Jack Wills | English Velvet Eau de Toilette

I'm one of those people who won't take a chance and buy a perfume without smelling it first. Even if the description sounds like the kind of notes that I usually go for, I just will not risk it.
I have about ten bottles of perfume; some about five years old (I probably should throw them out but they still smell the same as from new) some for day, some for evening, but I was looking at getting a little something to take me through the winter.
A recent trip to Cardiff saw me stop off at the Jack Wills store. After spraying ALMOST everything in Debenhams and Jo Malone I couldn't find one I liked that I'd already got in a similar fragrance. While my husband was talking to the sales guy (it turned out he knew his parents) I wondered off to the beauty section.
English Velvet has a hint of floral and warm amber, but I quite like the musky smell as I think I wear perfume mostly of an evening and this suits the colder months. I like the style of the bottle too, nothing fancy or outrageous just straight to the point. I think it looks pretty on my dressing table and it's light enough with a secure lid to throw in my handbag.
I purchased the 50ml at £29.50.

Rachel xx

Collective Beauty Haul ~ Autumn 2014

This is a little round up of some recent beauty items that I have purchased over the last few shopping trips that I thought I would share with you. Even though I have this blog and I try to post regularly, I don't all that often buy lots of beauty items together.
I'll start with my most recent lipstick which is by MAC in Naked Bud.  This was part of the Fantasy of Flowers collection and I purchased this as new from Depop. It's a lovely nude shade with buildable colour application. A very natural lipstick which I'm wearing mostly everyday.
When it comes to mascara I'm a bit of a whore. I have so many that I often forget what I have if I don't keep them in once place. My newest addition is the Wonder'full by Rimmel London. This formula contains Argan Oil for smooth clump free lashes and this is exactly what it does as I use this daily at present.
I haven't bought any single eye shadows for a while, as I tend to use my palettes but at two recent stops at The Body Shop I picked up these; Steel My heart which is a silver pearlescent and Melt My Heart a gold/brown pearlescent, both I've yet to use. The colours looked quite pigmented when I swatted them in store, so we'll have to see.
The other eye shadow is from Lancome which I bought from a sale shelf in Debenhams. I wasn't able to swatch it but I thought I would take a chance at £4.20. It looks a smokey green/grey shade. It says G20 underneath so this could have been a display only one, but was in new condition.
I was going to purchase the Clinique cleansing brush, but at almost £80 I thought this was way overpriced when I looked at it. As I'm a huge fan of the No7 range at Boots, I decided to purchase their version at £24.95. I'm using it everyday so I'll you know later on how I'm getting on with it.
Lastly is a product I've been wanting to get for quite a while as I've read/watched many beauty bloggers talk about how good the Becca Ever-Matte Poreless Priming Perfector is. This was an online purchase from Space:NK. As with the cleansing brush, I'm using this daily so will let you know my thoughts on it.
Please feel free to leave your comments on my recent haul and if you have any questions about any of the products I've bought.

Rachel xx

I Went Shopping - Boots Haul

I recently uploaded a picture to my Instagram @HeartOceanSecrets of my Boots shopping basket, and I had quite a few likes, so I thought I would do a little blogpost about the things I bought.

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with Philosophy. 1) The price, 2) the sickly smell. Some of the body washes are too over powering but having said that, they smell EXACTLY like what they're called. The gift set I picked up was half price at £11 and has vanilla cake mix 3 in 1, cranberry body lotion and candied pecan salt body scrub. I was able to smell the testers and thought they weren't too bad.

I've heard loads of good things about Soap & Glory, No Clogs Allowed so I decided to see for myself. It is a self heating mask, which I haven't tried for years and claims to detox pores. This was on offer for £7.67 instead of £11.50. Click here to read about it.
Bic Soleil Travel Shaving Gel is perfect for the shower as it fits nicely on the shelf. Cost £1.89.
Stila Baked Duo in Pink Glow is ideal for creating that sun kissed glow as a highlighter/soft blusher on the cheeks. Bit pricey at £15 but had to have it! I will do a more detailed review and swatch at some point.

Oral B 3D White in Brillance. Claims to reduce staining on the teeth in two weeks. £3.49. My teeth aren't bad but I'd like to give this a try.
Original Source Cranberry and Honey Daily Scrub is one I haven't tried before as I normally buy the Tea Tree and Mint. This was on offer for half price. £1.32.
Vital Baby Hand and Face Wipes are essential as a mother. My daughter is 3 and gets sticky hands, so these are always in my bag. Plus they're great to wipe off make up after loads of swatching! £1.99
I also bought an Essie Nail Polish in Fiji but I couldn't find it when I was taking picture. A beautiful nude pink and one of their best sellers. £7.99.

So that's what I bought. Boots is a deadly place. I go in for one item but always end up with a basket full. Anyone else the same?

Rachel xx

Vintage Teacup Shopping

I have a confession to make...I LOVE TEACUPS...but I don't drink tea! As much as I would like to, I don't like the taste and it makes me feel quite queasy. That hasn't stopped me though from having a love affair with teacups, especially vintage ones.

Today I had a day off work and decided to pop into the village to have a quick look around the antique shops in the hunt for some treasures. I recently bought two pieces of solid oak furniture so I was on a ban from buying any big pieces. Even though my home is a new build I have grown up to appreciate old and collectable items and my home is nicely filling up with various pieces.

My crockery collection is something that I want to slowly build as I'm quite fussy with what I like and it can be quite costly. Gosh I sound old!

After looking at what felt like hundreds, I finally decided on two matching designs that came with side plates.

I paid £5 for each trio which I thought was an absolute bargain. These were the only matching ones that I fancied, which is good really, as I could have spent quite a lot more!

I know this is different from my usual posts but this is another part of my life that I want to feature on my blog every now and then. If this type of thing floats your boat then check out this site here for more vintage loveliness.

Have you any other loves other than make up and beauty that you like collecting? Do share...

Rachel xx

Which Handbag Are You?

Aaah Next, how I love thee. 

I was 14 years old when I actually bought myself a pair of shorts from there with my own money. I had a Saturday evening job doing waitressing at my local pub for pittance, and I had managed to save up enough money for some make up and an item of clothing.

Anyhow, as I come back to this decade and remember what I'm supposed to be writing about I came across this lovely chart at the Next blog. With the new season coming fastly upon us it's only a given right that us women treat ourselves to a new handbag. I mean we really need one for the new season don't we?

So what better way to choose a handbag that suits your lifestyle...

Source ~ blog.next.co.uk

To be honest, I spend every weekend differently, so I guess that's why I have so many bags in different colours, sizes, shapes and fabrics, or I just have a little addiction.
Whatever the style you're looking for, Next have a massive variety for you to choose from. I actually have my eye on this beauty...the metal corner shoulder bag in camel at £24.

As I said before aaah Next how I love thee.

Rachel xx