Losing my L-card: Ocean Salt and Lemony Flutter

I've always been really really really scared of going into Lush.....

My local Lush store is SO small and poky I absolutely hate it. I'm one of those miserable people who hate being approached in stores as I was a shy little child and in general don't know how to respond when store assistants ask me questions. I did go with my friend Georgia for moral, soapy support and at least I knew what I was looking for so I didn't look like a lost kid. 

ANYWAY, I've been wanting to find something strong and mending for my hands. I have super duper dry hands as it is but with my job and handling loads of cardboard and stuff the dryness has just exceeded itself.

I originally wanted the Helping Hands cream but the smell of it just reminds me too much of when my Mum used to use it a few years ago it was so weird. I let the lady take a look at my hands and she recommended I use the Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub combined with Lemony Flutter Butter. She applied the Butter to the back of my hand, followed by the Salt and then rubbed it right in (I could also scrub my cuticles with it if needed!). She then washed it off with a bowl of warm water and it felt so nice!! My hand was so soft and lovely I had to take a tub of each right away.

I do love how versatile the products are. You can use the Scrub on any dry bits on your body (elbows and wrists are the main ones for me) and the Butter is actually a Cuticle Butter! Also a little bit goes a long way, you only need a teeny tiny bit of each product every time you use them.

I plan to venture out into the world of Lush shampoo's soon enough, Rehab is a product I'm especially interested in, see if it does my poor ol' dry locks any good.

I do realise my blog is turning into a bit of a beauty orientated blog but it's just what i'm into at the moment! I should try to get onto more outfit, out-n-about type posts but we'll see.

xxrachel

REVIEW || ◊ W7 In The Buff Natural Nudes Palette ◊

I have been hearing a lot of things about this certain palette for a while and I have been mad keen to buy it and test it out. Combined with this was the fact I also was in super super desperate need of a shadow palette as I don't think I've even worn eye-shadow since I was maybe 11 years old. 

It is no secret that the W7 In The Buff palette has striking similarities to the Naked palette's (in particular Naked 2). I do plan on actually buying the Naked palette's as soon as I can muster up the courage to spend that amount of money on a set of eye shadows but it will happen. I was in Asda a week or so ago anyway and spotted it lying on a shelf to which i then shouted "A-HA. I NEED IT. IT WAS ON 'THIS MORNING'. I MUST BUY IT".

So I did.

I had no idea of its price before I bought it and I did expect it to be a bit pricier than it was. As soon as I bought it I got home to my sister (a proud owner of Naked 2) and was bragging how cheap it was and how similar the colours are etc etc etc.

I've tested the colours out on my lids a few times in the past week and I gotta say, it's pretty alright. The shade 'chocolate' is probably my favourite, it's this lovely matte taupey-brown colour. The staying power of the shadows is also pretty great. Even this morning, I did my make-up a half hour before I left, spent all day walking around outside and then came home to see it still proudly resting on my eyelids.

HOWEVER the pigmentation isn't the best thing on the planet. Onyx is the only super pigmented colour on the palette, darks wise, then coming a close second is Sand but that's about it. I usually apply Sand as a base and then build on that with a shimmery shade like Camel, Dust or Thunder but i have to use a good few applications before I'm even close to happy. 

Contrasting this with the Naked 2 palette I have found that it's way easier just to swipe the colour on than the W7 shadows. 

I kinda regret being all in my sisters face about this palette because it is really really great but I do still believe that what you get is what you pay for. £37 for Urban Decay is way expensive but also way worth it. 

(L-R: Buff, Camel, Sand, Dust, Chocolate, Topaz, Earth, Storm, Silk, Wave, Thunder, Onyx)

Thanks for reading! I'm going to be posting again tomorrow with a little discussion on a couple of Lush products I bought today, which I'm actually so super excited about!

xxrachel

Please enjoy Our Eyes by Lucy Rose on your Sunday because I have been

ˣ London Mini-Break - Packing and Organisation ˣ

I don't know about anyone else but my favourite kind of Youtube videos/blogposts to indulge in are most definitely those surrounding travel, packing and that side of the spectrum organisation -wise.

I have a very exciting trip to London on Tuesday! As well as just general wandering, a lot of tube-riding and lots of brunch, my Mum and I are off to see Les Miserables at the Queens theatre on Wednesday night! Combining this with my holiday in July, I can guess I'll be watching a LOT of travel-orientated Youtube vids and reading a lot of similar blogposts.

So in keeping with this theme I decided to do a blogpost I thought would be interesting regardless if anybody else would. This is what I would pack for a little trip, a couple of days away, a mini break if you will.

This is my lil suitcase! I'm so proud of it, it's so small and versatile and handy. Now I've gone four-wheels, suitcase-wise, it is very doubtful I'll ever go back. It's this stylin' chocolate/suede looking type material so always looks fab with whatever I'm wearing (sorry, I think about these things). 

The only dig I could make is that the opening isn't actually as big, length ways, as the rest of the suitcase so my laptop doesn't fit meaning I always have to carry my separate laptop bag with me (huge pain). This isn't something I'll be worrying about when I'm off to London though as I'll be so busy I'm just going to leave my laptop behind at home.

These are the outfit's I'm planning on taking (as well as something a little dressier for when we go to the theatre). It's so hard trying to find outfits to suit this hormonal spring weather but I think I've pretty much got it down. I decided to take one pair of trousers and a pair of jeans and a couple of different grey tees, just the basics. My UO sandals are perfect too because they'll give my feet room to breathe whilst covering them enough so they won't get absolutely soaked if it decided to pour down!
I'll also be packing my black duster coat from Pretty Little Thing as it is lightweight but thick enough to keep me warm if it gets chilly.

Toiletries and make-up wise: only the essentials are being packed. I'm really trying to clamp down on the amount of unnecessary stuff I lug around with me on trips. 

Things like toothpaste, hairspray, deodorant and facewash will be travel-size. My Nivea body lotion is an absolute essential which i'll probably be needing the most of, hence the full size bottle. My Obsession by Calvin Klein perfume is perfect because the bottle is so tiny! Anti-histamines and paracetamol are also an absolute emergency must.

I'll be taking my Garnier cleansing water to remove my make-up instead of facewipes as it takes up far less space and also doubles up as my cleanser meaning I don't have to bring an extra bottle.

When it comes to make-up, I'm just going to take the basics I usually wear on a day-to-day basis as well as a few lipsticks I've picked out to go with my chosen outfits (which is always the hardest decision to make....)

Of course I'll be accompanied by my trusty Primark bag as it goes with absolutely anything and it's so small so there will be no danger of over stuffing it with things I don't need. My purse, my passport, sunnies, hand cream, Vaseline and headphones are the basic essentials. My passport is my only proof of identification so i always carry it around in this handy little case. A hair-tie is always a great idea too just in case it's a little blustery and i'm sick of my hair getting in my eyes or my mouth.... 

And that is it really! I'm sorry if this was a little boring but I'm kind of obsessed by posts like this so I thought it would be fun and handy to make one.

I stayed up till about 1:30am the other night making lists on my phones notes for my holiday, I have subsections and even different symbols beside things to signal what I need to buy or what I might not actually take with me. I also need to make a physical list with tick boxes so I pack efficiently and absolutely don't forget anything. I actually think my family members are starting to resent me because this is all I can talk about at the minute but it's also sort of fulfilling??

I may do another, lengthier post similar to this one for when I go abroad in July. It will be way more in depth as I'll be taking way more stuff, condensing products and putting together more outfits! 

Have an A+ weekend

xxrachel 

☼ SPRING Make-up Buys ft Topshop, Soap & Glory and More ☼

With my acquiring of a new job, meaning regular cash-flow into my bank account, I have been spending rather a lot more on make-up recently. This is too strange considering I am almost always a clothes over make-up kinda person. I find something really satisfying about buying, testing and collecting products. The following products I've sort of bought within the past few days and I don't know if it seems a little excessive or not but I've been trying to branch out.

BENEFIT

First off are the Benefit products. I didn't know if I should believe the hype around Benefit because all of their products seem pretty small and I wasn't sure if it was all show with no real results. However after a few maties, quite dangerously, convinced me otherwise I went into town and bought the That Gal face primer, High Brow pencil and the Gimme Brow gel. 

I absolutely love High Brow so far, it really illuminates underneath your brows to give the effect of a more defined shape, also it's super easy to blend! 

Gimme Brow also gives me similar feelings, I just simply sweep the gel across each of my brows and it manages to keep them in shape from morning til night, no prob. 

That Gal I'm afraid leaves me a lil unimpressed so far. I've only used it a couple of times but the thin liquid doesn't seem to do much regarding holding my foundation in place. It is super moisturising (which I 100% must keep in mind at all times with face products) but I guess time will tell whether this product is a repurchase or a no-go. I do think the twisty-applicator is a cool bonus but similarly the packaging is just a little cheap and tacky for my liking.

That Gal Face Primer - £22.50, Benefit @ House of Fraser

High Brow Pencil - £16.50, Benefit @ House of Fraser

 Gimme Brow Gel - £18.50, Benefit @ House of Fraser

Finally I bought the Roller Lash mascara!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of months ago I received a little Roller Lash tester with a copy of Elle magazine (big ups Elle freebies) and absolutely fell in love with it! The applicator is so perfectly shaped that I can curl my lashes from the inside and not get mascara all over my eyelid! It separates my lashes perfectly and not only this, the packaging is so lovely and I like the added touch of rubber at the end of the applicator!

 Roller Lash Mascara - £19.50, Benefit @ House of Fraser

Not ONLY did I buy all those lil goodies but I also got given a few tester freebies! I'm saving them for my hollibobs so I can't discuss how they work just yet but I have tried the POREfessional primer before and it all seems very promising!

SOAP & GLORY

I've also been going absolutely mental over S&G at the minute because not only am I obsessed with how amazing their products are but the packaging is absolutely gorgeous.

A while ago I purchased the KickAss concealer (in light) because I heard fab things about it but after buying and trying I'm really not loving it. So, it has three steps to it: 1) under-eye concealer, 2) blemish concealer, 3) sealing powder. Firstly I can't even USE the powder because of my dry skin and secondly it's all just a bit of a faff. It is good regarding under-eye concealing but otherwise it just makes my skin super super dry.

KickAss Concealer in light - £10, S&G @ Boots

I decided to repurchase a S&G eyebrow pencil because their Archery Brow Tint and Precision pencil made me so happy. SO i picked up the Archery 2 in 1 Brow Filling Pencil just cause I fancied a change though I was surprised at how thin and tiny it is. It has a cool lil brush to comb my brows through with a teeny lil nib to fill em in before I swoop in with my Gimme Brow!

Archery 2in1 Filling Pencil - £8, S&G @ Boots

I'm not a huge lip-gloss fan but I thought I'd be brave and picked this Sexy Mother Pucker gloss up (in Pink Apricot). The consistency is super thick so I have no real fear of it straying too far. When it's applied though I get this strange tingling feeling, which is apparently normal, and I'm not sure why it happens but it does. No real strong opinion on this product yet I'm afraid.

Sexy Mother Pucker gloss - £9, S&G @ Boots

Lastly is the Solar Powder Bronzer, which I bought due to the fab reviews I've been hearing for a while now. My current bronzer is a lil too dark for comfort so I'm saving it for my tanner summer days in favour of this new compact. It's so shimmery and pretty and is a fab size, I now just need a kabuki brush to pair with it.

Solar Powder Bronzer - £11, S&G @ Boots

TOPSHOP

Finally I got my hands on some Topshop make-up that isn't just eyeliner or lipstick! 

I'd heard good things about Topshop's highlighters so I couldn't resist and I ended up picking it up. I'm really confused as to which brush to use for highlighter, I really should brush up (no pun intended) on my make-up brush knowledge as it is incredibly poor. It's a magical shimmery colour that isn't very dark when applied but gives a nice lil glow.

Topshop Highlighter in Horizon - £10, Topshop

I bought a BB Cream for the first time!! And I am now questioning as to why I never have before because this one from Topshop is aMAZING. It has such great coverage, I love to use it underneath my foundation as it holds it in place all day without budging. I only use a tiny amount too! The packaging is so shiny and pretty I absolutely love it. (+ it includes spf25!)

BB Cream in Light - £10, Topshop

Last but by no means least, is my little repurchase of my favourite double-ended Kohl liner. I love my white eye liners as I think they add great definition to the eyes, especially when just applied to the inner corners and I think this pencil is perfect for doing so. It has a white end and an ivory end, admittedly I leave the ivory end slightly neglected as I'm yet to find a singular white liner that will do me.

Precision Double-Ended Kohl Liner - £7.50, Topshop

 Well done if you made it to the end of this post but I just thought I would share with you all what i have been buying 4 ma face this Spring. I've been loving light-weight products and have been obsessing over my brows as I never realised how sparse they really are and need to sort that out, fast.

I'm posting this on the 8th May but I wrote this last night whilst watching the election results on the BBC, so naturally it took me forever to get it all typed up but I did it!
Hope you all had fun on polling day, I hope you all voted if you're of age and if you didn't then why on earth not?! There is something creepy about typing this not knowing who has one the election yet when I post it we will have a brand knew government....

xxrachelhelen