10 Things I Dislike | The Love/Hate Tag

Now that you have discovered ten things that I absolutely love and couldn't live without (here), why not find out some things that I don't like that much? Continuing on with The Love\Tag Tag which I was nominated for by the stunning Phoebe of Phoebe Giggles, I go through ten things that certainly don't make the grade when it comes to things I like, be it personality traits, foods, objects or situations! As with life, there are things we like and things we don't, so if there is something on my 'dislike' list that you in fact like, good on you for being a better person than I for being able to find something good in the things I can't. Don't forget to check out my nominations at the end of this post as well and see if you are nominated and read everyone else's tags.

10 Things I Love | The Love/Hate Tag

The amazing Phoebe from Phoebe Giggles nominated me a couple of weeks ago to do the Love/Hate Tag, and I have finally managed to get around to it after a week off ill! Tags are one of the things that I first started doing when I started blogging to get some information about me out there and really put myself out there on the page for all to see and connect with on some level, so I'm always really excited when someone nominates me for a tag post, especially one which is so brutally honest - I love sharing the things that I not only think are amazing, but also sharing the things which I don't particularly like, as that's part of life, and blogs which only share the good and pretend that the bad doesn't exist are a complete no-no in my books!

Confessions of a Blog-a-holic | Tag

It has literally been the busiest day of my life today, but I didn't want to not do a post - so I thought a tag would be a good thing to do. A while back I found a tag called 'Confessions of a Blogger' on Chloe's Way - an incredible blog that I've loved for some time now, especially her philanthropy and fashion posts! So, here we go...

The Creative Blogger Award

I got nominated a while back for The Creative Blogger Award by the fabulous Harley of Shards of Glass and have only just managed to find the time to fit it in so I do apologise. For those of you who haven't heard of it before, the idea of The Creative Blogger Award is to share five facts about yourself that are either fun or interesting, and then nominate up to fifteen fellow bloggers or vloggers to do the same...so let's get learning.

Five Facts About Me...

1 | I am an incredibly indecisive person, both in small things and big things. For example, if I'm going on a night out, or even just out for the day it takes me half an hour, at least three clothes changes and a few inner-tantrums to decide what to wear. On a bigger scale, I suppose my university life is also incredibly indecisive. I originally wanted to do Graphic Design as a degree until the end of GCSE's, then I wanted to do Art, until I got into my second year of A-Levels, and when I eventually came to university I started doing Architecture. I wasn't sure if I liked all the science behind it in my first year, so I dropped out and decided to go back and do Architecture again the following September. Two years down the line, I decided that Architecture really wasn't for me, and went back to college to study Criminology. Three years down the line, and here we are, as I'm getting ready to graduate in a degree of Criminology and Psychology. Although, I wasn't always going to stick with this course. I worked in a kitchen for a time when I was in my second year on this course, and for a good two weeks I'd convinced myself that I no longer wanted to be a psychologist, I wanted to be a chef...so there we have it. Indecisiveness 101.

2 | As you can probably tell from fun fact number one, I'm a bit of a waffler. I'm very good as waffling on about random things, which is fine and all, until it comes to education it seems. Numerous times I have received feedback to get to the point and stop creating such vast, unnecessary insights into my facts eating into my word count limits. It go so bad at one point when I was in school that whilst we were putting together our portfolios for my A2 Art, my teacher actually took all my pens and pencils off me and banned me from using them for a whole lesson saying that I needed to do more sketches rather than just getting lost in explaining what I wanted to do!

3 | I'm a tenpin bowler. A lot of people know this out of the blogging world, but not that many inside it know about me being a bowler. I have been bowling since I went to a friends birthday party when I was 4 and asked my Dad if for my 5th birthday a few weeks later, he could take me to a bowling club. Three years later I entered my first ever competition and won a 2nd place trophy, but they gave me the men's trophy as we had to enter in teams and if you entered as a mixed team you were in the same category as the boys team. First trophy #win - in your faces sporty boys! I went on to represent my county over different age groups, and even won a few competitions. I also qualified for the England Team trials a number of years, but one of my best experiences was the first time I went to Barcelona when I was fourteen and entered an Adult International competition - I even got a piece done about me on their website as I was the youngest international competitor!

4 | I am a closet gamer. I love it all! I watch the Yogscast and Hat Films and Seananners and tons of other gaming channels on YouTube, and play all sorts of games. I'm a proper geek at heart, but I also love fashion, beauty and all things girly. I'm like two extremes in one - and I LOVE IT!

5 | I am an appalling speller. Like, seriously. I struggle a lot with spelling, and I always have. My parents even took me to a private middle school entrance exam when I was going into Year 4 in primary school and I got told my spelling was appalling. I'm so grateful for 99% of the writing I need to do being on a computer, because without things like spell check, I'm not sure anyone would be able to understand a word I'm saying!

Bonus Fact | I couldn't leave this off...it's too hilarious. One of the things that I'm scared of more than anything in the entire world is Zombies. Like, I actually believe they are real and exist somewhere in the world. It's a condition called Kinemortophobia, meaning the fear of the walking dead. It's so bad I can't even look at someone dressed up as a zombie for Halloween, so even stand someone doing an impression of a zombie as a joke. It absolutely terrifies me, as in all my hairs stand on edge and my chest feels tight and I find it hard to breathe and hold back tears! One time when I was at work on Halloween, working on a reception desk as a bowling alley (yes, I did the classic bowler move of working in a bowl at some point in my lifetime), a group of teenagers came in dressed as zombie cheerleaders and American football players and I couldn't stay on reception. I started to hyperventilate and had to go to the toilets until the other receptionist had put them on the lanes that can't be seen from reception. I was also meant to finish work half an hour after they had started bowling, but ended up staying an extra two hours until they had left the building through fear of walking past them to get down to the staff locker rooms.

So that's it...five, plus a bonus, facts about me! I'm only going to nominate ten people, rather than fifteen, as I'm so late doing this everyone has done it already! If I nominate you and you have already done it, sorry, just pop me a link in the comments as I'd love to give them a read!

Milly // Seven Seas Away

Lauren // Blonde Vision

Ellie // Just Ellie

Sophie // Beauty Fashion Ramblings

Kirsty // Kirsty Ralph Blog

Luke // Luke Sam Sowden Blog

Emmie // Carpe Diem Emmie

Chelsea // Chelsea Potter Blog

Dee // Prompts By Dee

Constance // Conk's Canister

The Boyfriend Tag

I've seen a lot of people in the past few years doing the boyfriend tag on YouTube, and I ended up recently finding the 'Mini Boyfriend Tag', posted on 

<http://tagsforeverybody.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mini-boyfriend-tag.html> 

As a last ditch attempt to get my boyfriend interested in my blog, I asked him to answer the questions! (I've changed the questions slightly to suit our relationship).

1 | Where did you meet?

I'm not sure, this was a fair few years ago. We were both part of the university bowling, so not being the most popular sport in the world, and then not so many women play the sport on top of that. So, we were definitely aware of each other for about three years before really getting to know each other. No romantic meeting or trashy night out...sorry. I knew that she existed.

2 | What was your first date?

No idea... typical bloke or thinking about it quite weird, we lived together in a flat share before we started going out so there wasn't really a first date. The first date probably happened a few months later.

3 | What was your first impression of your girlfriend?

Good bowler...well you asked.

4 | When did you meet the family?

I met her mother when she asked me for some tape at a bowling competition, and her dad over some bowling tips.

5 | Do you have any traditions?

It's a bit weird but we often talk childish.

6 | Who said I love you first?

She did because I am an emotional cocoon :p.

7 | What was your first road trip or holiday together?

Quite early on in the relationship she dragged me to Edinburgh for the sights (plus she had £600 worth of hotel vouchers to use in a short period of time!).

8 | Who wears the pants in the relationship?

She does most of the time, but then I can be quite hard to live with sometimes, so I have to let her wear the pants. On occasion thought, she has actually worn my boxers in bed :)

9 | What is your favourite tv show to watch together?

At the minute we are both watching House on Netflix, going through all eight series slowly. But she likes Pretty Little Liars and other random girly things that I loathe entirely! We both like Daredevil (another Netflix thing) at the moment too though. I am determined one day to get her to watch Game of Thrones or Firefly.

10 | When did you meet your girlfriends best friend?

When she was visiting her Nan in hospital, I met her in the corridor as she is a porter there - although I have heard about Ally by name since before we were in a relationship. I also met Sarah before we were even living together because she was in the same city for uni.

11 | If you could buy your girlfriend one thing, what would make her happy?

Brie :)... Many little things can make Rachael happy, however, probably a interactive trip to an owl sanctuary would drive her wild with excitement.

12 | Do you think you will be together forever?

As long as it's forever, ok.

13 | What is your girlfriends worst quality?

Being Master, Commander, General and Chief of the Filth Wizards. She's a bit messy by most standards and very messy by mine, well I did say I was hard to live with...

I do apologise if my boyfriends answers are a little short or brash - he's not the blogging type - but at least now he has read at least a small part of my blog! I hope you enjoyed - feel free to steal, as long as you tag me in it! The original questions were adapted from the link above, but some of the questions are my own. Let me know in the comments below with links if you have done this tag!

How Quaintly Blighty-onian | The British Tag

I LOVE tags, and this one seemed like the perfect thing to do in preparation for the British Summer Time. I got the inspiration (and steal approval) from Becky Bea Blog (@beckybeablog) who has a beautiful blog that you can check out by clicking her name above!

1 | How many cups of tea a day do you have, and with how many sugars?

So far today I have had five cups of tea, which is pretty average for me. I always have sweetener rather than sugar in my tea - not for a health thing really, but more that it's just a habit that I've always done. I do love a good cup of tea, even in hot weather! Weirdly it cools me down a bit - if anyone has any reason why this is please let me know, because it blows my mind! #boom

2 | What is your favourite part of the roast dinner?

My mouth is salivating just at the thought of a good Sunday Roast - which I hardly have now I don't live at home because most Sundays if my boyfriend is working, it feels like a lot of effort to make for one person, which saddens me. My favourite part has to be roast potatoes though, fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside. My Mum makes amazing roast potatoes by cooking them in duck fat and sprinkling them with semolina which makes them go extra crispy and tasty.

3 | What is your favourite dunking biscuit?

I love, love, love biscuits, but if I had to choose one biscuit to have for the rest of my life it would have to be chocolate bourbans! Creamy chocolately goodness - yum yum yum!

4 | What is your favourite quintessentially British past-time?

I love baking, especially cupcakes, and I especially love decorating them - something which I haven't had the time to do much lately, unfortunately. Although, now we are coming up to summer, this will probably progress into making cupcakes for picnics in the park near my house - I've already got my eye on a beautiful picnic hamper in BHS.

5 | What is your favourite British word?

I really like the word 'bonce' - I'm not actually sure if it's a real word, but my Mum uses it all the time, and a lot of people where I'm from use it as a term for head. I also really like the word 'boffin' - a term for smart people - and I kind of wish I was one!

6 | What is your favourite cockney rhyming slang?

The only cockney rhyming slang I really know is 'Apples and Pears', meaning 'stairs'. Unfortunately, we don't all live in London and are best friends with the Hugh Grant and the Queen like in my dreams!

7 | What is your favourite British sweet?

Ironically, the thing I'm eating whilst writing this! I love Rosy Apples - proper old school British sweets that taste amazing. I'm not overly a sweet fan, but I buy these every week.

8 | What would your pub be called?

I've not really every thought about it, but I feel like I should treat it like they do when they make you work out your stripper name by taking the name of your first pet as your first name and combining it with your surname, taken from the name of the road you grew up on - just incase you were curious, my stripper name would be Cassie Westcroft. In that sense, I feel that my road name would be a good place to start for my pub name - The Westcrofts sounds like a nice place!

9 | Who is your No.1 British person?

As Becky mentioned in her blog, we wouldn't be British if we didn't say the Queen - as yes she is one top woman! But, I would have to say my life wouldn't be complete without Hugh Laurie. 

10 | What is your favourite shop/restaurant/café?

Whenever I want something simple and secure that doesn't require a lot of thinking, I always think of the Hotel Chocolat café. I love it in there, the smell is always incredible and they make really nice cakes and hot chocolates.

11 | What is the first British song that pops into your head?

"Stop right now, thank you very much. I need somebody with a human tou-u-uch" - it has to be Spice Girls all the way #90skid

12 | Finally. Marmite - love it or hate it?

I used to really love marmite and me and my Dad would have it every Saturday morning on toast, but I haven't eaten it in years - probably not in the last decade! I have no idea if I still like it, but I like to think I would.

Thanks once again to Becky for letting me steal this tag! I hope you enjoyed my answers, and learned something new about British if you're not from here!  Now go and make a cup of tea and watch Absolutely Fabulous!

The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

Thank you very much to Kirsty Ralph (@KirstyRalph11) for the nomination to do The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. Here are the answers to the questions Kirsty asked...

1 | Your most listened to track. What is your favourite?

I'm still in love with Hozier 'Take Me To Church' - such an amazing song, and the music video is so eye opening and shocking - it's more than just a song. I'm also loving James Bay 'Hold Back The River' as it's got such a beautiful sound and I love his voice.

2 | Favourite show to watch on Netflix.

I actually started watching 'Daredevil' this evening, which I'm really impressed with. It's an interesting story line and I can't help but be a bit partial to a 'superhero' style programme. Although, I am getting really into 'Once Upon A Time' as well.

3 | Favourite takeaway. What dish would you order?

The only takeaways me and Pete tend to get is Chinese or Indian as takeaway is a 'special occasion' (we can't be arsed to cook) rarity. The Indian takeaway around the corner from us does an amazing Chicken Paneer, which I always get with vegetable rice.

4 | What is your worst fear?

This is a little bit of a silly one, as my fear is completely irrational. But, I am terrified of zombies being real. I can't even watch comedy zombie films like Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead (or even The Simpsons Halloween specials for that matter) with zombies in without panicking and not being able to sleep for at least three nights! Going out on Halloween has become a no go for me. I remember a few years ago working on the reception desk at our local bowling centre and a group of students coming in dressed as zombies and I started to hyperventilate and couldn't serve them. I had to go in to the toilets until they had been put on their lane.

5 | If you could, what animal would you be?

I would absolutely love to be a llama or an alpaca as they are so strange looking and fluffy!

6 | Best advice to give to your younger self?

Turn up to lectures, make the most of university facilities, and don't worry if you don't know what you want to do with your life - do what makes you happy!

7 | Favourite disney movie.

Recently - Frozen or Wrek-it Ralph. Of all time - Hocus Pocus.

8 | Celebrity crush.

Ryan Reynolds...yum!

9 | Do you have a secret skill or talent?

No...I'm useless to the point that I can't whistle or roll my tongue!

10 | Your favourite blogger.

Obviously I have to mention Kirsty, but also I'm really loving reading Sophie Edwards (Petals of Perfection) at the moment as she has such unique ideas and variety! But, I will always be true to Louise Watson nee. Pentland (Sprinkle of Glitter) as she has been an indirect inspiration to me for a long time!

My Questions To My Nominees:

1 | If you could be one celebrity for a day, who would you be?

2 | What is your life ambition?

3 | What is your favourite procrastination thing to do?

4 | What was the title of your first ever blog post?

5 | What is your most used makeup product?

6 | What is your favourite clothing label?

7 | If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

8 | What is your favourite season and why?

9 | What was the first song you ever purchased?

10 | What is your favourite music video at the moment?

My Nominees:

1 | Kirsty Ralph // @KirstyRalph11 // www.kirstyralph.co.uk

2 | Sophie Edwards // @PetalsofPerfect // www.petalsofperfection.blogspot.co.uk

3 | Sophie Wood // @SophieWood__18 // www.beautyfashionramblings.wordpress.com

4 | Rachel Charlton Dailey // @RachelCDailey // www.happylittlesyllables.co.uk

5 | Constance Cleveland // @conkscanister // www.conkscanister.blogspot.com

6 | Paige Mae // @MissSugarSpiceX // www.misssugarspiceallthingsnice.blogspot.co.uk

7 | Serena Reidy // @SerenaReidy20 // www.ramblingsofanotherstudent.blogspot.com

The Rules:

1 | Answer the ten questions you have been sent, thanking the blogger who nominated you.

2 | Come up with ten questions of your own.

3 | Nominate up to ten bloggers.

7 Deadly Sins of Beauty | Tag

We all over indulge or have those moments when we feel like we want to use the cheapest stuff we can find - either way, these deadly sins of beauty are done by each and every one of us - including me! I've done the 7 Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag to explore some of the ways that I over or under indulge in my favourite brands and cosmetics.

1. GREED: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?

My most expensive would be my Laura Mercier Watercolour Mist Eye & Cheek Palette which was £45. That's about the only expensive thing I own and it was a gift and doesn't get touched really! I'm too scared. My least expensive would probably be my Asda George lipsticks which I have 7 in all in a range of colours which I've gotten got anywhere between £3 and £5 each. Other than that the only cheaper thing would be my MUA single eye shadows which were £1 each.

2. WRATH: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? 
I love my Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, it gives really incredible coverage, but because it has small bits of shiny stuff in if you get in the wrong light, especially a harsh light you look like a Twilight vampire!

3. GLUTTONY: What are your most delicious beauty products?

I really love the taste of the Max Factor lip balm I have. It's a moisturising tinted lip balm in Posh Poppy, but it tastes like grapefruit to me.

4. SLOTH: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?

Primer. Especially my eyeshadow and eyelash primer. Well...any primer really. For day to day wear I sometimes simply forget!
5. PRIDE: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?

My new Barry M contour kit has given me a massive confidence boost recently. I have quite a fat face and it gives me more self confidence. 
6. LUST: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?

I find eyes a very attractive feature. 
7. ENVY: What items would you most like to receive as a gift? 

Anything by Nars or MAC. MAC because it's expensive on the most part and I can't afford to buy all the things I want all at once! And Nars because I have heard such good things and would love to try some of their products but it's not as easy to get in the UK. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, I thought it would be an interesting one to do as something different. Let me know your deadly sins by linking your blog in the comments below to your tag.

My First Time

I saw the 'My First Time' tag around a while back, and have watched a number on various YouTube channels, and wanted to do one for myself for my blog - it seemed like a good opportunity to share some more personal things with you other than what I want my house to look like in the future or what I slap on my face of a morning...Plus I'm always one for a decent innuendo... 

So let's get it on!

1. First Youtube video you ever watched?

    The first video I ever watched on YouTube was God only knows! Although my first subscription was to the Yogscast, so probably something gaming related...I'm sorry to disappoint if you expected to be a blogger or something beauty orientated. If it helps, Sprinkle of Glitter was my second subscription

2. First person you subscribed to on YouTube?

    As above, the Yogscast. Back then it was BlueXephos, then Yogscast 1 (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong), now its Yogscast Lewis & Simon, although I'm subscribed to other Yogs too

3. Do you still talk to your first love? 

    Yes, very rarely. We still have a slightly rocky relationship, despite being broken up for over six years now...

4. First kiss?

     When I was ten years old, in my final year of primary school I had my first boyfriend - not that I understood what a boyfriend was at that point. We had our first kiss in his living room whilst watching cartoon and eating ham sandwiches when we were in our first year of high school (I was still ten years old at this point)

5. First alcoholic drink? 

     At the tender age of thirteen, my friend Casey and me got a bottle of blue WKD. I can't for the life of me remember where we got it from, but I think we got it out of one of our parents alcohol cupboards. We had half a bottle each under the duvet of my bed in the wee hours of the morning, and I was sick the whole next day #rebelchild

6. First car?

    I'm only on my second car at the moment, which is a Ford Focus. But my first car was a black Vauxhall Corsa, which is the same kind of car I learnt to drive in

7. First job? 

    I was a fairly lazy teenager, so didn't have my first job until I came to university when I was 18, and I worked as an instructor/demonstrator/teacher for a company which did afternoon club sessions, assemblies and Science Fair days for primary schools and communities

8. First pet?

     My first pet was actually my Mum's, which was a Siamese cat called Blu. The first pet that was officially mine, we got when I was ten, and he is still with us today just a little more frail and slow, and he is a West Highland White Terrier called Harry (I had/have an obsession with Harry Potter)

9. First celebrity crush?

    The first celebrity I seem to remember having a poster of was Johnny Depp. I say poster, I printed off a picture of him in Benny and Joon and stuck it to my wall. Although, me and my friend, Casey, used to have the hots for the guys in Steps #cringe

10. First real boyfriend?

       My first real boyfriend was also my first love mentioned above. We went out from the age of fifteen until I was eighteen and he was nineteen. I lost my virginity to him, and we were really in love. It just went tit's up when we moved in together, as we had been long distance until then. Turns out you really don't know someone unless you live with them. He wasn't a bad person, not at all - we just matured to like different things and value different things

11. Who was the First person to text you today?

      I got a text from my Mum, who is also my best friend (tied with my Dad) - and I know that seems cliche, but me and my Mum argue all the time because we are so similar, but we always know what to do if the other is feeling down

12. Who was your First grade teacher? 

      The first teacher I remember vividly was when I was in Year 2 (in Red class) at primary school, when I had a teacher called Mrs LaCapontier (that's probably spelt completely wrong). I loved her classes as she always let us draw and we were in the classroom that overlooked the playground and the fields

13. Where was your First sleepover? 

      Probably at my house, or at my neighbour Anna's house. We both lived so close to each other (as in our back gardens touch) that when friends came over it was easier to go to either one of our houses - although I did have a lot of sleep overs at Casey's house and Sarah's house going into the end of primary school and high school

14. What was the First thing you did this morning? 

      In an incredibly first world way, I checked my phone to see if my Mum had text any news about my Nan and then went on my computer to turn on Spotify

15. First concert you ever went to? 

      I went when I was 13 to see Busted with my friend Mariam from high school in Birmingham - they were being supported by McFly before they were big

16. First broken bone?

       I've never actually broken a bone... #knockonwood

 
17. First movie you remember seeing?

       The first movie I have vivid memories of is Oliver - I used to watch it with my Nan pretty much every time I went to her house when I was little and after we would eat beetroot sandwiches and sing the 'Gotta Pick A Pocket Or Two" song while I tried to sneakily take a handkerchief from her pocket without her noticing - she always let me win

18. First sport you were involved in?

      I was, and still am slightly, involved in Tenpin Bowling, which is a weird sport for most people. I loved playing tennis and doing javelin and shot put at school, but bowling has always been my sport

19. First tweet?

       Not all that long ago...I'm a Spring Chicken of blogging. I tweeted 

"Blog sorted and live! Check it out now at www.rachaelmckenzie.blogspot.com #excited"

20. First Facebook profile pic?

Me and my friends Sadie, Vinnie, Philippa and Tasha on our last day of high school!

21. First piercing? 

 I had my ears pierced when I was nine years old in America, and I remember being really scared of all the tattoos the man had which seems silly now, and then being taken next door by my Mum to a restaurant to stick my ears in glasses of ice #embarrassing

So, I feel this is an old school thing, but I still had fun doing it. If you've done a similar tag, or this tag in fact, let me know in the comments below!

Is There Such A Thing As Too Much Information | My TMI Tag

I really love doing "Tag" blogs and vlogs. I'm making a video along side this blog for my YouTube channel which you can find in the link at the top (or on the left) of this page. For anyone reading my blog or watching my channel, I think the most important thing - apart from me entertaining you and making your day a little brighter (or at least attempting to) - is you getting to know me, the real me. That's why I have decided to do the 50 questions that will give you all the information or "TMI: Too Much Information" about me. 

I want my blog and my channel to be a place where people can go and escape reality for a bit, and get advice and feel like they are talking to a friend - that's also why I am so encouraging for anyone to contact me in the comments or via Twitter if they need any advice.

On to the questions...

1 | What are you wearing?

I am currently wearing a patterned top from Dorothy Perkins, black stretch leggings from Top Shop, a 'silver' tassel necklace from New Look and brown knit-lace boots from House of Fraser.

2 | Ever been in love?

I say I love you to my boyfriend, but I think, even at the age of 24, I'm not old enough to know what true love is as far as a relationship goes.

3 | Ever had a terrible breakup?

The worst breakup I've ever had was when I broke up with someone I had been with for four years, which ended with us having a massive argument in the car park of a leisure centre and him scraping his keys along with entire length of my car boot. I also had a funny breakup when I was nineteen when the guy I was seeing got his Mum to travel almost one hundred miles to bring my stuff out to me from his flat because he didn't want to.

4 | How tall are you?

I am five foot six inches tall.

5 | How much do you weigh?

I am a proud voluptuous girl, and I weight just over fifteen stone - I have lost just over a stone since January this year and hopefully will continue to be more healthy in my lifestyle.

6 | Do you have any tattoos?

I have two tattoos. I have one on my wrist which is an outline of three birds flying, and one on my ankle which is a black filled in image of an iris flower (which is also my Nan's name).

7 | Do you have any piercings?

The only thing I have pierced is my ears.

8 | What is your OTP: "One True Pairing"?

In fictional terms, I will always have Harry Potter close to my heart - but not shipping Harry and Ginny - I'm a definite Hermione and Ron ship lover. In real life, I think that YouTubers Jim Chapman and Tanya Burr are so adorable together and you can tell by the way they are in their collaboration videos they are truly meant to be together.

9 | What is your favourite show?

At the moment I'm obsessed with Pretty Little Liars, and I watch the episodes each week as soon as they are available on Netflix!

10 | What are your favourite brands?

This is quite a broad question, but I would have to say: Makeup - MaxFactor or Mac, Fashion - New Look or Boohoo, Accessories - River Island or New Look, Homeware - Baytree Interiors or Dunelm ...any other types of brands you would like to know about let me know in the comments below and I will try and add them to this list!

11 | What is something you miss?

Being at school - it was such a simple time. I didn't think it at the time and I couldn't wait to get out, but now I'm looking for a career and finishing off my degree, I would give anything to be doing five days a week at school again.

12 | What is your favourite song?

At the moment I'm listening to two songs - "Breezeblocks" by Alt-J and "Take Me To Church" by Hozier. Both these songs are incredible lyrically.

13 | How old are you?

I'm currently twenty-four at the time of writing this, and will be twenty-five (a quarter of a century old!) in August 2015.

14 | What is your Zodiac sign?

I am a feisty lion - I'm a Leo.

15 | What quality do you look for in a partner?

The most important thing I have found in my current relationship, and what makes me happiest is being able to feel completely comfortable around him - like if I want to eat ice cream in bed with just my knickers on I feel I can - not that I've ever done that.

16 | What is your favourite quote?

My favourite quote has been one that Louise Watson (Sprinkle of Glitter) posted on her blog in her first Motivational Monday post

[[Image from: www.sprinkleofglitter.blogspot.com]]

17 | Who is your favourite actor?

I love Emma Stone - she has a brilliant personality that's not fake and the types of roles she plays are entertaining and I feel I can relate to most.

18 | What is your favourite colour?

I love turquoise, really deep blue-greens. Although I am partial to a pastel pink also.

19 | Do you prefer loud music or soft?

I like a variety of music. I think it's a very situational thing with me - when I'm driving I prefer loud music, and when I'm chilling out when I'm in bed or when I'm making dinner I prefer soft.

20 | Where do you go when you're sad?

My favourite thing to do when I'm feeling a bit down is to curl up in bed and listen to music or watch YouTube. I also find that if I'm out and about, getting a Starbucks coffee and sitting in a quiet place (preferably a park bench) really calms me down just watching the world go by for a few moments.

21 | How long does it take you to shower?

I have a number of different showering routines. If I'm getting up early, I will tend to wash my hair the night before, so it generally takes me maximum ten minutes to quickly shave and wash. If I'm washing my hair it's generally fifteen minutes, and once a week I use a hair mask and do my Veet hair removal routine, which takes about twenty to twenty-five minutes in all (though this is generally only on days when I have nothing to do until later on in the afternoon or if I get home early).

22 | How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

It can take me between forty-five minutes and an hour to get ready, dependent on which shower routine I'm following. Now my hair is short it dries much quicker and I generally take about fifteen minutes over my makeup. I don't usually eat breakfast (which is bad I know!) so that cuts the time down - although I do usually have to have a massive cup of tea to kick start the day.

23 | Have you ever been in a physical fight?

I've not, but I have seen two of my friends have a drunken physical (thought incredibly short lived) fight on holiday a couple of years ago in Greece.

24 | What is a turn on?

I find blue eyes a massive turn on - and dimples!

25 | What is a turn off?

Cockiness - guys who think that if they are horrible you will like them more, or guys who think they are better than everyone else because they are decent looking. Everyone is vain at some points, but you don't have to be nasty or not include people because you don't fancy them (talking from the heart!)

26 | What is the reason you joined YouTube?

I've been watching a variety of YouTube videos for years - mainly TheDiamondMinecart, Hat Film, The Yogscast, grav3yardgirl (Bunny Meyer), Zoella (Zoe Sugg), Tanya Burr, and Sprinkle of Glitter (Louise Watson) to name a few and have always wanted to start a channel of my own spreading the things I love about the internet. It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to not delete videos before they got to the processing stage. I find filming and blogging and vlogging and editing incredibly fun and exciting, although 99% of my friends have no idea I do it - I'll get the confidence to tell them one day!

27 | What are your fears?

I'm quite afraid - not of heights - but heights which I feel I will fall from - I really don't like buildings with glass portions of floor. I'm also not very good in lifts that shake or make noises. But, my biggest fear is completely irrational, and stems from when I was a child - and that is zombies. I have never been able to fully watch any zombie movie, television program or advert - even the Simpsons specials with zombies on or video games with scenes of zombies scare me and I start having panic attacks and hyperventilating. It's incredibly embarrassing.

28 | What was the last thing that made you cry?

The last time I cried was when my Nan went in to hospital after having three seizures a few weeks ago. It was an incredibly weird moment, as I went to see her before leaving to head back to Leeds, and I could tell there was something not right before she had the seizures the following day.

29 | What was the last time you said you loved someone?

I last said 'I love you' to my Mum on Mother's Day.

30 | What is the meaning behind your YouTube name?

As I started my YouTube account recently, it has to be linked to my gmail account, and is therefore just my name - but that says it all really - my channel is me!

31 | What was the last book you read?

The last book I finished was Mark Haddon's "Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" which is a fantastic book and definitely something you should read if you haven't already.

32 | What book are you currently reading?

I am now reading another book called "Fred and Edie" which I picked up from our local Oxfam bookstore. I can't remember the author, but it's quite an old book. I've only read the first two chapters, but I'm hooked.

33 | What was the last show you watched?

I am watching Pretty Little Liars, Season 5, Episode 24, as I type!

34 | Who was the last person you spoke to?

I last spoke to Pete before he went to work.

35 | What is the relationship between you and the last person you texted?

I last texted Ally, who is one of my oldest and best friends in the entire world.

36 | What is your favourite food?

Chocolate bourbons rank very high on the list, although I am partial to a stir fry, or Thai food.

37 | What is one place you want to visit?

I would love to go back to Thailand, and am planning on going to Iceland. And I am also super excited as I'm travelling to L.A. next March with some fantastic fellow bloggers for two weeks.

38 | What is the last place you went?

I haven't been on holiday since 2013 when I went to Malia for a week - I'm in desperate need of a holiday!

39 | Do you have a crush?

On my boyfriend (just in case he reads this) - I've always had a thing for Jude Law - please don't ask me what it is - I think it's his voice!

40 | When was the last time you kissed someone?

I kissed my gerbil Felix on the head when I was feeding him and Patch.

41 | When was the last time you were insulted?

I got sworn at through the window of a car which was wanting to over take me on the motorway because I wasn't going the hundred miles-per-hour he wanted me to do while I was over taking a lorry.

42 | What is your favourite flavour of sweet?

I really like the dark purple coloured wine gums, and green skittles.

43 | What instruments do you play?

I did up to Grade 6 clarinet at school, and did a little bit of piano and guitar as well, although I wouldn't say I can play any of them now after so long!

44 | What is your favourite piece of jewellery?

I have four pieces of jewellery that I never take off - my main Pandora bracelet with all my charms on, a twine Pandora bracelet with my initials on, a diamond and emerald white gold ring that I got for my 18th birthday, and a Pandora platinum ring with diamonds in that I got for my 21st birthday.

45 | What was the last sport you played?

I last did tenpin bowling in Sheffield - yes, it's a sport.

46 | What was the last song you sang?

I did a beautiful, very loud, rendition of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" whilst I was driving.

47 | What is you favourite chat up line?

The cheesy ones are always the best and most entertaining, even if they aren't successful. The best one I heard most recently was "I'm a Love Pirate and I want your booty, aghr!" - most amazing thing I've ever heard.

48 | Have you ever used it?

I have never used a chat up line in my life - and I don't think I ever will - unless someone dared me to.

49 | What was the last time you hung out with someone?

Yesterday afternoon I watched Fort Boyard with one of my friends and discussed the good old days.

50 | Who should answer these questions next?

I don't like making things a chain, unless they are for charity or a good cause. Whoever wants to do this can!

I hope you liked learning a bit more about me - especially the more obscure things! Don't forget to check out my YouTube video on my TMI Tag, which you can find the link for below!

Who Is This Rachael Anyways? | A Little About Me

Hi! Thank you for visiting my blog, and wanting to know more about the person behind it. I'm a normal 24 year old girl, with a passion for beauty, fashion, photography - anything creative really. I'm currently studying in Leeds, West Yorkshire (in good olde Blighty!) in my final year. I wanted to start blogging following a number of people on YouTube and current bloggers who have helped cheer me up and fill my life with all the things I love, especially when I'm feeling depressed. I hope you enjoy what you read on here, as all of it is stuff that is either close to my heart, or stuff that I actually do...I'm not here to make up random blogs that I think people will want to read - when I discover it and love it I will share it!

"I'm not weird...I'm colourful!"

| My Full Name...

My full name is Rachael Heather McKenzie. I always used to get called Kenzie when I was in high school, which amused people because at the time the So Solid Crew were popular and Kenzie was one of the really chavy performers in the group! Needless to say...I didn't follow in his fashion steps!

| My Best Friend...

There are a number of people I could call 'best friends', especially the girls I used to work with who have been there for me for the past few years, no matter what, and my girls from competitions who are all amazing. I was lucky enough to keep two amazing people from primary school, from the tender age of four years old, though, that I would truly consider my best friends. Sarah, intelligent and articulate, always knows how to make me smile and knows almost everything about me - I sometimes thought we were psychically linked, because, without discussing it at all, chose to go to the same high school, sixth form and to the same city for university! And Ally, my darling Ally, will always be the centre of my friendship circle. We have known each other longer than anyone I know, and spent so much time together as children, we even had Christmas Day together once! She knows everything there is to know about me, even though we parted ways educationally at the age of eleven, we have never lost contact and I make sure I see her whenever I go home and talk to her as much as possible. She is the kind of friend I can ring at whatever time of the day and tell anything to.

          

| My Favourite Colour...

Colour plays a major role in my life, as I love having a variety of colours to brighten my day - my nail varnish collection has every colour under the sun, totalling about 50 varnishes! Though, in a situation where only one colour was allowed, it would have to be Robbin's Egg Blue...a beautiful bluey-green.

| My Favourite Shop...

I discovered a few months ago an amazing homeware shop in Harrogate, a town about an hour away from where I live, called Baytree Interiors [www.baytree-interiors.co.uk]. It's incredibly good value for what they sell and have an amazing selection of random things to fill your home with from kitchenware to furniture to decorative items. They also have a wall of signs with funny quotes on that made me laugh so much! Harrogate is also such a beautiful place and has Betty's Tea Shop <3

| My Birthday...

My birthday is August 5th, I was born in 1990 - proper 90s child right here! I'm a Leo star sign, which fits my personality as I'm an outgoing person and can have a bit of a temper when thing don't go exactly to plan! My Mum always used to say to me, as I was born with platinum blonde hair which got slowly more golden over time, that I looked like a lion. Having a birthday in the summer at my age is fantastic because everyone is generally free to have a get together and the weather is generally hot and sunny - though I used to hate it when I was in school as numbers dwindled at my birthday parties with everyone making the most of the prime-time holiday time and jetted off around my birthday!

| My Hair Colour...

My hair has been every colour you could imagine - for hair at least in the 90s and early 00s. I started off as a platinum blonde, but as that started to go brown when I reached 12 I started dying my hair a golden blonde. By the age of 15 I was in a more punk rocker phase, and the dark brown under layer came into my hair and under my fringe. By 16 my hair was a deep maroon colour, which eventually went to a chocolate brown and then black. When I moved to Leeds for university I bleached it blonde again, and went from there to go back to a dark brown, then auburn, then a copper. Eventually my hair was ombre'd, which I had for a few months before cutting all my hair off (about 7 inches) and am now sporting a natural brown colour - although I would like my ombre back and maybe a more chocolatey brown.

| My Favourite Fashion Style...

Currently, I am absolutely loving Emma Stone. I love the way that she makes simplistic looks amazing. Her casual style is adorable and I love that she always looks comfortable in what she wears and excentuates her curves. If there is one thing I can't stand it's celebrities who wear extravagant dresses that you can see in their faces they are pained. I am also in love with the greys and pastel colours at the moment, especially mixed with a staple bright necklace!

| My Favourite Cosmetic...

I would 100% recommend anyone with dry skin gets the MaxFactor Miracle Touch Liquid Illusion Foundation. I have quite dry skin, but using this product I haven't been getting any of the flaked skin look I sometimes get when I use my other foundations, especially my matt ones. The smell also reminds me of my Nan as it has a slightly talc smell to the natural foundation smell which, and I know this is strange, makes me feel comforted.

I hope you now know a little bit more about me...and check back for updates on my favourite fashion and cosmetics at the moment!  

This or That [Beauty & Makeup] Tag | Q&A

Thanks to 'Eye Girl :)' from Blogger for this Tag...I hope you guys enjoy it and get to learn a bit more about me from a fashion and beauty point of view!

(( Makeup ))

1. Blush or Bronzer: 

I have to admit, I'm more of a bronzer kind of person - I get blotchy marks on my cheeks, so I tend to like to tone them down with bronzer, rather than use a blusher, especially in the summer!

2. Lip Gloss or Lipstick:

I'm definitely more inclined to lipstick. I tend to have bad experiences with lip gloss as I tend to find them quite sticky, and my hair always gets stuck to my mouth!

3. Eye Liner or Mascara:

I usually wear both, but I am happy to go out of the house without any eye liner on - mascara is an essential for me because I have quite short lashes.

4. Foundation or Concealer:

I use foundation a lot more. I'm using the MaxFactor Miracle Illusion foundation at the moment and I get such amazing coverage with it, I rarely use concealer unless I'm going somewhere that means I'll be out for a long time or somewhere important. If I'm just going to university or the shops or shopping I'll generally only use foundation.

5. Neutral or Colour Eye Shadow:

99% of the time I go for a much more natural look, though that does range from pinks to browns to golds. I sometimes wear blue or smokey colour schemes on my eyes, but only for nights out.

6. Pressed or Loose Eye Shadow:

I definitely prefer pressed eye shadow. I tend to be a bit clumsy and messy anyway, so loose eye shadows aren't the best for me! I also find pressed eye shadows last me so much longer and tend to be easier to apply with more precision as I can control what I get on my brushes a lot easier!

7. Brushes or Sponges:

I used to be a big fan or sponges, but in the past few years I have been much more inclined to use brushes for most of my makeup.

(( Nails ))

1. Long or Short: 

I would love to be able to grow my nails longer than they are, but I have quite weak nails, so they tend to break. Also, doing the sport I do it's very difficult to keep up any kind of long nails and short are so much easier to handle with a busy lifestyle.

2. Acrylic or Natural:

My nails feel so much better when they are natural, although I do tend to get the gel tips put on my nails from time to time when they are particularly weak to encourage them to grow, or for special occasions.

3. Brights or Darks:

I'm loving the pastel nails at the moment, but I much prefer bright colours for my nail varnishes most of the time.

4. Patterns or Clean:

Because I tend to use quite stand out colours for my nails, I don't get patterns or anything extra on them - it would be a bit much to take in!

(( Body ))

1. Perfume or Body Spray: 

I tend to use both from time to time - although I use my perfume almost every day. I recently got my second bottle of the Taylor Swift 'Wonderstruck' perfume which I absolutely L.O.V.E!

2. Lotion or Body Butter:

I prefer body butter, I find it moisturises my skin, especially the dryer skin I have at the tops of my arms where I used to suffer from mild eczema.

3. Body Wash or Soap:

I use body wash all the time - the only time I use soap is my massage bars or exfoliating soaps. I find most soaps dry out my skin and leave my skin feeling sticky.

4. Lush or BodyShop:

Lush will always be my go to place. Nothing can beat a good bath bomb, or the amazing fresh face masks you can get from lush. The layout of the store, the smell, the staff, the selection - everything about Lush grips me!

(( Fashion ))

1. Jeans or Sweat Pants: 

I have never worn sweat pants out of bed I don't think! Definitely jeans.

2. Long Sleeve or Short Sleeve:

I really don't like the tops of my arms - so where possible I always go for longer sleeved things, or wear something over the top of a short sleeved top.

3. Dresses or Skirts:

I'm definitely a dress-lover! Skirts I love too, but I find it so much easier to accessorise a dress!

4. Stripes or Plaid:

I am absolutely loving plaid at the moment! I tend to avoid clothes with stripes on as it doesn't suit my figure.

5. Scarves or Hats:

I own about twenty scarves - I'm scarf mad! Hats I do have a few of, but I tend to be quite picky about hats - although I am loving the wide brimmed hats at the moment - they are so flattering for all shapes and sizes!

6. Studs or Dangly Earrings:

I don't wear earring too often, which is bad because my piercings keep starting to close up and I have to push my earrings through each time I want to wear them. I tend to go more for large studs, ones which overlap my lobes.

7. Heels or Flats:

I'm usually a mess in heels - despite owning a number of pairs! I usually wear flats, and am particularly loving the high leg boots at the moment, although I do have two pairs of chunky heeled boots (one black and grey from New Look, and one brown with multicoloured string from House of Fraser) which I am loving and are really comfortable to wear for a long period of time!

8. Necklaces or Bracelets:

I love a good statement necklace, although I never take off my two Pandora bracelets! I couldn't choose between these two!

9. Jacket or Hoodie:

Jackets definitely - although you can't beat a good hoodie around the house on a lazy Sunday!

10. High Street or High End:

High Street - I have the few high end pieces that I love and wear on special occasions, but nobody has the money to fund wearing Gucci tank tops to the supermarket! There are so many amazing fashion pieces in high street stores at the moment for great prices, it would be wrong to skip over them for the higher end fashion - unless you want that unique staple dress or outfit of course! And shoes are always worth spending that little bit extra on.

(( Hair ))

1. Curly or Straight: 

My hair tends to have a natural slight wave to it, which I prefer. I always thing when I curl my hair it makes my face look wider!

2. Bun or Ponytail:

My hair is at that irritating length that when I put it in a ponytail it tickles the back of my neck! Buns are so much easier to handle.

3. Bobby Pins or Butterfly Clips:

Definitely bobby pins. I find them so much easier to use! I just wish I didn't keep losing them all the time, I must but thousands each year from Primark.

4.Hair Spray or Gel:

I've never used a gel in my hair - I'm too afraid to if I'm honest with you. I find hair spray does the job just fine, and I'm using the Elnett extreme hold hairspray at the moment, the Cheryl Cole special edition, which is so smooth and holds for amazing lengths of time! It's especially good for someone like me that does their hair and then wants to change it five minutes later, I can just brush it away and start again, no hassle.

5. Long or Short:

If my hair could stay as healthy as it feels now I have it short, I would have it long. I really miss my long hair (I got 7 inches cut off just before Christmas!)

6. Light or Dark:

For myself, and speaking from experience, dark hair suits me so much better - although I do miss my ombre dye.

7. Side Swept Bangs or Full Bangs:

Once again, from experience, I prefer my side sweep. Full bangs suited me as well, but I think they make people look younger - I think it depends what stage you are personally at with your life.

8. Up or Down:

Definitely down. My hair always feels unnatural when I have it up! Weird, I know!

Thank you guys for taking the time to read my Q.&.A today...I hope you learned a little more about me beauty and fashion wise! If you have anything you want me to answer, don't hesitate to send me a message on the contact form on my Home Page, and let me know if we have anything in common!