Lush recycling for a Free Face mask :)

 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

 

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'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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