bands on the ones I tried are so thin and easy to apply and the glue they come with actually holds them in place for the whole night (no ends popping up or anything).

Trying these lashes was a bit of a HALLELUJAH moment for me because it means I am now able to wear lashes easily on nights out, knowing that I can apply them and they will stay on, and even better for £2.50!
The lashes Im wearing in these pictures are Number 30 exceptional definition (I should point out that this was my second wear of them and they were still in excellent condition) and I have also bought Number 40 Intense volume.
So here is the makeup look:

Products used:

Face: Estee Lauder double wear foundation- shell, Bobbi brown corrector- porcelain bisque (under eyes), Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer- 1 fair (under eyes), Too faced chocolate bronzer, Tarte Amazonian clay blush- blissful, Stila Kitten highlighter.

Eyes: Illamasqua brow cake- thunder, Mac e/s- Nylon (browbone & inner corner highlight), Benefit creaseless cream shadow- skinny jeans, Mac e/s- Satin taupe, Maybelline gel liner (Waterline and upper lashline), Cover girl lash blast volume mascara, No7 exceptional definition false lashes.

Lips: Mac Dervish Lipliner, 17 mirrorshine lipstick- beehive.

Rachy xxx

FOTD using Stila 'tis the season to dazzle' palette

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:40:00 +0000

Ever since I got all my pretty new makeup for Christmas I have been loving experimenting with all the different eyeshadow palettes and today I have used everything in the Stila 'tis the season to dazzle palette (including the blush & highlight) and liked the look I created so I thought I'd show you in a FOTD :)

Top to bottom, L to R: eyeshadows- candle, star, tinsel, wrapping, blush-cheer, highlighter- kitten.

So that was the look! I think all of the colours in this palette really compliment eachother and I was happy to see the kitten highlighter in it (which I now love!)

What else I'm wearing:
Face: Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation-51, Bobbi brown corrector-porcelain bisque, collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer-1 fair, Blush & highlight in palette.
Eyes: Illamasqua brow cake-thunder, Too faced shadow insurance, Benefit creasless cream shadow- skinny jeans (as a base), eyeshadows in palette, Maybelline gel liner, Covergirl lash blast mascara
Lips: Mac pro longwear lipcreme- overtime.

I think this palette is really cute and sleek and is such a good idea as it has all things you need for a party look or even a slightly more dramatic daytime look which is what I have done. I will definately be keeping an eye out for more of these little palettes.

Rachy xxx

Christmas Prezzies :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:24:00 +0000

Hello everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas! I have eaten so much I can no longer move! I thought I'd share with you what presents I recieved because I got loads of beauty related products and this is a beauty blog afterall :)
First of all, if you saw my Christmas post last year you will know that Santa/my mum leaves me a big hamper of all the things I love instead of a stocking. So here is this years hamper:

Lots of Lush, chocolate, facemasks and Yankee wax tarts :)

And here are my presents. Theres a lot of American beauty products there because my mum visited America in October

L to R: Lush 'Mr Frosty', Tarte 'the starlett' boxset, nailvarnish (not sure what brand), Sephora by O.P.I 'glimmer wonderland' set, NYX glitter cream eyeshadow palette, CLARASONIC!, Yankee christmas candle set.

More American makeup; Lorac 'ooh la lace' palette, NYX eyeshadow palette, NYX jumbo eye pencils- french fries & dark brown, Wet n wild eyeshadow palettes- 'I'm feeling retro', 'petal pusher' and 'walking on eggshells', Stilla palette- 'tis the season to dazzle'.

MORE makeup: Mac lipliner- subculture, Estee Lauder doublewear foundation- shell, Benefit creaseless cream shadow- 'skinny jeans', Tweezerman tweezers, Bobbi brown corrector- porcelain bisque, Mac mineralize eyeshadows- 'shimmermint' and 'hold that pose!', Shu Uemura eyelash curlers.

Molten brow navigations through scent purfume- Iunu, Lush snow fairy gift set.

And a new charm for my Thomas Sabo bracelet, 'orca'.

So there you have it, that is all of my beauty related Christmas presents, I was very spoilt and now have alot more makeup to play with in the new year :)
I am so excited to start using the Clarasonic, it couldn't have come at a better time because my skin has been a nightmare!

What did you get for Christmas?
Rachy xxx

Party eyes & Mac club dupe for £2.50!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:03:00 +0000

Hello again :) Today I wanted to share with you a recent find which I am really impressed with. if you are familiar with Superdrugs' MUA (makeup academy) range you'll know that its super cheap and has quite a range of colours. The other day I spotted this really pretty eyeshadow trio for £2.50 and thought I'd pick it up to test and review if it was any good, which it is! First of all £2.50 is bloody amazing, that works out at 75p an eyeshadow!
I also noticed that the darkest shade in this trio is a possible Mac club dupe (I know there are loads out there, but it doesnt hurt to have one for £2.50).
So here are some pictures of the look I created with this duo followed by swatches and a swatch comparison with club.
MUA 'Innocence' eyeshadow trio

Highlight shade, lid shade & crease shade.. simples!

scuse the crazy hair lol! Wearing Mac Rebel on my lips.

MUA/Mac Club comparison:

The MUA shade is on the left and Mac club on the right. The red undertones are more apparent in the MUA shade, and I actually prefer it to club.

Overall I am really impressed with this eyeshadow trio. You wouldn't expect the most amazing quality for £2.50 but it really is decent!
This trio would make a great last minuite stocking filler or treat for yourself, so if your local superdrug stocks MUA I suggest you run out and snap this trio up!

Rachy x

Christmas Card making

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:10:00 +0000

Hello there! I thought I'd share with you what I've been up to today..making Christmas cards :) I love making Christmas and birthday cards for close family members and friends each year because I think it adds a personal touch and handmade cards might stand out from the other cards people recieve (winning you extra points ;)
So today it was my mission to make cards for a list of people, and with the aid of the complete Les Miserables soundtrack..my mission is now complete!

I have a huge box of card making stuff that I've built up over the last couple of years so I dug around to look for Christmassy things, and I also used Christmas stickers and postcards from Paperchase, present tags and a Christmas cardmaking kit from Marks & Spencers.

And heres the mess I've left behind...

... better get that tidied before mum gets home!

Rachy xxx

Christmassy FOTD- Gold eye & berry lip

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 11:50:00 +0000

Hello everyone! I am finally back home for the Christmas holidays and am feeling very relaxed, so you can expect loads of Christmassy posts for the next month :)
Today I am going out for a carvery (yum) but as I have loads of spare time now I thought I'd make some effort and do some pretty Christmas makeup.
I decided to use Mac's Honeylust eyeshadow after watching one of Nikkie Tutorial's videos where she used the eyeshadow wet with fix+ then applied it dry over the top. I am so glad she shared this technique as I have previously found it IMPOSSIBLE to work with Honeylust and with the fix+ technique it came out lovely!
So here is my FOTD:

Face: Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation- 51, Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer- mix of 1 fair & 2 light, Too faced chocolate soleil bronzer, Natural Collection blush- peach melba, Mac MSF- soft and gentle.

Eyes: Illamasqua brow cake-thunder, Too faced shadow insurance, Mac e/s- Nylon (browbone, inner corner) Honeylust (Lid: applied wet with Mac fix+ then applied dry over the top), Stila e/s bliss & sandstone (crease & lower lashline), Stila smudgestick eyeliner- damsel (upper & lower lashlines), Covergirl lash blast mascara.

Lips: Mac lipstick- Rebel

Hope you liked this look! I look forward to sharing more of my Christmas FOTD's with you, expect to see alot of gold and glitter :)

Rachy xxx

Celeb Inspired Makeup: Jessie J

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Hello everyone, hope you are all well! For a while now I have been admiring Jessie J's makeup looks and have wanted to try one out, so when I saw her live performace of 'who you are' on youtube and fell in love with the look, I knew it was time to give it a try! If you are familiar with Jessie J's makeup looks you'll know that they are very creative and often involve bright pink or red lips and lots of gemstones, and I happen to be a big fan of a bright bold lip.
This look doesn't involve too many gemstones or craziness so I thought it would be a good one for me to try out, but that said it did take me bloody ages!
Here are a couple of screenshots I took from the video to show you the look I'm going for, followed by pictures of my attempt (I had to use flash because for some reason I decided to do this makeup at about 11pm):

My attempt:

Now obviously I don't look anything like Jessie J (don't have the fringe for a start) but I tried my best on the makeup. There were so many pretty neautrals on her eyelids I just had to work with what colours I thought looked similar. Also I stuck 2 little gemstones under each eye with eyelash glue, instead of Jessie's tear shaped ones...because who really has tear shaped gemstones?
As I said, the makeup look did take quite a long time, there was A LOT of blending to do on the eyes and I mixed some colours, so I'll list the products I used but you may have to use your imagination a little :)

Face: Bourjois healthy mix serum foundation- 51 light vanilla, collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer-1 fair, Natural collection blush- peach melba, Jemma kidd dewy glow radiance cream- rose gold.

Eyes: Illamasqua brow cake-Thunder, Too face shadow insurance, Mac eyeshadows: Nylon (inner corner & brow highlight), Patina (lid) with a little bit of woodwinked to warm it up, Sable & Satin taupe (mixed in the crease), Twinks (crease & lower lash line), Stilla matte black-ebony (blended in outer v/crease & lower lash line), 17 liquid liner-black (line along lid, inner & outer corner flicks), Maybelline lasting drama gel liner- black (waterline), Covergirl lash blast mascara

Lips: Chanel Rouge Allure Laque- Dragon

Hope you liked the look, I suppose minus the gemstones it would make a nice Christmas party look with the golds and the red lips :)

Rachy xxx