(New Year's Eve) NOTD #2

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Today's post is just a quick NOTD because I've been so busy spending time with family and being ill in bed (booooo!) to blog for a while. 

I went fairly simple for my NYE nails. I started by applying a base coat, then one coat of Nails Inc's South Molton Street. After that, I added white tips as I would for a normal french manicure, but I followed this up by creating the black stripes and adding a gem in the middle (except one finger, where I clearly can't judge distances between things...). I finished this with Sally Hansen's Insta Dri, which is my favourite top coat at the moment.

What do you think? Did you do your nails for NYE? Let me know in the comments below :)

Happy new year and thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

Recent Purchases

Hi guys :) Since it's the run-up to Christmas and I'm ridiculously busy, I thought I'd just share some of my recent purchases with you all. These are things that have been building up throughout December...

Topshop nail bits... (link will take you to nails section on site)

- Topshop Nail Polish in Mercury Rising
- Topshop Nail Polish in Rising Star (holographic glitter + teeny tiny stars = major win)
- Topshop Nail Art Pen in Fool's Gold
- Topshop Nail Art Pen in Barbarella

Soul Cal Deluxe Aztec Western Boots

These are easily the nicest shoes I've seen since I bought my Zara aztec boots back in September. I have a huge thing for aztec-style prints and knowing how often I wear my Zara boots, when I spotted these while window shopping with my friend Rachel I knew I had to have them. They're a beautiful dark tan colour with a (fake) fur lining that makes them extra warm for our glorious UK winter and I'm very much looking forward to taking these on their first outing.

H&M Pink Blazer (unlinked as not on site)

I also spotted this while shopping with Rachel, but unlike the boots I purchased it there and then. It looks bright in the photo and it is in real life too. I'm a huge fan of blazers and have been for years, so when I saw this I knew I wanted it. It's maybe not the most wintery item I own, but I kind of feel that it cheers up a dreary day and stands out against our grey Yorkshire sky. 

Lip products...

- Rimmel Moisture Renew in Latino

- Rimmel Lasting Finish in Alarm

- YSL Rouge Volupte in 1 Nude Beige

Feeding my ring obsession...

I bought all of these rings in Bijou Brigitte, which opened about a year and a half ago in the city I live in. It's a German brand, but they also have shops here in the UK (and maybe elsewhere, I'm not really sure). I've been building up my ring collection recently and I really, really love how much variety there is in this shop.

New Look striped shirt...

This is another item that I spotted while out with Rachel and went back to try on (and, obviously, purchase). I'm not really sure why, but I was just drawn to it and I love the fact that the red is definitely on trend right now (what with Christmas being on Tuesday and all). 

Dorothy Perkins vintage looking ring... (unlinked as not on site)

This was also purchased due to the fact that I've been making a conscious effort to build up my ring collection recently. I'm kind of surprised by this, as there was a time when I'd never have purchased something like this but now I do really like it. 

So, that's just a few photos of my recent purchases. I know it's almost Christmas, but I really couldn't help myself :/ haha. What do you think? Would you buy any of my purchases too?

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

Nordic Christmas Nail Tutorial

God jul, everybody! That's what you'd tell people in Sweden at Christmas, and today I'm bringing you a cute Scandinavian/Nordic inspired nail tutorial that is perfect for this Christmas...

You will need:

1x red nail polish - I used Rimmel's I <3 Lasting Finish in Double Decker Red
1x white nail polish pen/paint - I used my rio nail pen
1x top coat
1x base coat

Step 1:

Apply base coat and allow to dry, then apply your red polish all over the nail and apply as many coats as you feel it needs. Allow this to dry before moving on to the detailing.

Step 2:

OK, now your nails are dry it's time to start adding some of the white detail. If it helps, you can mentally divide your nails into thirds. For the first third, you need to add some dots at the top of the nail...

I alternated between double dots and single dots, purely because I thought it looked better, but you can play about with this and do larger or smaller dots and organise them differently if you like.

Step 3:

Now we're onto the second third of the nail and you'll need to make two 'x' shapes, leaving space in the middle where the four lines would usually join.

As with the first step, you can totally play about with this. You could make lots more smaller dots or you could have the lines joining if you so desired.

Step 4:

This is the last third of the nail, but it's also the most complicated (but only because more than one pattern goes in here). Firstly, you need to draw a straight line up that fills most of the third, then you will need to draw 'branches' coming off it. This is supposed to resemble a Christmas tree. Around both sides of the tree, dot on three dots, with two next to the tree and one in the middle of those two. Finally, draw two straight yet diagonal lines underneath the tree, and you're done!

Of course, you can play around with this part of the design too, however I do think the tree part is kind of crucial for capturing the idea of 'Christmas'. 

Step 5:

Allow the nails to fully dry. Your final step is to apply a top coat and you don't want to smear all of the white detail up your nail, so ensure that you leave the nails for a decent amount of time before applying a top coat. If you can do it an hour or so later, that would be ideal. Finally, apply one layer of your chosen top coat and leave to dry. Now you're all good to go with cute, Nordic, Christmassy nails! :)

Nordic style prints are really 'in' this Christmas (rumour has it that it's partly due to Forbrydelsen and Sarah Lund's jumpers in the show). In fact, most of my Christmas wrapping is themed like this too. 

What do you think? Please let me know if you try this out by either leaving me a comment below or tweeting me (links will be below)! :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo

Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti

Instagram: iRachey

Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

NOTD #1

Hola everybody :) Today's post is just a quick NOTD. I'll be back really soon with a cute Christmas nail tutorial, but here is a quick post about my nails today...

Polishes used (Click for a link):

Orly 'Goth'
Rio nail art pens in silver, white and pink
Rimmel '60 Seconds Clear' 
Sally Hansen 'Insta-Dri Anti Chip Top Coat'

The nail jewels used also came from the Rio nail art set that I linked :)

What are your nails like at the moment? Let me know in the comments! 

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey
Email: rachelelizabeth.xo@googlemail.com

First Impressions: Korres Lip Butters

I finally decided to try out the 'blogger's favourite' Korres lip butters. So far, I've only used the Jasmine one, but I have high hopes for them. 

Firstly, can we just take a second to appreciate the fact that the packaging also has Greek on it? As a language geek, this absolutely thrills me... I decided to purchase two of the lip butters, Jasmine for days when I'm just in the house and Wild Rose for days when my lips are really screaming for some attention but I still want some colour on them. I did also try really hard to take photos before they had any finger marks in them, but I obviously failed...

These lip butters aren't too heavily scented, in fact my mum couldn't smell the rose in the Wild Rose one at all. I also don't really know what jasmine is supposed to smell like, but this lip butter smells exactly like candy floss jelly beans to me. While I've only used the Jasmine one so far, I do think I'm going to like these products. They look and feel quite nice to me, and the packaging also states that they're good for chapped lips, so with a hideous winter rapidly creeping up on us here in the UK it probably couldn't be a better time to test this claim out. I'll report back in a few weeks...

Have you tried any of Korres' line of Lip Butters? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

The Hoarder

Ladies, I know you all do it. Whether it's with lipstick, face products or eye products, you all do it. You know when the time comes around to swap bags, or maybe your bag's getting too heavy and you decide to have a bit of a clear out, and you start taking out all of the beauty products... I'd be willing to bet that most of you will line them all up and look at them thinking "and why have I been carrying around 8 lipsticks?", "when did I ever think that I'd need to apply blue eyeliner halfway through my day of uni?" and "why do I have 3 different types of concealer in here?" I'd also be willing to bet that there's one type of product you seem to hoard in there, and for me it's lip products.

I looked through my bag a few nights ago when I was taking uni things out of it, and I happened to go into the little make up bag that I take around with me. It mainly contains three things: hair bobbles, my bus/train pass, and lipstick. 

When there are too many to fit in one photograph, you know there are too many, right? From L to R, top to bottom, we have: Rimmel Kate Moss 107, Mac Creme Cup, Beauty UK Snob, 17 Mirror Shine in Belle (broken, I might add, because the packaging is horrific in every single way), Body Shop Born Lippy in Watermelon, L'Oreal Caresse in Tempting Lilac, L'Oreal Caresse in Nude Ingenue, 17 Lip Liner in Claret. 

Realistically, I'm not sure why I've been carrying around that many products, but the lipstick junkie inside me is screaming "but...but... what if you suddenly want to wear a darker lip?"... I'm never even going to apply the broken one in public for fear of it falling out and onto whatever I'm wearing, and Snob is so matte that I can count it out for most of the winter. 

But, even as I write this, I'm not sure I can bring myself to put them back into my make-up collection and lighten my bag a little...

Surely there must be somebody out there who agrees with me on this? Are you a hoarder too? Let me know in the comments below :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Christmas Sparkle #2

Hi guys! I'm straying a little from the usual format of my Christmas Sparkle series today (two days in, I know!) and bringing you a Christmas gift suggestion. It's still nail polish and it's still glittery, but I think it's the perfect little gift for a beauty-lover...

Nails Inc 'In the Spotlight' is a set of three mini glitters. I bought two of these in my local Boots for £10 each, though it's not listed on the Boots website. If you like it, I'd recommend going to your local (or biggest local) Boots and having a look for yourself, because the website often doesn't correspond to shop stock. The Nails Inc website also no longer lists this item, but they do list one that contains two of these polishes and a black holographic third, which you can find here. 

This set, however, comes with three cute little glitter miniatures that I think are beautiful. The red, Covent Garden Market, was featured in my November Favourites post and I think it's the perfect Christmas red. 

The holographic glitter in the middle, Electric Lane, is a really pretty holographic top coat, and is also available in a full version from Nails Inc counters (e.g. in Debenhams) and on the website too. 

Soho Street is a really pretty chunky glitter that just looks fun and gives off a real 'party' vibe. It's also similar to Edinburgh Gate, which was a mini they released around Christmas last year and is also a much-loved polish in my collection (P.S. if you're my friend [you know who you are] and once told me you liked Edinburgh Gate, around this time last year, don't buy this for yourself...just sayin').

Here's an out of focus shot that shows the glitter a little better...

What do you think? Would you be happy to receive this for Christmas?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

TRESemmé 'Split Remedy Conditioner' Review

I don't know about you, but by the time I go for my hair cutting, my hair is horrific. I go every six weeks or so, and by the time I'm sitting in my lovely hairdresser's chair, 'split ends' is an understatement.

I received a sample of this product in one of the beauty magazines (I think it was Marie Claire) in November and after trying it out, I decided to get the full product.

I didn't even think to review this, but my friend Hayley tweeted about split ends and I recommended it to her. So if you read this Hayley, hi ;) TRESemmé tell you that you will experience an 80% reduction in split ends after just three uses (and if you don't believe me, it's on the bottle above). Now, I can neither confirm nor deny this claim, and I'm pretty sure I haven't yet developed a way of measuring all of my split ends, but for what it's worth I think it does work.

I have a hair appointment on Saturday, so by now my hair should look absolutely hideous on the ends and feel like it's in desperate need of a good trim and treatment. I've been using this on and off for a few weeks now, and I'm pleased to report that, for the most part, my the ends of my hair still look great. I generally have quite troublesome hair, but this leaves it feeling soft and looking shiny, something which so many products have failed to do.

For £4.99, you get 500ml of product in what feels and looks like a ridiculously large, heavy bottle. Yes, it's more expensive that whatever might be on offer in your local supermarket, but it's worth noting that you do get more product and it does do its job. 

Overall, I think this is a really good product and is worth trying out if, like me, you have the annoyance of bad split ends. If you have tried this, or if you do after reading this, leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Benefit 'Wanna?' Lipstick Review

Hola everybody! In my November Favourites, I mentioned Benefit's 'Wanna?' lipstick and said that although it was a new purchase, I loved it. 

I'm pleased to report that my thoughts are still the same on this gorgeous, vibrant-yet-deep raspberry pink from Benefit's Full-Finish lipstick collection. 

If bought directly from Benefit, this lipstick costs £14, however if you go to a counter in department stores - especially around this time of year - they often have discounts on so you could theoretically get it for a bit cheaper. I bought mine during one of Debenhams' sale weeks, so mine cost something around £12. 

I really love this lipstick. Up until very recently, I didn't own anything by Benefit. Now, two of my go-to daily products are Benefit and one of my current favourite lipsticks is too. Isn't it funny how that works...?


What do I love?

- I really, really love the packaging that this comes in. I didn't think to take a photo, but the packaging is funky and interesting. Brilliant description, right?...

- The size. This lipstick isn't too big, nor is it too small. The 'bullet' feels sturdy and secure in its casing too, which for £14 you'd definitely expect.

- The colour. As I mentioned, this is a vibrant looking raspberry pink, although in some lighting it can lean more towards being a raspberry red and in some lights it appears a lot deeper and darker in colour. I've never seen a lipstick colour quite like this, and I know Benefit isn't exactly praised for its lipsticks like other brands (Mac, I'm looking at you), so it's quite probable that there will be more hidden gems in their collection too.

What don't I love?

- The fact that this lipstick really needs lip liner underneath it. I know, I know, most bright shades do. I often think that the reason nudes are so popular is because they take minimal effort to throw on while you're rushing out of the house, but there are bright, colourful lipsticks that don't necessarily need a liner. Unfortunately, this one does, which means that my usage of it will be limited. Still, given the price tag, that isn't necessarily a bad thing - I have a habit of using the same lipstick over and over for a good month and then ignoring it, so I'm hoping this won't happen as much with Wanna?.

Here's a shot of me wearing it. Please bear in mind that this was taken at around 8pm when I was a) ill, b) absolutely exhausted and c) had been out for my mum's birthday meal.

Overall, I really love this lipstick and am looking forward to wearing it out over the coming months. I think it's actually versatile enough to take it through into the summer months too, if you so desired. What do you think? Can you see yourself rocking a raspberry colour over the winter? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Christmas Sparkle #1

Who doesn't love a bit of sparkle at Christmas? I know I do, so I decided to bring you a series of posts this Christmas featuring my favourite glitter polishes. If you know me, you'll probably know that I love a good glitter polish. Today, I'm kicking things off with the most indulgent polish I own and two equally beautiful dupes. 

From the cheaper end of the scale to the pretty damn special...

Models Own Hed Kandi 'Ibiza Mix' - Every blogger has this, it would seem, but I suppose there's a good reason why. At £5 this is the cheapest of my three polishes and is available from Boots (linked above). This polish has a nice mix of colours but isn't of the three, I will say that this is my least favourite purely for the colour selection as the colours are a bit too pastel based for my preference. Still, it's a nice polish and is a totally reasonable festive glitter.

Topshop 'Brazil' - This is the first Topshop polish I ever owned. I think the colour selection amongst the glitter in this is really good for a high street polish, and at £6 it's practically the same price as Ibiza Mix. I have to say, I do prefer this to Ibiza Mix too. The glitter in this is a mixture of shapes and sizes, which I really like, and if you click through to the Topshop website you can zoom in and have a look for yourself. 

Deborah Lippmann 'Happy Birthday' - Now for something on the opposite end of the spectrum. At £16, Happy Birthday is the most expensive polish I own, but boy is it pretty. This looks especially pretty layered over dark colours like a dark or navy blue, but also over beigey nudes. Basically, it's versatile as hell and has the best colour selection of the three polishes I've chosen here. Yes, it's expensive, but Christmas is coming up after all. I use this when I really want to treat myself, and it really is a 'treat' kind of product.

All in all, I love all three of these polishes. Perhaps it's true to say that I don't need them all, but the good news about finding dupes for a well-loved more expensive product is that you really can save it for special occasions but still create the same kind of effect whenever you want with your less expensive polish. 

Hope you enjoyed this post, have you ever tried any of these polishes? And I'd love to know... what's your favourite Christmas glitter?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Indulge Yourself

So, it's officially winter here in the north. We've been dipping in and out of minus temperatures for the past few days which, to me, is an indication of the months to come.

We all know that a nice, hot bath (complete with something ''ooh'' worthy from Lush, of course) is one of the best things about winter, but if you're a busy little bee like me, then you'll find yourself in the shower more often than you'd prefer. I'm here today with my top 3 winter shower products, because while I'll be the first to admit that shower gel is never going to be a thrilling topic, the busy ones among us still need to indulge ourselves, right?

I've picked three, not because I'm greedy (although I am) but because they each serve a different 'purpose'...

Rituals 'Hammam Delight' - I first discovered this about a year ago in my December Glossybox. I have since unsubscribed to Glossybox, but I fell in love with this product and have been repurchasing it ever since. I buy mine for £7 from House of Fraser, but if you click the blue it'll take you to the Rituals website. This scent is a little odd and definitely won't suit everybody, but here's why I love it... Winter brings about a multitude of cold and flu type illnesses and being a commuter, I've found that I've been ill a lot more this year. This shower foam is THE perfect product to use when you're full of cold and can't really breathe properly - to me, this has the same effect as coating yourself in Vicks Vapour Rub or similar, except it still feels luxurious and also smells a whole lot better. 

Philosophy 'Hot Buttered Rum' - I'm never going to be able to fully put my love for this product into words. My friend Eliza got me this for my birthday last year (well over a year ago now) and at first, I thought I'd hate it because I thought ''rum doesn't sound like a great idea for a shower gel''. As it turns out, it has a much more caramel-y scent and I am absolutely in love with it. The scent lingers on your skin for a good amount of time after usage, which isn't for everyone I know, and although the product itself costs £14(!) it will last you a long time. Philosophy have recently started selling the product again after a long while, so I placed an order as soon as I found out. You can also buy a mini version of this as part of The Cookbook set, however I'm not entirely sure that's still for sale here in the UK. 

Rituals 'T'ai Chi' - This scent is a lot lighter than the previous two. I always describe this as being 'a bit like sherbet' and I stand by that description, although I'm sure Rituals didn't intend for that to be how anyone would try to recommend their product. I think this would be the perfect product to use if you want waking up on a horrible winter morning. It's light and refreshing but still sweet smelling and I also keep going back and repurchasing this. As with Hammam Delight, this costs £7, but this one also feels very luxurious and also leaves my skin feeling lovely afterwards.

So that's it for my top three winter shower products. Have you ever tried any of these products or brands? What are your favourite winter shower products? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Bunny Friends Nail Tutorial

Do you often see nail tutorials, or indeed just photos of nail designs, and think ''I could never do that''? If the answer is yes, then stay tuned because I have a super-cute, super-easy nail tutorial for you today...

You will need:

A grey polish (mine is a Nails Inc mini) and a white polish. These will become the background for your design, but will also be used in the actual design itself. Make sure that your grey isn't too light as you'll want there to be distinction between the two colours.

A base coat and a top coat. I chose the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri purely out of convenience. 

A glitter. I chose this (totally out-of-focus, apologies) Nails Inc polish that I got free in Glamour magazine, but you can pick up extremely similar dupes cheaply in Superdrug and Boots. This is to give some extra sparkle to the bare nails. 

Three toothpicks/cocktail sticks. You will need to use these for the finer details in the design. You could get away with only using two, and using both ends of one, but I prefer to use three.

A light to mid pink. This will be used as part of the design. You could also use this as the colour of the non-patterned nails if you fancied. I also used my Rimmel Nail Tip Whitener, although you could just use the white polish I mentioned above. 

Step 1:
File/shape your nails. I personally prefer a flat edge, but I know some people prefer a rounded edge. For what it's worth, flat edges probably look better with this design, but you can go with whatever...

Step 2:
Apply a base coat. I just used Rimmel's 60 Seconds clear polish, but you can choose whichever you like. 

Step 3: 
Apply your grey polish to every other finger nail, and apply your white to the remaining nails. Allow to dry for as long as you need. Depending on how strong you like the colour to be, you may need to apply more than one coat.

Step 4:
When your nails are dry, you need to make an arc on the end of your nail in whichever colour is not already on your nail. So, if your nail is painted grey, paint a white arc. If your nail is painted white, paint a grey arc. For my white arcs, I used the Rimmel Nail Tip Whitener as it was more precise. These arcs will be the face of the bunny.

Step 5:
Next, draw two lines straight up from the arc with a small gap between. Make sure the lines are the same colour as your arc, as while your bunnies could have differently coloured ears, it'll look neater if the colours are the same.

Step 6:
Take one of your cocktail sticks and dip it into the pink polish. Then, draw two thin lines in the middle of the ears, and one smallish pink dot near to the base of the nail. These will be the pinks of the ears and the nose.

Step 7:
Then, for white bunnies, take another cocktail stick and dip it into the grey polish. Dot on two little eyes and then draw two thin lines either side of the nose (for whiskers). For grey bunnies, repeat this but make sure you use the white polish instead. 

Step 8:
Now, you could put bunnies on all of your nails if you like, but I chose to apply gold glitter over all nails except the ring finger and thumb. If you choose the same, do this now and allow to dry.

Step 9:
Make sure you tidy up any messy edges (I prefer to use little cotton buds dipped in nail polish remover to do this) and then apply a top coat. I use Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri because it really does help to dry the nail quicker, or at least dry to the touch. Allow all of your nails to dry, then you're all set!

Of course, you can mix up the colours of this as much as you like. I think this design would look really cute at Easter with nice pastels :)

Here's the finished product...

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you've tried anything like this :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey

Welcome & November Favourites

Hola everybody! Welcome to So She Dances. This is the sister blog of my personal blog, estoy mejor sin ti, and the place where I am going to feed my obsession for all things beauty related. To ease us all into things, I thought I'd start off with a good old November Favourites post. 

November has been an interesting month, lots has been going on in my life and I haven't had much time to get ready before leaving the house to go anywhere. So, I've pretty much been sticking to the same products...

Lips:

Chanel Rouge Coco in 21 'Rivoli' - I got this sometime around the start of the month because my mum had points on her Debenhams beauty card and let me spend them. It applies easily, lasts well and I find that a lip liner isn't necessary - although obviously it wouldn't look any worse for applying liner before using it. This is one of those purchases that is absolutely unnecessary but will make you feel a bit more special whenever you wear it. In the photo below, this is on the right. 

Benefit 'Wanna?' - I only purchased this on Thursday, but I feel it needs an honourable mention because I already know I'm in love with it. While the Chanel lipstick is my winter red, this is my winter 'pink'. I use quote marks because it's more of a raspberry than a true pink. Of course, this isn't a cheap lipstick either but again, it applies easily and lasts incredibly well. I would personally use a lip liner with this because it bleeds slightly on me without, but it's no trouble when a colour is this beautiful. This is the lipstick on the left in the photo below.

Face:

Benefit 'Boi-ing' Concealer - I bought this on a real whim. I was fairly content with my Collection 2000 (or Collection, same difference...) Lasting Perfection but I had heard a lot about Benefit concealers and I happened to be in Debenhams (I promise I don't just live in there) and there happened to be a discount. Anyway, I was colour matched to shade 02 and I do think it is better than the Collection 2000 concealer. It doesn't take a ton of blending in, which is a real bonus when you have 10 minutes to get ready and leave the house, but also doesn't look cakey or too 'obvious' on the skin.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer/Highlighter - I have been mixing this into my foundation throughout all of November and even though I like a fairly matte finish, I like the effect this has. It doesn't absolutely shine through my foundation but I like the subtlety of it. 

ELF Studio Powder Brush - It's fairly well documented that this brush works well as a foundation brush, and I'm pleased to add myself to the list of people saying so. I use this when I've finished applying my foundation to just buff away any bits that I've missed with my actual foundation brush and I like how quickly and evenly it applies it. 

Eyes:

Benefit 'They're Real' Mascara - I'd also heard great things about this and while purchasing my concealer, I had this tried on me and decided to just go for it. I usually use the Urban Decay Supercurl Curling Mascara (hands up if you think that name sounds ridiculous) but recently it just hasn't been cutting it for me. I took one look at this on my lashes and knew I wanted (needed) it. I've heard it dries out quickly but only time will tell if this happens to me.

Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in 'Perversion' - I'm a big Urban Decay fan and I probably own far too many of their liquid and pencil eyeliners. Being a commuter and a student, I'm often out of the house from 8:30am to 7:00pm and I tend to rub the inner corners of my eyes. Therefore, I need an eyeliner that lasts. I love this. The brush is thin and allows me to get into places that a pencil wouldn't, and most importantly, this stuff is near impossible to shift. 

Misc.

Nails Inc. mini in 'Covent Garden Market' - I got this as part of a trio of minis, and I actually only bought the set for another of the polishes, but this is the only one I have used so far. I love how distinctive it is, and I'm yet to find a dupe (although I'm sure there are plenty, I haven't really looked that hard). Yes, it's a real bitch to remove, but it's so pretty that it's worth it.

GOSH 'Holographic Hero' (unlinked as I can't find it online) - This is/was the highly anticipated re-release of the previous limited edition holographic polish. No, they didn't bother to change the formula and yes, that was very lazy, but I still love this polish regardless of the 24-hour wear tag they've given it. I also find that it lasts way longer than 24 hours on me, and it's more like 4 days before any real chipping occurs. 

Origins 'United State' Balancing Tonic - This is a toner, apparently. Skincare is not my strong point, so I can't tell you what it's supposed to do. To me, this is a nice, refreshing toner that leaves my face feeling...wait for it...refreshed and also looking brighter and generally better. I'm not sure if that justifies the price tag, but I like it and that's good enough for me.

Here are swatches of the swatchable things...

So, that's it for my November favourites. I know this post has been long, but I had a lot to get through. I'll be back soon with a nail tutorial, but for now I'd love it if you let me know what your absolute November favourite has been :)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel x

Twitter: rachelizabethxo
Personal blog: estoy mejor sin ti
Instagram: iRachey