Little Primark Haul & a few bargains...

Hey ladies!

Now, you know me, I love nothing more than scouring out a good bargain. Being a student, it's inherent that I try to spend the least amount on clothes, while still looking stylish!

Primark's a bit hit and miss with me. I remember I used to spend loads in there in the past, but the stuff I bought would always end up in my car boot pile! I think it's good when you want a dress for a night out that you know you'll only wear a couple of times. I went there with my Mum this weekend and picked up a few items...

Cream leather gilet - £15

This was one of those things that you just happen to pick up on a whim, but I was surprised to see that it actually fitted me really well. I've been looking for a cream leather jacket for ages, but I just reckon I'd get really hot and sticky in one, so this gilet is a compromise :) I tend not to have my arms on show very often so it's a bit out of my comfort zone, but I felt really confident wearing it and I plan to wear it with a plain white vest and khaki jeans in the springtime.

Tan leather sandals - £10

Love, love, love! I also picked up these Jesus-style sandals - They're real leather as well, can you believe it?! They were so comfy when I tried them on and I plan on wearing them with turquoise toenails (perhaps Rimmel 60 Seconds in Sky High - see here) when the weather heats up a bit.

Tan belt - £2.50

Finally, I picked up this cute belt, perfect for cinching my waist in little summer dresses :) It was a little on the big side but because of the way it's designed, you can fit the belt bit into any of the little holes in the flowers...

So a successful trip to Primark overall, I didn't go wild but I did pick up some lovely goodies :)

I also picked up a few other bargains this week...

Black leather bag - £10 - George at Asda

Now you may remember this from a certain 'Steal Her Style - Kim Kardashian' recently (read it here) and I for one just couldn't resist this beauty! In the style of the famed Balenciaga bags that all the celebs wear, this is a gorgeous bit of arm candy but without the hefty price tag.

I plan on wearing it like this, below:

I also picked up a cute shirt as well this week...

Toni shirt - £15 - Boohoo

I've seen everyone wearing these peach chiffony blouses recently, but I just can't bear the whole you can see your bra thing, and besides, nobody would want to see mine, anyway! haha. I believe I picked this up when Boohoo were offering 30% off and/or free delivery, so it only came to around £10 in the end. It fits perfectly and I plan on wearing it with high waisted shorts or wet-look leggings and sky-high heels.

I love finding things that look expensive, but for a fraction of the price. :)

Have you picked up any bargains recently?

Lots of love,

Style by Sophia

xo

OOTD: Daytime Riding Style

Hey guys,

Only a short one this time, I just thought I'd let you in to what I've been wearing over the weekend. I say 'riding style' because my Mum says I look like a horse-rider (I've never ridden a horse in my life!)

I wore...

• White vest - Dorothy Perkins
• Black blazer - ASOS (see my thoughts here)
• Black snood - New Look
• Khaki jeans - ASOS
• Black riding boots - New Look
• Black bag - Warehouse (read my initial thoughts here)

I tend to wear this kind of outfit daily, varying the vest/trousers but generally keeping the boots the same. Recently I've been sporting pumps a lot more as the weather's been warming up - my feet get REALLY cold though so I have to be careful :)

What have you been wearing in this transitional period between winter and spring?

Love,

Sophia

xo

Car Boot Bargains - Take 2!

Hey everyone!

I popped home recently and noticed there was a car boot happening at a local school. Some people may turn their noses up at car boots, but I've picked up some amazing bargains in the past (see my Car Boot Bargains post from last year here) and I've made some good money selling my old clothes as well!

Here's what I picked up this time...

No7 Make-up Bag - 50p

It was love at first sight! I already have a wide array of make-up/beauty bags but this one from No7 seemed right up my street (it even matches my purse - yay!)

It's quite small but it fits in all my handbag essentials (hand sanitizer, tissues, hand cream and eye drops - glamorous!)

Paperchase Notepad - 50p

How cute? This was brand new from Paperchase, and I know how expensive Paperchase stuff is! It features little plastic pockets inside it as well, so I plan to use it for recipes as my current recipe book is currently bursting at the seams!

Wuthering Heights - 20p

OK, so the only reason I bought this is because Bella references it in Twilight! Who's with me?! I've been wanting it for ages as I've heard it's one of the most tragic love stories - I'm looking forward to getting my teeth into it!

Laptop case - 50p

Literally couldn't have come across this at a better time! I'd come home with my laptop but misplaced my old laptop case just before I left, so I was travelling with it in the bottom of my suitcase, hoping it didn't get smashed up! Luckily it didn't, but this laptop case is 10x better than my old one!
First of all, it's got handles! My old one didn't, and it's got little pouches as well for all the cables that go with your laptop. As you can see, with my Dell laptop in it (above) - it's perfect!

The moral of this blog post is to not turn up your noses at car boots - all the stuff I bought came to only £1.70 and I couldn't be happier with it all! It's like shopping, but without the guilt of spending! Think of it as eBay without the shipping costs... haha!

What do you think of car boots? Have you picked up any bargains recently?

Let me know in the comments section below :)

Love,

Style by Sophia

xo

NOTD: New York Color Quick Dry in Manhattan

Hi all :)

I'm still struggling to decide what to wear on my nails at the mo; part of me wants to wear lovely spring pastels, while the other still thinks it's a bit too early! Are you having the same dilemma?! I compromised by picking up this autumn-y shade from New York Color - I wore their shade Canal Street to death (see the NOTD here) so picking up another shade from their Quick Dry range seemed only appropriate!

I wore it on Valentine's Day so it's rather special! :)

Here's what it looks like on the nails, below:

A sort of plummy-burgundy, it requires 2 coats for it not to look streaky, but then it's completely opaque. It was only £2.59 in Superdrug and I got 10% Student Discount with my NUS Extra card so it came to just over 2 quid - bargain! :)

Here's what it looks like in the jar:

I've got my eye on a load more NYC nail polishes, namely Uptown and Downtown! When I find a range that I like I tend to go all out and buy them all...haha!

Have you tried the NYC Quick Dry range before? What did you think?

Leave me a comment, I'd love to know your shade recommendations from the range! :)

Lots of love,

Style by Sophia

xo

Bourjois 3D Effect Lipgloss - My new favourite product...

Hi ladies!

I picked up this lovely lipgloss in Boots recently - it was on offer, down to £4.99 from £6.99! It is the Bourjois 3D Effect Lipgloss in the shade Rose or Epic.

Here's what Bourjois say about the product...

"A formula enriched with micro crystalline wax for a deep, voluminous and ultra-shiny result. The specially designed brush applicator delivers ultra-glossy precise results with ease."

Here's what the tube looks like below...

It's a lovely rose-gold shade with little flickers of gold in it, I love it! Here it is with flash:

and without flash, below:

It smells delicious (really sweet!) and glides on so effortlessly! It definitely makes your lips look more 'pouty'! However it doesn't have great staying power; I kept having to re-apply it every half hour or so :( It's perfect for a natural look on your lips when you've got a lot of eye make-up on. It's my new favourite lippie and it's already made it into my handbag which is no mean feat!

Have you tried Bourjois 3D Effect Lipgloss before? What did you think?

Let me know in the comments section below :)

Lots of love,

Style by Sophia

xo

Review: TRESemmé Reconstructing Deep Conditioning Treatment Masque

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been a bit MIA recently - I've got a major project due on Tuesday, so hopefully I'll post some more after that! I have about 10 posts lined up in my draft waiting to be published, just need to find the time! :)

I'm currently using L'Oréal Colour Protect Shampoo & Conditioner on my hair and I've been after something a bit 'special' to use as a deep treatment in the shower. I picked up this product from Superdrug - It was half price, down to £2.15 (along with a few other TRESemmé products actually) and it'd been on my wishlist for a while. It was only £1.93 with 10% NUS Extra student discount in the end :)

(TRESemmé Reconstructing Deep Conditioning Treatment Masque)

I have to say, I'm not overly impressed with this product so far. The first time I used it, it made my hair really greasy and it kind of put me off using it. Since then, I've only used it on the ends of my hair, but sparingly, for fear of it going greasy! I'm always really hopeful that it's going to make my hair lovely and glossy every time I use it, but it kind of just sticks to my head and even after I've blow dried I can still feel it when I touch my hair. It's not awful, but I don't think it really brings much to my hair. Maybe my hair isn't damaged enough? Who knows...

Here's what the consistency looks like...

... very thick and creamy. It smells nice! :)

I probably won't re-purchase this, especially not for its RRP of around £5. I'll be sticking with Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (read my review here) from now on :)

Following on from my disappointing experience with TRESemmé Dry Shampoo a few weeks ago, I'm hoping TRESemmé are really going to impress me with their next product! I've just bought their Salon Silk Serum, so fingers crossed I have better luck with that... I love the Colour Protect shampoo + conditioner from them, too, so it's not all bad :)

What's your experience of TRESemmé? Good or bad?

Leave your comments below :)

Love,

Style by Sophia

xo

UPDATE 05/04/2011: I've been using this product as a pre-conditioning treatment and it's been working MUCH better :) Obviously just too heavy to be used as a final treatment :)

NOTD: ALDO Nail Lacquer in Poolside in Malibu

Hey all!

How lovely has the weather been these past few days? Can't say I've experienced much of it myself though (been holed up in bed with a tummy bug *sad face*) but I did have time to paint my nails a suitably summer shade...

Aldo Nail Lacquer in Poolside in Malibu

What do you think? I've had this nail polish in my collection for literally a year (I bought it last summer) but I've never worn it. I have to say I'm hugely impressed - I've never tried ALDO Nail polishes before but this one was so thick, it only needed one coat really!

Here it is without flash...

It's a lovely turquoise/teal green shade that'll look lovely with a tan (one can only wish for that exotic summer getaway!)

From what I remember it only cost me a couple of quid in ALDO, but I'd definitely re-purchase :)

Have you ever tried ALDO Nail Lacquer before? Are you wearing bright, summery shades on your nails at the mo, too?

Let me know in the comment box below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until then, let's hope this sunny weather continues... :)

Love,

Style by Sophia

xo