NOTD Barry M Magnetic Nails...

Today I have a NOTD and review for you. I have seen the trend of magnetic nail polishes around quite a lot recently and I was excited to try it out.

When shopping in boots I noticed the Barry M polishes and was impressed with the variety of colours - I chose a cool blue colour and chose the effect that looks almost like a union jack design. This is what it looks on the nails:

I love the way this looks on the nails - I think I'll definitely go back and get the other magnetic patterns too!
What do you think of these polishes?

Lots of Love Till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

Save vs Splurge...

If you, like me love a bargain then this feature will be for you, sometimes - mainly towards the end of the month when my purse is feeling the pinch I love to hunt out bargains that could save me a tonne of money when comparing them to 'high end' products.
this weeks save vs splurge is MUA vs. MAC eyeshadows.

Price:
MUA can save you some serious pennies when compared to MAC. MUA shadows retail at a bargainous £1 per shadow, whereas a MAC shadow will set you back at £11.50.

WINNER? SAVE due to the phenomenal price difference - MUA saves you a whopping £10.50 so they are very impressive.

Pigmentation & Finish:
Both offer seriously good levels of pigmentation, just a light swipe of each will give you really good quality colour payoff, MUA's pearl formula offers a really lovely effect when on the eyes and it also offers a matte formula for a few of its shades. Whereas MAC offers a variety of finishes which can be perfect for creating different looks.

Winner? SPLURGE, due to the fact that mac provides excellent pigmentation and a variety of finishes which makes them better for creating different makeup looks.

Colour Range:
MUA offers 20 different colours in its range all of which I believe are very wearable. MAC offers way more than MUA and you have a mixture of beautiful neutrals and a lot more 'unusual' colours that I wouldn't ever purchase unless I wanted to create a specific look.

Winner? SAVE, I think MUA pips MAC when it comes to its colour range due to the fact that ALL of the colours in its range are really wearable and will suit most skin tones and eye colours.

Overall Winner?
SAVE
MUA provides incredible quality eyeshadows for a fraction of the price of MAC, whilst they do lack in finishes they makeup for it in price (you could buy the whole range for £20 - that wouldn't buy you two MAC shadows) and pigmentation. However I do think that MAC eyeshadows are brilliant if you want a selected finish or colour (MAC does offer way more colours & finishes when compared to MUA). They are lovely to purchase as a pay day treat but MUA compares just as well in my opinion and they are much more affordable.

I hope you like this post :) how do you think MAC compares to MUA?

Lots of Love Till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

Daisy Daisy, give me your answer do...

Today I wanted to review a recent fragrance purchase of mine that I am so excited about!

I have wanted to purchase Daisy eau so fresh by Marc Jacobs for SUCH a long time but it has always been a bit too out of my price range so when I spotted this in john lewis for £22.50 (I may have squealed slightly) I knew I had to have this item in my life.

The smell of this eau de toilette is simply gorgeous, it screams luxury and I honestly feel so girly when wearing this. I am not the best at describing fragrances so I have taken this description off a website which is here

Top notes consist of:
grapefruit, raspberry & pear

Middle Notes:
Jasmine, rose, violet, litchi & apple blossom

Base Notes:
Musk, Virginia Cedar & Plumb

Staying power of this eau de toilette is surprisingly good - as I don't normally notice very good staying power when compared to a perfume.

This scent is lovely, fresh & girly and it looks lovely on my dressing table.

What do you think of Daisy eau so fresh?

Lots of Love Till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

Share The L<3ve

I have decided that this will be a weekly feature on my blog as I think it's alway nice to share blogs that I really enjoy reading and that I hope you will enjoy too!
Each week I will list 5 of my current favourite blogs to read and the reasons why I've been loving them. I really hope you like this feature and that you will also share your current favourites with me :).

Ok so onto this weeks list:


1. LOVELAUGHLAUREN
I love the reviews on this blog, she always provides a really comprehensive overview - this has helped me many a time on deciding if a product is worth the hype and I love her writing style :)

You can view this lovely blog here.

2. SPRINKLE OF GLITTER
I am sure you have all heard of louise's blog, I literally cannot stop reading her posts at the moment, every single post she writes is funny, informative and interesting - she did a really lovely post on blogging tips for new bloggers which I found so useful.

You can view this lovely blog here.

3. SUNSHINE SAM
I have been reading this blog for about a year now and loved the fact that she did project 365, it was a lovely way to see into her life and find out more about her. She does lovely outfit posts (and always looks so stylish) she also features a lot of yummy food on her blog as well which always makes me want to get cooking!

You can view this lovely blog here.

4. A GIRL AND A BEAUTY BLOG
I love this blog again for the reviews. Theres something in me that just loves to look at other people's beauty buys, it often gives me inspiration for new buys when pay day rolls around. She did a lovely review of Origins clear improvement, a product I hadn't heard of before and as a result it's a product I think I need in my life!

You can view this lovely blog here.

5. MUSINGS OF A MAKEUP MANIAC
I have only very recently started following julie's blog & I honestly sat for ages reading her posts the first time I went onto her blog. She is incredibly talented at creating different makeup looks & also has a really lovely youtube channel! I'm a huge handbag fan so really enjoyed reading her post on her recent purchase from zara.

you can view this lovely blog here.

So thats my must-read list for this week, hope you guys enjoy reading these blogs as much as I do, what are your favourite blogs to read?

Lots of Love Till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

Get Your Summer Body Out...

I've got a summertime review for you today - I'm reviewing Garnier Summer Body In Light. This is a gradual tanning lotion that slowly builds colour as you apply it on a daily basis.
I have been using this on a daily basis for the past two weeks and I have to say it's definitely given me a nice spot of colour.

It smells of apricots, which is lovely as I really wanted to add some colour to my paleness but I really didn't want to smell of biscuits (not good). However, I did notice that after a few hours there was a faint whiff of eau d'digestive, but nothing hugely off putting.

I will say if you are looking for a really deep wash of colour then this product isn't going to be for you as it only adds a subtle glow (there is a darker lotion available).
I started noticing the colour on my skin after about three days use and I found I needed to keep reapplying it everyday to keep the colour consistent and non-streaky.

I will offer this review with a word of warning however, I started using this product and then looked for reviews of it online and I noticed that some people have had awful reactions to this product - If you have sensitive skin I would stay far far away from it. I personally haven't had any problems but I realise this product isn't going to be right for everyone and everyone's skin reacts differently to it.

You can buy this product in superdrug & it's currently on offer for £2.53


Has anyone else tried this product?
What were your thoughts?
Lots of Love Till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

April Glossybox...

This is my first month reviewing glossybox here on my blog, I have been receiving the box since they first started out and I have to say I find them a bit hit and miss - I think the idea of glossybox is very good an I often love the products I receive but there is that part of me that will look at other reviews and see what someone else has got in there box and it makes me think it'd be better if all subscribers received the same items, I think this may help to ease the 'box envy' I sometimes feel & see plastered all over twitter.

April's Glossy Box has a theme of natural beauty. I really like that Glossy box incorporates a theme in the boxes every now and then as it helps keep the variety and you do truly get to try luxury samples from brands you may not have necessarily known about had it not been for the theming of the box. Glossybox is £10 per month & £2.95 p&p you can sign up here

So onto the box...

It was nice to see that to go with the theming they've changed the box's packaging. I like the texture of the box and it'll be really handy for storage.

So onto the contents of my box:

AYUURI NATURAL BODY WASH
Sandlewood
Nice to see a full size product in my box, I know that it is just designed as a sampling service but it's always an added bonus as you get to really decide what you think of a product.
First impressions are good, natural ingredients and it smells lovely - I think I will get a lot of use out of this .
RRP: £4.95
you can buy this item here

INIKA ORGANIC EYELINER
shade 06 Coco
Another full sized product :) I have heard of Inika before and I thought they were really good quality so it was nice to see one of their products in my box.
The eyeliner I got is a dark brown shade, which is lovely and pigmented so I am looking forward to adding this to my everyday makeup bag.
RRP:£11.75
you can buy this item here

FIGS & ROUGE LIP BALM
Rambling Rose
I LOVE figs and rouge, I have this lip balm in the tea tree & peppermint variety & it makes my lips feel really soft, I like that again glossybox have provided us with a third full sized product and that it is a product that I will use everyday. I'm looking forward to trying a new variety aswell.
RRP: £3.29
you can buy this item from this website.

CAUDALIE
Vinosource SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum
What a mouthful! This is a 10ml sample (full size is 30ml) so a very decent sample size in my opinion, this product is designed to be used before moisturiser to increase moisture levels in the skin. It says that it is plant based too which is always a nice alternative to nasty chemicals. I haven't tried this before and am really looking forward to trying it out!
RRP: £29.00 (30ml)
you can buy this item here.

KAI
Perfume Oil
This is the only product I am slightly dissapointed about, I don't really like recieving perfumes in a sample box as what one person may love another may hate. This product sample is unusual as it is a perfume oil which is something I haven't come across before. I'm not too keen on the scent either.
RRP: £41.00 (3.60ml)
you can buy this item here.

So that's what i recieved in my April box, I am really happy with all the items as they are all (except for the perfume oil) something I would use reguarly and I am really looking forward to trying them all out!

If anyone wants further reviews on any of the products once I've used them for a bit then let me know and I'll be happy to do a further review.

What did you get in your April Glossybox?

Lots of love till Next Time...
Rachel xxx

NOTD... lilac galaxy

I really like the look of pastel nails for springtime - it certainly helps to brighten up my mood especially since we've had a months worth of rain in a day where I live, it seems to just go from being bitterly cold to ridiculously wet and before we know it it'll be winter time again!

For this very simple look I used two polishes, NYC colour and Kiko cosmetics nail varnish both are really inexpensive polishes. The NYC polish being priced at £2.99 and the Kiko cosmetics one being priced at about €3.50 (I bought mine in Barcelona whilst on holiday but I know theres a kiko cosmetics store in Westfield shepherds Bush).

Here is a picture of the final look on my nails:

I used two coats of NYC colour and one coat of the kiko - I think it gives a kind of space age effect whilst still looking bright and interesting, the kiko polish is a very translucent lilac shimmer polish which has a lovely blue tone to it, I really like layering this ontop of my favourite nail varnishes.

What is your favourite spring time nail look?

Lots of love till next time....

Rachel xxx