I sparkle just like Jade, ahem...

For those of you who watch Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model, you will know that Jade won. Horrah, horrah! Part of her winning included a contract with Revlon (good work, jade!), and I've noticed her lovely face popping up all over magazine adverts for Revlon.

 

Well Done, Jade!

Photo by Revlon.

Anyway, Some of Jade's recent advertisements for Revlon have been appearing in magazines  in the last few days, and I was literally struck by the gorgeous nail varnish she was wearing. Now, I've been hunting high and low for this photo online, but it's that recent that I can't get my mitts on it.

I was so in love with the look of the nail varnish, that I marched out and bought it. It's called:

095 Facets of Fuchsia

I usually opt for a very natural, non- shiny, nail varnish...in other words, I'm not that brave at times. However, this is just so different for me, and I just love it. I think the colour is perfect for Autumn, and I love how sparkly it is. It has a mixture of big and small bits of glitter, so when the light hits it, well, it's pretty wow.

I was slightly worried with my first application, as it was quite watery with very little colour. However, this quickly dried and I was able to put my second coat of varnish on and I loved the results.

If you've been reading my last few posts, you will know that I have shellac nail varnish on at the moment (which still hasn't chipped! Amazing.) Anyway, I can't apply nail varnish to my nails, so I gave my toes a sparkly make-over.

Que a very horrible photo of my toes (apologies!)

 

Let me know what you think, but I'm really liking it. It was rather expensive, at £7.99, but I just had to have it really...well worth the pennies!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

Bourjois, you are a treat ...

I'm not usually a fan of Bourjois mascaras, and I'll tell you why. Do you remember Bourjois Clubbing Mascara? Well, I thought that mascara made me look the bees knees...but it didn't when my eyelashes fell out. That stuff was lethal. I could never get it off unless I had soaked my eyelashes in lashings of very expensive eye make-up remover. It gave me conjunctivitis, not so pleasant, and my eye lashes had pretty much fallen out before hand. Thanks, Bourjous. Anyway, I was slightly petrified of using this mascara, but I've heard good things, so I took the plunge...

Bouurjois Volumizer mascara:

The mascara has two steps. Step one has a thin wand that basically separates the lashes.

 

Once applied, you then use step 2, which has a much thicker wand. Step 2 is basically the main body of the mascara you purchase...so I'm a little confused what happens when you run out of the step 1 mascara. I really dislike the smell of Bourjois mascaras. I think they smell cheap and like chemicals. I like the mascara wand of this mascara however, although they do appear to clog with wads of mascara, which is a little bit of a pain.

I thought the results were satisfying however. Not brilliant, but very nice.

It was difficult to apply to my bottom lashes, and they ended up getting a little clumpy, and leaving splodges underneath my eyes. I haven't attempted to take this off yet, but I will let you know....I don't want to be losing anymore eyelashes!

It retails at £7.99. I won't be purchasing again, but I'm not disappointed at all. I think it's a good low-end budget mascara!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

A big mwah to Miss Moss...

Kate Moss recently celebrated ten years in collaboration with Rimmel make-up. What did Moss do to celebrate? She bought out her own collection of lipsticks for Rimmel, in fifteen gorgeous shades, of course! Miss Moss said:

"My inspiration for this range was really to create a range of easy to wear, classic shades that I have always worn and loved."

Miss Moss didn't fail. I recently purchased the 03 shade of lipstick from here range, which is  lovely, natural, everyday wearing lipstick.

I absolutely love the lipstick case. I think it's understated and chic, however, the weight of it makes it feel a little cheap. It's so, so light, but then again, how great for carrying around in our handbags!

I really love this shade. I thought all of them were beautiful, but I really was after something natural, and I think this does the job fabulously. It applies easily, and the texture is lovely...nothing too thick or cakey, and it really did last a good few hours before I had to reapply. 

I'm so impressed, and at £5.99, what a bargain! It's 3 for 2 at Boots at the moment, so go and grab yourself one!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

OH gawd, I've spent too much money...again...

 I've been shopping...again. I did grab some rather good beauties though, so I am a very happy lady. Basically, all the discount available to students at the moment is just too much to handle:

20% off at:

New Look.

New Lock is also bringing their "25% off student lock in" to most cities, so watch out! Lancaster is holding theirs on 12th October from 7pm with lots of free champers and goodies!

Topshop.

Again Topshop are about to hold their student lock in, so watch out in a city near you.

River Island.

No discount from River Island, don't be silly, but they are having a lock in, which is quite rare. Lancaster is holding theirs on 4th October, very exciting!

                          Leopard print shoes, New Look, £17.99 (Not including 20% off)

   Tartan Bag, Primark, £7.00

Anyway, apologies for poor photo quality! My favourite purchases out of the stupid amount of things I bought, are the leopard print shoes and the tartan bag (oh, so very Gossip Girl indeed!)

Hope everybody is enjoying this lovely, yet unexpected sunshine! It was only last week that I was in my winter coat!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

Collection 2000, oh really?

Collection 2000 brought out a new set of lip glosses a few months ago in a range of six shades, and I bought Rock Steady 3 as I thought it was nice and natural. The best part, it was only £2.99 which I thought was super cheap! I'm a bit of a make-up snob sometimes, and seem to think the cheaper the product price, the worse the product...sometimes I have lovely surprises though, and I think this was one!

The lip gloss is meant to be long-lasting, six hours to be exact, which wasn't the truth, really. However, the product did last a good two hours, which really did impress me. It's a little sticky, but not as sticky as some lip glosses I've used, which I always find a huge nuisance, especially when it's windy! I really love the colour, it's really natural but still leaves the lips with a little tint. I find the smell of the lip gloss a bit sickly, but I've heard many say they think it's lovely, so maybe that's just me! 

I've had the product a while now, and it seems to be going quite far, so £2.99 is a bargain if you're after a natural, inexpensive gloss!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

Well, it really is magic indeed...

I recently purchased Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, and I am amazed. This cream is well known, not just throughout those working in beauty and make-up, but most of us ladies have a cheeky pot ourselves. It retails at £18.99, but I bought mine for £12.99 from TKmaxx, so go and get some whilst you can!

 

 Boots  describe this beauty essential as something that:

"calms and helps relieve chapped, cracked and dry skin. It works efficiently to sooth roughness, redness and minor skin irritations. This award winning cream has also been praised by make-up artists and beauty editors for many years now and no self respecting model would be without this cult product in their make-up bag. First created in 1930 by Elizabeth Arden to soothe skin, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant became an instant and overwhelming success"

So this little piece of information clearly speaks volumes about this product, and I couldn't agree more.

Well, to get to the not-so-pleasant reason why I bought this product. Now, please don't think of me as some weird human being, but I had a patch of terribly dry skin on my ankle. By terrible, I mean it was like this thick, dry skin covering my ankle. It had been there for years, and there was no reason why as I wasn't wearing shoes that rubbed on my ankles. So anyway, I'd tried many moisturisers and fancy skin creams, and nothing got rid of it....until this little pot of a miracle! I sound like I should be on Embarrassing Bodies...

The appearance of the pot is quite sweet, nothing too fancy. The smell of the cream, I have to admit, is a little potent. It has an almost clinical smell that isn't too pleasant. The actual cream is quite sticky, but applies very easily, and it takes a small amount to spread evenly over a large area. It takes a while to sink it, but the skin is left feeling so soft afterwards. It's taken around six weeks of applying once a day for the skin to finally be smooth again, but this is an amazing result after living with this awful dry skin for years!

Anyway ladies, do buy yourself a pot if you are suffering from dry skin, particularly eczema. A little goes a long way with this cream, so well worth the pennies!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

Snug as a bug in a rug...

I'm really enjoying my new Topshop jumper. It's nicely over sized, and is a lovely, delicate knit. I have to wear a strappy top underneath to stay warm...but it is lovely. Topshop are also offering 20% off to students at the moment for a limited time only, so rush off to Topshop, ladies!

Jumper, Topshop- £26.

Hope you're all having a fabulous day!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

ooo, she only went and got shellac nails...

Yesterday, I had a manicure...but not any manicure, I decided to have shellac nails. Nope, not fake nails, but an amazing nail polish that is somewhat a gel that lasts up to 14 days without a little chip!

"Shellac nails are the hottest hit of 2010 and now 2011! The beauty world is raving about the Shellac TM Craze. This new revolutionary product is changing the way women get their nails done. Shellac Nails TM look as good if not better than acrylic nails.

Shellac Nails TM last up to 14 days without losing shine or shimmer. They are hard and do not scratch or smudge. When it comes time to take them off the nail, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3 and it does not damage the nail itself"

The polish is a mixture of half nail polish, and half gel. The shellac is actually dried by a UV light and is literally super dry within a few minutes. It has such a good durability, that basically, there are no worries when it comes to knocking your nails.  I'm super chuffed with the lovely results. It cost £17.50, and that consisted of a lovely nail treatment and nail care. Shellac can only be applied by professional manicurist, so I'll definitely be back because I'm more than impressed!

If you live in Cheshire, then I'd definitely recommend Pretty and Pampered. 

www.prettyandpampered.co.uk

Top five beauty products of the month!

I've bought quite a lot of beauty essentials this month...ok, well, I guess some aren't essential, but I just wanted them! 

Number one on my list is Venus Spa Breeze. The cartridges are filled with shaving gel that smell of white tea. The scent is so beautiful, and my legs are so lovely, soft and smooth! I really did reveal the goddess in me, as Venus would say. The razor is also very pretty, and is a shimmery pink. I bought mine from Boots on the 3 for 2 offer at £9.99, which included two added cartridges.

Number Two on my list is No7 22 Candy Pink Natural Blush. I don't think this shade would usually suit me, but as we head into autumn, my complexion is a little lighter, and it looks lovely on my skin. My cheeks look naturally Rosy and looked nice and subtle. The consistency is perfect and lasted on my cheeks for around five hours until I felt the need to reapply. It retailed at £10 from Boots.

Number three is Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara in 001 Blackest Black. What I really like about this product is although it made my lashes long and thick, they still looked natural. It took a few sweeps for me to get my desired lashes, which isn't usually the case for me! It retails at £10.99.

Number four is Lancome Treson In Love, Eau de Parfum. So, I bought this perfume at a duty free in August when coming back from Spain. The sales lady really sold it to me, and the special deal with the body lotion at £29.99, well, I couldn't resist. The smell is beautiful. Slightly floral, yet a little sweet. It's perfect for daytime wear, isn't overpowering and lasts a long time. I know Lancome have brought out the next Treson in which Emma Watson endorses....I'll also be trying that one!

                                                                                 Finally, 

Number five is No7 Stay Perfect matte lipstick in 80 Cherry. I've been looking for a red lipstick that had the wow factor. I wanted it to be a warm red, but still be able to stand out. Well, this one is perfect! My application lasted up to six hours, was lovely to apply, and even better...the price. Retailing at £10, however, it was £5 due to Boots free £5 vouchers on No 7 products.

Hope everybody has had a lovely week,

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

My whole outfit for £16....fabulous....

My friend Sophie celebrated her 21st birthday last Saturday. It was going to be a very dressy occasion, and this worried me a little. I have many dresses, all of which I have worn hundreds of time, and I really felt that this occasion deserved a lovely, new dress! However, I'm rather strapped for cash....so yes, obviously my friend, Primark helped me out.

All Primark- Dress, £10, belt, £2, bag, £4.

I also got the most lovely nail polish from No 7. They are currently doing the £5 No7 vouchers at Boots, therefore, the polish was £2 instead of £7.

This colour is brand new to Boots, and called Midnight dream. All I will say, is that the consistency was terrible. I had to apply five coats of polish until I was satisfied with the colour, however, after a lot of time waiting for it to dry, I was very happy!

Happy Birthday to my lovely and beautiful friend Sophie. 

I was in pure jealousy of her Topshop dress.

Have a lovely day whatever you're doing!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x