A/W Pinspiration

A/W style is definitely my all time favourite when it comes to fashion. I just feel there's so much more you can do with an outfit when you can add different layers and textures. Whenever I'm looking for a little style inspiration I have  a look through pinterest and so I thought I'd put together some of my favourite looks for A/W 

Chunky knits will never go out of fashion and are a staple you need in your A/W wardrobe. Not only will you be toasty you will look super stylish. Black and grays  probably  make up 90% of my wardrobe and luckily are perfect for this look.

 Denim and suede are making a comeback and are huge this A/W. There's a whole 70's vibe floating around the place at the moment that I just love, from button down skirts to high rise polo necks its all in this season.

Wearing ripped jeans and a trusty leather jacket is a personal favourite of mine. It's such a versatile look that it can be thrown on for college days or for shopping trips. Duster coats and of course scarfs are another great way to glam up an outfit, paired with a leather bag you are good to go. 

Hope you guys were as inspired as I was by these fierce looks for A/W, its made me so excited! Enjoy,

Source: All links from  my pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/rachaelmartin96/aw-style/

Cleaning out ma' closet, advise from a fellow hoarder

Once again Autumn is here and Summer is over. I've so many mixed feeling in regards to this because yay to woolly jumpers, big scarf's, hot chocolate and cosy movie nights but nay to all the fun of Summer, nothing lasts forever though! I decided I had to accept the change and pack away my Summer wardrobe  and while I was at it do a proper clear out! I am a total hoarder so this was very difficult. I seem to fully believe that the "I heart Paris" jumper I bought in 2nd year will come in handy one day (no I did  not get rid of it!) or that a certain pair of shoes will come back in style... plus  everything just seems to have sentimental value! Its just heartbreaking really. Saying that I did try to be ruthless which was painful! For days I found myself like Cher here with a mountain of clothes staring at me. So here are my top tips quite possibly from one clothes hoarder to another. 

      Rachael's Golden Rules 

1 The one year rule  Have you worn this item in the past year? If the answer is no its straight to the maybe pile. I know this is the hard part! 

2 The maybe pile  So now you think you might be ready to part with something, but your not sure if your really truly  ready for such a commitment, You've just met? You haven't seen each other in so long? Or you barely even know this lonely jumper that's been hiding in your wardrobe all winter long! Maybe it's not time to say goodbye? Or maybe it is. Relax you're not married to it! Put it in the maybe pile and in time it'll make sense. You can always change you mind and put it back to its cosy spot in the wardrobe if it's what your heart desires. 

3 Depop is life Now that the anxiety of loosing all you beloveds has gone, you can finally make the step and put them on depop! Its the perfect way to create space, make some dollahs and give your pre loved items a new home! And if it doesn't sell? Well I guess you'll just have to keep it! What a shame... 

4 Space and Dollahs As sad as you are to see your old friends go, think of the moolah you've now got to buy new clothes, and now space too! Wahey you're already over this break up because there is a new par of jeans calling your name! Your hoardish personality may very well just get addicted to this new regime and if so hoarding could just a a thing of the past! For me... we're getting there! 

Hope you lovely ladies have found this helpful, I'd love to know you you've got on! Lemme know  happy de- cluttering and 

Good luck!

Back to Business

To any and all of my lovely followers out there who are seeing this and are wondering where I've been the last few months get ready for an explanation! Things have been sooo crazy this year! I think I may have slightly underestimated how demanding the Lc would be on my time and so unfortunately most of it was spent meeting deadlines and basically studying my ass off to get into collage which thank god I did! (YAY) So the hard work was totally worth it! The last few weeks have been insane! I got my Leaving Cert results and an A in art which I still cant believe and my collage CAO offer of Journalism in DCU which has always been the dream! I cant even describe the relief of it all. I also got my first proper job in Abercrombie & Fitch and I had my Debs! I've been kind of living in a bubble because it didn't seem real to me after this busy Summer and year in general but now things are finally calming down and we're back to business I promise! I'm so looking forward to all that awaits. I have some really exciting stuff coming up and I just cant wait to get started on it all so watch the space!

Loving you and thanking you as always

Bold Gold RI wishlist

Hey guys! I'm in a seriously weird mood today because  I've just recently finished my mock exams and I'm so incredibly happy and relieved to have my life back for a little while, literally all I've done for the past two weeks is sleep and study and after having a great weekend I'm dead sick! so apologies for the late blog post but regardless what better way to celebrate my temporary freedom than shopping! I've put together a little wishlist of a few pieces I have my eye on from RI. Ripped jeans are a must this season and the RI Lana Jeans seem to have it all, they're high-waisted so you can wear them with crop tops which is always a plus! I'm actually thinking of doing a ripped jeans DIY  on a pair I have so stay tuned! I'm  absolutely loving this Grey marl ribbed high neck top and Lime knitted crop top both are perfect for pairing with black jeans and can be  dressed up or dressed down! I'm also on the hunt for a new pair of heeled/platform boots I have a pair from Public Desire that I'm completely in love with but they're burgundy so they kind of clash with some outfits! A black pair are needed and these Black suede snake print ankle boots are fab. I'm also loving baggy shirts for over jeans and this  Blue stripe poplin shirt is perfect, gold jewellery can tie it all together and dress up any outfit and RI have some really nice pieces this season.

The items above are linked directly to the website so if there's anything you fancy you can have a look, what do you guys think? let me know! 

Ombré lips DIY

Ombré lips are a great way to add a bit of drama to your make-up look. The basic idea is that your contouring your lips like you would contour your face, which makes your lips look fuller and more 3D. Above is a step by step guide of how I achieved this look! 

First star off by moisturising your lips with a good lip balm so that the products you put on your lips after don't crack. Then line your lips with a nude liner all over, I used Mac 'boldly bare'. Next with a darker liner outline the outline of your lips and the inner corners (this will prevent smudging later) blend it out by rubbing your lips together. If you prefer a more matte  finish or your going for more of an everyday look you can stop at this step, if you want more drama keep going! With a lip brush apply a darker lip colour that's a lipstick/paint and blend well. Next apply a lighter gloss in the centre and finish with a dust of glitter/sparkle dust to highlight! 

 What I used: Mac 'boldly bare' lip liner Catrice 'very berry' lip liner Inglot 'lip paint' No.69 Inglot light pigment(I got a sample so not sure what number!) & lastly just a nude lipgloss no specific brand

Hopefully you guys find this helpful and please let me know in the comments if you try it out!

Love 

The Best of 2014

Although this post got seriously delayed its finally 2015! The past year has definitely been an exciting year for me in many ways and a lot of the highlights have been shared with you guys right here. I've been in a musical where I was lucky enough to get a main role, been to too many parties, Grad night, Longitude, The Gaeltacht, French college and the Debs to name a few! Through all these good times I met some great people and genuine friends as well. I also went to see Ed  Sheeran who was just unbelievable! Hopefully most of these great experiences will be relived in 2015 with many more exciting things thrown into the mix. Most importantly 2014 is the year I started Blogging. I can hardly believe that my blog is a year old! So happy birthday rachaelsmode. I started this blog a little over a year ago feeling inspired by the new year to take the plunge and start a blog as I had wanted to do for a long time before that. In my very first blog post I spoke about how things don't change unless you make them, and I guess that goes for all aspects of life, but I can honestly say that making such a decision and taking the plunge was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Blogging has definitely been a positive change in my life and hopefully it will continue to be even more so in the future, its become a hobby and a passion. Regrettably over the past two months I've been drowning in school work, tests and CAO applications so blogging has taken a  back seat. Its so hard to keep on top of everything this year, but one of my new years resolutions is to get back into the swing of things! I think its important to balance things in life and lately I haven't been doing a very good job of balancing things, but like I said a year ago things don't change unless you make them.For the next 6 months my Leaving Cert is definitely number one on my list of priorities but that doesn't mean there so room for anything else, balance definitely is key. To anyone and everyone who takes the time to read my blog thank you so much for sticking with my over the past year! Even if there's one person out there in the world who reads what I have to say and smiles then that's a success to me.

            Above are some of the highlights of my year  and below is a link to my very first blog post

All for now 

http://rachaelsmode.blogspot.ie/2014/01/as-so-it-begins.html