10% off MAC with Free Delivery

Afternoon everyone!

Just to let you know, Debenhams currently have 10% off most of their beauty ranges, including Bobbi Brown, YSL and MAC

If that's not enough, you get free delivery and they're even giving 10% off the new Surf Baby collection!

I've already bought a few backups of Lingering brow pencil, have a look for yourself

Let me know if you buy anything!

Love Sophie 

xxx

Ombre Update And New Products

Well it seems my Ombre post was my most popular ever! Thought I'd keep you up to date with how it's doing, the semi permanent dye seemed to fade reeeally quickly so I popped on some L'oreal dye, Excell 10 in Frosted Blonde. A few of you have asked so here is what I would recommend doing, but this is a personal process so I do recommend reading my previous post for more details

1. Test a strand with bleach mixture, find the correct time for you by washing off the bleach and then blowdrying the hair (because who really has the time to air dry?!), if not light enough apply for a bit longer and wash and blowdry again.
2. Add a blondey light brown (turns out ashy shades work quite well) to counteract the brassy gingeryness
3. If you like it, do it to the rest of your hair!

I was asked if I applied the blondey light brown dye all over, no, I just applied it to the bleached ends, but I did take it a bit further up so it looked more gradual

Here it is a few weeks on...

And those products I've been loving??

 The Porefessional and Rimmel's Lasting Finish Foundation

I used to hate the Porefessional but it works quite nicely with this foundation

 MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna

I LOVE this so much, it looks quite dirty but it makes the perfect highlighter, love it especially with the foundation!

Natural Collection Apple Blossom and Max Factor cubey lipglossy thing in Soft Rose

On their own these products (for me) are a bit nothingy but I love the combination they make together. It really reminds me of YSL's Rouge Volupte in Sensual Silk (which I have but I have to ration it because THEY DISCONTINUED IT!) and MAC Hue. I'll do a comparison post soon! 

Here's all the products together, taken using hipstamatic

I'm loving brown smokey eyes at the moment, maybe I'll do a post on that too!

Love Sophie xx

MAC Club Dupe. . For £1?

If you're not familiar with MAC Club Eyeshadow, it's a beautiful duochrome shade with hints of green and reddish brown. I've wanted it for a very long time, but I read that it's one of those eyeshadows that might not suit everyone.

So when I saw this when I was browsing the Superdrug aisles I knew I recognised that greeny tone from somewhere. . . 

This is AMAZING. I haven't tried it without a primer, but with UDPP it lasts from the moment I put it on to the moment I take it off, so around 15 hours. When it's packed on it's a lovely blue green and when blended out it goes to a super flattering brown shade. I don't have MAC Club but what I've seen from Google images, this is an almost perfect dupe.

You can see the more brownish side of this eyeshadow in these swatches, but you can see the shimmer of it in the blended swatch (the bottom one)

This is from one eyeshadow. Yes one. You can see where I blended it in the crease the browner side of the eyeshadow really came through

I love this eyeshadow so much I'm not lusting after Club so much now. . .

What do you think ladies?

Love Sophie xx

Embracing The Pale

This is a much requested post that I've been meaning to do for ages!

As I'm sure you all know I am quite pale, half the foundations I own are called Ivory! However I do have freckles and fortunately (even though I hate them!) they do warm up my face a bit. Yet in these winter months I always feel as if my skin is grey and that I have really uneven pigmentation on my face. Which is why I am a foundation addict.

I don't use foundation to cover up my skin, however I do like a heavier coverage. In recent months however, there has been a definite increase in brands offering sheer yet 'flawless' foundations, and I'm rather partial to those too!

For the time being though, I'm going to be discussing the following foundations, and most of them are in the palest shades available. I would love to do a post on foundations for darker skintones, but I don't know much about that do I!

At the end of the post I'll be showing rubbed in swatches and other alternatives which I love

Revlon ColorStay in Sand Beige

I love this foundation, despite buying a shade too dark. It lasts ages and is quite high coverage. I mix this with Healthy Mix

Revlon Beyond Natural in Light and Light/Medium

This foundation is a sheerer one. As you can see the pale is really pale and the medium is quite, orange. I think it's because these two are really old, but the white turning to your ideal shade is a bit of a gimmick. Wouldn't really recommend.

Rimmel Stay Matte in 100 Ivory

I do like this foundation as it does keep you matte without the need for powder but the shade is so OFF. It is nowhere near ivory, quite orange and I'm disappointed in Rimmel for this :( Medium to high coverage.

Bourjois Healthy Mix in Vanille Clair 51

Possibly my favourite foundation ever. I've repurchased this many times (it's currently £6.99 in Boots) and I even bought the matching concealer which if I'm honest, I prefer to Touche Eclat. Medium coverage but it's buildable and doesn't cake. I LOVE THIS!

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid in Ivory

I really liked this foundation, but it is still a bit too orange. It's one of those ones that looks fine at first, but whilst out you realise you have a severe case of different colour face to neck syndrome. Medium buildable coverage and feels lovely to the touch.

Max Factor Lasting Performance in Pastelle

The packaging on this one makes me shake my head in disapproval. It's so . . cheap! Fairly pale and quite heavy coverage but not that flattering.

MAC Face and Body in N2

 You all know I love this one! It sets like jelly. Haha that was a really bad metaphor but what I mean is it sets really nicely. Oily girls might need a bit of powder though but I love this.

Here are all the foundations rubbed in a bit

Other Foundations I Like

• The palest Face and Body is great for mixing with foundations that you find too dark
• Sleek offer the lightest and darkest foundations you'll find in Superdrug

Let me know what your favourites are!

Love Sophie xx

Loves And Hates of September

Sorry I know it's a bit late but I lost my memory card, I was so upset at losing it I even dreamt about it :(

But I've found it so I can get on to doing my loves and hates of September. 

Loves

L'oreal Voluminous

Can you believe I only recently bought this? I have the original grey tube version but it pales in comparison to this. I love black black eyelashes as I'm quite pale and the greyish tone that the other voluminous had did me no favours! This is so much nicer

L'oreal Super Liner

Why is it that every other range in Boots seemed to have a 3 for 2 except L'oreal? Either way I love this eyeliner it is so so easy to use, lasts ages (even in the rain) and I'm just in love with it! Perfect and quite cheap too (£5.99 I think)

 NYC Smooth Skin Loose Face Powder

I did a post on this quite recently and I'm still showing it some love. I think its great in that it's translucent so it doesn't look patchy. And a super huge bargain at around £2.50

 Neutrogena Concentrated Hand Cream

This stuff is AMAZING. It lasts forever as the tiniest blob can cover your whole hand. I use it on dry patches of skin and on my lips. It's perfect to put on your lips before using matte lipsticks as it's not a cream as such, more a gel so it dries quickly and isn't greasy.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Virgin

I love love love this colour. It is so heavily pigmented it's unbelievable. If you put it on top of black eyeliner it turns your eyeliner silver and as a testiment to how pigmented it is, it can pretty much blank out Mulch.

Hates

Okay I use the term hate loosely, I don't hate these products, they're just not getting much use lately

 
MAC MSF Natural

I love this powder I really do, but after getting back into my NYC powder this just feels too expensive, and not in a Tom Ford luxurious kind of way, but a why did I spend so much money on THIS kind of way. It's also a bit orangey for my liking.

Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio Eyeshadow

These eyeshadows look really pigmented but they're not. Use a brush with these and you might as well not be using them at all. And I hate sponge applicators! Really nice idea and I love the packaging but the quality isn't that great. Also when I followed the instructions on how to get the smoky eye it was just so WRONG. No crease work, nothing. The darkest shade is to be used on the lash line. Dear me, that's what eyeliner is for!

Link me up to your monthly favourites!

Hope you had a lovely weekend,

Sophie xxx

Let's Get Neutral ;)

Hello lovely ladies

I got my AS results today, don't you hate that tummy churning feeling when you're about to get results?! Ahh.

Anyways on a lighter note, I've completed a MAC Palette, I've been buying myself an eyeshadow everytime I need cheering up and here's what I've come up with

Top Row: Wedge, Brule

Bottom Row: Mulch, Naked Lunch

I would've done a 15 palette but I'm always taking make up away with me up to Yorkshire and it's more practical this way. I'm in love with the colours, Brule makes a lovely all over eye colour, and Mulch has been on my wishlist for a very long time (thank you Sinead!) 

Now I know they're all neutral, but I love my neutrals, especially MAC's as you can go neutral without sparkly bits, are there any truly matte eyeshadows on the high street?

If you could pick 4 MAC colours what would they be? Let me know! 

Sophie xxx

PS If you were wondering, I got AAB in my AS!

Sophie's Guide to MAC Face And Body

Hey everyone

This foundation is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Ever since I saw it on Laura's blog/youtube (thank you!!!) I've wanted it and in all honestly it deserves all the hype it gets. Quick warning, this is quite a long post and quite picture heavy ;) Here are a few reasons why I love it so much;

• You get loads of product. I mean loads. Take a look at my previous post to see what I mean
• It doesn't feel wrong to use it on your neck and chest. I can't do that with other foundations!
• It's soft and because it is so water based it doesn't feel caked
• It's one of those foundations that you don't need to use a brush with if you don't want to. The MAC MUA told me this, but the heat from your hands warms it up and makes it so easy to apply. More on application later
• The amazing range of colours, both pink-based and yellow-based

Coverage

I'll get on to the application I used to get this look in a bit but this is the coverage in natural lighting. It's not tinted moisturiser coverage but it's not full. It's natural, in a kind of my skin but better kind of way. A couple of pictures for you so you can see how lovely it is  because once I start I can't stop. Uh, can I say amazing once more? Ooh I just did. You may click to enlarge if you so wish ;)

Application

I use a small blob of this first all over my face to provide an even layer of coverage

I then use another blob poured on to my MAC 188 brush and buff it in circular motions around my face which gives you that airbrushed yet natural finish. Good dupes for this brush are the ELF Powder Brush or the GOSH Lightweight Duo Fibre Brush

Staying Power and Removal

Once set with a powder (I use MAC MSF Natural) this stuff does not budge. It gives you that matte yet dewy glow (how is this possible?) all day long. To show you how long it lasts have a look at my face wipe from yesterday, it was applied at 10.30am and taken off at 1am! I've never had a foundation last that long, once this stuff sets, it sets.

Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely. I'm not going to lie I prefer a fuller coverage foundation, or so I thought. This one really makes me feel comfortable in my own skin. And at £23 for 100ml it's an investment, yet a bargain at the same time. 

If you buy one thing from MAC, buy this

Hope this was useful, love Sophie xx

FOTD

Hey lovely ladies

This is actually the face of last night, I went to my friends 18th but it's actually the same as todays so yeah

Eyes

• Mac Paintpot in Bare Study
• Rimmel Glam Eyes Eyeliner, my first go at using liquid in SO long
• but then I had to go and use Mac Fluidline
• Rimmel Wild Curls*

Lips

•  Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in Heartbeat (the new one, review soon)

Face

• Collection 2000 Perfect Minerals Foundation
• Benefit It Stick
• MAC MSF Natural in Medium/Dark
• Topshop Cream Blusher in Nutmeg
• ELF All Over Stick in Persimmon (I think?) 

Do I need to do more adventurous looks? Or do you play it safe like me?

* Sophie's eyelashes were styled with lash inserts for an even lashline ;)

Love Sophie xx

Justifying MAC Face and Body, Should I or Shouldn't I?

Hey lovely ladies

After watching Laura's video review on this I really do want it. She makes a point that it is really reasonable for £23 for 120ml. I thought for a minute, reasonable?! Seriously?! But have a look at what I've discovered and it really is (all prices from Boots)

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation £12.99 for 30ml

= £51.96 for 120ml

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation £10.99 for 30ml
= £43.96 for 120ml

L'oreal Matte Morphose £11.99 for 20ml

= £71.94 for 120ml
.
But worst of all. . .

Chanel Vitalumiere £31 for 30ml
= £123.99 for 120ml

So what do you think? Can I justify my purchase?

Love Sophie xx
PS All images courtesy of Google Images

I need help! MAC 188 Brush

Just a really quick post, but a while back I got this brush free of charge from MAC (okay okay it was a mix up in orders but they let me keep it!) but I can't for the life of me work out how to use it. What do you use it for? And how do you use it? Or how would you?

A flat-topped, full circular brush used for lightweight application and blending of any formula colour – fluid, cream, powder or pigment. Ideal for creating soft layers or adding textures. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres.

£25.00

Thank youuu!
Sophie x

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural, I'm In Love!

Hey ladies

I've reached the 20 follower mark, I'm so proud you've no idea :) I remember when it really felt like no one was listening but now I know you are so thank you so so much!

Anyways, at work we had a World Cup Sweepstake, and I pulled out Spain so this week I got my hands on £40, I never win anything! So off I went down to MAC Covent Garden and picked up a Mineralize Skin Finish Natural which set me back £18, pretty reasonable I think for the 10g you get (6g of normal blusher = £16.50).

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural in Medium Plus - £18

Sorry for the stock photo but my cameras upstairs ;) I actually love this powder SO much. It keeps my foundation set all day and I reckon it'll last forever. It's had about 5 days usage now and it looks untouched. It works especially well with my Inglot Cream Powder Foundation (which I have to say has not brought me out in spots despite slightly heavier coverage, YAY) Also I'm quite excited at getting Medium Plus, that's two shades up from light! I never buy anything but light!

But one thing I noticed when looking for an image, look at MAC prices for this across the world, strange;

• UK: £18
• America: $26 = £17
• Canada $31 (Canadian Dollars) = £19.24
• France €26 = £21.96

(conversions according to Google 18/07/10 at 19:36)

What I found strange was that Canadian's get charged £1.24 more than us, despite MAC being a Canadian company! Then again they do get free delivery (grrrr)

Do you ever wait to go abroad to buy make up? And have you tried any of the MAC Mineralize products? What did you think?

Love Sophie xx

PS Thanks for all your advice and stories on my last post, nice to see that you ladies do it the healthy way! x

Sophie's Experiences With Benefit and MAC

Hi everyone,

I suppose this is going to be a mini rant and I've been wondering for days as to whether I should post this or not as it may be a little controversial. The bottom line is, I hate Benefit make up.

Seriously though, it's MAC every time. I have never had a problem with MAC make up. The colour pay off is nearly always exactly as I expect, the quality is second to none, and the pricing to me seems fair. Sure, 12 quid or so isn't cheap for a lipstick, but they really are investment pieces. I used to use their Studio Sculpt foundation (it's too hot for it now) and despite being a very high coverage, it never broke me out in spots and after 6 months of use there's still enough for next winter. 

What I find with MAC is that what you see is what you get. The packaging is sophisticated and their claims are believable and realistic. And to be fair, when was the last time you saw a review for a MAC product? I don't think I've ever seen one. You get MAC Hauls, sure, but I believe that's a testimony as to how great they are, they don't need to prove themselves, everyone knows that if you buy it with MAC, you're not gonna be disappointed.

For example look at the description of their normal liner

Eye Pencils are formulated to provide rich, consistent colour using ingredients that have virtually no irritancy potential. They are comfortable to apply and sharpen to a fine point to allow for a precise application. Eye Pencils can be used to create a sharp line or a softer, smoky effect. They are long-lasting and won't cake or streak.

There's not a trademark sign in sight and no false promises, and I can honestly say everything they say is true about this product.

But moving on to Benefit. I've always wanted to be a Benefit girl. Benefit girls are pretty, they don't need serious make up, they're fun and they kid themselves that Benefit is just amaaazing. But I can't agree with that. I thought I'd give them a chance, I mean they kindly gave us all free pencils with Glamour this month, but I don't think I could ever pay for a Benefit product. Ever. Here are my reasons, and please feel free to disagree with me, I want to know your opinions, and if you like try and convince me they're fab.

•  They're expensive. To me, £14 for a poor quality eyeliner (more about this later) is disgusting. And I don't like their obsession with adding that 50p on most of their products
• You're paying for the packaging, which don't get me wrong is lovely, the names are great, but the quality. . 
• Oh dear the quality. If there ever was a company who's products did almost the opposite they were meant to that's Benefit. Bad Gal liner promises to be 'Dark, Smoky and Mysterious'. Who are they trying to kid? If they mean a terrible grey shade when they say dark, annoyingly smudgy in an im gonna end up on your cheeks by the end of the day kind of way when they say smoky and a 'woah that sure is some straaange eyeliner that girl's got on' when they say mysterious then they've got it spot on. And don't get me started on Bad Gal mascara. Disappointment in a tube.
• The Benebabes. Ok I know there are some right nasties out on those MAC stands, but Benefit takes the biscuit. Never before had a woman made me feel so out of place, so awkward and so intimidated until I went to a Benefit stand. I'm sure there are some lovely Benebabes out there, but I've yet to meet one. I once had my make up done by them. Never again. I don't know how anyone could mistake me for a dark orange when I've been known to purchase NC15 at MAC.

 

 All in all, the products in general just really don't appeal to me. They have no lasting power whatsoever, they're ridiculously overpriced and as kitsch as their products are (did you know Benetint was developed to go on strippers nipples?!), I will always always be a MAC girl at heart.

Love Sophie

xx

PS Are you a Benefit Gal or a MAC Lady?

Dazzle Dust Annoying You?

Hey ladies this should be just a quick post, but I've noticed lately a lot of people who just can't use pigment eyeshadow because of fall out and general annoyingness, which is completely understandable. So what can you do about it?

If you've got a MAC Paintpot, preferably in a neutral shade, you can use it for this, or plain old vaseline is just as good :)

Firstly, dab your brush or sponge applicator into your paintpot or Vaseline, but ensure that you just use a little bit if you're using Vaseline so that you don't lose the colour pay off. Then dip it lightly into your paint pot, if you just lightly do it you won't get any fall out. Apply and it'll stay all day!

Why does this work? Well using a Paintpot acts as a primer which of course will make your eyeshadow last longer and Vaseline will turn the pigment into an almost cream shadow (and you know how much I LOVE cream shadows!)

Hope this works for you, have a go and tell me what you think!

Sophie xx

Freebies :D

Now what beauty blog doesn't have these Benefit goodies at the moment?

Yep, I'm talking about the ones that come free with this month's Glamour, and I kind of bought all 3. I was too embarassed to buy them all from one shop so 2 are from WHSmith and one is from a local newsie, which was a right pain, more about that later.

(Oh and if you're wondering, that nail varnish was also a freebie, it's the Nails Inc London that came free from Boots when I bought two 500ml coke bottles!)

So here are some swatches for you, the first is normal and the second image is when I rubbed them in, as all 3 are designed so that you can rub them and smudge them about a bit)

Ok, so what did I think? The liner is fab, was expecting a bit more colour pay off as I wanted a real 'carbon' black style but when it comes to smudging, it's great! It gives you a real smokey eye in seconds.

The eye brightener? Yep I liked that too. To be honest for me it's not entirely necessary, as using bare study by MAC kind of does that eye brightening job for me, but it makes a good highlighter for the cupids bow and underneath eyebrows. And my goodness the smudging is heavenly, it rubs in like a dream!

And lastly mister It Stick. The one that nobody wants :( I don't see why though, I have to admit that at first the colour put me off, a bit too cheapo-foundation-orange for me. Until I rubbed it in. Again, it rubs in so well, I thought I'd have a play with it and it covers under-eye circles, makes a great eyeshadow primer I find, and neutralises the eyelid.

Go buy all 3 now, it'll only set you back £6!

So anyways, as I was saying the newsagents trouble. . well of course they would only accept card if I spent over a fiver, so I picked up a Grazia and a More as well. I don't buy more any more (hehe), it's gotten too expensive but I realised my purchase was worth it when I got home to discover I could get a free Dazzle Dust and this is the shade I bought, in Chocolate

One word; BEAUTIFUL. I'm in love. I've been wanting to buy Mulch by MAC for a while now, and whilst this isn't really a dupe as such (what do you think?) it does the job!

So that's my freebies for the time being, did anyone else get these? 

Sophie x

It's Paint Pot Time!

Ok I've got a new addiction and it's not a cheap one at that. It's the MAC Paintpots and I think they're absolutely amazing. They're so beautiful and really pigmented. You know how I wanted to find something that would do the job of the ELF products? That's these beauties. 

Brown is Constructivism and the other is Bare Study

I dont use them with a brush to apply my 217 is too harsh on them and it leaves dents, I use a finger and then use the 217 to blend. They're 13 pounds each but I know they're gonna last forever, they're £1 less than Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadows and there's an extra 0.5g in the MAC Paintpots. I can't tell you how much I love them. I did a 4 hour shift at work (I work at GAME so theres a lot of running around to the store cupboard) and by the end they were still there, and holding on to another brown shadow I use (darkest shade in Metro Quartet by NYC make up -- review coming soon) so they make fab primers too.

This is what I knocked up using them, bearing in mind its literally only these two and I did it at 7AM and its now, what, 5.45PM? Pretty good going;

Ooh and can you spy a new fringe there? I got it done today! And even though I had practically the worst hair washer ever (she took half an hour and my face was soaked by the end, how is this possible they wash your hair behind you?!) these amazing eyeshadows stayed in place.

Have you ever used them? Or got one yourself? And should I go for Painterly too?

Thanks ladies  

Sophie x


PS as soon as Youtube starts letting me upload I'll have a threading your eyebrows tutorial posted right here!