It is cold here in England at the moment, really cold! So the winter coat is getting a lot of use (you can read about my favourite jacket HERE). But the days are also rather sunny and for someone who gets headaches just opening the front door, that provides an issue…
I am obsessed with sunglasses, they are just the best thing on a sunny day and recently I was seriously lusting after a beautiful Dior pair. At £295 these “Dior reflected sunglasses” had to stay in my dreams and so I pushed them to the back of my mind and somewhat forgot about them.
The other day I was browsing the MissGuided website and saw THESE lovely sunglasses. At £10 they were a total bargain and I just couldn’t resist.Once again I was so impressed by the speed and ease of the delivery service provided by MissGuided, they really are so good at what they do! For the price I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of quality but these seem pretty sturdy. It’s always a good sign when the product looks like the picture on the site. I love the contrast of white and gold and can’t wait to wear them all year round! They may not be Dior but they’ll do for me!
Everything is my favourite at the moment, even the word itself. So I thought I’d share some of my current loves with you all. From television to skincare here are just a few for you…
Scream Queens – I absolutely love this TV show! I’m watching along weekly in the UK so no spoilers please!! From the cast to the scripting this show is everything I love, but what else would you expect given that it was created by American Horror Story genius Ryan Murphy?! Despite the name it really isn’t particularly scary but it can venture into the gory zone on occasion. The show is set in a sorority house controlled by Queen bitch Chanel (Emma Roberts) and sees the cast being slowly picked off by the ‘Red Devil’. Jamie Lee Curtis is amazing as the slightly crazy, hard-faced Dean Cathy Munsch. Basically if you like pretty clothes, dark comedy and plenty of cliché rich white girl jokes then you need Scream Queens in your life!
Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Oil – This stuff takes my makeup off in seconds. It’s amazing. I was using the Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm but found that it often irritated my eyes, not enough to put me off using it but enough to make me want to explore other options. So I did my research and found the Clinique one to be a suitable alternative. I have found that whilst this is a great first cleanse you really do need to go in with a second one to get that fresh, clean skin feeling. For this I have been using an Elemis one (review coming soon). The Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Oil is perfect if you’re in a rush but want to avoid face wipes. 3 pumps for a full face of makeup, a warm flannel to remove and you’re done in seconds. Love. It.
MissGuided Padded Faux Fur Hood Jacket– When it comes to jackets, I think I have a serious issue. I just cannot get enough! I feel like I need to have a different style for every occasion (funnily enough my mum disagrees). My justification for this most recent purchase however is that I was seriously lacking in the hood department. This jacket is sooo warm and the giant hood makes it perfect for walks in the rain (a must when you have two dogs). So that’s my reasoning, and I have donated an old one to charity in exchange which is a great idea if you want to rid yourself of a little shoppers guilt. On a side note I just have to say how impressive the MissGuided delivery service is, this arrived next day despite the fact I ordered after 8pm. They also have a great returns policy and bonus points for the 20% discount!!
Adele 25 – Despite spending hours and I mean serious hours attempting to buy tickets to her tour *to no avail* I have made the mature decision to forgive Adele. This new album might actually be my favourite of all her work. Hello is of course the ballad of the year but for me the number one song on 25 is When We Were Young (the video above), I bloody love it! I like the mix of uptempo and slow songs and basically I am just one of millions of passengers riding the Adele train right now.
Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge – I wrote about this in a blog post which you can read here. I won’t bang on about it, but I have just been loving using this to apply my concealer recently. I cover the sponge in setting spray, wait a couple of seconds and then lightly bounce it over the concealer until it has fully blended. This is particularly great for the under eye area and once set with powder there is definitely less creasing than when using a brush. Brilliant and affordable at just £5.99, what more do you want?!
What are your current favourites? Beauty or random I would love to know so please do share them in the comments. Or you can tweet me @sophieaiken.
Do you ever get stuck in a makeup rut? I know I do. So much choice and yet I go for the same look with the same products most days. So I’ve made a decision to change at least one product every week. That means swapping them out of my makeup bag and into my muji storage. I’m hoping this will minimise unnecessary wastage. And so I’m bringing you along with me every Sunday. With that being said I’ll be entitling these blog posts ‘Sunday Swaps’ *I know, I know I am a genius!*
Week One –
This week I’m going to be switching up my concealer. I’ve brought back my Benefit Erase Paste to combat the dreaded dark circles and on top of that I plan to layer the Seventeen Stay Time Concealer. So as these two make their way into the makeup bag I’m saying goodbye to the infamous Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. In my opinion this concealer is somewhat overhyped, there I’ve said it, don’t hate me, I just don’t get the fuss. Yes it is affordable and gives decent coverage but it really is just a bog standard concealer…
So there you have it, my first Sunday Swap. Pretty simple, feel free to join me on this makeup movement if you too are currently faced with a makeup Groundhog Day!
A recent trip to Superdrug to stock up on ‘essentials’ turned into a makeup spree. I just can’t resist!! I recently raved about a couple of MUA and Makeup Revolution highlighters (you can read that post here) and with prices starting at £1 I found myself scouring the lipstick sections of both. On this occasion I picked up two shades. From Makeup Revolution – an autumn berry colour called Rebel with Cause and from MUA – a light nude/pink shade.
I’m not normally a dark lip kind of girl but I was drawn to Rebel with Cause, because why not? I really like it, moisturising and buildable – the perfect combination. I think I like this so much because it falls into the pink spectrum of berry shades, something I personally prefer.
And then there’s the other one… What can I say? The beautiful pale rose pink colour in the bullet fits right into my ideal shade range. That’s as far as it goes unfortunately, the formulation is awful! It’s dry, it’s too pale and it’s completely unflattering. This lipstick is going straight to the back of the draw until I can figure out a way to use it, at the moment I can only think that it will work as a good base for a zombie complexion at Halloween. I have to say both lipsticks smell utterly lovely, berries and vanilla accordingly. I would just say spend some time swatching in the shop if you can before buying. Obviously I still love Makeup Academy, I mean they blessed the world with this incredible powder!
Let me know your thoughts on these lipsticks. Would you rather invest in a more expensive brand?
If you’ve ever found yourself at a Barry M stand you might have spotted their green lipstick – Genie. If you went one step further and swatched the Halloween green product you will have discovered it actually transpires to be a rather bright shade of pink. I bought this lipstick a few years ago, don’t ask why it was just one of those weird impulse buys with a budget friendly price tag of just £4.49. It now lives at the back of the bottom draw of my Muji storage because it is a far brighter shade of pink than I would go for (think Barbie!)
About a month ago I got my hands on the Lipstick Queen lipstick in Frog Prince. This has the same green to pink principles as the Barry M one but with a very different result. I had been wanting to try the Lipstick Queen range for a while but my deep love of MAC lipsticks always seemed to prevent this. The verdict? I really, really like this lipstick! Providing a subtle soft pink sheen, Frog Prince is seriously moisturising without being at all sticky and leaves a soft pink stain on the lips.
The idea of Frog Prince is that it adapts itself based on your pH and skin tone (as does Barry M Genie), so in theory it should be the perfect pink for everyone. At £22 this isn’t cheap for what it is but I know I will make maximum use of this because it is such a wearable colour. I love that it is so easy to wear you don’t have to bother with a mirror. Also the shade it applies is pretty much the finished result as oppose to Genie which slowly develops from barely there to shocking pink.
Left: Frog Prince Right: Genie
Have you guys ever tried any Lipstick Queen makeup and if so what do I need? Enable me, please!
I am obsessed with sunglasses, they are just the best thing on a sunny day and recently I was seriously lusting after a beautiful Dior pair. At £295 these “Dior reflected sunglasses” had to stay in my dreams and so I pushed them to the back of my mind and somewhat forgot about them.
Scream Queens – I absolutely love this TV show! I’m watching along weekly in the UK so no spoilers please!! From the cast to the scripting this show is everything I love, but what else would you expect given that it was created by American Horror Story genius 
SOPHIE AIKEN 