A mini Haul #3

As anyone in this world will tell you, sometimes we all need to have a little treat when you feel down. If I'm completely honest, I have felt a little down recently but that said, far less down than I felt earlier on during this year. Every so often, if I find that I have a spare bit of money I do like to indulge in myself a little. In the past year I've learnt to curb my spending habits and be far more careful about what I spend my money on and where I buy things from as every little saving of money helps to go a long way. 

 

 

I recently purchased Amor Amor In A Flash by Cacharel. The box was really pretty in a metallic pink with a red rose embossed with silver typeography that identifies the scent. I ordered the 30ml version as its fairly difficult to find now as it was released as a limited edition in 2013. I paid £22.60 for it, which is a bit frustrating as I've since found it in the Christmas sales for under £20, but what can I do. The bottle itself was so tiny, I was really surprised actually as I have a 100ml bottle from the same range and the difference in size is almost unbelievable. However I do really love the design and the smell is beautiful so I don't have any regrets. The scent is of sweet mandarin, apricot, red apple, jasmine petals, cinnamon, vanilla, sandalwood and sweet caramel. In words the scent doesn't sound amazing, but in person it smells absolutely lovely! As a little bonus the bottle is a pretty shade of pink with a silver metallic rose alongside silver accents which matches the packaging nicely. 

 

After watching what feels like millions of YouTube make up hauls, I'd definitely been on the hunt for some nice storage for my make up; I wouldn't say that I have the biggest collection in the world but I do own a decent enough amount to justify having some storage space. I eventual found some storage on eBay for under £20; I literally typed in 'acrylic storage boxes' and flicked through to choose the style that I wanted. One complaint would be that the storage is smaller than I expected, but there was measurements in the listing so it's my fault for not bothering to check. I didn't pay much, so presumably if you pay more the storage size is larger. That said, I ordered from a UK seller and it came very quickly, well packaged and was identical to the picture so I'm satisfied. Plus it holds my make up nicely outside of my usual standard make up bag which is great.

 

Another couple of items that I indulged in and didn't necessarily need were from Sass and Belle; I ordered what should be a copper drinking cup and a little trinket dish. The drinking cup I purchased with the intentions of using it to hold make up brushes in as its fairly large and looks visually pleasing with a nice copper sheen and indented pattern. Everyone seems to be loving copper at the moment and for £7.50 there's no complaints really. The trinkets dish is also really cutesy, small and round with a pink robin to one side and little bird feet across the dish, also in pink. For £2.50 it was an absolute steal as I've been looking around the internet for similar items and they were all over £10... A lot more than this one. All in all, I spent £13.50 including postage for the two items and I was really happy with them, this month was definitely a cheer up myself month and I don't regret it in the slightest.

 

Beauty Favourites - September

 

1. Bourjois 1 Seconde Mascara - £11.99

2. Rimmel Wake Me Up Radience BB Cream (Very Light) - £7.99

3. L'Oreal Paris True Match Le Crayon Concealer - £6.99

4. Sleek Brow Kit (Light) - £8.99

5. Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick Compact (Rose) - £30.50

6. Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick (965 Siren in Scarlet) - £6.99

A few months ago I used to literally cover my face in make up, to the extent that I would spend so much time and money on it and I felt disgusting if I didn't wear it. Now I wear much less and even leave my house and sometimes work without make up, which is a huge achievement for me (as pathetic as that sounds) but the products above are what I really feel are value for money; they last all day without reapplication, the lipstick survives eating and drinking and concealer and mascara just gives my natural face a little lift. Each of these products improves my confidence slightly, without making my face look caked in make up, which is why I've been loving them this month.

Farmopolis @ Greenwich Peninsula

 

One lazy Sunday afternoon my mother decided it was appropriate to force me out of the house for something other than work. Considering I'd finished work at around 3.30am that same morning and had about 3 hours sleep, it took a lot of persuasion to encourage me to want to get out of bed and do something. Farmopolis is a new site, based on the old jetty along the riverside of the Greenwich Millenium Village in the Peninsula area. It's a new 'recycling' based concept and fairly unique in many ways. Essentially an urban farm and organic restaurant, at the moment it is incredibly aesthically pleasing with hundreds of scattered plants and flowers surrounding the buildings having been transported from the Chelsea Flower Show.

The reason for going was because my mother has actually booked us in for a jewellery making course, although not the regular kind... Instead of using traditional jewellery making materials, such as stones or beads we were using dried flowers. We each made a ring using a glue gun, a 2 pence piece and real flowers, (a mixture of dried and fresh) and were given the freedom to design the ring however we wanted. I loved the brightly coloured flowers and even the thistles, but somehow I ended up with a foresty green set of florals, a more natural choice of colours. Completely different to what I expecte, but I actually really enjoyed taking part in the workshop and would like to try this technique again as the rings are all so unique but so beautiful. The downside is that they don't last forever, unfortunately.

The ladies running the workshop were from Electric Daisy Flower Farm and often make flower based creations and decorations for weddings and I have to say that my favourite pieces are the floral hair crowns which would look lovely at a summer wedding or festival. The jetty was a nice venue to hold a jewellery making workshop as the balcony flowers from the Chelsea Flower Show were places all along the riverside and made for some lovely photos against the floral rings. Plus as you will all know by now how much I love walking along the riverside it was so relaxing to just sit and take in the view and be inspired by nature. Not a bad afternoon considering how little I wanted to leave my bed, let alone my house! It's a shame that summer is almost over, really. Until next time :)

Summer Loving!

Hello everyone, apologies it has been a while once again since my last post! This features an element of my love/hate relationship with summer. I love the flowers and my garden but at the same time the humidity consistently gets to me and I'm simply one of those people that gets really flustered and overheated. These photographs were all taken in my garden, of my garden and featuring my baby dog Star...!

For the hot weather I can't help but dig out a pair of cool hippy pants in varying colours and patterns and a plain black or white t-shirt for a relaxed look. Make-up wise, I do rely on concealer, eyebrow pencil, blusher, eyeliner, mascara and an SPF lipstick for a bit of coverage and obviously sunglasses are a must. I bought these lovely Birkenstocks at a bargain price from my local TKMaxx and I was a convert literally straightaway, I love the bright pop of colour too, and they are study and stylish. Although this outfit isn't the most beautiful or stylish, I felt really confident, cool and comfortable in it, and for me, that's what summer dressing is really about.

I do appreciate a beautiful flower/plant although I must admit I'm not keen on the long watering/caring for plants at the end of the day but its annoying seeing Star rip up/play with/eat various plants that my nana grows! Talking of my nana, she made me these gorgeous camera earrings for my 21st birthday and I've worn them so so often ever since, they seem to work with everything and add a bit of my personality to everything I wear, they're a little quirky too which I adore. Do any of you have a specific piece of jewellery or outfit you immediately run to when you need a quick inspiration fix? Let me what you thought of this post via the comments too! See you soon, Rach x x x

[Sunglasses - ASOS; Crop T-Shirt - ASOS Petite; Hippy Pants - Doodah at Greenbelt Festival; Sandals - Birkenstocks @ TKMaxx; Leather Bracelet - Pandora; Earrings - Handmade by my nana.]

Au Revoir 2013!

Hello everyone, I'm sorry I haven't really posted much  over the past month as I've being having a bit of a rough time. However I promise that I am well and truly back! Above are a selection of photographs of my past months/year, which is obviously rather fitting as it's New Year Eve (right now).

Some of the photographs feature my christmas presents; e.g. the 'Build-a-bear' from my godson and the Pandora from my friends and my family and also the current beauty haul that is going on in my life - I've decided to refresh my make-up and look a little, be a little more girlie and fresh faced. To achieve this, I have began to throw away all of the make-up I had lying around that has been used to death, and start again. It's a good excuse to experiment and find which colours, shades and brands work for me and my combination skin.

Another of the photographs is of a wall hanging filled with polaroid photographs from the past year; lunches with friends, journeys around london, my pets etc. Looking at the photographs it is clear that I'm very interested and fond of colours, something that follows through in my creative sense at university; My Art and Design Blog [HERE] and so in January I will be doing a more specific post about my beauty bag and sale hauls, along with some product reviews, so stay tuned!

Back to new year - Happy New Year everyone!

Here's hoping 2014 brings more positivity, as 2013 has been rather a roller coaster at times, unfortunately. I can't believe that my graduation date is growing ever closer, it seemed to be so far away… Therefore it is resolution time - - -

1. Post more on this blog and become more set on my future after University; internships etc.

2. Concentrate on feeling better and caring for my body in a healthier way.

3. Save some money!

4. Learn to be more self confident and less insecure.

5. To mature, to grow and breathe.

Farewell 2013, Hello 2014! Rach x x x