Hair growth challenge/pre natal vitimans and no heat

So I’ve decided after a lot of research to try the no heat challenge for a month (I’m on week 3 atm and I don’t hate it!) and try to grow my hair out those two little inches I’ve been longing for since I can remember! I’ve heard pre-natal vitamins work and then silica complex and cod liver oil.

I went a little mad and have dedicated this next month to hair….I bought argan oil, leave-in conditioner, conditioning treatments and the prenatal vitamins. I’m also trying to eat more healthily and drink more water because I’ve heard that helps too.

So we’ll see, it’s a little experiment because I couldn’t find any real experiments where people tried it and could say for sure that it didn’t work. And at the end of the day its just vitamins and eating healthy so its good for me either way.

Ill let you know how I get on. I took before pics but I was already a week in when I took them so it might not be exactly as I started but near enough.

Fingers crossed it works!!

If anyone has tried this and had good or bad results I’d love to hear because I’m pretty desperate to get these two inches and not go back to wearing clip in extensions everyday!

ps. Poppy got a haircut!

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My new favourite TV show: Revenge

The Cast of  'Revenge'

“When I was a little girl, my understanding of revenge was as simple as the Sunday School proverbs it hid behind. Neat little morality slogans like ‘do unto others’ and ‘two wrongs don't make a right’. But two wrongs can never make a right, because two wrongs can never equal each other. For the truly wronged, real satisfaction can only be found in one of two places: absolute forgiveness or mortal vindication. This is not a story of forgiveness." – Amanda Clarke

I am watching Revenge on E4 on Monday nights at 9pm and I am loving it!

I saw the trailer and didn’t think I would like it but with my sisters recommendation I got hooked online and have now watched the entire series in the space of a week….late nights and tired days at work were a worthwhile sacrifice!

Each episode begins with Amanda giving a speech much like the one above which sums up her reasoning for revenge and being in the Hamptons.

The series follows the exploits of Amanda Clarke (Emily Van Camp) who under the alias of Emily Thorne, has returned to The Hamptons with one goal -- to seek revenge on those responsible for destroying her family.

 Emily’s father was framed for a crime he didn't commit and sent to prison for life. As an adult she returns to the Hamptons to revenge her fathers death on those who wronged and betrayed him.

The list is very long but the main person who she wants to exact revenge on is Victoria Grayson(Madeleine Stowe) whom her father fell in love with and who helped send him to prison for a crime he did not commit. This character was made for Madeline, even down to her looks and facial expressions, she plays the part

phenomenally.

Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe)

Emily Van Camp stared in ‘Everwood’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters’, both of which I watched but I think she suits this character best and portrays her very well.

Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke (Emily Van Camp)

The plot is much better than I had expected and takes a lot of twists and turns thatidn’t see coming a lot of the time, which is very unlike me, as a more than avid TV watcher I’m generally very quick to see the ending coming and predict it long before it happens. So I was surprised to be taken aback by the writing and the plot had a few shocks for me.

Beyond the stimulating plot and beautiful people which star in this show, the fashion is gorgeous, particularly from Emily’s (apparent) BFF Ashley Davenport (Ashley Madekwe) initially working as Victoria's party planner and assistant.

I have just discovered that Ashley has a blog : http://ashley-ringmybell.blogspot.ie/ showing outfit posts and makeup tips etc which I am now obviously following and really like…her style is amazing…not to mention her hair….gorgeous!


I can’t wait for the next season to begin and am even watching it again on E4 each week!

xx

Perfume of the moment

My favourite perfume of the moment is PACO rabanne Lady Million….it is absolutely amazing. After a lot of hints Santa got it for me for Christmas and I love it.

I had just bought a bottle of the 212 Sexy, which I liked after smelling it in a magazine at the doctor’s office when I was very under the weather I purchased it to cheer me up….but it has been firmly put in second place daytime wear category now after the arrival of this little beauty….I will 100% be re-purchasing once this little bottle finishes……but I’m saving it for nicer occasions so I’m hoping it’ll last a while!

More posts to follow with a bit more padding round the edges!

Love,

Rachel

xx

Skincare (Cleanser and Mousturiser)

I have long been a fan of Cetaphil cleansers and moisturisers after I had heard rave reviews on youtube and blogs alike. I bought my first bottle of the daily cleanser and moisturiser when I was on a J1 in America a few years back and I loved it. I have oily/combination skin with my cheeks being dry but the rest of my face, especially my chin being quite oily.

I wouldn’t say I was acne prone but I definitely experienced quite a few breakouts in my time and tried and tested just about every cleanser and moisturiser out there. Every single one seemed to break me out especially moisturisers, the only thing I could find to work for me was Clinique’s dramatically different moisturising gel which is a little on the pricey side for my budget but I was willing to pay the price if it meant spot-free skin.

Then I discovered Cetaphil! When I was using Clinique’s moisturiser, although it kept my skin spot free I would find that my cheeks, the drier area of my face, would become very dry and flaky with only using a gel moisturiser especially in Ireland’s cold winters.

The Cetaphil Moisturiser is quite thick in comparison to a gel so I was afraid to use it at first presuming my face would react in the same as it always did with creamier moisturisers and break-out, but it didn’t, it keeps my cheeks moisturised while not over moisturising the rest of my face to cause break outs. I still sometimes use the Clinique gel as I still have the remains of a bottle I bought before I got my hands on Cetaphil and I do like it but I need that extra bit of moisture on the dry areas.

In my hunt for a holy grail cleanser I tried all the usual drugstore/pharmacy brands…neutrogena, simple, no. 7 ….I also tried the very famous Liz Earle hot cloth cleanser, and although it was fine and didn’t break me out like many people have noticed happening to them when they first use it, I didn’t feel like my skin was as well cleaned after I washed my face with it and the consistency was a little strange to me.

I have also tried the Cetaphil gentle skin cleanser(I don't have a photo of this one as my little brother pulled the labels off the bottle so it just a cream bottle now with no labels!); this is more of a creamy cleanser which I would use on cotton wool pads rather than with water at the sink. It is an ok cleanser and does what it says on the tin, although I thought it was a horrible texture when I tried to use it with water, I sometimes use it now with cotton wool before I wash my face with the daily cleanser, I think I just prefer a cleanser you can use with water as I feel I get a better clean and it doesn’t leave any residue etc in my face which I feel the gentle one does.

The Cetaphil website

I do agree with all the statements Cetaphil make about their product, the one thing negative I can say about the product is that it made no impact on my blackheads which are mainly around my nose, I think this has to do with the fact that the cleanser etc do not contain salicylic acid or BHA’s which apparently help with blackheads so I am currently searching for an exfoliator which will help remove my blackheads and contain those ingredients.

All suggestions are VERY welcome!

It is also a hard product to get you hands on in Ireland, I have noticed it in a few private chemists and usually see the gentle cleanser in Boots, however I know you can purchase it on Amazon a lot cheaper and they have the Daily cleanser for sale also. I get mine brought over to me from the states any time I know of someone going over or from my aunts who live there which is quite lucky but I am considering purchasing on Amazon when I run out of my little stock!

So all-in-all Cetaphil is my holy grail cleanser and moisturiser, although I do dabble in other brands from time to time as I hear about them on youtube or reading blogs, I always return to my old faithful every time!


P.S. Sorry for such a long post but when you find a holy grail any product you have alot to say about it!

My Weekend

I had Friday and Monday off work so I tried to make the most of it by visiting friends and relatives who live in different counties than me. So I was in Belfast on Friday night and went out with a few of my friends there.

I wore a vest-top and black blazer from H&M and some little black hot pants with leather sides from Miss Selfridge….with TWO pairs of tights obviously!

I seem to get a lot of Flashback on my face in flash photography and I can’t for the life of me figure it out, I make sure to wear foundation and powders with the lowest SPF I can find as I had heard that caused flashback but still my face looks quite white compared to my friends who have the same skin tone and use foundations with a higher SPF….must just be my face!

Although I do use Nars Laguna bronzer at the minute which has some specks of gold glitter in it so I might try a different bronzer next time and see if it works.

On Saturday I was my cousins guinea pig for her Beautician course and had to get waxed to within an inch of my life but in fairness to her she was very good and I didn’t end up in quite as much pain or mess as the poor girl beside me who was also helping her friend out and being her “model” for the day…a choice I’d say she regrets now!

Then we rented some DVD’s, ‘The Change Up’ and ‘Horrible bosses’ which were alright, ‘The Change Up’ was definitely the better one, and had an early night.

Left Poppy with my uncle while I was down at the beautician school with my cousin and when I came back he had cut her hair where the bow usually goes, saying he didn’t like it! So poor little Pop had a bit of a traumatic day….not that she really noticed but I have to say I shed a tear….took me months to get it to tie up in the bow to begin with and now we’re back at square one…..One things for sure my uncle will not be babysitting her again!

Her new 'Mullet' hair-do!

Had a nice few days off but didn’t feel too refreshed coming back to work today! Need some pampering and a relaxing weekend asap me thinks!

Oh I ordered a playsuit from Motel which I saw LLYMLRS wearing in her blog, haven’t tried it on yet but I LOVES it so far!

Also ordered this top from American Apparel but it wasn’t in stock in the warehouse apparently and is going to take 2-3weeks to be delivered…..bit sad about that because I can’t wait to wear it but guess I’ll just have to!

Think that’s all for today,

Love,

Rachel

xx

Hola!!!

My first EVER blog post……I have been thinking about starting a blog for ages now…..but I was too scared if I’m honest, I absolutely love watching vlogs and reading blogs and there are no words to describe how much I love fashion, clothes and all things beauty but I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in reading my blog and I know a lot of very fashionable people who are super artsy and creative who would be much better at this than me but I decided I may as well give it a shot!

My name is Rachel and I’m a 25year old 9-5 worker who needs a little more excitement in her life and something to look forward to everyday. This blog is something I think and hope I will really enjoy doing and researching and working on in my spare time and if I get a following that would be absolutely amazing but I’m not expecting much as long as it keeps me happy!

I live in Dublin, Ireland and have the cutest ever mini Yorkshire puppy called Poppy.



This is her not very happy being forced to wear a reindeer outfit for Christmas Day!



I’m hoping to save up and do a lot of travelling in the next few years and see the world as I’m getting on in years now!!
I spend my life looking at fashion, buying makeup, clothes or watching vlogs or talking about it if any of my friends will listen anymore because they don’t really get how I can be quite so obsessed! Along with working and going out on the weekends that about sums up my life at the minute, I just moved to Dublin for work so am enjoying the night life and the new shops city has to offer….a little to much if I’m honest! This blog will probably just be a mix of everything from everyday life to reviews and OOTD's (when I get brave enough) to haul's and maybe even some TV and film reviews....we'll see!

Thinks that's all for my first post!

Be back soon!

Love,

Rachel xx