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1. Best fruit ever. 2. Lady Danger by MAC 3. Rehab Lush Shampoo

4. Golden Jubilee coin. 5. Decorating my friend's nursery 6. Nicest perfume ever!

7. Ojon hair oil - amazing! 8. Tread Gently MAC tender tone. 9. Dolly cat.

10. Lindt Easter egg. 11. Standard pre-night out photo. 12. Bath time!

13. The newly formed river on my street. 14. Floral nails. 15. My next project.

16. Jasper cat. 17. Collar necklace. 18. Glossy Box goodies.

19. Matthew & I. 20. Floral headband. 21. Lush goodies.

Nail Polish: Andrea Fulerton Trios

My all time favourite nail polishes are the three that I own from Andrea Fulerton's Trio range. The nail polish comes in a long tube, with two colours either side. The idea is that you can either wear both colours on their own or layer the lighter colour over the darker one to create an amazing third shade!

Here are the three colours that I own: 

 Cup Cake - L-R: Purple over the Pink, Purple on it's own, Pink on it's own.

Petrol On Water - L-R: Brown on it's own, Glittery White on it's own, White over Brown.

Rainfall - L-R: Purple over Turquoise, Purple on it's own, Turquoise on it's own.

I loveee these colours so much, they are probably my three favourite nail polishes ever. Petrol on Water just blows my mind how a horrible brown and lovely shimmery white can make such a vibrant blue/purple colour! Whenever I wear that colour I always get complimented on my nails. Rainfall is the perfect name for the nail polish, the glitter in the deep purple is amazing and actually makes it look like rain, I can't actually describe it very well and the photographs just don't do it justice. Cup Cake creates an amazing neon metallic pink - I was a little confused as to what colour it would produce but I absolutely love it. It's great on a night out.

Have you tried any of the Andrea Fulerton Trio nail polishes? What's your favourite combination?

DIY: Floral Headband

I have so many girl crushes on celebrities and I have recently found a new obsession in the form of one beautiful lady Lana Del Rey. Her album is amazing and is currently my shower soundtrack (taking that title away from Lady Gaga's Born This Way). I adore her beauty and her style and could honestly talk about how amazing I think she is for ages but I don't want to bore you SO... I was inspired by the many floral headbands she is photographed wearing, such as this one...

Image from here.

...and decided I wanted one for myself. I found a few online (such as this) and was inspired to make my own as I do love a good bit of DIY.

Here is how mine turned out, so if you don't think it looks great you don't have to keep reading ;)

To make this headband you only need a few things:

• Fake flowers - I got foam flowers but make sure they have flexible stems.
• A plain headband - I just got a plain silver band but I'd recommend a fabric one as the glue will stick easier.
• Some ribbon - I got white with hearts.
• Scissors
• Glue - I used super glue but it was a little hard to stick the ribbon to the headband.

First I cut the leaves off the stems and then trimmed the stems to about 4/5cm long:

Then I twisted the stems around the headband ensuring they were tight and wouldn't slide about too much.

Do the same with all the stems and make sure they are positioned correctly.

I then (horribly) wrapped my ribbon around the headband, securing in places with the glue and making sure the stems of the flowers are concealed. 

I really didn't put much effort in to this as it was quite difficult and I am very lazy, I figured it won't matter anyway if I wear my hair down with it you might not even see the headband!

Make sure the headband is 100% dry before you put it on or you could end up with a huge super glue/hair disaster!

And ta-dah! The final product :)

Rachael Amy x

Nails: Floral Pattern

Sorry I haven't posted much recently, and most of what I did post has been hauls but I am going to change this because: a) I want to have a little bit of a structure to my blog just so I remember I have to post on certain days and b) I've decided I don't like doing hauls - it can fuel addictions and make people buy things they don't need (I know because watching hauls on YouTube has made me take a few visits to shops that I didn't need to go in to) and I'd hate to be the reason for that. If I buy a certain item that I love or find a real bargain I shall post about it though! You'll be able to see more of my clothes but hopefully in the form of OOTD posts which I plan to do more of.

Anyway, one of my loves in my little life comes in tiny little bottles and is.. nail polish! I don't know why, but there's something so satisfying by painting my nails and then looking at a pretty colour on my nails for a few days (I sound so simple don't I?)

I recently bought some nail art brushes and dotting tools from eBay and they have inspired me to venture out into the world of nail art.

I found this great website (Nail Art 101) that you all probably know about and I'm probably just being slow, but they post really simple tutorials with clear pictures to show you the steps, they also rank each nail art design by difficulty. I chose this beginner's floral nails design and used the colours shown below:

L-R: Barry M Mint Green, Barry M 140 (I think?), Rimmel Lycra Pro 291 Urban Princess, Barry M Yellow, Barry M 3 in 1 Top Coat, Andrea Fulerton Eva.

The technique was simple and after the first nail I'd gotten the hang of placing the dots in the right places, although I did have to start over a few times on one nail! I'm really pleased with how they've turned out and I love how you can use any colour combinations! I can't wait for these to chip now though so I can try out more designs. :)

Here's the final outcome:

Impressive, huh? (For me, anyway).

Rachael Amy x

Mini H&M & Dorothy Perkins Haul

I was naughty again and took a little visit to H&M after work. I think I start my day thinking "I don't need anything from Topshop/H&M/etc today so I don't need to go and have a look" and buy the end of the day I'm thinking "it won't hurt to have a look maybe buy one thing". It's not good.

Anyway, I went to H&M specifically to find the floral shorts from their Conscious Collection (the second pair below) and a dress from the same collection which they didn't have. :( I ended up picking up a few more things.. aaand here they are:

Pale Pink Sports Trend Shorts - £9.99

I love these shorts so much, they're very 'sports luxe' which is in right now. I love the circular cut at the hem making the shorts feminine and the black tie around the waist just brings in the sports look. These look great dressed up or down. I could wear them for work or on the beach! I bought these in a size 8 I think and they fit great.

Powder Pink Pattern Shorts - £19.99 - x

I wrote about these in the H&M Conscious Collection post and they are AMAZINGGG. I got them in a size 10 and they fit really well. I love the print and the fabric, they look so feminine and delicate. They look great with both bare legs and black tights. I'm really loving shorts right now as I'm a bit sick of jeans and the skirts that I own!

Black/Brown Dip Dye Vest with Sheer Back - £12.99

This vest top is great, I love how it's sort of ombre and the sheer back gives it a different edge. I bought a size 12 as it looked quite short in the front and it fits me great - not too baggy or too long! This vest is available in different colours too but I love how grungy it looks.

Brown Trousers - £15.99

I have no idea why I bought these trousers as when I tried them on I was so out of my comfort zone, but that's the good thing about fashion isn't it? Trying out new outfits you'd never normally put together. I love these trousers though, I think they fit really well and look great with the bottoms turned up slightly. I'll try to get a photo of me wearing them tomorrow, if it's not too wet!

This is such a genius idea! I love H&M's sticky clothes rollers and have repurchased them a million times, but then I found they have some for your handbag!! The sticky roll comes in a little case that closes so when it's in your handbag it doesn't collect any rubbish, and when you need it you open it and roll roll roll! It also comes with 2 extra rolls and costs 99p - bargain!

Now this next item isn't from H&M, it's from Dorothy Perkins and I instantly fell in love with it.

Coral Spot Midi Dress - £32 - x

I got a size 8 and it fits perfectly, I love it so much! I wish it was sunny so I could actually wear it. I guess I'm just going to have to wait until all this rain goes! They also have it in a lilac colour which is so pretty too. I love the way it fastens at the back and the back tie means you can pull it in around the waist to flatter your figure more!

Rachael Amy x

Mac Tendertone in Tread Gently

Now, I know everyone is raving about Mac's Tendertone Lip Balms from their Cook Mac collection, but I JUST HAD to post about the one I received today in the post. Excuse the typical instagram picture but my camera is toooo far away and I am just too tired to move.

Anyway, I was browsing the Mac website and saw that the Tendertone in Tread Gently wasn't out of stock - I thought this was strange because the collection had been out for a few weeks and everybody loves Tendertones. So I ordered one along with a lipstick in Lady Danger which is also great.

I then received an email from Mac telling me that the Tendertone was actually out of stock and they would refund me for it. I wasn't too upset because I never thought I'd get my hands on one this late anyway! So they posted my lipstick and I was happy. A week later I come home from work to two parcels: one I was expecting and a little Mac package which I wasn't. Inside was the Tendertone which was apparently out of stock so I checked PayPal and I had been refunded £11... meaning FREE TENDERTONE!

Thank you Mac, and sorry that you sent it for free but I've used it now so ha!

I do just have to say that IT SMELLS AMAZING like watermelon and strawberries - I just want to eat it!

Have you ever been lucky enough to get something for free by accident?

Rachael Amy x

Rimmel 1000 Kisses Lasting Finish Lip Tint & Balm

Rimmel launched their new 1000 Kisses Lip Tint & Balm a few weeks ago now, and I bought it around the time I bought their Wake Me Up foundation. I really love lip tints as I'm not that good at being bothered to reapply lipsticks. I wanted to try this particular lip tint because not only does it have a felt tin pen end (which is great) but it also has a lip balm attached to the end! This is great for me as I often get incredibly dry lips so anything that has a lip balm readily available with it is just ideal. However, when I'd just put a coat of the stain on my lips felt pretty moisturised anyway, I was expecting it to dry my lips out as it dried.

You apply one or two coats of the lip stain on to clean lips, and then over the top apply a layer of the lip balm! SO easy.

I tried the shade 700 Nothing But Nude as I have many red/pink lip colours but no nude ones. The photo below shows how it looks on my lips - very natural. This is a perfect shade for day-to-day wear and would look good on an evening with a smokey eye too. I would recommend and repurchase this product - maybe even in a different colour.

1000 Kisses come in six different shades and are priced at £6.99 from boots.com.

Have you tried 1000 Kisses?

Rachael Amy x

H&M Conscious Collection

"Conscious Collection is part of H&M's actions for a more sustainable fashion future".

I LOVE the idea behind H&M's conscious collection. I actually have a Geography degree, and my dissertation was focused on the sustainability of the UK clothing industry so this collection is right up my street.

H&M's vision for the collection is that 'all business operations shall be run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable". H&M have a great website about their plan for sustainability here, which boasts facts such as: 300,000,000 litres of water saved in denim production, no. 1 user of organic cotton worldwide and 440,000 garment workers in Bangladesh educated on their rights.

Organic cotton is free from chemical pesticides and fertilisers, which has a huge benefit on the farmer as it eliminates the high expense of these chemicals, doesn't have an effect on their health and reduces the impact on the environment.

I could honestly write a whole essay on all the positive things H&M are trying to do!

The Conscious Collection is really worth a look at, it can't do any harm and you might even learn something about the effects clothing has on our environment! Also, the collection is just amazing anyway!

Here are a few items that especially caught my eye:

Coral Pink Lace Top - £14.99 - x

Mole Detachable Maxi Dress - £149.99 - x

Floral T-Shirt Dress* - £29.99 - x

Natural White Sleeveless Blouse - £9.99 - x

Powder Pink Bandeau Dress - £19.99 - x

Love Print Crop Top - £7.99 - x

Pink Patterned Shorts - £19.99 - x

I especially love the t-shirt dress and the shorts.

* only available in selected stores.

The collection is available online and instore in selected stores.

Does this collection excite you?

Rachael Amy x

Mini Primark Haul

Every now and then I love a good old rummage around the cluttered shelves in Primark to see what bargains I can uncover! I hadn't been for a good few months as sometimes I just cannot be bothered with people pushing and long queues to the pay desks.. but I thought I'd brave it after work yesterday after I saw a great Primark haul video recently. I bought 5 items which came to £43 - which is great considering when I bought 4 items from Topshop it was £130ish! Mentallll.

Anyway, here is what I bought: (and again I apologise for my shocking photographing skills).

Light pink sleeveless blouse with black collar - £8

I've been meaning to make my collection of blouses larger as I only have a few and I think they're a great item to dress up an outfit and are even great for day-to-day wear. I love this light pink blouse as the pastel colour is very on trend for summer, but the black collar gives it an edge too. The blouse has a dipped hem at the back which I am loving at the minute for some reason. The blouse fastens up the front with tiny gold buttons! I bought a size 8 but I wish I'd have bought a 10 now as I get a gap between the buttons around my chest. :( But I could always unbutton it a bit with a bandeau underneath or wear it under a thin jumper!

White pleated sleeveless blouse with black collar - £10

Yet another blouse, but this one has pleats in it and a black strip down the buttons. I love pleating but feel that pleated skirts give me the appearance of being a lot older than I actually am? Or something. I bought a size 8 in the blouse and unlike the one above it actually fits me great! I like sleeveless blouses because I love the look of collars underneath jumpers but the blouses with sleeves always feel so uncomfortable on my arms and make me feel really sweaty for some reason? Sounds disgusting but there we go!

Sleeveless denim shirt dress - £10

I couldn't resist this dress, I adore denim dresses and I actually own none. The fit of this dress is great - fitted around the top and loose around the bottom. Think skater dress but less skater-y. I even love the woven fake leather belt, I'm sure I'll be wearing it with other items too. I bought an 8 and the fit is a little snug, I definitely can't fasten it up to the top so a lot of cleavage will have to be on show with this one!

Cropped light denim gilet - £12

This is the most expensive thing I bought that day which is amazing! I'm not 100% sure why I bought it, though. I did have my eye on one very similar to this in Topshop last year for about £40 but they never had my size in so maybe I just wanted it after all this time! I like denim jackets but even in the warmest of weather I hate not having a proper jacket with me (I get so cold all the time) so I might not even get round to wearing it! I'll take it on my holiday though and see how I get on with it.

Neon pink and beige skull print scarf - £3

THREE POUNDS. Three pounds for something that looks pretty similar to those Alexander McQueen scarves! Bargain. I love the colours of this scarf and even though (obviously) the quality is nothing compared to a scarf by McQueen, it costs £3 it doesn't really matter! They also had this in a turquoise-y colour which was really nice too.

Are you a Primark lover, or a hater?

Rachael Amy x

They heard me singing and they told me to stop

Primark Alexander McQueen scarf dupe, moi, new hair styler,

oh hello blogpost, nail rock, moi v.2,

Topshop haul, my first pair of shoes, how I spent a lazy Sunday (also best game ever),

homemade stir fry (from scratch), best chocolate on the planet, Michael Kors sunglasses,

peace hand harness, Enrapture totem styler, flu remedy,

favourite nail colour & glitter, nail collection (now a lot bigger), me & Matthew,

apple Sourz & cranberry, pretending to be a student again, weird nail design.

p.s. follow me on instagram @rachaelamyy

Rachael Amy x

Nail Rock: Meadham Kirchhoff SS12 Wraps

I posted about these Meadham Kirchhoff SS12 nail wraps in a recent Topshop haul post and promised I'd post about them once I'd tried them - and here that post is! I first saw these nail wraps at London Fashion Week and instantly fell in love. I love anything cute, kitsch and nail art related but I was devastated to find out they were for the fashion show only! But a few months ago Nail Rock announced they were launching them into Topshop stores - yippee! It has taken me until now to purchase them as I couldn't find them in any of my local Topshop stores and I'd also had a previous bad experience with nail wraps.

There are a selection of eight different designs in different colourways: featuring ponies, love hearts, teddy bears and even vagina-things? I didn't want to use them all up at once so I decided to use the rabbit/cat design and put them on my ring fingers, painting the rest of my nails with Barry M's Strawberry I/C nail polish.

The application was easier than I expected but still a little fiddly. You start with a clean blank nail having wiped it with nail polish remover. You then have to push back your cuticles and shape your nail how you like it. Then you gently buffer your nail to get rid of any shininess on your nail. THEN you take the nail wrap and press it on to your nail, positioning the curved edge with your cuticles. THEN fold the wrap under your nail and file off the edges of the wrap and ta da! Nail wraps!

The wraps were slightly too wide for my ring fingers and didn't even look like they'd fit any other nail so I had to neatly trim around the sides of the wrap, which I think turned out ok. I think Nail Rock expected my nails to be longer than they are, as when I filed off the edge of the wrap it took some of the cat/rabbits' ears off and left a weird blue gap near my cuticle - I would have liked it to be positioned lower down but if you're experienced you could trim the cuticle section before applying.

 

I've only been wearing these wraps for one day and already the tips of my nails have started to rub off a bit - they're meant to last up to 10 days! Not good. Maybe with more experience they'll stay a bit longer.

Overall, I think these nail wraps are worth the £7 I paid for them, even if purely for the novelty of them! I don't think I'll be repurchasing them though, unless my skill at applying nail wraps greatly improves!

How have your experiences with nail wraps been?

Rachael Amy x

Nails: Model's Own Hed Kandi

Model's Own's Hed Kandi range has been available in select Boots stores across the UK for a few weeks now but I wanted to wait until they were available online until I blogged about them, as I read a post about the Hedonist nail colour and wanted to order it online but couldn't find anything about it ANYWHERE (except blogs) - not even the Model's Own website! I was well and truly baffled until a lot of research told me that it wasn't released online yet.

But now it is!

Within the Hed Kandi range there are five very summery shades that reflect every kind of summer holiday you can have!

From left to right: Beach Party, Balearic Cool, Disco Heaven, Ibiza Mix and Hedonist.

Beach Party and Balearic Cool are great shades for the beach whereas Disco Heaven, Ibiza Mix and Hedonist are perfect for those club nights.

My sister managed to pick two up from Boots for me but they'd unfortunately sold out of Disco Heaven (I only really wanted it for the Lady Gaga song title name anyway..)

The two shades I chose were Hedonist and Ibiza Mix (both shown below modelled on my mum's nails). Hedonist is such a bright, neon coral colour - I can't actually get over just how bright it is! You only need to apply one or two coats for it to become opaque which is really great. Ibiza Mix is a lovely glitter polish with different sized hexagonal pieces of glitter in a huge range of colours: turquoises, golds, pinks etc. Below it is shown over two coats of Topshop's Hide and Seek (which I wouldn't really recommend as a nude colour). I also wore Ibiza Mix over Andrea Fulerton's navy blue polish Ashvina and it looked amazing but I didn't get around to taking a picture. Ibiza Mix lasted around five days on my nails which is impressive to say I often pick at my nail polish!

 Model's Own nail polishes are available instore at Boots, and online at Boots (currently a 3 for 2 offer on cosmetics) or the Model's Own website - you can currently buy the whole set for £30 £20 (considering they're £5 a bottle I think it's a great deal AND includes a clear 3-in-1 polish!) or they have an offer on: buy 3 save £3 or buy 5 save £7.

 Do you like the new Hed Kandi range?

Rachael Amy x

The Miracle of the Sock Bun

Recently, I've been feeling a little fed up of my go-to hairstyle when my hair isn't looking its best. That hairstyle is the top knot - it takes a few minutes and no real effort at all but I have my hair styled this way at least 3 days out of seven and it's getting a bit old.

I've always been intrigued as to how people get their hair into a perfect bun (like the one above, although mine isn't perfect yet!), but thought it looked too complicated for me, and that I didn't have enough hair! Now I know I am probably months behind on this hairstyle and you're probably all going to know how to do it.. but I found a great YouTube tutorial that teaches you how to create what is known as a 'Sock Bun' - but with a twist!

The YouTube tutorial is here and it is so simple to follow - if I can you definitely can! All you need is a hair bobble and an old sock you wouldn't mind cutting the toe end off. The photo above was only my second attempt and I'm quite proud of it! Admittedly, I did have to pin a few bits down to make it look more doughnut like and thinking about it now I would have positioned it a bit lower towards the nape of my neck. I shall definitely be having my hair like this for work tomorrow - especially because I left my beloved GHDs at my boyfriend's house. :(

Do you love the sock bun look?
Rachael Amy x