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TAG: Holy Grail Products

* Best Eyeshadow Base * Benefit Lemonaid & MAC Bare Study Paint Pot. I love lemonaid for a matte look, and bare study for shimmer. Both hold shadows with ease and don't budge or crease!

* Best Eyeshadow * Oy.. I'd have to go with MAC Mythology. I love this color! Mostly I use it in the crease with All That Glitters on the lid, or lately I've been using Mythology all over the lid with Twinks in the crease

* Best Eyeliner * I'd have to say my Urban Decay 24/7 liners. I love zero on my water line and gunmetal on my lash line.

*Best Mascara * Fresh Supernova. It's a gorgeous, light wash of color with no clumping. It's perfect!

* Best Foundation * NARS Sheer Glow in Deuxville. Whenever I wear it people compliment me on my skin, tell me that it looks porcelain and flawless! I even notice that others have a harder time telling when Im blushing while I wear this foundation, which is an added bonus! Plus, I just love the satin finish.

* Best Blush * MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder. I think that this is the perfect color for my skin tone. Once while wearing this blush with the Nars Sheer Glow, I was told I even looked "like a china doll." I'll take it!

* Best Highlighter * MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder. This color is just gorgeous! It's nice and light, with subtle shimmer. To mix with my foundation I use MAC Strobe Cream. Both are amazing!

* Best Lipstick * Avon Apricot Glow, however, mine broke :( So I need to order a new one!

* Best Lipgloss * MAC Cha Cha Lipglass from the Summer Forecast collection. Beautiful!

These are my holy grail items, what are yours?

xo

Rachel

Product Review: Fekkai Series (Protein Rx)

Since I've recently purchased three shampoo+conditioner sets of Frederick Fekkai's, I decided I would do a review series so you all could see the differences between the different shampoo's and conditioners.

I am almost at the end of my Protein Rx Reparative shampoo and deep nourishing conditioner, and I have truly loved using them. The first thing I noticed when opening the shampoo bottle is the intoxicating warm vanilla scent. I'm not usually one for vanilla, but this shampoo smells absolutely delicious! The conditioner is a bit different, it smells more like an ordinary conditioner, but it still smells awfully good.

The website describes the shampoo and conditioner as "Protein Rx Reparative Shampoo and conditioner is ideal for brittle, broken hair that has been weakened from coloring, relaxing, or heat styling. An exclusive soy and milk protein complex restores and reinforces hair preventing future breakage, leaving hair stronger and more manageable." I have to say I agree, I absolutely 100% recommend this product for anyone with dry, damaged hair. Since using this duo my hair has maintained the perfect balanced of moisturized without being greasy.

As we all know you're not supposed to wash your hair every day, and those who do always start off thinking "I could never do that, my hair would get so greasy!" Well, this product fixes that. After a day of not washing my hair, my hair would be the ultimate grease-ball. There was just no escaping it. Now, I can go two, three, sometimes four days without washing it... and no one would ever know! I can even put my hair up on day, and wear it down the next and still have it looking absolutely perfect. I cannot rave anymore about this shampoo and conditioner, at the moment they are definitely my holy grail hair products. Thinking about it I'm quite sad to be moving on to the other variations, but I'm sure my hair will be in great hands with the other Fekkai products.

The next duo I'm going to try out will be the Glossing Formula. So, I'll let you know how that all goes!

While I'm at it, I recently won a contest! Thanks to lovely Miss Timeless Fashionista!

I won these wonderful lip balms!

xo

Rachel

Haul: Books + Costco Discounts

Hello again my lovelies,

I am sitting here in my school's library annex (our library is under construction) and instead of studying for my finals next week, here I am posting my haul!

First and foremost last week I finished the Time Travelers Wife. Such an amazing book. If you liked the movie I'm sure that you'll positively adore the book! I haven't read a book that good in a very long time. So, to make up for that I had to go buy some more! Luckily for me, on Tuesday Chuck Palahniuk's new book Tell All came out. I just love Chuck Palahniuk

(the genius author of Fight Club and Choke), so I am very

excited to get started on this book. As well as buying a regular copy, I pre-ordered a signed book. Once I get my compute

r home I'll take a picture of that! I also decided to pick up Closing Time and God Knows by Joseph Heller. Last summer I read Catch 22, and I loved it. Closing time is the sequel and God Knows is a tale about the Biblical King David of Israel as a young Jewish boy. I cannot wait to read all of these

books!

Now on to the next

part of my haul. I mentioned that the items we

re from Costco, which may seem a bit strange. At my local Costco (a wholesale store for those who don't have any near by) I noticed that they were selling a package of a Frederick Fekkai shampoo + conditioner for only about $20! Now, normally one bottle alone goes for about $23 so I had to grab this chance! I got two packages; one in the glossing formulation with a glossing cream, and one in the technician color treated formulation with syrum.

After that I found another great deal! I saw that they had the Juicy Couture Eau De Parfum for only $30. I absolutely love this scent! I bought it in the roller ball from Sephora a few weeks ago for $16 and I am obsessed. I wear it everyday, it just smells delightful. The top notes are said to be passion fruit, melon, marigold, apple, water hyacinth and crushed leaves. With the middle notes as wild rose, princess lily and tuberose and the base notes vanilla crème brûlée, precious wood and patchouli. Needless to say, its enchanting.

I've previously mentioned my love for Frederick Fekkai hair products, so once I've given the two new shampoos and conditioners a go I will do a review. I am so excited to try these new products out!

Have you tried any of these products?

xo

Rachel

LOTD: Formal (2)

Hello again, darlings!

The second formal I went to this weekend was called Roseball (again, cute right?) This was for the fraternity that my boyfriend is in. My dress was this cute grey and black backless dress from Wet Seal. For my hair, I twisted my bangs off to the side and pulled the rest of my hair into a side ponytail. I wore black beads from H&M, a pearl bracelet from Forever 21, and red heels from Payless.

For my face I used:

1) NARS Primer with SPF

2) NARS Sheer Glow in Deuxville

3) MAC Strobe Cream

4) Hoola Bronzer

5) MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder

6) MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder

For my eyes I used:

1) MAC Bare Study Paint Pot

2) MAC All That Glitters Eyeshadow in the inner third of the eye

3) Urban Decay Last Call in the outer 2/3rds of the eye

4) Urban Decay Oil Slick in the crease

5) Urban Decay Oil Slic 24/7 Eyeliner

6) Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

Sorry I don't have a more close up picture, by the time I got to it I was already on the dance floor, and that's not exactly pretty!

I was also bad and bought a few things yesterday, so my next post will be a haul! Talk to you all soon!

xo

Rachel

LOTD: Formal (1)

Hey lovelies!

So I just had my big weekend! Two formals and a alumni tea party. Needless to say I'm exhausted. My first look from this weekend is from my own formal (Sapphire Ball, cute right?). For my hair I had my friend curl it and after this picture was taken I pinned my bangs back.

For my face I used:

*NARS Primer with SPF

*NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Deuxville

*Benefit Hula Bronzer

*MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder for Blush

*MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder as a highlight

For my eyes I used:

*Benefit Lemonaid

*MAC Bare Study Paint Pot

*MAC All That Glitters all over the lid

*MAC Satin Toupe in the crease

*MAC Twinks in the outer V

*MAC Shroom as a highlight

*Mac Retrospeck as a highlight

*Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

*NYX Blue Sapphire Eyeliner

And yes, the handsome guy in my picture is my lovely date, and also now my boyfriend :)

What's your favorite look for a special occasion?

xo

Rachel

Update: MIA

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been so MIA.. a lot has been going on. I mentioned that I have sorority/fraternity formals coming up and they're this weekend so I've been trying to get a lot of stuff done, and I've been spending a lot of time with my date! So after this weekend I'll keep you all updated on the status of that ;)

So after this weekend I will definitely have some makeup posts. I'm hoping to do a look of the day, etc for my formal looks. I'm really excited for what I've got planned, so I hope you all enjoy them as well!

I hope you all are doing fantastic!

xo

Rachel

Favorites: April

Hey lovelies!

So I know its a bit early, but I am very excited about my favorites for this month! Plus, I actually had a nightmare last night that it was May 1st.. Which sounds a bit odd, but I was really scared that April had ended and I felt like I had lost a lot of time, which waking up was nice to realize I still have 8 days left! Anyway on to the post!

NARS Sheer Glow foundation in Deuxville

I'm sure you've all already heard everyone's rave reviews about this product, but it really does give me porcelain skin with a healthy glow. This is wonderful for me because I am obviously quite pale, however, I do have patches of red around my cheeks and nose. After using this product I only need the slightest bit of concealer which is a godsend..

So a while back I purchased MAC Strobe Cream

At first I wasn't sure how to use this product. I had a hard time using it as a highlight above my cheekbones because it made my makeup spotty. But, I recently found that this works AMAZING when mixed with the NARS Sheer Glow. I get so many compliments on my skin, and although the NARS is amazing on its own the Strobe Cream just makes it that much easier to blend and it gives me just the slightest bit more coverage. I'm officially obsessed. I used the NARS on its own again last week and I just couldn't do it, I love the two together too much.

Benefit's Confessions of a Concealaholic

I originally bought this for my mom, but when I tried it I knew I had to keep it for myself. Before this product I swore by MAC's concealers. Now, I will never turn back! I wasn't sure about "That Gall" Face Primer in the beginning, but again, after using another product/going a day without using it I am hooked. The Erase Paste is also wonderful. A lot of people aren't aware of this, but it is meant for under your eyes (not on blemishes!). It does come in a narrow color range, but because of the loud pink undertone it does wonders in concealing any dark circle! I use it every morning and you would never know that I absolutely abhor mornings. Now, I must say that the bo-ing is my favorite. The lighter shade matches my skin perfectly, and it just melts into my face! When using this after NARS sheer glow my skin looks absolutely flawless, which for me is a miracle. This has different undertones than the erase paste, so it IS meant for blemishes and red spots. I am also torn with Eye Bright. It does further brighten up my under eye circles, but I hate how hard it is to blend. I'm not quite sure if it's worth it. Finally, the lemon-aid is a product I recently fell in love with. I don't need it to correct my eye lid color, which is what its meant for, but I have found its the perfect eyelid primer. It really makes your pink eyeshadows pop! In this kit I would repurchase in full size That Gall, Erase Paste, and Bo-ing. The others I would have to think about.

MAC Summer Rose Beauty Powder (as a blush)

Now, I don't own Well Dressed but I do think the two are quite similar. And if that is the case I think I will live out the rest of my life with Well Dressed in my collection, because I ADORE Summer Rose! It is the perfect color for my skin tone. I own NARS Orgasm, thanks to youtube, and I agree that it is too harsh. This color, however, is wonderful for me. Some people suggest NARS Deep Throat for a more subtle reaction, but my skin tone needs more a blue-pink than a peach-pink. I have been using this almost everyday, and I am hooked.

MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder (as a highlight)

If you follow MAC's limited edition collections (in the US, Im not sure how the UK was affected) you know that this sucker sold fast! I was extremely lucky that I pre-ordered this goody. My mother did as well, but for reason she was still unable to get it. This product does live up to the hype. For some I'm sure it's a nice blush (the picture isn't quite true to color, you should check out my post on this haul here), but for myself I love it as a sheer highlight. I like to lightly dust it over Summer Rose, and voila! Love it.

What are your favorites right now?

What are your experiences with these products?

xo

Rachel

Haul: The Week of Plenty pt2

Hello everyone!

So as I mentioned in my last post I recently bought my first Lush goodies! I of course went around and smelled all of the classic lush products, but for some reason I didn't like them as much as I wanted to. So here is what I ended up with!

$8.95 Lib Scrub - Sweet Lips

"Smells like a milk chocolate bar"

This product definitely lives up to its description! I have had a horrible problem with chapped lips since the winter, and after using the product once a day for only two days I no longer have a problem with dry, chapped lips! And it tastes delicious mmmmmmmm :)

$13.25 - Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

"Flutter on some softening butter for tough, cracked skin and cuticles"

All my life I have had horribly dry cuticles. I have otherwise very nice skin so it's always been a bit discouraging. I have been using this product twice a day since I got and have noticed a little bit of a difference, and I really hope it keeps up!

Free Sample - Razorantium Shaving Cream

"Heavyweight cream to subdue the toughest stubble"

So far I am very disappointed in this product. It feels more like a regular body wash and washed off my skin before I could finish shaving a small patch. Even worse, my skin was more irritated when I used this product than before, I even received more cuts than usual.. I will not purchase this in full size.

Just a view of the products

$4.95 - Sugar Babe Sugar Scrub (crushed)

"Our sweet, soft-centered Sugar Babe for silky skin"

I've used this once and I love it. I love the way it smells, and the way it makes my skin feel. I've never been partial to exfoliating (for no particular reason) but now Im addicted!

$4.95 - Sugar Scrub Sugar Scrub (solid)

"Stimulating ginger and fennel Sugar Scrub"

I haven't used this one yet, but in it's solid form I like the smell of this one the best! It's much tougher than Sugar Babe, so I'm still working on crushing it. After crushing some of it, I learned that some people just slice it up... but I think I'll continue crushing it anyway. I'll let you know what I think once I use it, but I already think I'll love it!

Well, that's all for my haul! I won't be doing more for quite a while, so look out for some reviews!

Have any of you tried these products? What do you think of them?

xo

Rachel

Haul: The Week of Plenty pt1

Ah, I'm finally back!

I definitely missed my computer.. Anyway, this week I did quite a bit of shopping. Although now I can't spend much for a while..

One of the purchases I am most excited about is another formal dress! I asked my friend Arman to my sorority's formal, and since then he has asked me to his so I am very excited about that.

This is a semi-formal dress from Wet Seal. It's very form fitting, has quarter length sleeves, and is basically backless except for three bows that go across.

My next stop was Forever 21

I got these adorable bow clips for less than $3 :)

The roses on the bottom left are my new favorite!

I am planning on wearing this bracelet with my original formal dress :)

After that I picked up one thing from H&M

I got I love all of the earring in this set and I plan on wearing the black balls with to the second formal.

I also got some Lush products, but I'll put those up tomorrow

xo

Rachel

p.s. you should also enter Timeless Fashionista's giveaway!

http://www.timelessfashionista.net/

Update: Computer Issues

Hey lovelies!
Sorry it's been so long.. the hard drive on my laptop crashed! Since it's still under warranty it'll be fixed free of charge, but I haven't backed it up since the beginning of the semester so I lost all of my school work :(

However, once I'm back I'll have some cool posts to put up! I'll have a haul and hopefully some reviews.

Hope you all are enjoying your April!

xo
Rachel

Review: Mascara

Hey everyone!

So as a background, I was blessed to be born with my father's eyelashes so I never really cared about mascara. The past few years I stuck with Maybelline's Great Lash just because it was a classic and all my friends used it growing up. Now, there's nothing wrong with this mascara - don't get me wrong - but there's also nothing really special about it. For me, it's just a black mascara to color the ends of my eyelashes. Now cue my recent obsession with makeup gurus on youtube...

Over my winter break from college I literally stumbled across Juicystar07's vlog channel (otherjuicystar07) and the obsession began. I had been wanting

to try Maybelline's Lash Stiletto for a while, so I decided to go for it.

The first time I used Lash Stiletto I didn't like it. It was clumpier than Great Lash and it had an obvious smell to it. This is definitely not a mascara for people who are sensitive to smell, but.. I am not. Eventually I kept using it and I did notice a difference. I'm probably not the best person to s

ay it gave me extra volume or length.. because as I said before, I am very blessed to already have pretty long eyelashes. But it was that something extra that Great Lash didnt give me.

So remember at first I said I hated Lash Stiletto. So after that I knew I just couldn't stick with Great Lash or Lash Stiletto, so I stopped by my local Sephora. I couldn't imagine paying the $20+ for mascara, so I found a small-travel duo pack of Fresh Supernova and Firebird for $10. Now, Supernova was love at first application. It's still my favorite! It applies so nicely- no clumps and it separates and lengthens. The Firebird on the other hand still confuses me. I just don't like the brush. I received a tip that you can use Supernova first and Firebird on top, but I just really don't like the big brush. Plus, I love the packaging. Both tubes are positively adorable! I'm going to have to repurchase Supernova once I run out, even though it is a tad expense for a mascara.

Thanks again to youtube, I knew I had to try the Loreal Telescopic Explosion. Allthatglitters21 (sister to juicystar07) raved about the normal

Telescopic in many videos, and she recently did a review on mascaras with the little ball at the end. Basically, the little ball makes it easier to reach every individual lash, which happened to be perfect for me. I hate curved brushes for mascara, and the straight ones are just impossible for reaching all of my lashes. I also dislike using the wands on my lower lashes because I find it just turns in to a mess (for me, I tend to be a little rushed and clumsy). Now, I'm not sure about the formula for this mascara. I found it pretty clumy, and it also had a slight smell. However, I do love the brush for touch ups. I love using the mascara after I've used the Maybelline Lash Stiletto (I find the formulas a bit similar, the Fresh is much lighter than both). I use it on the outer lashes and the lower lashes, but I do have to be very careful about clumping.

An overview: Maybelline Great Lash is 'great' for a simple mascara. If you're looking for a wash of color this is perfect. Maybelline Lash Stiletto is pretty good, but I'm not sure I'll repurchase in the near future, I think I'm going to try some other mascara's first. But I definitely wouldn't mind repurchasing again sometime. Fresh Supernova is my favorite. I wouldn't call it a holy grail, but it is wonderful. And, Loreal Telescopic Explosion I would repurchase, just for the wand. I would try the Givenchy mascara with the ball.. but again, I'm not sure I want to spend the money just for the wand.

Here is a link to Allthatglitters21's review on Loreal Telescopic Explosion versus the Givency Phenomen'Eyes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-v45YTx6j4

I hope this helps! Sorry also for the stock photos, but mascaras just aren't a pretty thing to photograph once used :)

xo

Rachel

p.s. Has anyone tried the NARS foundation primer? I'm still on the fence about spending $33 on a primer..

Haul: Birthday Loot!

Hello lovelies!

So I promised a birthday haul, so here it is :)

from my mom: Urban Decay Wallpaper & the Stereophonic Eyeliner Set

My best friend got me this adorable Liberty of London bag from Target

From myself, NARS Sheerglow Foundation in Deauxville (it looks A LOT darker than it is!)

& from my twinsie Amelia & our friend Arman, a fake autograph from Shia Lebeouf (haha, an inside joke =D )

So there are some discounts coming up at Sephora and Urban Decay. I'm thinking about getting the NARS foundation primer with SPF and possibly Deep Throat blush, and the Urban Decay Tinted Moisturizer. What are your guys' thoughts? Have you tried any of these before?

xo

Rachel

Award: Sunshine Award

Hello girls!

So today I've received awards from two people (EmmaKarolina and Hannah)

Both of these women deserved the awards themselves, and I am so honored to have received it myself! Both awarded me with the Sunshine Award:

So here are the rules:

1) Post the logo within your blog or post
2) Pass the award onto 12 fellow bloggers
3) Link the nominees within your post
4) Let the nominees know they have received an award by commenting on their blog
5) Share the love and link to the person whom you received this award from

Now, I only have 11 followers but you all truly are so sweet!

Trishie

Hannah

happy1234

Frances

emmakarolina

All Things Marie

sarbeauty

Timeless Fashionista

Sara

LovelyViolet5

Fee

Thank you all again! Hopefully I'll have a Birthday Loot post up soon :)

xo

Rachel

twenty one

Hey everyone!

So today my post is going to be a bit more personal.. It's my 21st birthday!

Yesterday I went up to Napa and Sonoma with some close friends and I had a really good time. Today I'm spending some time with my family, and tonight I'm going to hit up some bars :)

First sip of wine at midnight! With the hotel's lovely cup :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter tomorrow!

xo

Rachel

FOTD: UD Ammo Palette Neutral

Hey all!

So today I did a bad thing. I spent more money on makeup :( I splurged and bought the Urban Decay Ammo Palette.. But I have to say, it is amazing. I am in love with all of the colors, and I think I'm going to do a bit of a series with the palette. Today I did a simple neutral look hoping to start playing around for my formal look (haha). What I did today was a bit too ha

rsh, but I did love the look and can't wait to play with these colors some more. I am also getting the Urban Decay Wallpaper Palette for my birthday (Saturday!) so expect a lot of Urban Decay posts!

So I only used five colors: Maui Wowie, Smog, Oil Slick, Polyester Bride and Sin

First: After primer, I applied Maui Wowie all over my lid

Second: I applied Smog on the outer half and in the crease

Third: I applied Oil Slick in the outer v for a bit of

definition

Fourth: I applied Polyester Bride as the highlight

Fifth: I applied Sin in the tear duct

I also used Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara, Loreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara, and NYX Sapphire Slim Eyeshadow for a pop of blue.

If I weren't taking a new license picture tomorrow I would love to do this look again with Last Call on the outer half. But, I'm going in to get my "grownup license" for my upcoming 21st birthday! What are some colors you would like to see play around with, any requests?

(Top L-R) Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Last Call, Chopper (Bottom L-R) Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin

Smog, Mildew, Oil Slick, Last Call, Chopper

Maui Wowie, Shattered, Polyester Bride, Grifter, Sin

xo

Rachel

Formal Look Ideas

Hey everyone! So I already mentioned how I purchased a dress for my formal, but today I got some shoes to match :) I am soo in love with the outfit, and even more pleased with the price! I only spent about $50 altogether. Not bad at all.

Anywho, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do with my makeup for the night. I do have quite a bit of time (April 30..) but I am an overachiever, and want to be able to practice and perfect a look that will have my date's jaws on the floor!

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

The colors are white, brown, blue and grey. I have a few ideas.. neutral brown with blue in the crease, neutral with brown in the crease.. But the dress is very summery/tea party, so I want to dress it up.

So the big question is..

What are your ideas?

xo

Rachel

MAC Pigment DIY

Hey lovelies!

Sorry I've been a bit vacant, it's my spring break and I've managed to get sick :( Anyway, I've had a few pigments that I've decided to press and wanted to share some tips with you all.

The pigments I have are: Your Ladyship (my favorite), Mutiny, Jardin Aires, and Circa Plum.

(pictures from google images)

What you'll need are: Pans, rubbing alcohol (mine is 99% alcohol but you can use one with less), something to stir and pour with, and a palette to put them in and a mixing medium.

The Process:

1) Pour a few scoops of your pigment into your mixing medium (ie. a bowl). It will take trial and error to figure out how much you'll need, try small amounts and work up.

2) Add a few drops of rubbing alcohol and mix.

3) Once its mixed pour it into your tin pan

4) Let it sit so that the alcohol evaporates and feels powdery

5) Place a paper towel over the tin with a quarter on top of the paper over the powder

6) Place a heavy object on top of the quarter, paper and tin (this is wear the pressing comes in)

7) Let sit over night, and there's your new eyeshadow!

A few other uses for pigments:

*mix a small amount with some clear nailpolish

*mix a small amount with some clear lip gloss

*use as blush

*use as loose eye shadow (great for the tear duct!)

Good luck!

xo

Rachel