Hi! I'm Rachael and I live in a small town in Yorkshire with my two beautiful little long-haired chihuahuas, Lily and Alfie.

I actually began blogging back in around 2006. I'd scour the streets of Leeds, where I was a Fashion Design student, in search of people dressed in weird and wonderful outfits. I'd ask for their permission before photographing them and posting them to my street-style blog, and handing out business cards. I absolutely fancied myself as some sort of UK version of The Sartorialist. But really, I was a girl with all the gear and no idea of just what power the humble blog would hold in the years to come.

WHEN FASHION IS NO LONGER IN STYLE
After a little while, I decided that Fashion Design wasn't quite my bag. Sure, I loved the world of fashion (including the beautiful catwalk makeup, of course). But my passion was in the actual reporting of fashion and beauty, and not so much the pattern cutting. God forbid those Thursday afternoons where I'd spend hours crying over my sewing machine because I couldn't get those damn darts right.

I soon transferred to a Journalism course and felt like I'd found my calling. I spent my days working on assignments for my course, and doing everything I could to sway my content towards the fashion and beauty world. I secured an internship writing for a global fashion and beauty publication, and even had my own column in a local magazine. My evenings were spent writing posts under a secret blog (of which I shall never share the name), or reviewing makeup and beauty products that I'd bought using my student loan.

Once I qualified as a Journalist, I realised just how hard it was to get a job in the industry. The UK was still recovering from The Great Recession, and the doors of opportunity that were promised to me during training closed left, right and centre.

THE ART OF MAKEUP
I spent my days filling out job applications and throwing myself into the world of beauty blogging to build up my portfolio. From product reviews to makeup looks and tutorials, I took inspiration from the likes of Michelle Phan and the Pixiwoo sisters, and began to perfect my makeup style.

To cut an incredibly long story short, I found myself working on a retail counter for a wonderfully eclectic brand that you might just recognise: Illamasqua. I went into further training at college, and finally became a fully-qualified, professional makeup artist with my own company: Rachael Divers Makeup Artistry. My dad surprised me on my birthday one year with a brand new website, and I soon got to work on building my business and running a blog.

SFX, COLA AND DUBAI
In 2015, everything changed: my SFX work went viral. I woke up one morning to several phone calls from media outlets, and an inbox full of makeup booking enquiries. Not just from the UK, but from around the world. Somebody even wanted to fly me to Dubai to create Halloween makeup for a big party!

From this, I was suddenly catapulted into the world of commercial makeup. I worked for the likes of the Coca-Cola company on a Halloween campaign for Fanta, provided makeup for live sports TV events, and made a few radio appearances to talk about the transformational power of makeup. I even won several prestigious awards to my name including the Professional Beauty Makeup Artist of the Year award.

My humble blog, that started as a fun way for me to tell my clients and friends about the products that I was loving, quickly escalated to a worldwide-read blog with a loyal following. I began to work with some incredible brands on their beauty campaigns, and became affiliated with some of the companies I'd shopped with and loved for years.

EMBRACING THE CHANGE
Throughout my career in makeup artistry, I've secretly battled with a chronic illness. The worst relapse happened at the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and forced me to take over a year out of the makeup application side of my business.

As my health continued to fluctuate, I soon realised that I could no longer welcome my lovely clients into the studio and offer them a seat at my makeup station. I missed them terribly, but I knew that my health had to come first and that I had to make some changes. So, I decided to close my makeup artistry business doors, and concentrate on my blog and social media channels.

So, here we are. At the end of an era, and at the start of a fresh beginning. I can't wait to continue sharing my love of all things beauty with you all. And I'm excited to introduce some fashion and lifestyle content along the way.

Enjoy your visit!