Monday, January 28, 2013

Birthday Adventures & OOTD

Hey lovelies! It was an eventful weekend, which is why I haven't blogged in a little while… So I thought I'd post about my birthday last Friday. It was a huge day so I've decided to split it into three parts. Today's post will be my day time ootd and some pics of what we did for the day.

 So onto the ootd!






Shirt from Temt / Faux leather leggings from Temt / Shoes from Portmans 


Bag by Kate Hill / Sunglasses by Calvin Klein 


Necklace from Diva / Revlon Lipstain in Passion 


In the morning we went to visit my mum for a while, before heading over to the Harbour Town Farmers Market.

looking for some yummy pasta sauce


Fresh pasta made daily <3


Cheese, cheese and more cheese!!

Yummy! <3

Our farmers market purchases :)

After the farmers markets we headed to harbour town to have some lunch and do some casual shopping….

My bag looks ridiculously big here haha!! 


I picked up a cute pair of heels at Novo that went with my dress for the night, but mainly I wanted them for upcoming grad job interviews!! It's scary thinking how close it all is!! 


These were so comfy and I think they will be perfect for work, they have a heel with the perfect height.

How did you spend your weekend?? Part 2 should be up in a few days so check back soon!! 

Xx

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

LoveClothing.com Review




Hi beauties! I had intended on writing a different post today, but I woke up to the arrival of my LoveClothing order and was so excited that I decided to do a review instead. These are the Pieces Funky Fox Jeggings in Bermuda Green and Dark Coral. They are still available (and on sale!!) on the LoveClothing.com site: in Green HERE; and in Dark Coral HERE. I got both of them for $50.55 Australian Dollars, including shipping which is a steal!





 I placed my order for these on the 11th of January and they arrived today (23rd January), so they took around 2 weeks to arrive. However, in saying that I had actually originally ordered a navy pair which were unfortunately discontinued. LoveClothing emailed me to let me know and I asked for the dark coral ones in place of the navy. They were so helpful and quick… 2 weeks to ship to Australia including having to make changes to my order is pretty amazing!! Shipping to here usually takes foreverrrrr. I've placed orders on eBay that have taken up to 2 months before!

The quality on these are amazing, they look like your wearing jeans with all the comfort of leggings, including an elastic waist. I found the green to be very true to size, however the coral ran a little smaller. I got the M/L in the coral (which is the only size left at the moment) and it fit quite well.

I can't wait until the weather gets a bit cooler so I can style them, I think the green would look great with a white chunky knit sweater or a printed sweater like THIS one. For now I put them on this morning just to grab a quick snap for you guys…



They also have grey, red and yellow ones available on the website, honestly I'm considering buying the red ones as well!! haha!

All in all, I'm very impressed with the store and will definitely be shopping there again soon :)

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Xx



Disclaimer: These products were bought by me with my own money, all opinions are my own.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Back to School: Motivation & Organisation



With the holidays slowly coming to a close and a new year of school and work ahead, I thought I would share with you how I stay motivated and organised when it comes to a hectic lifestyle. Between University studies, work, errands and chores, and finding time to relax a little, my life can very crazy at times. I have had 4 years to adjust to life being this way for me, and am finally to begin to feel as if I have found a good mindset and a work/life balance. For me, staying organised is the key to finding time to do the things you love.

It all starts with my diary….





I got this diary from a store called Kiki.K (you can find it HERE), I love that it has cute little pictures all through, and extra stickers so you can add your own touches. This is a weekly diary but also has a month to month section in the front which I love, I can easily see the major events I have coming up for the given month. I keep all appointments, work hours, uni classes birthdays, bills due - pretty much everything except my to do list - in here. Everything is organised by colour, blue for work, green for birthdays, purple for social things… and so on.

Next up - my monthly planner…




This, again, I got at Kiki.K (you can find it HERE). I love this because I can leave it out on my desk so its in easy view as a constant reminder of things I need to get done, or important deadlines which mustn't be forgotten! For example, I will mainly use this for blogs to be posted and grad program application closes (I graduate in July and am going through the gruelling process of grad job applications and interviews this semester). I may also add my cleaning schedule to this to help stay on top of things!

Daily "to-do" lists….



I like to use a pad like this for my daily to-do lists as i can tear the page off and carry it with me for the day, ticking off things as I complete them. This was actually a gift from a friend last year, I think she got it from a shop called Typo, but you can get these pretty much anywhere.

Planning & Inspiration…



To organise my thoughts and planning out things that inspire me I use an A5 tabbed notebook like this one. Writing things down helps keep me motivated and reaching my goals.

Lastly, these are the pens I picked up to use this year…




These are all medium point felt tip pens, the ones to the left are from Kiki.K (available HERE), and on the right are just some ones from Paper Mate. Keeping the stationary I use fun and colourful helps to make me want to stay motivated, its so much prettier!! Ha ha!

So those are the tools I use to keep myself organised. I try to get everything done as early in the day as possible, giving me the rest of the day to relax and enjoy! I'm also quite big on motivational quotes, I've been considering starting a once a week post with my quote of the week.

In line with today's post, I finally got my butt into gear and started a Facebook page! I know not everyone has blogger accounts to keep up to date… so here are my social media bits:

Facebook: Rachel Michelle (click HERE)
Instagram: rachelmichelle25
Twitter: @Rachy2589

I hope to see you there!


Shopping OOTD & Mini Haul

Hi guys!

As this Friday is my birthday, today I indulged in a little retail therapy with my roommate and a good friend of mine. Seeing as I haven't posted an ootd since before christmas I thought I would show you what I wore today! To be honest its been so hot here on the Gold Coast fashion hasn't exactly been on the top of my list which is rather sad. Today was a bit cooler which was nice but I can't wait for winter, I love the fashion so much more! Anyway, here's what I wore today….




I love these shoes, I got them from Portmans over Christmas! 




And for the haul portion of the post!



My roommate and my friend were amazingly kind and bought me these Vans for my birthday!! I live them! They're the classic low profile style in Pewter Grey. Can't go past comfy sneakers!


Here's my mini haul! I got they grey leopard print top, blue studded jeggings and khaki faux leather leggings (which I'm particularly excited about) from Temt for a steal. The purple dress is a fitted peplum dress I found at ValleyGirl. Sorry for the picture quality, it was dark by the time I got home haha. 
While the quality from these shops aren't anything fancy, they're great for fast fashion and for pieces that aren't staples and may not stay in fashion forever. 



I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Monday, January 14, 2013

2012 Makeup Favorites



Now that the craziness of Christmas and family has subsided it's time to get back to blogging! And what better to do for my first post of the New Year than a recap on my 2012 favourites. I discovered some really great products in 2012 which I think will be staples for a long time. So here they are!!

Urban Decay Naked Palette II

I literally use this every single day that I put makeup on (which is most days). It's so handy to have everything you need for so many different looks all in one. The quality and pigmentation of these shadows is just amazing! 




NARS Laguna Bronzer & Penny Lane Blush

This bronzer is hands down the best I've ever tried. It just gives the perfect glow without being too shimmery and glittery. The blush is a cream blush and is the ultimate natural rosy colour, you need to make sure to apply a powder blush over the top so it doesn't melt off though (especially in the Australian heat!)




M.A.C Cooling Liquid Powder - Truth & Light

This was actually a gift from a friend Wakako, you can use it all over your face but I think its the perfect highlighter. 



M.A.C Prep + Prime

This is a salmon based colour correction pen for getting rid of dark circles. I have terrible dark circles and this stuff works wonders! It is a strong salmon colour to counteract the purples and blues under your eyes so you need to make sure to apply your foundation over the top. 


Revlon Colourstay Foundation

This is my all time favourite foundation that I have tried so far, I've gone through about 5 bottles of this!  It has very build-able coverage, so you can choose to have a lighter coverage or more full coverage. I use number 180 Sand Beige.


Sigma F84 & P86 Brushes 

This is what I like to use to apply my foundation and concealer. I use the Angled Top Kabuki F84 for foundation and the Precision Tapered P86 for concealer. They give a great finish and the angles are so unique and perfect for application!



Covergirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara

I don't like wasting money on high end mascaras and find that everyone I've ever bought was disappointing. Covergirl make amazing mascaras for a fraction of the price so save your money for something thats worth paying the extra for!


DollyWink Liquid Liner Pen

This is a Japanese brand liner and is my all time favourite. I think I paid under $20 and am yet to find anything that beats it! It handles well and is easy to use and very pigmented.


M.A.C Eye Kohls in Smoulder and Fascinating 

These liners are nice and creamy and will last you forever. While they come with quite a high price tag in Aus (I paid about $40 each!) they are definitely worth the money! Particularly Smoulder, my friends are forever wanting to borrow that one haha.


Urban Decay Primer Potion

Last but not least, I couldn't live without my Urban Decay eyeshadow primer! This is what makes my eyes last through 11 days at work without a smudge! A must for any makeup lover.



Let me know what your 2012 faves were in the comments below so I can check them out! 

Xx