@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

@handmadebytara_

So I received two absolutely gorgeous pieces of jewellery over the last week from the lovely @handmadebytara_  on Instagram and thought i'd tell you all about them!

Firstly, the packaging is gorgeous! Like hands down the cutest packaging ever. Each piece of jewellery comes in these gorgeous little bags, also with a card that holds Tara's information. The colours used were a very good choice, and I also love the fact that the bags are see-through so you can see everything that is inside before you open it. 

The two pieces that I got were the Flower charm necklace and the Infinity bracelet. I absolutely love each piece and I am definitely going to be wearing them everyday! They are simple yet so cute and literally can go with everything. 

Just look how gorgeous they are! Each of them are £3.50 which I think is amazing as you can see a lot of effort has gone into making them! If you would like to look at the rest of her jewellery visit Tara's shop 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HMbytara  < click the link, and check out the rest of her jewellery and also hand painted false nails and phone cases!

ALSO if you order anything, use the discount code 'SOPHIE10' at the checkout for 10% off!

lots of love, 

sophie x

Recent MAC buys

Firstly I am so so so sorry for not posting. I was so happy to finally start a blog but then suddenly I had loads of college work and December was a very busy month for me so I completely forgot about blogging :( But I have missed it loads and now I am back yay!

Anyway, after Christmas I took a trip over to Southampton to spend my Christmas money and ended up getting a lot of things that I have wanted to ages, I may do a few more blog posts about other things that I got as well. There is now a MAC counter at John Lewis in West Quay and of course I had to buy something!

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15

The first thing that I got in MAC was the Pro Longwear concealer. This wasn't something that I set out to buy but once I saw it in the shop I couldn't resist! Plus they only had one left in my shade which just had to be a sign to get it! This concealer is absolutely amazing, it has such good coverage and covers any spots and imperfections. The best thing about this concealer is that it's in a bottle with a pump which makes it easier as I hate applying concealer with an applicator thinking about the amount of times I have used it on my face. I already have the Studio Finish Concealer but I find it really hard to use as where it isn't a liquid I find it really thick and difficult to put on. Overall this concealer is amazing and I definitely recommend it, I think this was £15 :)

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in 'light plus'

The next thing that I purchased was the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in the shade 'light plus'. I was unsure whether to get this as it was £22 (I think) and I thought that was expensive for a powder but I am sooo glad that I did because this product is amazing! It honestly makes my skin look amazing and even though the price is a tad expensive for some people it is seriously worth it! I don't mind spending out money on products if they actually work and this really does! If you have a MAC store near you I definitely recommend checking this baby out!

MAC lipstick in 'Faux'

The last thing that I got was a lipstick in the shade Faux. This is such a gorgeous colour and I'm kinda in love with it! I don't normally wear this type of colour, I'm more of a red/plum kind of girl, but I thought I would try something different for a change and I actually really love this colour. The MAC website say that it's a mauve-pink and this is a satin finish. It is very easy to apply and stays on all day, if you're looking for a new nude/pink I recommend this, it was £15 :)

lots of love, 

sophie x