FashionistA Magnetism Nail Lacquer

I am a massive fan of The Saturdays so when I heard that they were endorsing a new type of nail varnish I knew I would have to give it a try. The nail varnish (or lacquer as its called) in question is FashionistA Magnetism and it has been available to buy exclusively from Superdrug stores for a few months now. There are five colours to choose from, one for each member of the band. Each has been named after one of The Saturday’s song titles: First up is Frankie’s Notorious Silver, then we have Mollie’s Purple me Up, Una’s Ego Green, Vanessa has Forever is blue and finally Rochelle’s is called Fired up red. These nail lacquers retail at £6 each and the special magnet that is required to achieve the ‘wave’ look is sold separately for £3 – Not overly cheap but not too expensive either. 17 also have a magnetism nail varnish but unlike the FashionistA version, the magnet is supplied on the lid and is not sold separately which is a much better idea in my opinion. FashionistA claim that the reason behind the lid being sold separately is that they hope to release more magnets in the future that create different patterns on the nail rather than just the wave. This means that when a new magnet is released you can just buy the magnet rather than having to fork out for the nail varnish with the magnet attached which makes sense.

I treated myself to Frankie’s Notorious Silver (Which is more of a grey in my opinion) and Mollie’s Purple me Up.

“Created with The Saturdays by FashionistA, bring your nails to life with Magnetism Nail Lacquer!”

Ease of use – These nail lacquers are extremely easy to apply. They go on quite thick so only one coat is required if wearing alone. The instructions on the box are very clear and easy to follow – Apply one coat of nail lacquer, leave to dry, apply second coat of nail lacquer, hold magnet over nail before second coat dries et voila! I did find that if I just held the magnet in place it didn’t cover my whole nail meaning that only half of my nail had the wavy pattern on it. To solve this I just rock the magnet from one side of my nail to the other and then slowly move it up my nail (obviously without touching the nail!) to make sure that the whole nail is wavy.

Affordability – As mentioned above, these nail lacquers are £6 each and the magnet is £3. I think this is quite a reasonable price, however the 17 version is only £5.99 and the magnet is included. I don’t mind paying £6 a bottle for the Magnetism Nail Lacquer but I imagine that FashionistA will be getting a fair bit of competition from 17 as I can’t see people paying £9 for one bottle of FashionistA Magnetism nail lacquer and the magnet when they can buy the 17 [name] which includes the magnet for just £5.99. I think this is where the power of The Saturdays comes in. FashionistA have been very clever by enlisting The Sats to endorse this product – It’s the only thing that made me buy it and I dare say I’m not the only one! A very clever marketing tool.

Value for money – As these Nail Lacquers apply so thickly and not much product is needed to cover the nail I envisage these two bottles lasting me a very long time which justifies the £6 price tag.

Quality of product – I hate to say it but I am quite disappointed with the quality of this product. I had such high hopes for it and I do love the look it achieves but it just doesn’t last on my nails long enough. Without a top coat it chipped after just one day and with a top coat it chipped after two days. Usually I would just go over the chips and cover them but because of the wave pattern this is not possible which means completely re-painting the nail again which is a pain!

Packaging – The packaging of this product is simple yet effective. Each box has a picture of a Saturdays member wearing the nail lacquer that is relevant to them and their signature/autograph has been embossed into the box in silver text. Clear instructions and images showing how to apply the product have been printed on one side of the box and on the other side is a picture of the effect that the magnet creates. On the back of the box there is a picture of all five of The Saturdays and ‘swatches’ of their Nail Lacquer shades above them.

I can only apologise for the rubbish swatch photo! Its just so hard to photograph the effect!

Overall I love this product. The two colours I picked up are lovely and I wouldn’t mind adding the other three to my collection! The only negative is the longevity of the product, it just doesn’t last long enough which is a real shame as it could have scored top marks from me if it just lasted that little bit longer!

Have you tried FashionistA Magnetism Nail Lacquer yet? What were your thoughts?

With Love,

Rachel x

January Wishlist

I don’t know if it’s just because I haven’t got any money at the moment, which means I can’t buy anything (nothing like stating the obvious, Rachel!), but there’s absolutely thousands of things I really want this month! Luckily pay day isn’t too far away now (If I stand on my tip toes I can almost see it!) and the dreaded January is nearly over which means it wont be long until I can start treating myself again!  I have been lucky enough to actually get some of the things I really wanted this month but thought I would include them on my Wish List anyway. This is only because my wish lists will usually be done at the beginning of each month so I am writing this Wish List as though it was written at the beginning of January, before I actually got some of the items included!

1. A Dressing Table – I have wanted a dressing table for a while now. Not just any dressing table but the dressing table and I am now lucky enough to finally have the dressing table of my dreams. The dressing table in question is the Hemnes dressing table from Ikea and I loves it so much! In fact, I may have too much love for it considering that it’s just a piece of furniture! I love it like it is a child (well, maybe not that much – maybe a pet?) and have promised to keep it clean and tidy and pretty. So imagine my, what can only be described as fury when I entered the spare room (where my dressing table is kept) and found it had been used as a desk (!)  AND had a big ugly can of Guiness of all things sat up on it! Scott clearly doesn’t understand the beauty of a dressing table and felt the need to ‘man it up’ a little.

2. The ‘Bloggers Bag’ – This is another item that I was lucky enough to get this month (kindly bought for me by Scott). It is the studded bottom bag, otherwise known as the ‘Bloggers Bag’ as it has become so popular among the community of beauty bloggers. I love it and was surprised at the quality of it for such a low price! If you want to get yourself a ‘Bloggers Bag’ here is the eBay seller I bought mine from - Link

3. Urban Decay Naked OR Naked 2 Palette – I really really want to give the Naked palette a try but I just know it’s FAR too out of my price range. I think Scott would actually leave me if I were to spend that much on eye shadow! Never mind, a girl can dream… (Not dream that Scott will leave me, of course! Dream that I get the Naked palette!)

4. Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Crush – It has been noted that this lipstick is a dupe for Mac’s Shy Girl and I have wanted to try Shy Girl for a while now but it is, unfortunately, another thing that is out of my price range so this Rimmel lipstick may be the next best thing. I did also want to try Birthday Suit but I swatched it whilst in Superdrug yesterday and wasn’t impressed so that’s that crossed off of the wish list! Hopefully Crush will be nicer but they didn’t have a sample for me to swatch.

5. Fraulein 3°8 180 eye shadow palette – This is another item that is on my wish list even though I actually already have it. I wanted something to take my mind off of the Urban Decay Naked palette and thought this would do the trick. I had seen/read a few reviews about this and it was highly recommended so thought I would give it a try. I’ll be reviewing this over the next few days so watch this space for that.

6. A Tea Set – This is not make up or cosmetic related in the slightest but I would really like a tea set. I saw a few when I was shopping in charity shops last week (Haul Here) and really wish I had bought one in particular; It was £4.99 for the set and was absolutely immaculate! I really regret not buying it and am going to be on the hunt for a tea set come my next charity shop visit.

7. Jack Wills Gillet – I love these! They look so cosy and warm. I just don't know if I'm too old to wear one (My 14 year old sister would probably die of embarrassment if I got one) plus they are a tad too expensive for me!

8. No7. Exceptional Definition Mascara - I received a free sample of this with a recent No.7 purchase and love it so much that I want to buy the full sized one. I have a voucher for £5 off No.7 Mascara so I will be using that to get this mascara as soon as I get paid!

 9. ELF Brushes – I want to add more brushes to my collection as I don’t have many at the moment (In fact, I have about three!). I have heard a lot of good things about the ELF (Eyes, Lips, Face) brushes and think this will be a perfect, inexpensive way of adding to my brush collection. Does anybody have any recommendations/suggestions of which brushes to buy as, to be honest, when it comes to brushes I haven’t got the foggiest!

10. Harry Potter Book Collection Box Set - This is another non makeup or cosmetic item. I have all of the Harry Potter books already and am currently re-reading them but I would really like the full book box set. Something to ask for for my birthday perhaps? (Only another 6 months to wait!)

Have you tried any of the things featured on my January wish list? What are you lusting after this month?

With Love,

Rachel x

Charity Shop Haul

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2012 is to start visiting and buying from Charity Shops and Car Boot Sales. Now, the car boot sale season doesn’t start until April time but charity shops are open all year round so I thought they would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, my sister’s dog, Bonny (mentioned in my second ever blog post HERE) suffered a stroke on Wednesday morning and my sister and I had to rush her to the vets (I was actually at work but my boss very kindly let me leave which I can’t thank him enough for). Luckily, Bonny will be OK and will recover over time with a course of steroids. It was a horrific experience and I’m just so relieved and glad that she is OK. When we had Bonny home and safe I found myself with an afternoon off and nothing to do. What better time to put my resolution into action? I went to a street that has four or five charity shops pretty much next door to each other and what’s better is that it’s only a five minute drive from my house.

I was originally going to look for a dressing table in charity shops and at boot sales but on a recent trip to Ikea I saw that the Hemnes Dressing Table was reduced to £144 from £189 exclusively to Ikea Family Card Holders and I snapped one up. With my new purchase in mind I was on the hunt for things to pretty it up...

I started in Oxfam, searching for little trinkets and ornaments for my dressing table. Whenever I think of dressing tables, I think of my Nanna’s dressing table. She had the prettiest pink/peach glass dressing table set and I would love a similar one for my dressing table. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one in any of the shops I went to but I did find this cute little dish with lid which was a bargain at 99p! I'm going to put a little tea-light candle in and and think it will look super cute!

Next I went to St Gemma’s Hospice and bought a couple of books which were just 49p each! I could really get into this Charity Shop lark! Then I went to the PDSA shop. It was the PDSA that we had taken Bonny to earlier in the day so I was adamant that even if there wasn’t anything I wanted in there I would buy something! As it happens there was something I liked; this little tree ornament. I just think it is so pretty and unique and for 99p you really can’t go wrong!

Finally I went to a different area a couple of miles away and visited another St Gemma’s Hospice shop. I couldn’t believe how cheap the things in this shop were! Harry Potter books – 89p for paper back or 99p for hardback! I have actually already got the full set but wish I had bought them again now because they were so cheap! Among the various treasures on the shelves I found this coffee canister which I think is so sweet and vintage looking. They also had a matching biscuit barrel but it was chipped and was a bit too big so I just bought the coffee one. I love it and am going to use it to store cotton wool balls and pads (Got my mum to thank for that idea!)

Overall I am really pleased with my finds. Five items for under a fiver! Amazing! I will definitely be visiting charity shops more often from now on!

Do you shop in charity shops? What’s been your best find?

With Love,

Rachel x

Maybelline Haul

I’ve got another Haul for you lucky people today! It seems to be all I am posting lately, hauls. Its not because I’ve been on a mad splurge but I seem to have accumulated quite a few things over the past few weeks and with Christmas and everything else I just haven’t gotten round to posting about any of it! Fingers crossed there will just be a few more haul posts then I can get on to posting about other things before you all get bored!

Please accept my apologies for the poor quality of images used in this post. Believe it or not these pictures were taken at one o'clock in the afternoon but as per usual in not so sunny England the sky was dull and dreary and light was limited so this is the best I could get.

My sister recently purchased the Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid foundation and, after giving it a quick try and really liking it, I decided I needed it in my life. Superdrug were doing a 3 for 2 offer on all Maybelline products so it seemed silly to just buy the foundation.

I got the foundation in the same shade as my sister, Ivory. I have quite pale skin and often find it difficult to find a foundation that isn’t too orange toned or dark for me but this shade is perfect. It doesn’t even look like I’m wearing foundation which is what I love about it.

I also bought the Super Stay 24 hour concealer in light/beige (shade 2). I wont talk any more about this product just yet because I want to do a concealer comparison post in the next few weeks.

As I had bought two items my third was free. I decided to try a lipstick as I don’t usually buy or wear lipsticks and wanted to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I wanted to start with a nude shade so picked up this nude shade (I dont have the name to hand but will add a comment below once I know the name) I’m not too sure on the colour yet but will go into more detail when I write a review.

That’s it for this haul. Short and sweet :)

Do you use any Maybelline products? What’s your favourite?

With Love,

Rachel x

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

I'm sure you've all heard of (and a lot of you probably own) the Urban Decay Naked palette. I'm also sure that all of you know that the eagerly anticipated Naked 2 palette is due to be released in February. But did you know that you can actually get your hands on it from midnight tonight?!

That's right! All you have to do is become a fan of the Debenhams Beauty Club fan page/group on Facebook and at midnight tonight they will post a link which will give their facebook page fans the exclusive chance to buy the Naked 2 palette a month before it is released to the general public!

You need to be quick though! The link will only be active until Monday 9th January 2012 so make sure you get clicking from Midnight tonight to secure your Naked 2 palette!

Unfortunately I am completely skint at the moment so I wont be buying the Naked 2 palette (I don't even have the Naked palette yet - tut!) but aren't I kind giving my lovely followers a heads up :)

To become a fan of the Debenhams Beauty Club Facebook page click HERE

Will you be getting Naked tonight? (See what I did there?)

If you do get your hands on the Naked 2 palette please let me know what you think of it!

With Love,

Rachel x

Oh, I apologise for the image used in this post. I had to take one from Google as I obviously don't have the Naked 2 palette to take photos of!

Lush Haul

I had a quick visit to Lush on Boxing Day to pick up some of the Christmas bargains and wasnt disappointed. I spent about £15 in total and seemed to get loads for my money (The joys of 50% off).

What I bought -

♥ Christmas Eve Bubble Bar ♥

♥ Cinders Bath Bomb ♥

♥ Dragons Egg Bath Bomb (This was actually a present from my sister) ♥

♥ Candy Cane Soap ♥

♥ Angel's Delight Soap ♥

♥ Snow Fairy Shower Gel ♥
♥ Gingerbread House Bubble Bar ♥

♥ Lil' Lush Pud Bath Bomb ♥

♥ Satsumo Santa Bath Bomb ♥
♥ Magic Wand Bubble Bar ♥

♥ Superstar Bubble Bar ♥

♥ Golden Wonder Bath Bomb ♥

I'm going to write reviews of all of these as and when I use them so will give more details/information then.

Did you pick any Lush bargains up in the sale or get any goodies for Christmas? What's your favourite Lush product?

With Love,

Rachel x

P.S. What do you think of my cute little basket? I picked it up from a garden centre for the bargainous price of £1! It reminds me of a little bird's nest :)

Barry M Haul

As you may know, I have recently discovered a love for Barry M nail paints (Haul & Review)

With a burning desire to feed my new addiction I headed to my local Boots and picked up some more of my bottled obsession...

I wanted a few Christmassy/wintery colours and definitely wanted to try the Silver Foil Effects after falling in actual love with the Lilac Foil Effects I received free with my last Barry M purchase. I decided to go to Boots instead of Superdrug this time and was glad I did as Boots also had a Free Gift offer on when you spent more than £6 on Barry M products and, what makes it even better is that the free gift was different to the free gift I received from Superdrug. The free gift at Boots is a Limited Edition silver glitter Nail paint and I looooove it! Its really festive and just what I was looking for! What I love the most about it is that it is super glittery - I recently bought a silver glitter top coat from the George make up range at Asda and was disappointed at how un-sparkly it was on my nails but the Barry M silver glitter would satisfy even the most sparkle-obsessed, glitter-aholics!

As I had to spend £6 or more to receive the free gift I began searching the shelves for another shade (I already had the Silver Foil Effects clutched in my hand so needed to spend another £2). I made the mistake of asking my fiance, Scott, which colour he thought I should get and he proceeded to point to EVERY neon-bright, summery colour in sight! I was torn between the Dusky Mauve (Again!) and Mushroom but Scott insisted that I stop playing it safe and get a brighter colour, or at least something a little different. He tried to persuade me to buy Emerald but it just wasn't for me... I toyed with the idea of buying Coral, Peach Melba or Ice Cream Pink (All thoughts of Festive colours banished from my mind!) which were all lovely colours, but I eventually decided that they were too summery for this season. Finally giving up on the Emerald suggestion, Scott moved on to the Blues - we had Cobalt Blue, Blueberry Ice Cream, Blue Moon.. all of which were nice colours (I especially loved the Cobalt Blue!) but as I have only just started wearing nail varnish I felt they were just too bright and 'in your face' for me at the moment... Maybe I will invest in some brighter colours in a few months when i'm more daring with my nails. After suggesting every other shade of Blue, Scott finally got round to Navy and I was intrigued. I have seen quite a few people with Navy nails of late and really like the look. Scott almost died of shock when I said yes to the Navy, unable to believe that he had suggested a colour and I had actually agreed with him!

Now, after finally choosing the Navy, I had an extremely blonde moment! I forgot that the Silver Foil Effects was priced at £3.99 and, thinking that it was only £2.99, I started to scour the shelves for yet ANOTHER shade as I thought I hadn't spent £6 yet. Cue Scott suggesting Emerald (again!) and whinging that we had been in Boots for ageees! After another five minutes of bickering over which colour to get I decided to just get the three in one top coat - a boring but sensible choice in my opinion.

I took my purchases to the till and only when I was walking out of the shop did I realise that I didn't even need the top coat as I had already spent more than £6 before getting it! Not to worry, top coats always come in handy I suppose...

Do you have any of these Barry M Nail Paints? Which is your favourite all time shade?

With Love,

Rachel x

2012 has landed!

Image from we heart it

2012 has officially arrived and with it has arrived a whole lot of ambitious New Year's Resolutions.

Year in, year out I make the same resolution - Eat less and exercise more - and year in, year out I fail. Miserably. Last year I made my usual resolution and vowed to record my progress in a food diary. The first entry in said food diary was - 01/01/2011 - Breakfast - Chocolate Santa - Fail of all fails! With this said I have decided to make a few resolutions that I will not only stick to this year, but ones that I will also enjoy. 

My first resolution for 2012 is... drum roll please... To visit car boot sales and charity shops! This is something I've always wanted to get in to - I remember going to car boot sales every Sunday with my Mum, Nanna and Sister and, after watching Car Boot Sale Haul videos on You Tube and seeing all the little gems that some people have managed to pick up, I decided that I am going to start going as soon as the season starts again. Until the new season begins I am going to start looking in local charity shops and see if the vintage/second hand demon inside me can be stirred.

I have a list of vintage / second hand items I will be keeping my eye open for...

1. Dressing Table - I've wanted a vintage dressing table for a while now but I want one that needs 'doing up'. It would be a nice project to record on my blog so this is the first thing I will be scouring the charity shops and car boot sales for. I love the 'shabby chic' look so I'm thinking of painting whatever I get white and adding pretty handles and lining the drawers with feminine material or paper.

2. Trinket Boxes and Jewellery stands for dressing table - I really like the glass bowls and trinket boxes a lot of people use to store their rings, earrings etc. so will definitely be on the hunt for those! I will also be looking for small vases to use for storing my make up brushes in.

3. Vintage clothing - I never thought I would get into the whole vintage clothing thing - the idea of not knowing who has worn the clothes previously creeped me out - but after visiting a Vintage fair a few weeks ago and seeing how clean the clothes actually were (with the odd exception) I have decided to take the plunge into the world of Vintage Clothing. I quite like the fact that each item is unique and you know that nobody will be wearing the same item as you. Plus, I can always give them a good wash or two before wearing them!

4. Vintage Accessories & Jewellery - Although I have gotten my head around wearing some body's old clothes, I draw the line at buying second hand earrings - It just seems so completely unhygienic to me! Maybe clip ons aren't too bad but I think I will steer clear of vintage earrings all together. I am looking to buy other vintage jewellery items though such as necklaces, rings and bracelets as well as accessories like belts, bags etc. so I will have plenty to be on the search for come my first Car Boot Sale visit!

Image from we heart it

My second resolution is to learn how to play the guitar. This was a spur of the moment decision - My college friend, Matt, plays the guitar and I was watching some videos he had posted on You Tube and thought to myself "I want to play the guitar!" a quick status update on the wonderful Facebook expressing my desire to play the guitar and Matt commented saying that he would teach me. So that's that! Lessons start soon so I'll keep you updated on my progress.

My third resolution is to finish writing the novel my sister and I have been writing for the past year. I don't have any hopes of getting it published but I just want to get it finished for my own satisfaction, so it can be passed down throughout the years and become a family favourite - almost an heirloom or tradition.

My fourth and final resolution is much less fun that the first two and is probably the only one that will get broken - To keep up to my housework. This may sound like a simple thing to do but I have a case of 'lazy-itus' and often leave things far longer than they should be left. I'm ashamed to admit that my sink is more often than not surrounded by a mountain of washing up and my washing basket is constantly over flowing! The plan is to draw up a 'rota' of which jobs need to be done on which days and stick to it! Fingers crossed I can stick to this resolution because its so much nicer coming home to a clean, sparkling house after a long day at work!

I am super excited to put my new year's resolutions in to action - Apart from the fourth resolution maybe!

Have you made any new years resolutions this year? How long to you think you'll go before breaking them?

With Love,

Rachel x