Chrstmas FOTD!

YAYAYAYAY its finally here...Christmas!!! I got very spoilt this year, you'll notice the picture quality is now better which means..new camera :) I also got lots of pretty makeup and new breast cancer GHDs (I will be doing a post on all my prezzies in the next couple of days)

but for now, heres my FOTD (done using my new mac brushes and a couple of new products:) and hair of the day:

The Hair:

And here's what I used:

If you want to know the names of any of the products, just ask :)
Merry Christmas

Rachy xxx

Virtual makeover!

So this post is just a little bit of fun to keep me distracted at work.

The internet homepage at work is msn homepage and they have been advertising daily virtual makeovers in association with Boots, where you simply upload a picture and away you go!

For a giggle I had a go, and here's what i came up with:

(if you want to have a go yourself heres the link:)

http://dailymakeover.style.uk.msn.com/index.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0


The Hairdo is courtesy of Anne Hathaway, and the makeup I did myself (virtually) ;)

And now for a slightly more exotic look ;)...

Got bored at work again and madeover one of the boots models..wish I looked like that!

Sweet Soft Lips

This is just a quick post to distract me at work, But the topic is I think something worth a mention.

With all this harsh winter weather every girl (or boy-my boyfriend loves it!) needs to protect her lips from cracking and keep them soft. Although I am usually a carmex girl I thought I'd make a change when I saw the Vaseline with coca butter in Boots, and I am glad I chose to do so.

I was previously unaware of this new flavour so it came as a nice surprise, and at £1.50 it has been keeping my lips nice and soft at half of the price of Carmex.

The smell is also yummy, it reminds me of the smell of the caramel laces you get from Ikea :)

so If you want sweet soft lips at a good price I would recoment this little gem.

FOTD, warm & christmassy

So its essay time again and you know what that means...I do a blog post to avoid doing work!

I said that over the Christmas period I would start experimenting more with glitter and shimmer, and this look is a start on that. Really I wanted to try a full on look with my Copper pigment because I dont think ive used it to its full potential yet.

Overall i am very happy with this look :)

Face: Mac mineralize foundation NW20, Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural, Mac mineralize skin finish- soft and gentle, number 17 blush and glow- peaches and cream

Eyes: Benefit instant brow- medium, Mac prep+prime eye base- light, Urban decay eyeshadow- midnight cowboy, Mac pigment- Copper sparkle (mixed with) Urban decay eyeshadow transforming potion, Mac pearlglide eyeliner- Lord it up, Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips: Mac venemous villains creamsheen lipstick- innocence, beware!, Mac dazzleglass creme- Smile.

December looks

So you may have noticed that its December, and you know what that means....CHRISTMAS! For me there is no better time to experiment with makeup looks than christmas (the greens, reds and golds, the glitter), so this post is a result of that.

These looks are just a start, I intend to do some more soon with more glitter and cooler colours, so keep your eyes peeled!

Look 1 (my favourite of the looks ;)

Face:
Mac mineralize satinfinish foundation- NW20
Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural
Mac mineralize skinfinish- Soft and Gentle

Eyes:
Benefit instant brow pencil- Medium
Mac prep+prime eye base- Light
Loreal ColorAppeal eyeshadow- Golden Beige
Rimmel eyeshadow- 180 Gold rush
Urban Decay eyeshadow- Chopper
Loreal super liner carbon gloss- Carbon black
Mac eye Kohl- Smoulder
Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips:
Mac lipliner- Beet
Mac satin lipstick- Rebel


Look 2: (because of the picture quality you cant see too well but this look is very glowy)


Face:
Foundation & concealer as before
Mac mineralize skinfinish- soft and gentle
Mac pigment- copper sparkle

Eyes:
Brow pencil as before
Mac prep+prime eye base- light
Loreal ColorAppeal eyeshadow- Golden beige (corners)
Rimmel eyeshadow- 180 gold rush
Urban Decay eyeshadow- chopper
Mac pigment- Copper sparkle
Mac pearlglide eyeliner- Lord it up
Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips:
Mac Lustre lipstick- Cut a caper


Look 3: (probably the most festive of the looks)


Face:
Foundation & concealer as before
Mac venemous villains beauty powder- Oh so fair
Bourjois blush- 33 Lilas D'or

Eyes:
Brow pencil as before
Mac prep+prime eye base- light
Urban decay eyeshadow- Acid rain
Mac pearlglide eyeliner- Undercurrant
Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips:
Gosh velvet touch lipstick- 60 Lambada
Too busy to be beautiful body glitter- Red





Rachy x

Happy shopper

So there was a free gift deal in the number 17 section in Boots today and I decided to check it out. The deal was spend £6 and geta free eyeshadow palette. I know free gifts can sometimes be abit naff so i opened it up to have a look and i loved it!

I bought a gold glitter liner (cause i was feeling festive) and a pretty blush duo called 'peaches and cream' and got my lovely 'glam rock eyeshadow palette' free.

I am especially happy with the palette because it contains all the sorts of colours that i go for on a night out, and comes complete with a mirror :)

so here it is:

Leopard lady!

Leopard Lady!

So this afternoon I was so bored I decided to turn myself into a leopard!...(as you do)

And here is the result:

This is what i used:

Face:

maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural

Mac mineralize foundation- NW20

Mac mineralize skin finish powder- soft and gentle (alot of it!)

Mac pigment- Copper sparkle

Mac pearlglide intense eyeliner- Lord it up (for the spots and whiskers)

Eyes:

Mac prep + prime eye- light

Loreal colour appeal eyeshadow- golden beige (inside corners of eyes)

Rimmel eyeshadow- 180 Gold rush

Mac pigment- Copper sparkle

Mac pearlglide intense eyeliner- Lord it up

Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips:

Mac dazzleglass creme- Smile

My Minerals

A Brief guide to/praise of mineral makeup

Lately I have become more and more aware of mineral makeup and have discovered that with the mineral products i have bought myself, i am definatly interested in trying out more. The items that I own and will describe are all items that I have mentioned in previous posts, but I will mention them again as this is a post soley devoted to mineral makeup :)

So here is my modest mineral collection:

(I will describe the products from left to right)

1.) Mac Venemous Villains mineral eyeshadow duo- she who dares

This is a gorgeous glittery eyeshadow duo with a shimmery navy blue and a shimmery dark green. Being a student, I am out clubbing more often than not so i was instantly attracted to the dark shimmery tones, perfect for the evening.

(see my Emerald eyes post to see the green on me)

2.) Mac mineralize satinfinish spf15 foundation- NW20

This was my first Mac foundation and I have to say I love it. I have quite good skin so I didnt want a foundation that was too thick, and if you are like me then this foundation is perfect. It has a slight shimmer to it, which some people don't like as it can make them look shiney but I am a girl who likes abit of shimmer, it's perfect for posey photos ;) I got the NW20 shade when I had a slight tan so I am more of a NW15 now.

3.) Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural

I have always been a sufferer of dark circles under my eyes, and being a user of concealer since I was about 12, I have gone through more concealer brands than I care to mention. Some can be too thick and sticky, but this one is not that. It is the perfect colour for me, which is rare, and it stays put and can be topped up and still look great. After many years of searching, this is the concealer I have settled on and am now on my third tube. (its also nice and cheap!)

4.) Mac mineralize blush- Hang loose

This is the blusher I purchased when i was going through my lilac phase (see loving lilac post) and I am not regretting the purchase. As you can already tell I love abit of a shimmer and a glow, and this blush is perfect for that. It is also lovely and light reflecting in photos.

And a couple of mineral products that are on my christmas list:

On the left we have the Mineralize skinfinish in soft and gentle. I tried this on my hand in store and it is gorgous and glowy and i hope to look like a goddess when I have on for my own :)

On the right we have the Mineralize eyeshadow duo in odd couple. I love the colours in this duo and they will go down a treat with my other lilac products.

There are also a couple of mineral eyeshadow trios on my list.

One thing I would like to leave you with about mineral eyeshadow duos/trios is that in my opinion, they are alot better value than the regular mac eyeshadow pots. One little regular pot is £11, and for £4 pound more you get not one, but two or three colours in one (much bigger) pot. And in my opinion, the mineral eyeshadows are more luxurious.

Rachy x

Prized possesions

My Lipstick collection Swatches

Those close to me know that one of the things I am most obsessed with, and I will often not shut up about, is Lipstick. Whether it be Mac, (it mainly is) benefit, or Number 17, I just cannot get enough of the stuff. If asked to choose my favourite lipstick, I am just not sure i coule give an answer, i would have to give a few. So I thought it was high time that i shared pictures of my growing collection.

Swatches:

The Reds:

I am ashamed to say I only really have 2 red lipsticks. I think the reason for this is purely because I became so dedicated to collecting pinks that i forgot all about the importance of a good red lipstick. Not to worry, there are a couple on my xmas list!

1. Mac (frost)- New york apple

2.Gosh- 60 Lambada

The Pinks:

As i just mentioned I am very dedicated to my collecting of pretty pink lipsticks, which I am however trying to calm down at the moment! so here they are:

3. Mac hello kitty (frost)- 05 bombshell
4. Mac (amplified)- Chatterbox

5. 17 lasting fix- dreamy

6. Mac (lustre)- Viva Glam Gaga

7. Mac pro longwear lipcreme- Overtime

The Neutrals:

The neautal swatches are obviously harder to see, but they are just as important :)

8. Mac Venemous villains (cremesheen)- innocence, beware!

9. Benefit- Label lover

10. Mac Tartan tale (lustre)- Cut a caper

The purples:

Purples are my most recent obsession. As its coming to winter I am feeling the pale face and dark lipped look more and more, so these lipsticks are a result of that.

11. Mac Tartan tale (glaze) - Courting lilac

12. Collection 2000 lasting colour- 10 Berry blast

13. Mac longwear lipcreme- goes and goes

So there you have it, those are my babies. As I said earlier i could not choose my favourites if asked but i do reccomend the Mac longwear lipcremes as they feel lovely and really do last longer.

Rachy x

Emerald eyes

Yesterday i was feeling particularly happy with myself after finishing a tricky essay, so i decided this was a good reason to treat myself..(any excuse). So off i marched to Mac where i was immediately drawn to the new Pearglide intense eye liner in undercurrant from the new Tartan tale collection. It is a gorgeous green glittery colour and when i scribbled a bit on my hand it stayed really well and looked yummy. My eyes are green also so technically it would match (more justification)

So after about 30 seconds of deliberating i bought the pencil and trotted home to give myself a makeover.

apologies again for the poor quality pics but i only have my iphone at the moment.

This is my evening look:

Face

usual foundation, concealer & brow pencil

benefit peach blush

Eyes

Mac prep + prime eye base- light

Mac venomous villains mineralize eyeshadow- she who dares

Mac Tartan tale pearlglide eyeliner- undercurrant

Collection 2000 big fake lash

Lips

Mac venomous villains lipstick- Innocence, beware!

And now it's the morning after and i am wearing the eyeliner again for a daytime look:

Face:

usual foundation, conceiler & brow pencil

Mac Venomous villains beauty powder- oh so fair

Eyes:

Mac prep + prime eye base- light

Rimmel mono eyeshadow- 130 Gold rush

Mac pearglide eyeliner- Undercurrant

Collection 2000 big fake lash- black

Lips:

Mac Venomous villains lipglass- revenge is sweet

Loving Lilac

Loving Lilac

A couple of posts ago (mac mac mac!) i talked about my eagerness to get my grubby little mitts onto a couple of items from the new Mac Tartan Tale collection..and that i have done :)

Looking at the boxsets in the collection i have to say I wasnt too impressed. Other than the eye pigment and pot kits I thought the sets didnt seem very good value for money. I origionally wanted one of the blush palettes, but considering the price of them, the palette was very small so I am glad I didn't buy.

That said, I did fall in love with a couple of the products, and those were Courting lilac lipstick and Gone romancin' dazzleglass creme. (These products weren't supposed to be sold untill tomorrow but after a persuading little smile, the kind mac lady gave in.

To stick to the lilac theme i also treated myself to a gorgeous pink & lilac mineralize blush duo (hang loose) which happened to be limited edition and the last one in stock :)

Here are a couple of pictures of how the products turned out. (picture quality not so good) Along with the new lipstick/gloss and blush i am wearing my usual foundation, conceiler, brow pencil and a couple of lilacy urban decay eyeshadows.

Left- Lipstick, Right- dazzleglass creme

Vampire Ball

Makeup for the Vampire Ball

Tomorrow I shall be going to one of my usual haunts (the venue, Kent) for the Vampire ball. And I will be going as.....you guessed it: a vampire! I wanted to have vamptastic makeup so here are a couple of shots with what i have achieved in my practice session.

I Based the look on a youtube tutorial my friend sent me, changing things here and there according to my preferences and supplies. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KprYRO7gDFg

Note that this is not the complete look that i will be rocking tomorrow as i am yet to die my hair a very bright semi-perminant violette, hopefully making me look more vampy! Ill add pics of the complete look tomorrow.

So heres what i used:

Face:

Mac mineralize satinfinish foundation- NW20

Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural
number 17 stardust
Clinique grey eyeshadow (on cheek bones)
Urban Decay eyeshadow- Asphyxia, grifter (as highlighter on cheekbones)

Eyes
Mac prep + prime eye base- light
Urban decay eyeshadow- oil slick (on brows and lids)
Urban decay eyeshadow- last call, Flash
Urban Decay- Asphyxia, grifter (as highlighter on brow bone)
Mac eye kohl pencil- smoulder
Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips
Mac eye kohl- smoulder
Mac pro longwear lipcreme- goes and goes

Cape: Marks and spencers ;)

As promised here are a couple of pictures fromt he vampire ball of me and my boyfriend sean who kindly let me loose on his face :)

And here's the vodka jelly brain i made mwooohahaha:

Eau de NO!

The adverts i love to hate

Whilst turning the pages of heat magazine yesterday, I was suddenly hit in the face by one of my biggest annoyances; another celebrity perfume advertisement.
I know most people don’t take much notice of the actual content of those things, but I find myself getting so infuriated I either deface said advertisement (a moustache here and a gap tooth there) or just tear the whole thing to pieces. So here it is…

Number one on my perfume advertisement hitlist has to be..Miss Britney spears.
Here is my first example:

Incase you can't see the small writing, this purfume is called 'Britney spears circus fantasy'
The first time i saw this advert on tv i scoffed with laughter. I am aware that Britney brought out some kind of circus related album, but to bring out a circus purfume and stick the word 'fantasy' on the end of it....well i don't know about you, but that conjours up some very dubious images for me. keep it to yourself Britney!

Example numero 2:

(this is the advert i came across in heat yesterday)


Incase you can't see the writing on this one...the purfume is called 'radiance' and the description instructs you to 'choose your own destiny'.
Again i am struck with the unorigionality of this advert and would like to ask the question: what in hells bells has radiance got to do with choosing you own destiny??!
Did Britney hire a 5 year old to sit down with her crayons and scribble down the first thing that came to mind? because that really is what it seems like to me.

A third purfume by Britney is called 'curious' and comes with the motto 'are you in control?' Again; child-crayons? (she must be a very busy women to have a music career and be able to come up with all these inspirating mottos)

Lastly. Miss Scarlett johansson. I have always had quite a high regard for Scarlett as she seems like an intellegant woman and i have enjoyed a few of the films she has been in. I don't know if money was getting tight for her or what, but i am extremely dissapointed that she would get involved with an ad campagn as dire as this one...



(sorry if this video didnt come up here is the youtube link:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NKzTqCNx84&feature=related

the dialogue in this clip is as follows:
"im looking, i dont know what im looking for. Maybe everything, maybe nothing. But i'll know when I find it. You know when It's the one, thats the one."

Not only is this grammatically shite, it sounds like a GCSE English student has been told to go away and write a poem..written this...then thrown it in the bin because its not good enough.

Other offenders include Paris Hilton, Mariah carey, Katie price, Coleen rooney and god knows how many others. I hope i have opened your eyes to the frustrating drivel in these advertisment s, and Britney, I'm sorry if my little blog has hindered your purfume sales. My solution: STOP!!! PLEASE!

P.S sorry to my boyfriend who has to listen to a 5 minuite rant about "HOW FRIGGING IRRELIVENT THIS IS" every time i come across one of these adverts...maybe i should stop reading heat?

Face of the day: Feeling pink

I woke up this morning feeling particularly girly. Considering i'm not a very girly person (other than my makeup and pink lipstick obsession), this is my attempt at a girly pink face.

Face:

Mac mineralize satinfinish spf15 foundation- NW20
Mac Oh so fair beauty powder

Eyes:
Mac prep + prime eye - light Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural
Benefit instant brow pencil - medium to dark
urban decay eyeshadow-grind, shotgun
Loreal eyeliner-brown
Loreal volume million lashes-black

Lips
Lush snow fairy lip tint

mac mac mac!

I Walked into my local Mac store today, feeling cheeky and wanting to buy a couple of things, so i picked a couple out and took those things up to the counter ..and only then did my eyes meet the shiny new display of the Tartan Tale christmas collection boxsets! So i ask the lady if she could show me one, she replied "oh, i shouldn't really but go on then.." and took down the small yellow tartan boxset and opened it up. Inside was a gorgeous lilacy-purple pigment, a darker purple paint pot and a mini mascara and eyebrush, all accompanyed by a pretty tartan pouch to put it all in. Now im not much of a tartan kinda gal but these items bore no real resembelance to tartan, and i even found myself liking the little tartan pouch!

Lets just say it was love at first sight for me and this mini boxset, and i could envision myself running home clutching my Mac bag eager to perfect my purple sparkly eyes which would go perfectly with the maleficent revenge is sweet lipglass....alas. The kind lady informed me that I would not be allowed to buy the collection untill November 4th, so the pretty display was just a tease!

The point of this little story is that if i were to come home with the boxset in hand i would have done a christmas look, but instead i shall be creating my classic daytime makeup look and two of my favourite night time looks.

(details of the Mac Christmas Tartan Tale collection on the following link)
http://www.temptalia.com/mac-a-tartan-tale-collection-colour-for-holiday-2010-official-photos-info
hint to boyfriend: i lurveeee the lilac lipgloss and lipstick ;)

Daytime look

This is my most common daytime look. I will alternate between this and softer brown eyeliners and shadows and experiment daily with different lip colours. (Mac, innocence beware is a favourite at the mo) Again sorry for the picture quality, im using my iphone.

Face:
Mac mineralize satinfinish spf15- NW20
Mac Oh so fair beauty powder

Eyes:
Mac prep + prime eye - light
Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural
Benefit instant brow pencil - medium to dark
Bourjois eyeshadow- 08 Beige rose
Urban decay shadow- chopper
Loreal super liner- carbon black
Loreal volume million lasher- black


Lips:
Mac pro longwear lipcreme- overtime

Night time look 1

This look was actually modelled on a Dreamgirls Deena Jones makeup tutorial i watched on youtube (my friend sent me the link knowing that I am a huge Dreamgirls fan) It didnt come out looking exactly as id hoped deena-wise, but I do think it looks nice as an evening look.


Face:
Mac mineralize satinfinish spf15- NW20
Benefit powder- Georgia

Eyes:
Mac prep + prime eye - light
Maybelline pure cover mineral concealer- 02 natural
Benefit instant brow pencil - medium to dark
Urban decay shadow- maui wowie
Urban decay shadow- oil slick
Mac eye kohl- smoulder
Loreal super liner- carbon black
Loreal volume million lashes- black

Lips:
Mac lip pencil- Deverish
Mac frost lipstick- New york apple



Nightime look 2

Everyone loves a bit of purple..well i do. This look celebrates my love of the colour purple and my recent obsession with purple lipstick. Again due to the rubbish quality of iphone pics, its hard to see this look in its full glory so you'll have to use your imagination...

Face:
Mac mineralize satinfinish spf15- NW20
Mac Oh so fair beauty powder
Bourjois blush- 33 Lilas d'or


Eyes:
primer, concieler & brow pencil- as before
Urban decay shadow- asphyxia
Urban decay shadow- Flash
Urban decay shadow- Oil slick
Mac eye kohl- smoulder
Loreal volume million lashes- black


Lips:
Mac pro longwear lipcreme- goes and goes





Thanks for reading. Hopefully you can now see how makeup obsessed i am. There will be more on its way soon :)

another new house, another new room

So I feel like i've been lugging my belongings back and forth a little too much over the last year or so, moving in and out of my London home and university flats and now into my new university house, which i have already swapped rooms in.

That said, this post signifies the final settling down of me in my new room (well, for this year anyway), which i have tried my hardest to put my own rachy stamp on.

You could say I have gone through something of an upgrade in this house as i was previously living in a smaller room, but after a housemate moving out i decided to swap. 'Score!' you might think, but i felt a little dubious as i had finally learnt to feel comfortable in my little cosy room, only to have to shift my life and try to adjust to ANOTHER new room.

However, Ive put up my postcards, a few million candles, Karllson clock and some loveheart lights and have also aquired a pretty pink mirror, so i do believe this room is starting to feel rachy at last!

(do note that my room is lacking in a couple of posters which ill be buying off the web later today..beatles and Elvis preferably :)

(also note that ill be using my iphone untill my camera is fixed- so the pics lack in quality:( )

An intro to the world of Rachy

I am a 19 year old London girl who has just gone into her second year of university studying English and American literature at the University of Kent, Canterbury and seeing as that is a degree that is supposed to involve writing, thats what I have decided I shall do in this little blog of mine.

Don't worry i won't bore you with poetic techniques or the works of Chaucer, rather I will be writing about interests of mine. These interests will include Makeup (mac in particular), Hair (colour and styles), Music (ranging from the spicegirls to The Beatles), Films, tv programmes (ranging from documentaries to carcrash tv) and anything else that tickles my fancy.

I enjoy nothing more than tapping my foot to an Elvis number whilst painting on my liquid eyeliner getting ready to bop out for a good night on the town, so I am hoping to attract like minded souls who enjoy a good boogie and a good blusher.

Rachy out.