Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 & 16 Hour Foundation

Quick review for you today ladies,

For about the last 4/5 years I have been using my MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation religiously and haven’t bought any other foundations. So I decided to try a few new ones since my last MAC ran out rather than buying it again. (I had a back up bottle which I still use every so often)

So I tried a few different ones, Revlon colour stay, Maybeline and NYC. I was ready to give up at this stage and buy another MAC and then I gave Rimmel a whirl. I was in a chemist waiting for a prescription and just browsing as you do when I came across it. I had seen EmilyNoel83 on Youtube use it and rave about it and for some reason just never thought to buy it. At the time they only had the 16 hour one (bit of an old fogey chemist) so I picked that up for about €7.00. And I loved it, everything about it. I loved the squeezy bottle, I loved the texture and the coverage. The consistency was perfect and the colour matched me 100% (shade 200) I had found my replacement for my MAC horaaaay.

So I was in town a few weeks later and decided I would get a back up one in Boots and headed in to see if there were any offers etc on and nearly freaked when I didn’t see the 16hr one. They only had the 25hr one. So I came home disheartened and started to do some research online. (I fully intended returning to the old fogey chemist if I needed to). So I found out on the net that the 25hr one was the replacement for the 16hr one. I was a bit disappointed because the squeezy bottle was gone as it was soooo handy. But the new 25hr has a glass bottle with a pump so at least that is something. I of course had to go out and get the 25hr one then and try it to see was it as good or did I need to re-visit the other chemist and stock up with all the 16hr 200 they had left.

I found the 25hr one is just as good as the 16hr one. No I dunno about the claim that they last 16 or 25 hours cos my make up barely makes it in the door in the evening before I take it off but the coverage lasts my entire work day. It’s applied at 7.30am and only taken off at about 8.00pm.

I really recommend this foundation and Rimmel was always a brand that I overlooked for foundations etc but since starting to try it out I have blushers, mascaras, shadows and all sorts It’s a great quality brand for some really good prices and especially if you luck out on a 3 for 2 in boots. This will be my go to brand for foundations from here on in.

I still prefere the squeezy packaging

Top pump is from the 16hr foundation and bottom is from 25hr

 As you can see both shades are practically identical the right swatch is 16hr and the left swatch is 25hr

When they are blended in you can’t see any difference between the two

Thanks for looking let me know if there are any more reviews you would like

xx

Willpower

Ok so project 10 pan didn't work :( so I am thinking I might give a spending ban a go until 26th April (my holidays start) I have to buy a couple of things for a five away and I will be getting a laser session on 22nd but that's a present from my mum. Other than that and my bills that is all I HAVE to spend money on. So here goes.

While I am at it I am going to try to ration my straightners use. I use em around 3 times a week think I am gonna limit it to once a week until 26th. I have wild hair an I don't blow Dry but it's still so dry and I know straightening it kills it so gonna c if I notice any difference.

Wish me luck

Stylish Blogger Award

On the same day the lovely Charli gave me the Kreative Blogger Award the lovely Makeup Monologue also chose me for a Stylish blogger award - needless to say I was well chuffed that two of the bloggers I follow quite closely and respect a great deal chose me for these awards.

So the rules for the Stylish Blogger Award are:

Thank and link back to the blogger that awarded you
Share 7 things about yourself
Award 15 wonderful bloggers
Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

And here are a few more little pieces of info about me

I am a mahusive Harry Potter fan
My other fav film is Hot Fuzz
I have been to NASA
I love America and wish I lived there
I am envious of all the brands available in the UK and US that we don’t have here
I can’t sleep without my ipod or the TVMy favourite colour is purple

So here are my 15 bloggers who I would like to pass the award on to

Bakesbeautyblog

Confessionsofamakeupaholic2011

Charli-dot-dot-dot

Leannemariea

Secretsbehindtheclosetdoor

Makeupandme

Missbudgetbeauty

viannadoesmakeup

Makeyuup

Ladderinmytights

Modestybrown

Daintydollymix

Daisyloves01

Hellobeautiful61

Pinksweetsz

Kreative Blogger Award

Hi there Ladies,

A big thank you to charli-dot-dot-dot http://charli-dot-dot-dot.blogspot.com/ who awarded me with the Kreative Blogger Award

And here are 10 little things you may not know about me

My name is Rachel
I have 5 and ½ tattoos
I am extremely clumsy and am always falling down
I love all animals but my lease fav is spiders but I feel bad because they get a bad rep.
I live with my hubby to be - the bestest boy in the world we are together 8 years and engaged 3 years (we’re pretty laid back)
I drive a Citroen C4 by Loeb - sportaaaaaay
I don’t want to grow up
I love wearing glasses
I am 5’ 10” tall
I miss my Daddy every day

The rules of this award are

You must Link 10 blogs

Tell these bloggers about the award

Write 10 facts about yourself

So here are my wonderful blog links

Bakesbeautyblog
Confessionsofamakeupaholic2011

Leannemariea

Secretsbehindtheclosetdoor

Makeupandme
Missbudgetbeauty

viannadoesmakeup

Makeyuup

Ladderinmytights

Makeupmonologue

Hope you enjoy these blogs, thanks again for the award and congrats to all the Ladies I have passed it on to

xx

St. Moriz Tan

Hey Ladies,

Today I am reviewing St. Moriz fake tan. Recently my buddy asked me to do a review on some fake tans as she finds most of the tans leave her too sticky or smelly. So I pulled out all of my fake tans and found a Piz Buin Self Tan Lotion with Colour Dial, Garnier Summerbody Gradual Tan, Johnsons Gradual Tan, L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self Tan Gel and St. Tropez. I had already used all of these and had formed an opinion on each of them but said for the sake of it I would also try each of them out again.

I had noticed St. Moriz in my local Primark/Pennys and had also seen a lot of people talking about it on Twitter. I had walked by it soooo many times in Primark and thought it must be crap so I decided to put the question out there on twitter as to what people thought of it. The general response was it was a very good tan. Here I want to give a shout out to the three lovely ladies who responded to my question on Twitter and if you haven't checked out their blogs take a look. I have a lot to thank them for :)

http://charli-dot-dot-dot.blogspot.com/

http://leannemariea.blogspot.com/

http://make-up-and-me.blogspot.com/

So anyway on to the review. The first time I used St. Moriz I nearly had a fit I had a serious panic moment when I thought dang it I am gonna be a zebra tomorrow morning. So I headed to bed mentally prepared for a serious showering the next morning. I did notice even in my panic that there was no icky tan smell off it though and I could get away with throwing on a t shirt straight away without it getting stuck to me.

When i woke up the next morning I was amazed, I had the loveliest natural tan to my skin. It wasn't too dark and it blended so well with my hands and neck. I loved it.

I did however kind of think that it might just have been a fluke so I used it again yesterday morning. It was great, I got dressed pretty soon after applying it and there was no stickiness to it, no horrible smell and it didn't stain my clothes too much at all. To be fair the night I put it on my pj top was pretty brown but yesterday I didn't have much transfer to my clothes and my bed clothes aren't that horrible colour that normally happens with tans.

I reckon this is a tan you can build on and I am thinking of doing another layer tonight to check that out.

I will be stocking up on this bad boy let me tell you. €4.00 in Primark for the bottle of foam tan. Love it. Its a new must have for me and I bet if you give it a go it will be for you too.

Thanks girls, ye have saved me a fortune on expensive tans that feel and smell like crap and leave me looking either like a tangerine or a zebra.

Purtylilpieces

Hey ladies,
I have always ha a love for jewellery from way back when I was a teeny bopper I was always having a nosey in mu mum's jewellery box. I love all kinds of jewellery from classic pieces and dress pieces to trend pieces I love it all. I rarely come home from shopping without some form of jewellery.

So I have often dreamt of owning my own little jewellers selling different little pieces that people could afford. Unfortunately this was not meant to be.

So my other half recently encouraged me to try a bit of online sales and maybe eventually have a little website to sell through. I have just ordered my first batch of stock and will be selling it on http://purtylilpieces.blogspot.com/

I hope u will pop by to have a look some time

Xx

Marble Nails

Hey Ladies,

I am not too hot on the old nail art but have been giving it a g ood go lately. Most recently I tried out nail marbling. It's not the easiest and you do need a bit of patience but it is totally worth a whirl because the designs they can come up with it are soooooo pretty.

The first time I tried it I used some pretty whites and pastel colours and they left a lovely design

I added this picture on Twitter last night when I had them finished and the lovely Kelly from http://bakesbeautyblog.blogspot.com/ asked if I would do a blog post about them. I decided to re-do them this evening in different colours and take some pics to show you how I did it. (PS if you haven't checked out Kelly's blog you should she has some great posts on there :-)

So here is what you need to do this and remember it can be very messy so if you need to put down some paper do. I was at my make up desk so I was fine.

I like to keep some baby wipes beside me for any messy spills. Tape to cover your fingers to help with the clean up. The polishes you want to do the design in. A little wooden cuticle stick. A glass or bowl for your water and I like to keep a little dish for the dirty pieces of tape. You also need a top coat and a base coat.

The first step is to apply a base coat and then I apply 2 coats of a base colour. On the first day I used a white base colour and today I used ELF polish in Desert Haze.

Then what I did was tape up my fingers. The first day I didn't do this and by golly was there a mess to be cleaned up. Here is how I taped them. I had some medical tape in the press so I just used that and wrapped a section around my finger under the nail and then around the top and back of my finger. I hope these pics show it ok.

 

 

So that was how I wrapped my fingers. Next is to get the nail polish and water solution ready. You must be quick in doing this as the nail polish actually dries pretty quickly in the water. I chose 3 colours, OPI's Russian Navy is the blue, Essence Most Wanted is the browny colour and No. 7 Golden colour (name was gone off bottle).

 

Fill your glass with water. I used tap water the first time and then tonight I had put water by in a bottle since last night to see if it would make any difference and it didn't so either would do. Then you simply let a drop of polish drop from the brush into the water. Once it hits the water it should spread out across the glass. Quickly add a drop of your next colour to the middle of the blue. It will spread out and leave a layer of blue to the outside. Then drop a drop of the gold and it will spread in the same way. I repeat this three times in total and as you get closer to the centre it spreads less and less. Here are some pics to show you.

Then use your little stick to drag the polish in until you get a design similar to this (you can use your own design I just like this one, also sorry I couldn't do it and take a pic at the same time)

Now I know on all of the tutorials I have watched they say you have to do this for each finger, I am afraid I do not have the patience for this so I whacked three fingers in at once :) So what you do at this point is you choose the part of the pattern you would like applied to your fingers and you place your fingers in the water and the polish will stick to your nails. Use your little stick to kind of edge the remaining polish away from your nails before you take them out. This is the messy sight that greets you when you take your fingers out.

When you take off the tape - I do this by starting it with a tweezers and then pulling it off - you should have something like this.

Then simply repeat for your other fingers. Once you have done all of your fingers, before the clean up, I applied my top coat. Left it to dry for a bit and then soaked a cotton bud in nail polish remover and moulded it around the pointy side of the wooden stick. I then ran it around all the areas that had the excess polish to remove it. I haven't quite prefected it yet but they are not too bad.

So let me know what you think :)

XX

My Little Family

Hey Ladies,

I am afraid this is a totally non make up related post. I love my little family of furries and thought I would pop a few pics up here for you all to see.

I will resume normal services tomorrow :-)

xx

This is our dog, he is about 8 now, we rescued him when he was 6 months. He is a fuzz ball, a collie crossed with a Japanese spitz and a big baby.

Next up is the most spoilt cat in the world, this is Oscar who we also rescued when he was one, he is only about 3 now but he is soooooo spoilt. We have just come back from doing his grocery's of nuts meat treats and cat milk!!

We also have 2 lion head rabbits, we got Nubby first as a rescue rabbit. Nubby is the golden one and then to keep her company we got Pixie the black one. Unfortunately they never bonded so they now live next door to one another. When I let them out they play for a bit but it always ends in tears :(

And lastly - now this is a long story, I got 2 'girl' mice, Portia and Ellen, but it turned out that Portia was pregnant when we got her and I found a little baby mouse when I was cleaning out the cage. It had been about 4 days since I had cleaned it out and little lady mice can get pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth and wouldn't u know it 'Ellen' turn out to be a dude so I was rightly screwed. Portia was pregnant again. Thankfully the pet shop took Ellen back because he may have killed the new baby mouse if I kept him. And so Portia raised Baby and then gave birth to 10 more little baby mice.

Unfortunately 1 baby did not make it but we ended up with 9 babys. We kept 2, Ralph and Little Lady so they could keep Portia and Baby company and we bought a boys cage :) The pet shop took the other 7 when they were old enough and got great homes for them. Some of the staff even took them cos they were sooooo cute.

Sadly Portia passed away about 2 months ago which we were all very sad about. Also when Baby and Ralph got older they began fighting so welcome cage 3 :) So as it stands we have 3 mice left.

Portia and Ellen when I brought them home Ellen is the black and white one

Portia - it's not easy taking a pic of a mouse :)

The moment I discovered Baby he is in the top left corner

A member of the second litter - nameless - i couldn't name them or I would have had to keep them all

Ralph at a couple of weeks old

Another pic of Portia she really was so beautiful and friendly xx

Portia's first born :) This is Baby

Hope that didn't bore you all too much. I know I am like a proud mother with baby pictures but these are my babies for now.

xx

China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Hello Honeys

Today's review is of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. (Sorry the picture is a stock one taken from google. I do have a bottle of it but all the shots I took came out crappy so this is the best I could do this evening)

I have been using this top coat for almost a month now and I have to say I think it is quite good but it is still lacking slightly in some areas. It cost me €6.99 from Sallys Salon Service which is the same price as a regular polish.

What I love: When you apply this on top of any polish the shine factor goes through the roof. It gives such a high glossy finish I have had loads of compliments on my nails since I started using it and the other half has even noticed the difference. It also dries relatively quickly. I have found other top coats don't dry so quick so I end up smudging my nails anyway. This dries quite quickly and I have smudged them once after applying and after a few minutes the little dents off the fabric had kind of moulded back out and the nail was smooth and shiny again so that is a major plus.

What I don't like: It is not really chip resistant. I usually have chips on the second day and once or twice on the end of the first day but as I usually change up my nail polish on a daily basis or at the very least every second day.

I am thinking of getting a China Glaze base coat to see if that will help with the chips so will let you know how that goes.

So in all ladies this is a good top coat with great shine at a reasonable price and I would recommend it if you are on the hunt.

xx