FACE WASHIN'

Hey folks, if you follow me over on insta then I promised a post bringing you "the mother of all face washes", so voila!

If you read my previous review about the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate then you'll know how much I loved it, so much so, that it encouraged me to try some of Kiehl's other products.

I'd read a lot of good reviews about their "Ultra Facial Cleanser" so thought I'd give it a go and I have to say I'm really glad that I did.

I have normal/oily skin and I've probably tried every face wash under the sun that promises to reduce shine, minimise pores, clear blemishes blah blah... You know the script.

The first thing I noticed about the Kiehl's cleanser was how dreamy and creamy the consistency was.  It's pretty thick and my first impression was that it would maybe be too much for my skin, but actually, you only need a teeny, tiny amount of this glorious wash and it glides beautifully over the skin.  Lather it up, wash it off and I promise you that your skin immediately feels fresh, makeup-free and squeeky clean.

Kiehl's promise that the wash "thoroughly cleanses skin and removes makeup without over-drying or stripping the skin if its natural oils".  I can confirm my lovelies, that it does exactly that.  I have found some face washes in the past to be very harsh on my skin, leaving it feeling dry and even red and blotchy, but this certainly does what it says on the tin and leaves your skin feeling top notch without drying it out.  Follow this at night with the Midnight Recovery serum and ooohhhhh my god, your skin will LOVE you for it.  Pinky promise.

The Ultra Facial Cleanser comes in two sizes; 75ml at £8.50 and 150ml at £15.00.  Now in the past, I would never have normally spent more than a few pounds on a face wash but this is definitely worth the extra couple of quid.

As I said, you only need a very small amount of this so even your 75ml size tube will last like, forever.

When I bought this wee gem I got a free sample of the "Daily Reviving Concentrate".  If I'm honest, I've not used this enough to give you an honest opinion, but it certainly gets top marks from me for the smell and ability to wake yo skin up in the morning pre-makeup.

Next on my wishlist is the "Rare Earth Pore Cleansing Masque" - I'm off to Florida soon (AAHHHH!!) so I'm hoping to treat myself to lots of Kiehl's and other skincare products whilst I'm there.  My skin can hardly wait!

Do you have any skincare recommendations?  I'd love to hear from you!

Muchos love, Rachel x

WEDDING BELLS

Hey everyone, and happy hump-day!  Now that July is over and we're into August (I know, what the actual muff), we're well and truly into wedding season... Hooray for pretty dresses, copious amounts of alcohol and fascinators bigger than my head.

 

I love a good ol' wedding as much as the next person, but when you have several in the space of a year, it can definitely come at an expense with all the outfits, wedding gifts and potential travel and accommodation involved.  As someone who is currently saving her butt off in attempt to get on the ever price-increasing property ladder, I decided to reel the spending in a little bit this summer and set myself a target of buying an entire outfit for under £50.  Was £50 realistic?  Maybe, but at the time it didn't seem that way, and I can't tell you how many times I saw a gorgeous dress in excess of £100 and managed to refrain from sticking it on my credit card.  Good restraint, Rach.

 

After weeks, maybe even months, of drooling over dresses online I finally managed to find this lacey little number when snooping through the rails at TK Maxx.  I thought "oh, that's nice, and I have shoes already that would match so I would only need to buy a bag and a fascinator..."  With that in mind, I turned over the label to be very, VERY pleasantly surprised that it cost £19.99!!!  An absolute steal if you ask me.

 

My next hunt was for a matching bag and fascinator and with a mahoooosive sale on, it seemed Accessorize was the only place to go.  I managed to pick up a pretty snazzy looking fascinator for £10.50 (reduced from £35!) and a cute, ivory satin bag to match for £6.00.  Now maths wasn't my strongest subject in school, but that my friends, takes my grand outfit total to a nice little £36.49.  Mission accomplished.

 

I know that shopping through sale rails can be a task in itself at times, but if you're on a budget then I can't recommend enough taking a little extra time to look for a good bargain.  This time of year is especailly good for them as many shops have their summer sale going on.

 

Do you struggle with finding the right outfit for a special occasion?  Where are your "go to" shops when in need?  I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

 

Unfortunatly these pictures were taken on the day of the wedding with an iPhone, and with my prosecco cap on, I didn't think to take more detailed pictures of my accessories but I hope you enjoy having a peek anyway!

 

Rachel

Fascinator - Accessorize

 

Clutch bag - Accessorize

 

Dress - TK Maxx

 

 

HELLO, SUN?

Helloooo!  I hope you are well this rainy, Thursday evening.  If you're a Monday to Friday-er then I'm sure, like me, you'll be glad it's Friday's Eve and starting to think about getting into that Friday feeling!  If you work over the weekend then er, sorry.

I'm not sure where you're reading this from but if you happen to be from the North East of Scotland, then I'm sure you'll back me up when I say that our "summer" has been shocking so far.  I'm desperate to get back into my denim shorts and snazzy floral numbers but I feel like it just ain't happening.

With that in mind, I've pretty much been dressing for Autumn type weather so I thought I would share a quick "outfit of the day" with you.

As much as I LOVE this Mango jacket; please, please, PLEASE Mr. Weatherman - Send us some sun and warmth!  Muchos gracias.

Rachel

 
 
 
 

Jeans (Shop similar) - TK-Maxx

Mini satchel - River Island

Black asymmetric top - Matalan

Jacket - An oldie from Mango!

WELCOME TO THE WARDROBE

Well hey there!  So I've been pretty shocking at blogging recently and you might notice that my last post was a few weeks ago.  If you follow me over on Instagram you'll have seen that I've been pretty busy, but still, that's a poor excuse I know!  I've been partying it up at a friends' hen-do in Newcastle, ruining my liver at weddings and work related awards ceremonies, and the real time consumer has been organising a new flat because my friends, I'm moving to Edinburgh!  (Excited is an understatement!)  The big move is on the 4th July so things will continue to be a bit hectic until then, but I promise I'll make more time for writing and I can't wait to get snappin' in the beautiful cobbled streets of the Capital.

Moving on and before I get totally side-tracked and waffle on about how much I love Edinburgh, I thought I would share a few of my recent purchases with you.  I don't know about you, but I often struggle to find an outfit that's suitable for lunch with friends and any "smart but casual" occasion, so I think these pieces work great together if that's what your after.  Of course, I love a bit of versatile clothing and these lovelies are great to be mixed and matched with, well, anything!

The blouse is from River Island and was a real bargain at £20 in the sale.  I'm a sucker for a pretty blouse, especially one with a collar, so this was right up my street and I knew it would look great with pretty much anything.

The jeans were another bargain (£15 from TKMaxx!) that I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with.  For some reason, TK is never a shop that I'm normally in but after hearing some great things, I thought I would venture in and take a look for myself.  I managed to pick up a few things that I didn't need (but loved) and I will definitely be paying them another visit the next time I'm shopping.

And finally, the heels!  These Hailey heels are from Public Desire and I LOVE them!  They look bloomin' amazing with everything - Jeans, smart trousers, jumpsuits - You name it.  The straps on them are also pretty long so you have a few options of how to wear them, depending on what you fancy, ie. Around your ankle or further up your leg if you, like me, love the strappy look.  As if that wasn't enough, these beauties are also incredibly comfortable so they're perfect for dancing the night away and pretending you're Beyonce (surely I'm not the only one who thinks this after a few vinos?)

I hope you like my recent buys but I'd love to hear form you... What is your go-to smart/casual wardrobe essentials?  Do you have a particular piece that you love for mix-matching dependent on the occasion?  Let me know!

Rachel

Top - River Island

Jeans - (Shop similar) TK Maxx

Shoes - Public Desire

AN ASIAN ADVENTURE: PART III OF III

THAILAND

Well here it is folks, part 3 of my travel diary.  I don't want the writing about happier days to end, but I really need to accept that I'm home now and faced with the harsh realities of work, bills and a ridiculously long and unaffordable ASOS wishlist.

For my third and final post we're visiting the insanely beautiful land of Thailand!

After a busy 8 days in Hong Kong and Singapore, it was decided that a relaxing week here would be the cherry on the cake and give us a chance to recharge the batteries.

I don't know about you, but I had always, ALWAYS wanted to visit this magical place after years of tormenting myself by looking at peoples' holiday snaps and gap year diaries.  As you may know, Thailand is pretty darn big so after reading tons of reviews and holiday guides, we decided that Phuket was the place for us.

Hotel

Well, where do I begin... We stayed at the BEAUTIFUL Beyond Resort Karon which is a five star, adult only hotel with it's own private entrance to the golden sands and crystal clear waters of Karon Beach.  On arrival, we were greeted by the receptionist with a glass of water, bowl of fresh fruit and a cold flannel and I knew this one was going to be special.

The hotel is split over three levels with every single room offering an absolutely stunning view of the Andaman Sea.  We stayed in a Beyond Deluxe room (third floor) and I cannot tell you how glorious it was to wake up to such views every morning.

The room was very clean, modern and spacious with plenty of storage space for all of my shoes and bikinis (I have a slight bikini addiction and always pack waaaaay too many!).  The room was also equipped with a mini fridge, coffee machine and wet room, and was made up every day by the super friendly staff.

If you managed to peel yourself away from your private balcony, the pool and restaurant area was a fab place to relax, drink yummy cocktails and soak up the 40 degree heat.  The hotel has two pools, one of which houses jacuzzi baths and a swim up bar, and you will never have any trouble with finding a sun lounger.

The food in the hotel's "Beach Bar" restaurant was always very tasty and unbelievably good value for what you were paying.

If you fancied a change of scenery, you could walk a whole 10 - 20 steps and find yourself a quiet little spot on the beach.  Karon Beach is quite long so although it is a busy destination for tourists, it never felt overcrowded.  It also gave you the perfect spot for watching a beautiful Phuket sunset!

In the vicinity of the hotel, there are endless shops, bars and restaurants to keep your belly full and taste-buds tickled with page upon page of cocktail options.  If you do visit this hotel (or even just the area), I definitely recommend a trip to the Red Chopsticks restaurant as this was a personal favourite of mine.

Here are a few pictures of the hotel, beach and surrounding area...... *sigh* ...

 
 
 
 
 
 

I can safely say that one week in Phuket was nowhere near long enough to be able to do everything we wanted to, however of course, who can visit Thailand without a trip to the Phi Phi Islands and most notably, Maya Bay aka. "The Beach".

We did a day tour of the islands by speedboat and even stopped for some snorkelling along the way - I've never seen water so clear in my life!  I was gutted to only be able to spend one day doing this, and unfortunately I didn't come across Leonardo DiCaprio, but it was a truly amazing experience nonetheless.

I absolutely intend on returning to Thailand and can't wait to see more of what this beautiful country has to offer.  It was the perfect end to a wonderful holiday and I feel truly blessed that I have been able to experience this.

Have you been to Thailand?  If so, I'd love to hear where you visited and if you have any recommendations for my future trip(s)!

Rachel

 
 
 
 

COOL N' KHAKI

Well hey there, I hope you're having a fabby May-day weekend!  To anyone that's off work tomorrow - I hate you.  Ok ok, that's not very nice... I love you really.  I am incredibly jealous though.

I'm having a nice relaxing Sunday so I thought I would finally take some outfit pictures so that I could post my first ever fashion blogpost, woop!  It's not the greatest of all fashion posts but bear with me people, I will get better at this.

Today I've decided to write about a cute little khaki number that I picked up a few weeks ago in the Miss Selfridge sale (£42 reduced to £12 - HELLO bargain!).

It's a super soft, light denim dress that I think is fab as it can be dressed in several ways to suit most occasions/weather.  It might be May now, however that still means torrential rain and the odd blizzard here in Scotland, so I'm currently styling this with thick, black tights and military boots.

The dress is edgy but feminine and lightweight with a waist clinching belt to flatter your luverrrly figure.   It's super comfy and I think looks great with black or tan, depending on what kind of look you're going for.

The last time I checked this was still available on the Miss Selfridge website (see link below) so if you'd like a little snoop, I suggest you act quick because at this price it will not be around for long... Happy shopping!

Rachel

Dress - Miss Selfridge

Mini satchel - River Island

Shoes - Boohoo.com (shop similar)
 

THIS WAY FOR SCRUMPTIOUSLY SILKY SKIN

So I have a little confession to make... I know us gals (and guys!) always have it drummed into us about how important it is to cleanse, tone and moisturise blah blah... But up until a year or so ago, I was the ultimate lazy girl when it came to skincare and often chose to remove my make up with just a simple make up wipe.  That was it, my skincare routine done for the evening.  No toning, no moisturising, nada.

Now my lack of skin routine was not solely down to laziness (I'm giving myself a bit of credit here) - I have normal/oily skin and have spent a fortune over the years on different cleansers, moisturisers, facial masks etc that promised to reduce my blemishes, minimise pores and control shine.  To cut a long and boring story short, I gave up in the end and my "just use a make up wipe" mantra was born.

HOWEVER, now that I'm old enough to qualify for the "overs" category on the X Factor, I've since decided to put a bit more effort into researching what's good for my skin type and have managed to find some products, finally, that truly work for me.

A couple of months ago, I decided to try something new after reading so many amaaazing reviews and yep, you guessed it, it was Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate.

The concentrate is a night time facial oil that replenishes the appearance of skin overnight, leaving you with unbelievably soft, fresh and clearer looking skin by morning.  Having oily skin myself, I was a bit sceptical at first about adding more oil onto my face, however it is so light and absorbs beautifully into the skin.  Not only that, but it smells bloomin' divine as it's made from primrose and lavender oil (also helpful to aid sleep!).

The serum is £36 for a 30ml bottle however you only need 2 - 3 drops per night, so you will more than get your money's worth out of this wee thing.

I have used Mr. Kiehl almost every night for around two months now and I can happily preach that this has worked like a charm on my skin.  It's light, it's fresh, and I even feel like it's visibly reduced my blemishes and scars from a couple of spots I had as a teen.  I recommend.  Like seriously, buy it now.

If I haven't convinced you yet to try this little gem, you can check out the thousands of other reviews online for yourself and you may even be able to pick up a sample from a Kiehl' store.  If you do buy, let me know how much you love it and you can thank me later!

Rachel

 
 

AN ASIAN ADVENTURE: PART II OF III

Hello folks, and happy Friday-eve!  I don't know about you, but all these blue skies and that big, bright ball in the sky (I think they call it the sun?) are getting me excited for the weekend!

It's been another busy week but I finally have some time to sit down and put together part 2 of my travel diary and this time, we shall visit Singapore my friends!

This was my first visit to Singapore and all I can say is that I bloody loved it.  Every single thing about it: The green gardens, the food, the people, the cocktails, Marina Bay - Everything.  The place is absolutely immaculate and as soon as I had my first wander around, I told myself that I would live here one day.

After my mini Hong Kong adventure (see previous blogpost), I visited Singapore for five days whilst staying with family and I tried to cram in as much as possible during my short stay.  There's a bucket load of things to see and do in Singapore, depending on your interests, but my favourites were... * drum roll*

The Zoo

What can I say, we don't particularly have that many fascinating species of animals in Scotland.  I mean, Highland coo's are pretty cool but let's face it, seeing lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) is pretty bad-ass.

I felt the zoo was a good way to spend my first day in Singapore and it gave my body a chance to adjust to the INSANE humidity there.  The zoo was spotlessly clean, really well kept and I loved the fact that the animals appeared to have lots of room to stroll around and be free in.

There were plenty of spots to stop for refreshments and lunch and all round, it was a great day out.

 

 

Singapore Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens is a tropical garden situated near the main shopping district and is a lovely walk if you fancy a more relaxed afternoon.  It's filled with beautiful plants, flowers and water features and it's so relaxing just to wander around at your own pace listening to the sound of the birds chirping away.

Also in the Gardens is an amazing little restaurant called "The Halia" where we stopped to enjoy a delicious lunch (and air-con!).  Their menu was very varied with something for everyone and was a great place to stop for a bite to eat.

 

  

 

Clarke Quay

This is an amazing wee place and if you're prone to a few cocktails and a dance, you NEED to visit here at night time to take full advantage of the funky bars, live music and Singapore clubbing scene.  There are literally endless bars and eateries to try depending on what tickles your fancy and if you visit during happy hour (which seems to last around 3 - 4 hours for most bars), then you can grab yourself some bargain deals on numerous drinks and cocktails - I recommend visiting during this time as it is quite pricey paying full price for drinks after the deals end..

Unfortunately I was a little er, merry, whist here so I didn't take any photographic evidence of my phenomenal (aka extremely average at best) dance moves, but if Singapore is ever on your to do list, I would definitely look this place up and give it a try.

Gardens by the Bay

So you may already have seen pictures of these bad boys because they are an extremely popular tourist destination in Singapore, and for a very good reason.  They are amazing.

The "Supertrees" take part in a light show every evening just after sunset and flash/change colour in sync to a number of great songs from the best musicals.  It's pretty hard to explain in writing but I'm sure there will be some cool videos on You Tube if you feel like having a nosey.  If I remember correctly, the show lasts around 20 - 30 minutes and in my opinion is a must-see, even just for one night.  I promise you, the pictures do these no justice!

 

Marina Bay

Lastly, but certainly not least and probably my favourite, behold, Marina Bay!  Where do I begin.  When I first got to Marina Bay it was early evening and to me, some of the buildings actually looked like a cardboard cut out because they were just so surreal.

The Bay oozes the "wow" factor and is the perfect setting of never ending bars, shops, restaurants and awe-inspiring buildings.  In addition, it is of course the home of the faaabulous Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

I drank in many a bars at the Bay during my stay (I feel I'm starting to sound like I have a bit of a drink problem - I don't, I think) and I also had the pleasure of eating at the OUE restaurant which is a rooftop bar and restaurant offering the choice of three cuisines; Japanese, French and Chinese.  I was lucky enough to have a booth right next to the window and I can't even put into words how amazing the views were overlooking the Bay.

Every evening there is a pretty damn cool laser show which is reflected off screens of water (like the Fantasmic laser show at MGM Studios in Florida for any Disney geeks out there).  As well as that, there are a number of fun, science-y type games and activities situated all around the Bay for anyone feeling creative.

Once you've completed all of the above, have stuffed your face and drank too much wine, a nice stroll around the Bay is literally the perfect way to end what I guarantee will have been a truly amazing evening.

Rachel