MY MOST USED AND TOP RATED MAC PRODUCTS!

Hey guys! I wanted to start blogging again because I used to do it regularly and used to make sure I uploaded often and this made me a much more structured person. Okay, thats an obvious lie considering this is only the 7th post in about 2 years since starting this 'blog' but in all honest I really do wanna start blogging as regularly as I upload videos. If you wanna check out my channel, feel free   to click here: SophieyLouise but please remember there is an £80.00 viewing fee. Another bad joke, I promise I'm done now! All photos are my own, unless stated otherwise and I do not get paid to do this, yada, yada, yada. Hope to see more of you.

The first product I have to talk about is probably one of MAC's (I hope thats the right use of an apostrophe!) most famous products: Fix+. You and I can both guarantee that 90% of makeup lovers have tried it at least once- which is all it took for me to love it! Since I first started using Fix+ they have changed the packaging, I'm not sure if they have reformulated it, I personally haven't noticed a difference. It is now in this snazzy packaging:

BREAKING NEWS: THIS IS NOT A MAKEUP SETTING SPRAY!!

 I feel like this is the most used phrase in the history of YouTube phrases- even more popular than 'All products will be noted in the description box' although it never, ever is. I use this over my makeup if I have used too much powder and to hydrate/prime my skin before makeup, however I generally use it for the latter. This is seriously an amazing product and it lasts quite a long time depending on how generous or stingy you are with it. A bottle can last me around 4-6 months but I use a lot! This retails for £17.00 (100ml) or you could buy a travel size if you're wanting to test it out for £10.00 (30ml) but it works out cheaper to buy the bigger option because... well because... because MAC thats why. 

The next product that is definitely one of my most used, and annoyingly probably one of the most expensive MAC products I own, is MAC's Strobe Cream. This is basically just an illuminator, however it is also much more than that; it is incredibly hydrating, extremely long wearing and definitely one of the most addictive makeup products you could own. I use this under my foundation, but I've also mixed it into my foundations previously and have also used it along side a primer but my favourite way of using it is probably just on its own. This is because it seems to show through more when you apply it alone and directly onto the skin. Here is what it looks like: 

This bottle is 50ml (£24.50), but again you can buy a travel size which contains 30ml (£10.00) which looking at it is probably more cost effective to buy a couple of the travel sizes (possibly? I'm incredibly bad at maths!) I love this product and use it almost everyday, the only reason I don't use it everyday is because of the price, if it was slightly cheaper my face would be glowing so much I would be able to be seen in Australia. 

The next product is a product that I have used for such a long time now that I don't know how my makeup collection looked before it came along. This is the most high coverage concealer I own, maybe aside from a NYX one which I also love, but this is Pro Longwear's time to shine at the moment! I'm an NC15 in MAC and owned the same shade in this concealer until I found out that actually, NW15 is better for paler skin and also a better way to mask dark circles, blemishes and discolouration. If you haven't seen it before then here you go; enjoy my brilliant photography:

This retails for £17.50 for 9ml, it sounds small but this literally lasts so long! I used my first one everyday -give or take- for around a year and I still have quite a decent amount of product left (around 1/5 maybe? Again, very bad at maths!) I love this so much that it is definitely a product I push people to buy because I know they will love it too, however the annoying pump gets messy and sometimes gives you too much product, but the pros seriously outweigh the cons!

So, this is definitely my most expensive MAC product or products if you wanna be picky... I already had four eyeshadows so needed another eleven in order to fill this particular palette but you can get smaller ones. The eyeshadows with packaging are £13.00 each and the refills are £11.00 each- not much of a difference but it adds up when you buy eleven in one go. I really do not know what possessed me to do that but I don't regret it. Here is my palette:

The MAC eyeshadows are extremely soft and easy to blend whilst being very pigmented. These are some of the best eyeshadows I have ever tried and I really do use these shadows nearly everyday but I like to alternate between different palettes occasionally. You can get similar quality eyeshadows for a lot cheaper if you don't wear eyeshadow often but if you wear it whenever you wear makeup I really do suggest these! If you wanna know which colours I have in my palette you can find that here. 

I promise this post will end soon! Next up is MAC's bronzer in the shade 'Bronze'. If you haven't guess what I use this for, I use it to bronze my face cos I am mega pale so its nice to bring back some colour with this and then definition with another bronzer. This couldn't be used as a contour colour for me because its incredibly warm toned and it is also slightly shimmery. MAC sell a matte alternative to this if you would prefer. 

This retails for £22.00 and although I do recommend it, it is very easy to find an alternative but the pigmentation of this pushes it above most high street bronzers I've tried. 

Second to last product yaaaaay! This is a new favourite of mine, I've had it for about a month now and I love it so much. I have honestly not stopped using the MAC Paint Pot in 'Painterly' since I returned from Spain and I am planning on buying many more! This is the best eye primer I've ever tried and I say that completely honestly. It lasts all day, corrects/covers discolouration and is so easy to blend. This would be good as just an all over lid colour, however it is better to use as a primer. 

These retail for £16.00 but I got mine for £12.00 because I purchased it from World Duty Free so I would definitely save your purchase of this if you are going on holiday until you get to the Airport! If you have an colour recommendations, PLEASE let me know :)

Final product(s) I will be talking about *cue sigh of relief* are MAC's infamous lipsticks. I decided to take a picture of only four out of my collection because, well, lets face it I was too lazy to take the lids off of them all and set them up all cute like. In the picture I have (L-R) Flat Out Fabulous, Prepare for Pleasure (LE), Twig, Viva Glam Rihanna 1, I think it is... Correct me if I'm wrong!

Many of you may know MAC lipsticks retail for £15.50; a price that seems to be constantly increasing! These are definitely worth the money and I think that it will alway be better buying higher end lipsticks to guarantee quality, pigmentation and staying power. Find MAC lipsticks here, but I can't promise you won't be drooling! 

Thank you if you actually read this whole post, I really commend you for doing so and hopefully the length hasn't put you off of coming back to read future posts!

The Rocket Volum Mascara Review

I recently purchased some new makeup (or a lot!) and I wanted to review the very much raved about: The Rocket Volum mascara. It retails at about £7.99 I believe which is quite a decent price for a maybelline mascara. I think the packaging on this is lovely, but I do prefer girlier packaging haha. 

I got it in 'black waterproof', which I'm not sure if they do other colours or formulas but I only use black mascaras anyway so it wasn't an issue. 

Here is my eye/eyelashes without mascara or anything else. I don't use eyelash curlers so they aren't curled either. I am very pale and have very vainy eyelids haha. 

And here is my eye with the mascara one. My first impression is that I love it! I usually use the benefit 'they're real' mascara and I believe this is a rival for that honestly! Excuse the smudge on the top of my eye, I'm not usually that messy. It's not overly wet (which is a problem I have with the 'they're real') and the wand really separates lashes. As I said before I haven't curled my eyelashes and although they're naturally long they're relatively straight, however this mascara has seemingly curled them slightly. 

Overall, I love this mascara. For the price the quality is amazing. I am pleasantly surprised; I would definitely recommend it especially those looking for a benefit dupe. Get down to superdrugs and grab it before it goes!

Crown Brush and Concealer Palette Review

I ordered five crown brushes from the crown website on the 13th and received them on the 16th (just giving a rough delivery process period!) I ordered a pointed foundation brush, two angled brushes, an angled eyeliner brush and an oval concealer brush. As well as the brushes I also ordered a 10 shade concealer palette. 

These are the two angled brushes a long with the large foundation brush. As soon as I opened them I knew I'd made the right choice by buying them! However the angle brush in the middle is way smaller than I expected it to be but it wasn't an issue as I wanted it for precise contouring anyway when I use the concealer palette. 

My favourite is definitely the pointed foundation brush which I actually purchased as tasha (tashalovesbeauty) uses it and recommends it. It blends foundation well, although I used the real techniques face sponge first then used the brush to blend further. It is so soft! 

As I said previously, the Middle (smaller) angled brush was purchased to use for the contouring palette which is exactly what I used it for aha. It's perfect for precise contouring, especially for the hollows of the cheeks. It disperses the product nicely and is dense so doesn't suck (?) the product up. 

Finally for these three brushes is the larger angled brush which I wanted for powder contouring or highlighter (either way!). Today I used it to powder over the liquid contouring and it worked well to blend everything so it looked natural rather than caked on which I was worried about. All of the face brushes I have mentioned are so soft and definitely good value for money. They are quite expensive but are also lovely brushes to have in your collection. 

Moving onto the angled eyeliner brush and oval concealer brush; these are both very dense for obvious reasons I spose aha. These brushes also have smaller handles so they're easier to use. 

The small concealer brush was also used during my contouring and highlighting (wannabe Kim k) routine today. I liked it, however it did not pick up as much product as I wanted so I had to keep applying product onto the brush. It's a good little brush to have, but I believe there are better ones available. 

The eyeliner brush again, as I've mentioned many times before haha, is very dense. I have been applying eyeliner since I was around 15 and I still have not mastered it so I struggled a little bit, but that's not unusual for me. The small size meant that I had a lot more control over the brush which helped but unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be a pro at eyeliner. 

The final crown product I have to talk about is the concealer palette which for 10 large shades of concealer is only £18 which I believe is good value for money. I used the first shade and the second to last shade on the bottom today because I wanted the two most contrasting colours so I can look at the colour pay off, how the blend, etc. I was happy with the way it turned out and would definitely recommend the palette! 

My order came to £54.00 including tax or vat or whatever it is (smooth) and delivery. It is quite a bit of money but the products are definitely worth it. 

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

Sophiey-Louise

xxx  

Makeup Collection (Kinda!)

Since I am still scared to do youtube (but I am slowly getting over it) I thought I'd upload a blog makeup collection. I am slowly building my collection, however I still don't think I have a massive collection; some people may agree and some may not, it all boils down to what you/they perceive as a 'big' collection. 

My storage is from Muji, you can order it online, however I'd stress going to the store to get an idea of what you actually want. I purchased a 5 drawer container, a small single drawer container, a 2 drawer container and a large single drawer container that I have stacked on the 2 drawer making it a 3 drawer (get it? Aha). I hope I'm spelling drawer right. I'm proof that an English a-level doesn't mean you're a pro at spelling haha. Anyway...

The 5 drawers (thin); some of my perfumes are stacked on top. 

 

The 2 drawer I made into a 3 drawer  with my brushes in Ikea pots (I officially hate ikea!) with my Urban Decay 'De-Slick, Simple day cream and Mac Fix+ setting spray. 

My acryllic lipstick stand (eBay, £5) which is on top of the small single drawer which I have yet to find a proper use for aside from nail tools, glue, etc. 

First drawer is concealers, as you can see I'm a big fan of concealers! My favourites are the collection lasting perfection (fair) and Mac Pro-longwear concealer (nc15). I have yet to try the crown concealer palette but I will keep you updated! Hiding under the crown palette is an eBay blush palette which had to go in this drawer as it doesn't fit anywhere else haha. 

Two of them cracked and took the nearest exit! But I can't expect too much from something that cost £4! The colours are so lovely though. 

Please excuse how poorly this is done! The next drawer is blushers, bronzera and highlighters. My favourite bronzer is definitely hoola as I find bronzers hard to wear because I am so pale, although the Mac one is lovely too! Also, can we please take a second to appreciate how beautiful 'lightscapade' is? By far my favourite highlighter! If you're more on a budget: Mua highlighters are beautiful and have the same quality as Mac ones. 

This drawer is one of my favourites (a lot of empty spaces due to the holiday!). Eyelure are in my opinion the best eyelash makers (?). However, I'm drifting to ardell eyelashes which also are lovely. 

*cue embarrassment* this drawer is so messy! This is my drawer of random things that I want on hand for when I use them which is still regularly, but they haven't made it into the drawer they belong in as there is no room haha. The Mua bronzer and makeup revolution lipsticks are amazing! Go and buy them... NOW! The bronzer is £3 I believe and the lipsticks are only £1. Brilliant. 

I have really got into (if there is such a phrase) eyeshadow recently so I have been purchasing quite a lot of eyeshadows. I have used the sleek 'storm' palette A LOT, it's really good and good value for money too. 

These shown are majority of the lipsticks I own but not all. I own 14 Mac lipsticks which I'm proud to say haha. The two after the Mac ones are Barry m, the 3 gold ones are ysl which are beautiful! Then I have a couple of Mua ones and finally Rimmel ones. 

Moving onto the other set of drawers which are thicker so fit foundations, powder, etc. I have a few foundations. Mac ones are my favourite, I own 3 (one is nc20 so is waaay too dark for me, as  writing this I've just remembered I have it to my mum haha). My favourite high street/drug store foundation is the Rimmel wake me up, does what it says on the tin! Actually bourjois healthy mix is lovely too- I find it hard to find foundations as I'm incredibly pale but all of these ones I have I love. Can you guess my favourite primer? 

I don't have many powders as I have loved my collection 'sheer loose powder' for many years! I'm trying to broaden my horizons, but I personally prefer loose powder to pressed atm! 

The final drawer is my eye/brow drawer. I have my four individual Mac shadows, four 24-hour colour tattoos, mascaras- they're real is my favourite, eyeliner- my favourite being the loreal one (I forget the name but I've used it for years), brow pencil and gimme brow and lemon aid eye primer which is so good at cancelling out dark veins, circles, etc. 

The three Mac lipsticks I own which are half-red, subculture and hip 'n' happy. Half-red is perfect to pair with creme d'nude and subculture is perfect to pair with hue! 

I apologise about how long this post was, however I enjoyed writing it haha. I hope you did too! Until next time... 

Sophiey-Louise

xxx

Sixth Form

This is just a quick post talking about my experience in Sixth Form (College), what I think about my subjects, coursework, exams, etc.

I'm currently in my second and last year and I am studying A2 English lit and Sociology and AS business; I was originally doing psychology but my Sixth Form stopped it for various reasons.
Moving from secondary school to Sixth Form was hard for me as I always had a hard time in school, I hated it pretty much. My behaviour and attitude in school was AWFUL; I bunked, didn't do homework and was just incredibly rude *cue cringe moment* but I overcame it.

During year 11 (my last year) I had finally  had enough of people not taking me seriously and viewing me as the 'joker' so I buckled down. It was so hard at first but I knew I had to do it in order to ensure that I was accepted into a college or Sixth Form. I sat 16 GCSES and did better than I ever expected to do, not great but I only had myself to blame as my parents and the rest of my family did their best to help but I made my bed so I had to lie in it! When my head of Sixth Form told me I had got good enough grades to be accepted I was beyond happy because I thought I had messed up. So I enjoyed the rest of  my holiday and found myself sitting in Sixth Form 2 weeks later.

To begin with I thought that it was easy and this was because I wasn't doing as well as I should have been but again, as I did with school, I took it for granted. It wasn't until a couple of weeks into Sixth Form after an incident I realised that this was it, my final chance and I wasn't willing to let it go. I began to pay attention in lessons, complete all the homework that was given to me and I found that I actually enjoyed being praised a LOT more than being told off.

English was quite easy as I've been doing it my whole educational life and psychology didn't seem too hard, but sociology was probably my biggest challenge. I found it quite hard to structure essays and to remember theorists and dates, however it gradually became easier and I realised that you have to work hard in order to gain the best results. When exams came around it was extremely stressful, but I had made a lot of new friends (one in particular, Lisa, who is one of my closest friends and who is absolutely amazing) and this meant I had so much support behind me. I was over the moon once I got my results as it seemed all my hard work paid off and I intend to feel the same this year about my results as I did last year!

So far my second year has been really good, mostly positive. I have changed psychology to business which is a massive difference but my love for psychology has been shared with business as I think its such a good subject to study. English Lit and Sociology are also still going well, probably even better than last year!

OVERVIEW OF SUBJECTS:

• For English I had to complete two essays for my coursework (one was on The Handmaid's Tale and the other was on Top Girls and A Streetcar Named Desire) and then one exam which included novels, plays and poems. The texts I studied were The Color Purple, Top Girls, Streetcar, THMT and Feminine Gospels by Carol Ann Duffy.
• Sociology was zero coursework, though we had a lot of homework and revision, and two exams at the end of the year. I studied family and households and education and research methods, but I think these units depend on the Sixth Form/College.
• Psychology was the same as Sociology as there was no coursework and two exams. However, I think there was a lot more to Psychology and it is quite a hard subject but I thought it was amazing and I actually want to study this in Uni!
• For Business there are two coursework's (marketing a product for a company and marketing a product for your own company) and one exam. So far I have only completed one of these coursework's but I will make sure I keep you posted!

If you have any questions then please ask me and I hope I didn't bore you too much :)

Sophiey Louise xoxo

Hard As Nails!

I think its pretty much a given that most girls enjoy painting their nails, some a little too much...
Hi, my name is Sophiey and I have a problem.
Ha, okay I wouldn't take it that far but I paint my nails as often as I can (roughly every 2 days) as it makes a difference to me, personally. As you can imagine, I have tried and tested many nail varnish brands ranging from MUA to OPI and I am here to try and help you reach a decision about which nail varnishes you will be purchasing next. These are my four favourite nail varnish brands!

First off is MUA, AMAZING and also cheap as chips! They range from £1-£3:

With flash

Without flash from left to right: Bright Coral, Mud Pie, Deepest Purple and Koala Bear

 

I have so many of these nail varnishes but these four are definitely my favourite! Please excuse the shoddy camera work, I'm new at this! These nail varnishes are brilliant, the colour is exactly the same, if not better, on the nail as it is in the bottle, it doesn't chip and there is such a broad range to choose from. The packaging is similar to Essie's, however they are smaller, but what do you expect for a pound?! The quality of these is just amazing and I definitely would recommend them!

Next up is Barry M Nail Paints, a little bit dearer, still very good, definitely worth it. Barry M has different types of nail paints ranging from matte to gelly hi-shine, along with the endless options they also have nail effect polishes that spice up any nail design/colour you have.

I wanted to show the different types of Nail Paints, however these are still just a small amount!

From left to right: TNP 8 Lady, Yellow Topaz Glitter, Pink Sapphire Glitter.

MNP 2 Crush

From left to right: Gelly Hi-shine Blue Grape, Gelly Hi-shine Lychee, Gelly Hi-shine Blueberry

Silver Foil Effects

Can you guess which ones I have used the most? Haha. All of these nail paints are extremely high quality, I don't think I have ever had a problem using these as they are just all round amaze. The prices vary from around £3-£5, but Superdrug pretty much always have offers on these. My favourites were the Gelly Hi-shine ones but I am now being swayed by the matte ones! They look perfect every time and are surprisingly fast drying even though the coating is quite thick.

I was going to talk about China Glaze next but I will talk about OPI as I do not have any OPI nail varnishes to hand, annoyingly!

Name: Did you 'ear about Van Gogh (honestly that's the name!)

 



This is my favouritist, most bestest (so many red squiggly lines) nail varnish ever. Ah I cannot describe to you how perfect this colour is. It's the perfect nude, most perfect nail formula, chip resistant (it could probably conquer a nuclear bomb). Just out and out perfect. I am actually so gutted that I can't find this *naughty Sophiey*. These polishes are around £10 I want to say... They may be slightly cheaper or dearer but either way they are worth it and they last forever.

Finally, moving onto China Glaze, I'm sure you've heard people rave about them so I'll keep it short and sweet :)

Name left to right: For Audrey and Innocence



 

These are my two absolute favourites from China Glaze, they're just so cute. 'For Audrey' is amazing to wear whether for summer or for winter because it just compliments anyone skin tone. The formula is very nice, 'Innocence' require a few thin coats, but its worth it for the outcome. I have had both of these for a long time now and I'm no where near finished with them and it looks like they aren't giving up either as they aren't gloopy in the slightest. They are priced at around £8 which I don't think is too steep considering the staying power and quality of these polishes.

 

Anyway, that's enough from me. I hope you found this useful, these are my favourites and by no means does it mean they have to be yours too. Let me know if you try any!

 

Sophiey Louise xoxo

 

Welcome Post...

Okay, so I've been thinking about setting up a YouTube and Blog for a while now but have always been too scared. I thought rather than jumping in at the deep end with YouTube I would start with a Blog! I thought I would start it off with 15 facts about myself as I enjoy reading posts like this, as well as reviews and other things. I hope you enjoy!

1. My birthday is 25th October- I was born in 1995 so that makes me 18 (finally!)

2. I live with my Mum, Dad, little sister & my two dogs Dexter & Daisy

3. I am currently in Sixth Form (college) studying for my A-levels in English Lit, Sociology & Business- I find it hard at times but I know it will be worth it :)

4. I am OBSESSED with YouTube, Nail varnish, Eyelashes and Jeffrey Campbell's- Top 5 favourite YouTuber's are: Grav3yardgirl, Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, Sophie Jenner and UglyFaceOfBeauty

5. I like being neat; lists are my favourite type of organisation

6. I have 2 tattoos and about 10 piercings (5 on each ear; 3 earlobes but hardly wear the 3rd, tragus, conch, rook and scaffolding/industrial) I plan on more tattoos, not sure about piercings

7. My favourite drinks are Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Max

8. Me and my bestfriend used to HATE each other- we have now been bestfriends for 6 years

9. Fake eyelashes are the best, though I'm trying to let my real ones grow for a bit!

10. I live in South East London, but I get asked if I'm from Essex, maybe its the eyelashes...

11. I want to go to Uni and study Criminology and Psychology (Forensic)

12. I hate Jelly Babies! Yuck!

13. As well as going to Uni I have aspirations to be a mermaid... Legit

14. I'm probably not using punctuation correctly

15.  I have only dyed my hair once (dip dye) and the ends are blue because I like that colour... No its because I want to be a mermaid *tries not to make eye contact*

 

Me and my bestfriend (Katie); as you can see we do not take flattering pictures!

 

 

My blue hair and Katie's purple hair; quite a pair huh?

 

 

Sorry, last picture, this is quite cute and you will probably be seeing a lot of her on here!

 

The facts and pictures are done and I'm very sorry if I bored you to death!
Sophiey Louise xoxo