Drugstore Make-up Starter Kit

So this has been requested quite a bit on my Instagram so I thought I would finally write it up! This is my make-up starter kit using products from the drugstore. Now I know this won't be for everyone, but these are the products I first used/would have used when I first started out with make-up. 

April Favourites

Hello everyone, I'm so sorry that it has been a while since I last posted (probably hasn't been that long but it sure does feel like it) I'm quite ill at the moment and most days I just have 0 energy and i'm bed bound most of the time. Anyway as we will be reaching the beginning of May any day now I thought I would share with you some things that I have been loving this month. These aren't just make up products, it's a mixture of beauty, food, tv series etc. 

Mini Haul: Make up and Clothes

So I actually only paid for one thing here, as i'm really ill at the moment my mum decided to treat me! But I thought i'd wrote a post to show you all what I got. All of the make up is from Boots, and both pieces of clothing are from New Look. :) 

The first thing that I got (this was what I actually paid for myself) is the Bourjois healthy mix serum. I heard a lot of good things about this foundation and thought i'd give it a try. I have used it twice already and I must say it is definitely worth the buy! I already have the Bourjois healthy mix foundation and personally I like the serum more! It gives such a flawless finish without looking like you have 6 layers of foundation on your face. This was £10.99.

The first thing that mum got me was a Revlon lip butter in the shade 'berry smoothie', this is my first ever lip butter and I am definitely going to be getting some more! These are perfect for me to wear to college as they aren't extremely pigmented like a lipstick, but they give the most gorgeous hint of colour to your lips. This is super moisturizing and does not dry out my lips at all which is great as some lip products do. These are a glossy finish and just gorgeous, next on my list is 'pink truffle'. These are £7.99 which is such a good drugstore price. 

   

The next product that I got was my first Essie nail varnish in the shade 'it's genius'. This is such a gorgeous colour and i'm so glad I picked this shade. The Essie website describes this colour as 'a violet quartz shimmer with beige undertones', I love the way this looks in the sun as it has small sparkles in it which are simply stunning. This was also £7.99 and is definitely worth every penny. It also dries super quick which is one of the best things about this nail varnish. 

Another nail varnish, what a surprise? (I actually have another 2 nails varnishes to show you after this one, oops) This brand of nail varnish (Sinful Colors) is slowly beginning to be one of my favourites, the colour range is absolutely gorgeous and they are only £1.99?! Like seriously what more could you want? Two coats is all that is needed for this nail varnish and you have gorgeous nails, also it dries SO quick it's unreal! These were on offer in Boots, 3 for £4, so of course Mum got me 3 ;) This one is in the shade 'dancing nails', and it is a metallic rosey pink. 

The next nail varnish I got in the offer is this gorgeous blue shade, 'love nails'. This is a turquoise/sea blue with shimmer running through it. I absolutely love this colour, it looks gorgeous when the sun shines on it. Definitely one of my new favourite nails varnishes! 

The last sinful colors nail varnish I got was the shade 'glass pink'. This is a soft and subtle baby pink, but has a lot of shimmer in it so it doesn't look boring on my nails. It is very sheer and needs about 3 coats, but it's still an absolutely gorgeous shade. 

Now onto clothing. Mum very kindly got me two tops from New Look and I absolutely love them both and cannot wait to start wearing them! 

First is this gorgeous blue crop top. The first thing that caught my eye with this is the gorgeous lace at the bottom of it. The colour is also beautiful and at a price of £9.99 you really can't say no! New Look also sell this top in white and also a gorgeous coral colour, which I will definitely be getting hopefully next week! I have tried this on with a pair of dark blue high waisted shorts and it looked gorgeous, I will definitely be wearing this a lot this spring/summer. 

Can we just please take a minute to look at how incredibly gorgeous this top is?! Definitely my favourite purchase, this top is also available in white which I will also be getting! The detail on this top is literally stunning, and this is just perfect for spring. This was £12.99 which again is such an amazing price. 

That is everything that I got and I am so so grateful to my Mum as I wouldn't have all of this if it wasn't for her! I hope you enjoyed reading this and if you like the look of any of these products or have them yourself, leave me a comment below!

lots of love, 

sophie x

@oddsandsorts

So the other day I received the cutest pieces of jewellery from oddsandsorts on Instagram. These pieces are so cute/dainty and so unique compared to the typical jewellery out there! The jewellery is soooo affordable like seriously there is something for everyone!

click here to view her etsy shop! She also sells necklaces, bags and t-shirts!

The first two pieces that I got sent were these two gorgeous little bracelets. I always love to wear quite a few bracelets so these are absolutely perfect as they are very light and gorgeous colours. My favourite is definitely the dragonfly one and is perfect to wear this spring/summer. These are £1.50 each which is an absolute bargain! There are also many different colour bracelets to choose from (the actual bracelet colour not the charm)

                    

The third piece I got sent was this stunning ring. This is so unique and I've never seen anything like it before! I absolutely love this so much, and the colour is just literally perfect. This sparkles so much in the sun and it just beautiful. These rings are £4 each, and you can choose from this colour, a pinky colour or a silver one. 

Overall I love all the pieces that I got, and I will be wearing them a lot this spring/summer! I am also definitely going to be purchasing some more of the £1.50 bracelets as there are lots of different charms to choose from!

lots of love, 

sophie x

Top 10 Drugstore Products {Part 1}

So originally I was going to write a top 5 drugstore products, but some of my followers on Instagram asked for it to be a top 10. As I had already taken the pictures and everything for my top 5, I thought I would split it into 2 blog posts with 5 products in each (also so it wasn't an extremely long post!)

I absolutely love drugstore products. My make-up collection is literally 80% drugstore, 20% high end products. This is because you can get products from drugstores that are just as equal in quality and quantity for half the price of a high end purchase. (I'm not slating high end at all! As I do own quite a few MAC products that I use on a day to day basis!)

1. Revlon Colorstay foundation for normal/dry skin (110 ivory)

I must say this is most definitely one of my all time favourite drugstore foundations. Although I have only been using it for about 3 weeks, it has made its way into my top 5 foundations! This is also the first foundation I have purchased that is actually for people with dry skin, as I suffer from little dry patches on my face I got this to see the difference in other foundations. Most of my other drugstore foundations stick to the dry patches (especially if the foundation is really thick) and make them really noticeable, but this foundation is one of the first to actually cover this up. I would highly recommend this foundation, the only annoying thing is that it doesn't have a pump.

2. Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm

I actually have all 6 of these (the ones available in the UK) but this one is by far my favourite. This is the intense care baby lips. I love this because it is extremely moisturizing on your lips but it is also clear which is perfect to use as a base for lipstick. I normally suffer from dry lips around the winter and this is the first lip balm I have used that has actually cleared this up. Since using this product I have not once had dry lips! for £2.99 you can't go wrong!

3. L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes mascara

This has got to be my favourite mascara EVER. This is probably one of the only mascaras I own that lengthens my lashes but also doesn't clump on my lashes. My favourite mascaras are those with the plastic hard wands as I find it much easier to apply onto my lashes as well as the product not flicking everywhere. This mascara makes my eyelashes so long and I've actually been asked a few times if I've been wearing false lashes! If you are looking for a new mascara I definitely recommend you try this one, compared to other brands of mascara (e.g. Maybelline) this one is a tad more expensive at £10.99 (seeing as most Maybelline one's are around £7.99) but it is worth every penny! Also the packaging is just gorgeous. 

4. Boots Natural Collection black liquid eyeliner 

It takes me a while to find a new eyeliner that I like as I can't get on with the felt tip liners or gel liners, it has to be a wand like this one. This eyeliner is only £1.99, which is an absolute bargain especially for those just starting out with make-up or on a budget. The wand is very thin which makes it so easy to create the perfect line without it going to thick, and if you start out with a thin line you can then build it up to however thick you want it. I have repurchased this twice now and I will also carry on repurchasing (I'm actually almost running out now) because this product is amazing. 

5. Collection Lasing Perfection concealer (shade 1, fair)

As most girls will agree with me, this product is simply amazing. I think 95% of girls will own this. For only £4.19 (probably one of the cheapest drugstore concealers!) this concealer is fabulous and this is just forever in my make-up bag. I use this every single day without fail, and repurchase it every single time I run out. If you don't own this I recommend you go and try it out, 99% sure that you will love it!

Keep an eye out for part 2 of my top 10 drugstore products that will have the next 5 things!

lots of love, 

sophie x

Lets Talk Nail Varnish

So, I never really fall in love with a collection of nail varnishes I always just buy them and end up changing my nail colour like every 2 days (no exaggeration there) but oh my god I have literally fallen in love with the Rimmel London Sweetie Crush collection. 

Firstly the bottles are gorgeous, I just love having them displayed on my desk as they are just beautiful. There are actually 5 colours but the one I don't have is yellow as I don't really suit yellow, but I may just get it anyway to complete my collection. 

                   

These nail varnishes are 'textured, sparkling, sugar sweet nails' according to the Rimmel London website and it's true! The one thing I love about these other than the colours is the texture and how sparkly they are in the sun. 

                            

The four colours I have are 'candyfloss cutie' (pink), 'fizzy appleicious' (green), 'violet swizzle' (purple) and 'blueberry whizz' (blue)

                         

I tried taking a picture in the sunlight to show the sparkle, but the pictures really do not do these any justice. At £3.99 each (Rimmel are normally 3 for 2 in Boots/Superdrug anyway) every girl should own these especially for spring! Now I just need to purchase the yellow one!

lots of love, 

sophie x

Q&A

So I thought after all my beauty posts I would post a Q&A, I posted a photo on Instagram asking my followers to comment some questions they would like me to answer. I have quite a few to answer to let's get started!

What is your favourite drugstore foundation? (@cottonpastels)

- My all time favourite foundation has to be Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. I have this in the shade '51 light vanilla' and I absolutely love it. This was one of the first foundations that I got when I really started getting into wearing make up properly, as I started getting more foundations I completely forgot about the Bourjois one until about a month ago when I decided to use it and remembered why I loved it so much. The only thing I dislike about this foundation is that they barely do any shades which is quite annoying as 51 is the lightest and that's still too dark for me! 

Would you rather live without foundation or mascara? (@cottonpastels)

- Definitely would rather live without mascara! I have very bad skin 99% of the time so foundation is basically what I need the most to make me feel a little bit more confident about my skin when I leave the house. If i'm in a rush or not going anywhere I tend to not worry about much mascara anyway. 

What is your favourite MAC lipstick? (@mildredsinstagram)

- Urm this is such a hard question! I can't say I have one favourite but I can definitely say I have maybe two favourites! The first is 'rebel', this is a gorgeous plum/berry shade that is absolutely stunning, I wore this almost everyday in winter! My second is 'faux' which is a mauve/pink which is also gorgeous for when I want to have a nude lip colour. I have worn this almost every day lately when I want more of a bold eye and soft lip colour. 

Favourite instagram? (@alohaems)

- Another really hard question! I don't think I can choose just one favourite as there are so many absolutely gorgeous Instagram accounts out there! If I had to choose one favourite it would have to be @aimeeblackman, her account is literally stunning. A few others of my favourites are @millsclements, @caragracex and @hannahmurphyxxx

Indian or Chinese? (@irobyn_x)

- Definitely Chinese! I've always been a lover of Chinese and I have one every single week oops!

If you could have one wish, what would it be and why? (@whateveramb)

- Urm, to have clear skin. I have tried tablets prescribed by my doctor, various facial wash's and gels and just nothing seems to work on me. I would have a lot more confidence if I had clear skin and would do almost anything to clear it up!

Favourite TV programmes? (@whateveramb)

- Pretty Little Liars, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Prison Break!

What's your favourite drugstore product? (@its_dannix)

- It would have to be the Maybelline baby lips, I know most people say they are overrated but these are the only lip products that have actually managed to stop my dry lips! Every single winter I get extremely dry lips and these are the first product to stop that. I highly recommend the 'intense care' (yellow one) I use this every single day and have seen a major difference than before I owned them. 

What's your favourite makeup brand? (@sooph_)

- It would have to be Revlon. I absolutely love the Revlon foundations and their Colorburst balm stains.

Top 3 products you can't live without? (@bethmorgantbh)

- Maybelline baby lips, Bourjois healthy mix foundation and the L'Oreal million volume lashes mascara. All three products I literally couldn't live without!

What's your favourite piece of clothing you own? (@yesitsamyy)

- I don't have a particular favourite, but all of my floral dresses. Over 50% of my wardrobe is floral print, they're just absolutely gorgeous and perfect for all year round. In the summer you can wear a floral dress with a cute pair of sandals, in the winter dress it up with tights, a big fluffy cardigan and boots.

I'm going to leave it there for now as I don't want this to end up being an even longer post! 

lots of love, 

sophie x

What's in my makeup bag?

As it's the Easter Holidays I thought I would write a few blog posts so I can start posting more regularly! (I mean it this time haha) Anyway I asked on Instagram what kind of posts my followers wanted to see and quite a few of them said a 'what's in my makeup bag' post, so as you can probably tell my the title, that is what I have for you today!

Firstly, my makeup bag is from Cath Kidston and it is the

 'NOTTING HILL ROSE COSMETIC BAG' which is £12. In my makeup bag I hold all the products that I use on a day to day basis. Sometimes if I'm going away I will change my products around but it mostly always stays the same. 

I have decided to show you in pictures of groups of products rather than a separate photo for each product as there are quite a few!

The first set of products in my makeup bag are my 'face' products. Firstly I have the Maybelline baby skin, this is amazing and I love it. I've heard mixed reviews about it and people saying that they prefer Benefit porefessional but as I've never tried the benefit one I can't compare, but the baby skin is good enough for me! It is a primer (If you didn't know!) and I got it from Boots for £7.99.

The next product in my makeup bag is the Revlon colorstay foundation for normal/dry skin. This is the first foundation that I have come across that is actually for dry skin, which made me very happy as around this time of the year I tend to get very dry skin on my face. Normally when I cover my face with foundation it makes my skin worse and you can see the dry patches, but this foundation does not do that at all and in a way has actually helped with my little dry patches. I absolutely love this foundation and I now use it everyday instead of my MAC studio fix fluid which is much more thicker than this foundation in my opinion. I also picked this up from Boots and it was £12.49. (That is what the website says but I'm pretty sure it was £11.99 when I got it!

Next are my 4 favourite concealers. Now to some people 4 may be a lot to carry around everyday but I like to change what concealer I wear quite often or mix some of them together. First is the MAC studio finish concealer which is £15.00, next is the MAC pro longwear concealer which is £15.50, underneath that is the Collection lasting perfection concealer which is £4.19 I believe and finally is the Revlon colorstay concealer which I got to match the foundation, this was £6.99. I love all of these concealer so much but if I have to choose a favourite I would have to say the Collection lasting perfection concealer! The shade matches my skin tone so well, it covers all my inperfections and doesn't dry out my skin which is brilliant seeing as the price is also amazing!

Finally is my MAC mineralize skinfinish natural. I absolutely love this product, it was on my wishlist for a while but I was really reluctant to get it as I thought £22 was rather expensive for a powder! 

However I ended up purchasing it when I was over Southampton for Christmas last year and I am so pleased with it. It sets my foundation very nicely without giving a cakey finish that some powders do. It is very natural looking on the skin and in my opinion is definitely worth the price! 

Next I have my 3 favourite eye products. I do also wear eye-shadow sometimes but I don't keep it in my makeup bag as I do not wear it everyday. Firstly I have the L'Oreal volume million lashes mascara. I honestly can't stress how much I love this mascara! It makes my eyelashes soooo long and it doesn't go clumpy either, they look so long but still natural afterwards! I like to go over the top with the Maybelline the rocket volum' express mascara just to give my eyelashes some extra volume. These are by far my all time favourite mascaras and I have repurchased both of them around 3/4 times now! The L'Oreal mascara is £10.99 and the Maybelline one is £7.99.

The liquid eyeliner is by Boots natural collection and is only £1.99 I think as I can't find it on the website! This eyeliner is honestly one of the best I have ever used and for the price you really can't go wrong! The wand is so thin which makes is so easy to get a precise line with no mistakes. 

These are the last few things that I keep in my makeup bag. Firstly is the Rimmel London scandal eyes waterproof kohl liner in the shade 'nude', this is absolutely perfect to wear on my waterline as it makes my eyes look bigger without the colour being too intense. This was from Boots and it was £3.99 which is such a good price! Next is a kohl pencil by '2True' from Superdrug, this is in the shade 16 which is the colour white, I use this in the inner corners of my eye to highlight instead of using an eye-shadow. This was £1.99 which you can't really say no to can you?!

Next I have the Maybelline 24hr colour tattoo in the shade 'on and on bronze', this is such a perfect brown/bronze colour which is great to wear as a base or even on its own when you just want a bit of colour on your eyes! These are £4.99 and come in a range of different colours :)

Finaaaaallly I have the Boots natural collection blush in the shade 'sweet cheeks', this is such a gorgeous colour and gives the perfect hint of pink to give that rosy look, this is also only £1.99 which again is absolutely amazing given the high quality of the product!

This is literally the longest blog post ever and I am so so sorry if you get bored and don't even make it to the end! But that is all for whats in my make up bag! I do hope you enjoyed reading it and that it gave you a good idea on what the products are like!

lots of love, 

sophie x