Life in Paris

Just in case you'd missed it, I now live in Paris and you can read about all my adventures over on my new blog www.lalondonienne.com

New Post On La Londonienne

I've just published a post over on my new blog

I have a new blog!

Hey everyone!

I know I've kind of abandoned this blog (woops) but I just wanted to let you all know I've started a new one over at

www.lalondonienne.com

because I have just moved to Paris!!! I'm going to be here for a year while I do a work placement for a prettttty big fashion magazine (omggg)

Please check it out, I won't be using GFC on there because I've heard it's not gonna be around for long, so put your details in on the Subscribe page and I'll send you an email whenever I post (I won't spam you, honest!)

Thanks guys!

Love Sophie xxx

My Perfume Collection

Hello everyone!

I haven't posted in a while... So I thought I'd put up something to let you know I'm alive! 

These are just a few of my favourite perfumes that I always wear in rotation, I'm not going to write much about their notes because let's face it, I don't understand them. 

l-r Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Touch, Victoria's Secret Incredible, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Burberry Body, YSL Elle, Tom Ford Black Orchid, Marc Jacobs Oh Lola, Dolce and Gabanna The One and L'eau The One

I don't really know if there's a common theme here, I know a lot of my perfumes are quite musky and whilst researching this post the word vetivier kept popping up, so I guess I like that too!

The two Victoria's Secret fragrances are mists and I love them! They were £14 each and despite being mists they wear for hours and because the bottles are plastic they are so lightweight, perfect for nights out.

I've worn Daisy for years and this spring I received Oh Lola, I love them both but I don't wear them too much as they can be a bit too girly for me, but they're great for day time in the spring and summer.

YSL Elle, Tom Ford Black Orchid and Burberry Body are my serious perfumes! They are all so womanly in their own way and personally I think they smell really expensive (and so they should, for the price of them!) 

I love YSL Elle, this is my third bottle and this was a limited edition purse version, I think it's 15ml but it came with two other refills. This is a really modern and sophisticated perfume and I have a love for all things YSL and I think this fragrance really embodies that kind of sexy attitude that French women have. I intend on wearing this all the time when I go and live in France next year!

Black Orchid is a bit of a controversial fragrance, it is so different to anything I've ever owned and I know it's not to everyone's tastes. I think Michael Jackson used to wear it (eek) and I absolutely hate the smell of it...for the first half hour! Then it turns into something amazing and unique, but I hardly wear it because I know I'll hate it at first! It is very expensive (and it's gone up by a fiver since I bought it in 2010) but I still have it, it lasts forever. I definitely recommend having a test of this, but spray it on you and not a piece of paper, and leave it half an hour before making up your mind.

Burberry Body for me is pure sophistication, it's a little powdery and quite different. The campaign for this just sums up the perfume perfectly, it's classy, sexy and womanly. (Oh and it will always remind me of uni because I may have bought it with my student loan, woops)

Finally, Dolce & Gabanna The One. This will always be the one for me, this is my signature scent without a doubt, everytime I wear it it brings back so many memories. My boyfriend wears the male version (not intentionally!) and they just smell so good together. I bought L'eau The One this summer as a lighter version and convinced myself it has a completely different dry down, but I'm not sure it does! Oh well, I won't have to repurchase them any time soon!

So that was a long post! Let me know what your signature scent is, and do you have any that I have?

Love Sophie x

L'oreal Rouge Caresse in Impulsive Fuchsia

Hi everyone!

A few days ago I picked up one of the new L'oreal lipsticks, a Rouge Caresse in Impulsive Fuchsia. These are basically L'oreal's answer to those Revlon Lip Butters, and whilst I haven't tried the Revlon versions to compare, I have to say I really really love the formulation of the L'oreal lipsticks!

L'oreal Rouge Caresse in Impulsive Fuchsia - £7.99

I think I read somewhere that these are comparable to the Dior Addict lipsticks that Kate Moss was the face of last year, but at a fraction of the price.

The shade that I have, a bright fuchsia colour, is incredibly pigmented but can be worn both sheer and opaque. It fades evenly and lightly stains the lips and I find it's quite moisturising

It reminds me a lot of a sheerer, easier to wear version of MAC's Show Orchid and Revlon's Fuschia lipstick in their Colorburst range

I really do like these, and I may pick up a couple more as Superdrug currently have a buy one product get your second  half price deal on L'oreal or something like that...

Have you tried any of the new lip butters? What would you go for, L'oreal or Revlon?

Love Sophie xx

NYC Lip Stain in Forever Freesia

Hey everyone!

Thought I'd show you this lipstain I picked up the other day from NYC at Superdrug. It was about £3 which makes it much cheaper than many of the other lipstains around

I actually really do like this lipstain. It's long wearing (I don't know about 16 hours though...) it's really reasonable and I thought it showed up much stronger than one I have by Revlon

I find that it's not that drying but then it's not very moisturising either so I usually put on a bit of Vaseline. However I really do like the matte effect that these lipstains have. They also come in quite a few colours and they're available in store at Superdrug.

What's your favourite lipstain?

Love Sophie xx

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer Mascara

Hey everyone! 

Back with a review for you today of the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer Mascara in Blue Eyes. The idea behind this mascara is to 'boost your eyes according to their colour'. They have a green mascara for green eyes, a blue for blue eyes and a purple for hazel eyes. 

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Luminizer Mascara - £11.29

What I love about this mascara is the fact that the blue is quite subtle. In reality it's just a black mascara which can look slightly blue in some lights. But what does it look like on?

I love this mascara! It can hold a curl, give volume and length and as you can see in the photos it does have a slightly blue tinge to it. The way I apply it is to give it a few coats and let it dry, then close my eye sweep the brush on the top of my lashes which adds a lot more volume

The only problem with this mascara is the price, at over £11 its quite pricey but as always I bought this off ebay for just over £4 here. I've had some comments in the past from people worried about buying fakes off ebay, but this really isn't so much as an issue for drugstore make up. A lot of the time it's sold by wholesalers which means they can sell it for a much lower price than shops such as Boots and Superdrug, which have huuuuge overheads to cover (think how much it costs to rent a shop and pay all the staff!)

Have you tried this mascara yet?

Love Sophie x

I think I have too much time on my hands...

today I filled a large vaseline gift tin with melted down vaseline with pink food colouring

its so huge I love it!

Sophie x

LA Colors

Hey everyone!

A few weeks ago I went back to London and had a little shop around the new Westfield Stratford City, and after reading Leanne's post on a shop called Beauty Base I had to pick up some nail polishes for myself!

I got 5 I think and these are my favourite

Mauve Glaze, Sparkling Diamonds and Jewel Tone 

It takes a few coats to get Mauve Glaze completely opaque but I love love love these polishes, and they're only 99p each!

What are you wearing on your nails?

Sophie xx

Facets of Fuchsia

As much as I love love love this nail varnish in all it's sparkly glory, it is IMPOSSIBLE TO REMOVE

Not even the tin foil method will remove it!

I think this one will have to stick to accent nails ONLY and special occasions from now on, 2 hours later and it is still not fully removed, grr

Are there any nail varnishes you really love but just can't wear??

love Sophie xx

Chanel Chance Dupe

Hey everyone!

I don't know if you'd heard but the Zara Collection perfume was supposed to be a dupe for Chanel Chance, so off to Zara I went!

I went to Boots first and put Chance on one wrist and Zara on the other to see how they compared and at first sniff they were pretty much identical, and throughout the day they seemed to wear off to exactly the same smell

The bottle itself is 100ml, it is an EDT and it costs £9.99 which is an absolute bargain compared to the £72 it costs for 100ml of the real Chanel Chance EDT!

What's your favourite perfume? Do you know of any dupes?

Love Sophie xx

Emergency Contour

Hello everyone!

When I was packing up all my things ready to move out make up was top priority, however I accidentally forgot my MAC Harmony blusher, which is my absolute fave for contouring

After realising how PALE I am after a few photos recently posted on facebook, I realised I had to get a cheap substitute to get me through. Whilst in Boots the other day I spotted this and for only £1.99 it wouldn't be the end of the world if it turned me into an oompa loompa

This really is the perfect way to add a little colour to pale skin and it works really well as a contour. When swatched it does have a little bit of glitter in it but this is barely noticable on the face.

So it's a definite thumbs up from me, for £1.99 you get 10g of product that really doesn't have any orangey undertones

Have you tried Natural Collection products before? What's your contour/bronzer of choice?

Love Sophie xx

Awful OOTD/My Body

Hello everyonee!

First of all I'd like to apologise for this truly awful attempt at an OOTD post, but I'd thought I'd give you an insight into what I actually wear, considering pretty much every post on here is about hair and beauty :)

Both my dress and blouse are from Primark (woo) and I just left the blouse open and knotted it at the waist

I don't really have a 'style'. I'm about 5ft8/9 but with a size 12 (sometimes even 14 eek) figure to boot so I can't really do the cutesy petite thing or the tall and skinny thing. I wish I could call my style sophisticated (what with being called Sophie and all..hahaha awkward joke) but I'm more than happy to wear a pair of jeans and a baggy jumper.

I used to have a tshirt from Zara that said 'It's not the content, it's the style, and I'm content with my style' although I never really have been content with my style! Growing up I never really knew how to dress for my figure, at all. Sometimes I think I still don't but at least I know that I will never be one of those girls that can pull off a bodycon skirt (I do NOT have the thighs!) 

When I was younger I was a right chubster and whilst I lost a lot of the 'puppy fat' in Year 9 (so when I was about 14) I still am a 'curvy' girl. That word will forever make me cringe but it's who I am and it seems that no matter how much I work out or live off carrot sticks I will always be this way so I guess I've learnt to live with  it. Maybe.

My favourite shops are Primark, H&M and Topshop, although I find Topshop stupidly overpriced and even now it seems that sometimes H&M is cheaper than Primark (lol what?) 

What's your 'style'? Do you even have one? Let me know!

Love Sophie xxx

Yellow Diamonds In The Light

Hello everyoneee

So this is the end of my first week of lectures at university, and I'm actually really enjoying it! Last night was our Freshers' ball which was great, only I woke up with bruises and cuts EVERYWHERE. And I've now got a severe case of fresher's flu!

Wore my hair down for the first time in AGES today, its finally that kind of weather where you can go out with your hair down and not end up a sweaty mess! As you can see in the background I had my jeans out to dry, after hand washing them turned out I hadn't dissolved the washing powder properly and they were covered in white marks. Someone tell me how to use a washing machine??

I've also really been loving this new series called New Girl, I've been watching it online and it has Zooey Deschanel in it (who is my faveee!) 

Hope you're all well, let me know what you've been up to!

Sophie xx

Max Factor 2000 Calorie

is my favourite mascara, ever!

I know, I know it looks proper dated but I love the brush, I love the formula and I love the effect it has on my eyelashes!

I do already have fairly long eyelashes however they are really lacking in volume. Somehow this mascara manages to double the amount of eyelashes I have and its also ultra black, which I love!

I also really like the fact that it can hold a curl!! If you look back at previous mascara posts that I've done you'll see my eyelashes used to kind of droop to the side, not with this baby!

I think it retails for about £8? But you can always pick it up from ebay for much less

What mascara are you loving?

love Sophie xx

Current Faves

Hello everyone!

Today I moved into my uni halls and I've now got a laptop of my own, (with an SD card port!!) and a fully functioning camera, so I will definitely be posting a lot more frequently!

Just thought I'd show you some current favourites that I've picked up

Collection 2000 Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream in Cotton Candy 1

Max Factor Weightless Foundation in Light Ivory

L'oreal Glam Shine Lipgloss in Juicy Rose Glow

and the obligatory rubbish hand swatches... 

The foundation is really lovely, and a perfect shade. It feels really silky and I love the slightly dewy slightly matte finish. The lipgloss I ordered off Ebay after falling in love with it in Superdrug. Seriously guys, if you see something you like, especially if it's a slightly older product make sure you check Ebay first. A lot of wholesalers sell their products on there for much much cheaper. For example, my fave mascara Max Factor 2000 Calorie is about £8 in the shops, I picked up a brand new one for under a fiver. 

I really like the consistency of the lip cream, and the taste is just yummy! It's kind of filling my MAC Impassioned void, which I really want but can't justify spending £13.50 on. Seriously MAC, ya didn't need to put the price up.

Also loving Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer (along with the rest of the world)

HD Brows Kit

YSL Rouge Volupte in no.2

Hope you're all well!

Sophie xx

24ct Gold On My Ring Finger

Hey everyone! If you're wondering where I've been, my camera broke whilst I was on holiday with friends in Spain! Not

much new with me, on the 25th September im off to Southampton university eeee

Anyways what better way to ease me back into blogging than with a NOTD :)

Here I used one of the maybelline nude nail varnishes (which are £1 off in superdrug now, buy buy buy!) in shade ummm, Rose Poudre. Btw, the shade names are only written on the top of the lid, annoying!

I then covered the ring finger in torn up pieces of gold leaf, taking inspiration from Fee at Makeup Savvy :) this stuff literally cost me £3 for 10 sheets and I used barely a quarter of a sheet for this.

Hope this post turned out alright, posting this from my iPod (which I dropped whilst on a cross trainer and completely shattered the screen... Always me!)

Please let me know what you've been up to, I'm still reading allll the posts in my dashboard everyday :)

Hope you're all well, whether you're starting college, uni or if it's just same old same old, I wanna know all about it :)

love you all loadz, have no idea how you've all stuck with me but I'm so grateful

Love Sophie

xxxx

Boudoir Privé?

Hey ladies!

Just found this new website, looks like another Glossybox style thing?

Apparently it'll be reasonable and have 6 products? But everyone's being a bit negative over this months glossy box... reckon this one will go the same way? hmmm

Let me know what you think, you can enter your email address for an 'exclusive invitation' (cringe) here

 
Love Sophie xx

Barry M White Foundation

You know those products, that no matter how much you google you'll never find enough information about it? Maybe the odd blog post that just includes stock images (nowt wrong with them) but no swatches either? Barry M White Foundation is one of those products

So here's my review!

I'm not pale enough to wear it alone (besides I really don't think it would be very flattering to do so) so I mix it with Revlon ColorStay in Sand Beige, which is the second lightest colour. I bought it after one of those ha stuff you foundation I'm not gonna buy the lightest colour for once and I'm gonna make it work! Needless to say, I didn't make it work.

This is the process I go through to mix the two. You'd be forgiven for thinking the Barry M was a moisturiser its so creamy. And it is 'enriched with moisturisers' after all...

Click the picture to get a nice clear close up view (if that's your kinda thing)

It's such a basic product but you do get loads in the pot, and it really does work. Here it is on my face in all it's glory

My face matches my neck!

If you've got any questions just ask below :) I think it cost umm £6.19 but I know it'll last ages

On a side note, I wouldn't really recommend the other Barry M shades, I don't think the foundation would be hmm, comfortable enough to wear alone all over the face. Maybe a bit cakey and heavy.

 

Let me know what you think!

Sophie xxx

Feel Lucky Like A Four Leaf Clover

Hey everyoneee

Haven't blogged since forever so just wanted to say hello and that I hope you're all well.

My blog had its first birthday a couple of weeks ago and I totally didn't realise... eek

Have a Sunday FOTD...

Face

Revlon Colorstay in Sand Beige

(which is too too dark so mixed with Barry M White Foundation)

Bourjois Brush Concealer

the new Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in Berry

Eyes

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sidecar

Maybelline The Falsies Black Drama

Lips

Posie Tint by Benefit

Eyebrows

Laura Mercier Brow Definer in Soft mixed with MUA Dark Brown Eyeshadow

Writing that list made me realise how much I love all these products I've used, definitely been my favourites for the past few months

And yes, I got Posie Tint from Glamour, I like it but I don't love it. It feels reeally cheap and I actually didn't realise how similar it is to the 2True version I reviewed here. They're practically identical. (sorry to all the Benefit lovers out there)

Let me know what you're loving at the moment, and also I want more blogs to read, so leave me yours or ones you love

Love Sophie xx