The World According To Moi

Okay, so call me picky, but even my very favourite products have flaws. The recent rave reviews for Garnier's new BB cream compared to their awful original is an example of a product that took everything I don't like about it, and fixed it. So here's a selection of products that recently I've been thinking, 'this would be amazing if...'





Nivia Lip Butter

I have this in the flavour Vanilla and Macadamia. My word it smells amazing. That marshmellow fluff you get at Selfridges? Yep, that's the smell. The moisture given by these little pocket size tins is like a miracle and the formula wears really comfortably.

The catch? It's white. Or at least it's white based so even the pink shade makes your lips look a little pasty.

In Sophie-land: More pigment, less white. I'm not saying make it a lipstick but something a little less, Dawn of The Dead meets my Dolls house.




Maybelline Fit Me Foundation

I really like the texture of this products and it just blends so well. It's almost like a medium coverage tinted moisturiser and gives a lovely dewy finish.

The catch? I cannot get over the oxidisation. This foundation reacts so much with the air that I end up looking like an orange addict.

In Sophie-land: This formula needs some serious solidifying to stop the Wotsit colour change and the patchwork face effect when the foundation drifts.






Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stains

The Just Bitten Lip Stains are a go to for me. I love the intensity of the colour and the staying power is incredible. To explain exactly how I feel about this product, a few quotes from my Kiss proof colour? The lip stains that did NOT rock my world. 

"This full colour lip stain is none drying, durable and most importantly, staying put! Eat, drink, kiss as you will, this stuff will not budge. A bright summer collection of shades from fire engine reds to precious pinks, subtle nudes, you name it adds a splash of colour to any look."

The catch?

"The innovation of this product was the nourishing lip balm that came as part of the package. I agree with all of it, the balm is great.... oh, wait... the balm is great if you can get it to stay on! We've all done it, wound our lipstick up to far and felt that horrifying break, well with this that break is inevitable."

In Sophie-land: This desperately needs either a reformulation or a a retractable balm. Ideally though, I would be happy to just get rid of the balm and bring the price point down a little.

Feel free to let me know how makeup would be in your world.



In case you missed it:

Kiss Me Quick 

Drugstore Makeup Tag

Au Naturel Week One

I ❤ Drugstore Makeup Tag

Hello! 

So I haven't done a tag in a little while and I've been meaning to get around to this one for a long time. The world and his wife have done this task so I'm going to dive straight in and add mine to the bloggersphere. 

So first up: 

1. What is your favourite drugstore makeup brand overall?

This just HAS to be Maybelline. They're absolutely taking hold of makeup by the horns this year and with their mid-range pricing I find myself just gravitating towards them when I'm in Boots. Plus, they're lipstick range looks pretty impressive on display; there's just so many! 

2. What are your favourite face, cheek and lip products?
  
 My face products are constantly changing as my skin battles the classic British weather. My old favourite isn't going anywhere. I always try to find a foundation that I love more than my MaxFactor Xperience Weightless Foundation. The colour range always seems to match me and it really keeps that matte finish going all day. After all the hype I finally caved and swapped from my Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer to the Lasting Perfection Concealer. At the moment I'm loving them both for different reason, I may just have to have both! That's when my spending ban is over. (Which is going well by the way!) And lastly I've jumped on the Rimmel Stay Matte powder bandwagon as well. 

For cheeks I'm going crazy over the Topshop cream to powder blushes, more on those here: From Comfort Food To Comfort Face. 

For lip product I'm going to be terribly boring and say Burt's Bees lip balms. They smell divine and make my lips feel ridiculously hydrated. 

3. Least favourite product?

I know I'm probably going to be showered with shocked faces but it has to be the Revlon ColorStay Foundation. I just hate it. No matter what I apply it with or how I apply it I just cannot get it right. It's far too thick and considering it only had an SPF of 6 it smells so strongly of sunscreen that I can barely stand to have it near my nose. It's an expensive drugstore product to go in the bin but for me it is by far the worst, over hyped product out there at the moment. 

 

4. What is the best makeup bargain?

By a mile the best bargains out there are coming from MUA. Their blushes for £1 are just amazing. They're very pigmented with a slight shimmer. If you need a blush on the go, then these are your best bet. 

5. What is your favourite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)

There is definitely not enough hype out there for Natural Collection Eye shadows. I love their texture. Their eye shadows have a matte finish but if I look really closely I'm convinced there is a minute glitter in them. I especially love the eyeshadow duo's.  

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?

I would say that Soap and Glory's lip glosses seem a little pricey. Perhaps I'm being stingy, but I would always expect to pay less for a drugstore lip gloss than I would a drugstore foundation. Soap and Glory's most expensive lip gloss is ten pounds. I think their far too sticky plus for an extra two pounds I could get my favourite Urban Decay lip gloss. They're on the wrong side of the price line for me. 
 

7. Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!!

So my dupe is the most obvious one out there but it has to be Revlon Just Bitten lip balms as a dupe  for... you guessed it, Clinique Chubby Sticks. Let's face it, they're the same product. 

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?

Other than the Revlon ColorStay as I said above however, what is all the craze about Maybelline Fit Me Foundation? Firstly, I followed Maybelline's match guide to the very letter and it doesn't match very well. I think their foundation shades are a bit off and last but not least, it oxidises like a crazy thing after you've had it on for an hour. 

I'm not going to tag anyone to do this because there isn't anyone who HASN'T done it already. My word, I am behind!

From Comfort Food to Comfort Face

February is upon us and I'm sure we're all looking forward to that special day; when we come home to find our loved one hot, sizzling and drizzled in chocolate sauce.... I am of course (ya naaaasties!) talking about Pancake Day! For those of us who are not going to be graced with a big box of Ferrero Rocher on the 14th of February we can start our celebrating two days earlier with some equally tasty treats. Pancakes are indeed delicious but they are also the perfect comfort food to get us through a months worth of loved up couples so today I'm going to share with you my comfiest makeup picks.



 Eyes - As I'm currently in the first week of my AuNaturel Challenge I've rediscovered a mascara and eyelash primer that I am in love with. This duo just makes my lashes so feathery and stops those nasty, uncomfortable clumps that fall into your eyes all day. Makeover Essentials Mascara Duo takes the number one spot on my ultimate hassle free eye makeup.

Cheeks - Cream blushes are always more comfortable than powder for me because I know they're going to stay were I put them all day. As I have combination skin I'll admit I haven't experimented much with cream blushes but recently - before my spending ban - I purchased Top Shop's Blush Duo (Which is now sold out!) in the sale for just £3. The colours included in the set are Morning Dew (left) and Head Over Heels (right) I think... Either way these melt into the skin all lovely and when applied with a stippling brush are so comfortable to wear.

Lips: What would I do without my Clinique Chubby Sticks? I received the five piece Chubby Stick set for Christmas and these things are just a dream. They're super moisturising and the perfect mix of sheer and pigmented. I love. Simple as.










Nails: This will seem like a weird one, but although it's bold I feel the Korres Dark Red Nail Polish is the perfect 'go with everything' shade. I've been wearing it constantly since I got it from my Secret Santa this Christmas. The only thing I don't like is the name - I got mine in a set called 'Black Cherry' which is much more exciting that 'Dark Red'. Each to there own, I suppose.









So those are my comfiest of comfy makeup products. All of the above are stress free and make me feel ready to look gorgeous whilst I curl up with my pancake mountain.

Have a good day!

Another little something I found ;)

So you will not believe what I found the other day. Hidden somewhere in a folder on my memory still I found my birthday haul (from September) that never saw the light of day. I feel like I should put quotations around it or something. Either way, original intro included, please enjoy my very outdated birthday haul. I have made a few adjustments, were necessary.

Finally! 

It’s been a while, trust me I know, but after a brief spot of illness I’ve finally got around to it. So as some of you may already know I turned 18 on Saturday (of last year) and all I can say is that my family clearly know me very, very well. (I have left out gifts from my friends as this post was incomplete and I can’t quite remember what everybody got me, sorry!)

Disclaimer/Brightside: I may have been ill but I have had almost a week to try out each product so my opinion is 100% my own – unless stated otherwise. As usual this isn’t meant to be a show off it’s simple a haul and a collection of honest product reviews. 

1.       So first up was actually the last present from my parents that I opened.  My Mom decided to play the tease and said ‘I don’t know if you’ll like this one, we can send it back if you don’t.’ Do you recognise it? I know I did. Yes this featured on my August wish list and now it sits proudly in my bag draw.  So instead of me gushing on and on about how many hugs my Mommy received for this one I’ll just let you read again what I said last time I went on a love rant for this thing:

“If I see a bag and fall in love in an instant, it’s pretty safe to say that on closer inspection I’m going to find that it’s a Fiorelli. Whilst dragging my rather unlucky boyfriend around the bags I 

stumbled across a shoulder bag that took my breath away. Now it you haven’t already guessed, I’m a big bow fan and this does not disappoint. This bag has sparkles. It has prints. It has texture! What more could you want. And all for the not so bargain basement price of £39. But when did you ever get a Fiorelli for a fiver?” Taken from: http://www.topkattv.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/august-wish-list.html

Cue excitement! 

2.       Perfume. I thought I would do these ones after the others as I received perfume from my Mom (I say my Mom because my Dad deals with all the gadget type presents and Mom tackles the beautician in me)  and boyfriend (at the time) . The first bottle that I opened was the new Roberto Cavalli perfume. I do believe it’s the first fragrance but if not don’t hesitate to correct me. I firsts got a whiff of this perfume from a sample from which magazine I can’t remember, it may have been ELLE. It was love at first smell(?) I suppose. I have a big bug bear for people who describe a perfume by saying, ‘It’s... sweet, but musky, and fresh at the same time. It’s a little oriental, kinda floral...’ It always leaves me sitting there thinking, ‘erm, what now? It can’t be all of those.’  And yet I stand corrected, there is indeed a perfume out there that smells like all of those and more. This unique fragrance seems to be constantly changing on my skin. Sometimes it smells like chocolate, other times like walking through a meadow. It’s a wonder. 

3.       My next enthralling fragrance was one of my all time favourites that I may have carefully hinted to my then boyfriend that I loved (loved the perfume that is). I’m a big fan of all of the Christina Aguilera fragrances but By Night is definitely tops of her range for me. Beware though, this is very sweet so if you’re not a hard core ‘wish you slept on a bed of cupcakes’ type girl then I wouldn’t really recommend this as an every persons fragrance. 

4.       Whilst I love a good surprise my dear Mama kept quite strictly to a list of things I fancied. On that list was our next item, Benefit’s ‘Porefessional’ primer. I’ve been wanting to try this for a while and it certainly does the job. Pore minimising: check.  Matt: check. Long wearing: Definitely. This product leaves skin with a very very smooth base and soaks up oil like you wouldn’t believe. I decided that seeing as I’d been neglectful of my moisturiser whilst bed ridden I’d forgo this product as I was afraid it might dry out my already parched skin. Wrong! We’re talking oil slick by the time I got to college and I soon found myself in the bathroom dabbing this product on. It’s multi use with a hint of concealing power which means it can be used underneath make up and on top of foundations like a liquid blotting paper. 

5.       Last beauty related item from my Mom was the Nails Inc. Caviar Top Coat and Base Coat set. I’ve had these before and absolutely loved them. I’m a nail freak and there’s nothing I hate more than a chipped manicure. This set ensures that you’re polish is good to go all week and the top coat is super glossy. Mom also threw in a Nails Inc. Nail buffer as she knows I’m a big Nails Inc. Fan and let’s face it, why bother painting your nails if they’re not buffed to shining perfection underneath. You look after your skin under your make up, why not your nails!

So that’s a somewhat condensed version of my birthday beauty haul.

Stay away from Chemist4U!

Bad customer service? Here’s a site that whilst you probably won’t use very often it’s good to know how truly awful it is.

    I’m a Groupon subscriber, I mean, why not? I purchased a Groupon for Model Co. and I wasn’t really very familiar with their products. However after looking on their website I decided that the products looked really nice but did cost quite a bit of money. Thank God for my Groupon! For nine pounds…. Erm, something, I got a Groupon voucher for a product worth £52.  The little set that I orders was called The Luxe Lip and Last Kit and should have featured three lip glosses and a mascara.

    Here’s where it all goes wrong. Instead of ordering direct from Model Co. you make the purchase at Chemist4You.  So I went to the site, clicked on the item, entered my code etc. did the essential double check and went to check out.

     And then I waited. And waited. And then some. The delivery time for this company is shocking. When my package finally arrived the invoice showed the item that I have ordered to be correct and yet the item I was holding in my hands was the cheaper Lip and Last Duo. Okay Sophie, don’t panic, it’s just a simple phone call to customer services. Except they don’t have a phone number. Apparently I’m not the only one to have encountered this problem as upon typing the website into Google, ‘Chemist4U phone number’ was the highest search suggestion. A bit fishy? I thought so.

     At the end of the day it was only lip gloss but it shocked me that for a company that specialises in sending prescription pharmaceutical to people’s homes would be so sloppy with it distribution. This was around Christmas time and I had been ill for several weeks which meant that the entire thing was an inconvenience I didn’t really want to handle. Therefore, in my fit of pre-Christmas rage I jumped onto the Chemist4U website and submitted what they call a ‘ticket.’ This is the only way provided on the site to get in contact with customer services. Chemist4U state that you will be sent a tracking code to track the status of your complaint. I waited days and didn’t receive one. I managed to convince myself that I must have mistyped my email address and therefore submitted another ticket explaining this issue and also the possibility that I just hadn’t received one. (And if you’re thinking ‘check your junk email,’ yup, did that too.) After I received no tracking code for my second ticket I was getting a little more annoyed.

      I waited despite this for about two weeks to receive some kind of acknowledgement from them. Nothing. Nada. Finally, with no way to contact the company I was forced to return the items with a letter of complaint. Again I have received no correct package. No contact whatsoever from Chemist4U.

      I have now made a complaint to Groupon who are trying to process the problem as quickly as possible. It’s been a month since I made my original purchase and Chemist4U’s mistake is still not fixed.

      I guess that was my long way of saying, ‘head’s up, stay the hell away from this awful site.’ Poor customer service equals the loss of customers.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

Bye Bye for now.

From Sample to Love Affair! Skinetica Anti-Blemish Solution

     Recently I’ve tried something else that I just have to share with you. Whilst I’ve never struggled with anything like acne or any major blemishing, I do, as most people, experience breakouts at various times in year. During the winter I feel like I’m constantly eating left over chocolate from Christmas and changing up my skincare routine to accommodate the ever changing weather. Together these cause my skin to just malfunction on every level. When I was having some trouble with a particularly nasty blemish on my shoulder (it can be used on your face and body) my sister gave me a sample of Skinetica Anti-Blemish Solution. The product claims to have dramatic results within three days and it’s no word of a lie.

     I was so impressed I went onto their site and ordered a sample for myself, having had this for only a day I am desperate to order a full size bottle.

      So here it is: The actual product consistency is like water. Apply it to a cotton wool pad and sweep over the face like a toner if dealing with large areas, for individual spots do the same but only apply to those blemishes. It’s gentle so don’t worry about all over face coverage. Allow the product to air dry. Once dry the solution is active for twelve hours. I apply it in the morning and before I go to bed. The product must be applied to clean, dry skin before any moisturisers or makeup but can be worn beneath both of these as it doesn’t leave a residue on the skin. I have noticed no reactions between the product and my makeup.

      What I’m trying to say is that this is very fuss free but works brilliantly. I noticed a drastic reduction in the size of spots and also the redness surrounding them.

       The only thing I don’t like about this is the smell. Don’t worry it’s very faint and will not linger once applied to the skin. The smell is a little like… if you dissolved a lot of sugar in water. A kind of sweet and a little sickly. But again, nothing I can’t handle for the fast acting miracle in a bottle.

      If you’re living in the UK free samples are available and a full size bottle (100ml) will only set you back £9.99 with postage included. Postage will be added to all orders outside of the UK.

       As this is a new company this is their only product but I really hope they will expand into other skincare products in years to come as, you can probably tell, I’m in love with it.

My bookshelf.

 

 Hello! 

Now as you all know I am of course a beauty addict but today I felt like deviating a bit and taking you on a tour of my bookshelf over the past few months. I want to share with you the books I've read, the next book on my list and the ones I've loved, or in some cases, not loved. 

I'm planning on seeing Great Expectations this week and whilst watching the trailer with the beautiful Jeremy Irvine I was reminded of how much I loved Now Is Good.  You can imagine how disappointed I was to find out it doesn't come out on DVD until January! I remembered that I wanted to read the book after I'd seen the film so onto Amazon I went and downloaded it to my tablet. Republished for the films released as Now Is Good, this book by Jenny Downham was originally published as Before I Die in 2007.

Before I Die follows leukaemia victim Tessa Scott on a downward spiral as she attempts to do all of the things on her bucket list before she dies. Tessa's character is a typical sixteen year old with an attitude to match and most of the comedy comes from her antics and the quick wit of the characters. 

I've really enjoyed the simplicity of this book. It's very much an internal monologue and becomes very dreamy as Tessa's condition worsens. My only slight disappointment is that I didn't read this before seeing the film. For me the adaption of this was really beautiful and funny but as it turns out there are some major differences in personality, especially in the case of Tessa's boyfriend Adam who is very different in the film version. Whilst aspects of his personality add realism in the book it doesn't always work on a romantic level. 

Summary, treat this book as a relationship study and a girls life experience, not a romance. Secondly, see the book as a separate entity to the book as they are very similar in plot but remarkable different in tone. 

Either way, both are very good and particularly inspiring. Take a look: 

So my next book, and it's awful to say I love this but if you're feeling like some Gothic fairy tales then Angela Carter is just doing her thing in her collection of short stories: The Bloody Chamber. Anyone doing A level English Literature will be familiar with the, erm, at some times blunt but flowery at the same time style that Carter uses throughout the collection. Carter is insistent that she isn't rewriting fairy tales but let's face it, these are just the Brother's Grimm all over again, except very well written. With tales inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and a whole load of other folktales The Bloody Chamber is a somewhat gruesome take on our childhood fantasies. It's not your usual read, but if you're not afraid of a bit of gore then these are well worth a read.  

Carrying on with my slightly Gothic tastes, I always wanted to read The Woman in Black by Susan Hill so when I found out they were going to make a film I though I'd get in quick and read it before I saw it. For those who have seen the film, much like Now Is Good there are some major plot changes that I don't really care for. The novel is much more realistic and manages to hold that same suspenseful tension throughout before culminating in an almost sarcastic ending. When I brought my copy from Waterstones I splashed out on a lovely special edition (which you can see in the picture) with little sketches inside at the start of each chapter. Hill's writing style is very very eloquent and it really feels like every line counts. I couldn't put this book down. It wasn't too chilling but really made you think about karma and the afterlife. For a look at The Woman In Black (film version) for a general plot summary then here you go:

This last book is one that I'm planning on reading but haven't yet. I more want to know about your thoughts. I got The Night Circus written by Erin Morgenstern for Christmas last year and still haven't gotten around to reading it. I was intrigued by the beautiful front cover and decided I had to have it. Besides, who doesn't like a circus!

If you have read it, let me know what you thought.

Say goodbye to my bookshelf.

Tah raaa!