Summer in July ♥

 Dress: Primark

Sandals: Primark

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta

Just thought I'd share a few photos of my favourite Summer dress! I know it's very similar to the Topshop and Motel one, but probably half the price....bargain! Hope you're all having a lovely day & enjoying the sunshine!

p.s Hope you like my dog...she's such a cutie!

What's In My Make Up Bag? ♥

 I love, love, looove this make up bag from Primark. It's actually meant to be a toiletries bag that you hang on the back of your door, but I thought it would be perfect as a make up bag. Only costing £4.00 from Primark and being an excellent Cath Kidston dupe, well, I had to have it! 

 All of these products are my must-go-to items in my make up bag at the moment. I'm loving Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation, and it is so beautiful mixed with Mac Strobe Cream...perfect duo. I find that as my foundation is so long lasting, I'm not really having to use my L'oreal Studio Secrets Primer, but It's such a lovely product that I always pop it in my make up bag just in case. My favourite concealers are Benefit Erase Paste and Collection Long Lasting Concealer. I never used to be a big fan of the Erase Paste- I didn't feel it did anything for me...ah, so wrong I was! I suffer from terrible red/blueish bags under my eyes, and I find that this product really diminishes the blue and red tones. I then blob a little Collection Concealer on, and I look awake and bright eyed. My favourite highlighters are Estee Lauder Double Wear Highlighter, perfect for above the eyebrows, and Me Me Me highlighter, which looks a real treat on the cheek bones. I always finish the look with a touch of Rimmel Stay Matte Powder as I have oily skin occasionally, and a little Rimmel Sun Shimmer in the Summer- it's also perfect for contouring as it has very little shimmer to it. 

On my eyes I am loving Estee Lauder Double Wear creamy eye shadow pots in Ivory Lace. It stays put all day, and has such a natural, beautiful shimmer. I also enjoy L'oreal Colour Appeal Star Secret Trio eyeshadows (what a mouthful!) when I fancy a smokey eye. Favourite mascaras are L'oreal Telescopic mascara for super curled and separated lashes, and L'oreal Double Extension Renewal Mascara for extra length. I also really love my H&M Light Brown Eyebrow Pencil....an absolute bargain, lovely colour and stays put all day. I always curl my lashes with Primark lash curlers...absolute bargain at £2.00. 

I am currently using Real Techniques brushes; the Buffing Brush and Contour Brush being my favourite. I recently bought some Italian Brushes from a Company called Kubo Beauty. They retail around the £13 mark, but I know are also available in TkMaxx at the moment for a little cheaper. I'm not sure how I feel about them yet- the concealer brush is lovely, but I find the powder brush is a little dry and irritates my skin at times...shame, because they look pretty impressive. 

I've also been trying Seventeen Shimmer Palettes which are new to the collection- I'm not really that impressed. It has little colour pay off and the pigmentation is really pants. I am however loving the Estee Lauder Double Wear blusher....it is such a gorgeous colour, but I think it was limited edition because I can't find it to be available anywhere!

What are your favourite things in your make up bag? I'd love to know!

Primark, Topshop & New Look Haul ♥

1. Primark Summer dress- £13.00 2. Primark white and peach dresses- £5.00 each 3. Primark Denim Shirt Dress- £10.00 4. Primark sport luxe top (sheer, black arms, grey cotton middle with rose gold chain)- £8.00 5. New Look denim Jacket- £17.99 6. New Look silk effect, floral Summer Dress- £14.99 7. Topshop Grey Smock Dress- £26.99 8. Topshop Biker jacket (all sold out in store/ online - bought via ebay)- £70.00 9. (Left) Primark Necklace- £4.00, (Right) Topshop Studded Necklace (reduced) - £7.50.

 10. Primark S Earrings (3 set)- £1.50 11. Barry M Nail Paint- Superdrug 2 for £6.00 (review soon)

Have you done any shopping recently?

January Sales Haul ♥

 Just a few photos of some of the things I picked up in the January sale. My favourite finds are the Zara bag. It is adorable...I think it's very 50's chic. I've also wanted the Topshop shoes for ages, and I held off, even when they got reduced to £15.00. I actually managed to do quite well in the sales, meaning that I restrained myself from buying more...it's always horrible walking past a shop window with a sale!

Did you find anything good in the sale?

Today in photos ♥

 I didn't do much today, but the sun was shining, so I thought I'd have a day of relaxing...I start my new job tomorrow (on a Friday, strange I know!), so I thought I'd make the most of having nothing to do!

Dress: Primark, Denim Jacket Topshop, Shoes: Topshop, Sunglasses Oscar de le Renta.

 This is my mum mimicking my ootd photos...she's so funny!

 So many magazines to read!

 My dog was going crazy when he saw this in the sky! He thought he could reach into the sky and eat it...it was hilarious!

He's so cute! He looks like a little sheep!

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine...not that we've seen much of it! It's raining as I speak! Sorry for the randomness of this post too!

Hello, 2012!

I'm so excited about this year. This is the year I graduate from university and get  job! Well, I like to think I will. This is also the year that I will go to New York...I haven't booked it yet, and no, I have not a penny in my bank account, but I think it's good to dream. I never really have new years resolutions, but this year I decided to set myself goals, and attempt to follow some achievable dreams. I think going to New York is a pretty good start.
Last night, I welcomed 2012 in a gorgeous French Connection dress. It was so floaty and pretty, and a great dress to show off some of my amazing dance moves....ha.

 I styled the dress with an over sized clutch from Primark, that is now reduced to £3(bargain!), and my black, patent Kurt Geiger shoes. I then wore my black, fitted Zara blazer because it was beyond freezing last night. 

I celebrated with my boyfriend, my friend, Sophie, and her boyfriend. We had a couple of drinkies and nibbles and then hit the city to dance the night away!

What did you do? I'd love to know how you all celebrated. My sister went to Paris which I am extremely jealous about...what a way to welcome the new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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

The sun has not got his hat on...now, where's my umbrella?

Yesterday I spent some shopping time in Liverpool. I love Liverpool. I love the docks. I don't love standing by the docks when it is raining and cold. This means I spent quite a bit more time shopping, which also means that I spent too much money! Oh dear.

Primark was there. It had five floors. My wages obviously disappeared!

Here are some of my finds. 

Wall art, £3, Primark.

Double duvet, £6 from £11, Primark.

Shoes, £8, Primark.

Dress, £10, Primark.

Trench coat, £25, Primark.

Cardigan, £12, Primark.

Snood, £5, matching mittens, £3, both Primark.

Pajama bottoms, £5, Primark.

So, my love of Primark again emptied my purse. I didn't stop there though...I then moved on to Topshop. Bad move. Silly move. I've been badly in love with this coat, and I know come the end of cold September it will be gone. I've seen a few blogs about it, and two of my friends already have it...so I jumped on in and bought it....for £75. It's worth it, I'll wear it all winter and it's very, very pretty. I'm not feeling guilty at all....just a little.

It looks massive, but it's actually a size 8. I'm usually a size 10 but the coat comes up rather big. I really love it. The faux fur is so lovely and soft and doesn't have a cheap feel at all. It also has a lovely, snugly hood as well. I'm very pleased. I know it's already had quite a few reviews on the Topshop website.

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=2551895&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208526&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=200

That lovely, long link should take you to the coat review if you fancy a peek!

Finally, I bought the book, One Day.

 

I've completely joined on the bandwagon which I'm sure irritates the hardcore, original lovers of this book. My friend read it a few years ago and just loved it. I'm so excited to read it. I got it from HMV like a fool, as I know Waterstones are currently doing a deal on this book.

Have a lovely day, and don't forget your umbrella! It's pretty miserable in most parts of England today!

Love, Sophie Olivia x x

So, I kinda made some shoes...

I found some shoes that I was absolutely in love with. However, the price tag, I wasn't. Even in the sale, they were £60. So I decided to recreate my own. Off I headed to Primark, where I bought some plain, Navy blue ballet flats for £4. I then searched through their accessories, where I found a peacock broach reduced to 50p, so I purchased two....and this is what I recreated for £5......

 

So many people keep complementing me on them and asking me where they're from....good old, trustee Primark and a little imagination.

Love, Sophie Olivia x x