#scoutshonour2014

Two blogging events in the space of two months, I definitely think I'm going to make this a regular thing!

#scoutshonour2014 was organised by the lovely Kayleigh and took place in the most adorable little vintage shop in Sunderland called Scout Vintage, which is run by the equally lovely Angela. We were greeted with glasses of bubbly, cupcakes from Serendipity, vanilla and chocolate iced lattes from Holmeside Coffee, strawberries and cream and big tubs of popcorn- so many tasty treats! 

Wandering around the store was incredible; all the vintage clothes were gorgeous and the retro music playing on the record player was fantastic, you really felt like you'd taken a step back in time. Scout certainly has something to offer for everyone- there were dresses, skirts, jackets and shirts from every era, and there was even something for the men too! I couldn't resist but pick up a little cropped denim jacket, a total bargain at £10 and ideal for the summer.

My favourite part of the event was getting my hair done by the lovely girls from the Black Door Hairdressing Salon and my makeup by the fantastic Tamzin Cummings. Stupidly, I forgot to take a picture but I opted for a classic, Rockabilly hairstyle with pin curls and my hair rolled at the front. To top it off, Tamzin did some beautiful winged eyeliner and a classic, bold red lip- I felt like I'd stepped right out of the 50s! As Hannah and I felt we couldn't let the hard work of the girls go to waste, we just had to go out for a couple of drinks afterwards!

The event was absolutely fantastic, Kayleigh did such a brilliant job organising it and our goody bags we received were lovely as well! We were all given a Fun bar courtesy of Lush Sunderland, a bandana from Scout, a mineral eye shimmer from the Barbara Daly range and a gorgeous little ring which I believe was made by Kayleigh's mum which I absolutely adore and will definitely be wearing loads over summer!

Sophie

OOTD: Scout Vintage Blogger Event

All the photos in this post are courtesy of Hannah and her fabulous camera.

Cami vest- Primark

Skirt- H&M

Kimono- New Look

Socks- Primark

Shoes- New Look

Bag- New Look

Just over a week ago, I was lucky enough to attend #scoutshonour2014 which was organised by the lovely Kayleigh and was held at Scout Vintage in Sunderland. It was a fantastic evening (post coming soon!) and, before the event, we couldn't help but stop in a little side street to take some outfit photos- something I've never actually done before so it's safe to say I was extremely awkward!

It was insanely hot that day so I wanted to wear something to keep me as cool as possible, and those little camis from Primark are ideal for summer at only £5 a pop! The shoes are a big thing for me, I've had my eye on them for a while and they're so different to anything I've ever worn before, so I impulsively bought them one day before having that awful realisation that I was probably never going to wear them. Eventually, I plucked up the courage and oh my god, I love them. They're unbelievably comfortable, so easy to walk in and I actually had a few people tell me that they really liked them! Also, I've just realised how horrendously chipped my nail varnish is here, I really should have redone it before I went out..

I think I'm going to have to make more of these posts, I really enjoyed doing this!

Sophie

The Colour Run 2014

The 20th of July brought with it another new first for me- my first ever fun run! The Colour Run is a 5 kilometre run (about 3 miles) which took place around the Stadium of Light in Sunderland and aims to make each and every runner as colourful as possible by the end of it! At each kilometre of the course, a different colour station is set up where the lovely race volunteers did their best to completely cover you in powdered paint and trust me, they certainly did their jobs!

The run started at 11am and sent various waves of runners off every few minutes to avoid too many people being in the starting chute at once. As a group of ten, we were running to raise money for a little three year old girl with cystic fibrosis who needs a high frequency chest wall oscillation vest (HFCWO) to help towards her physiotherapy to keep her lungs clear, which costs £7000. 

There we are before the race looking lovely and clean, not that it lasted for long! Admittedly, I only ran about half of the course and then walked the rest as I didn't do anywhere near enough training, but I'm quite proud that I managed that! 

The picture above doesn't quite show it as well as I'd wanted to but oh my, we were certainly colourful! As you crossed the finish line, you were handed your own pack of paint which you could use for the designated colour throws which happened every 15 minutes to welcome new runners across the line. There was a great DJ playing some great music on stage so it really felt like there was a festival atmosphere, it was incredible!

This is my favourite picture from the day which Daniel took, it looks so incredible with all the paint in the air after the colour throw! It was such an amazing experience, I definitely want to do it again if it comes back to the region, hopefully I'll manage to run the whole thing next time! I'm not sure yet how much we've raised but I'll be sure to tell everyone when we've added it all up!

Have any of you ever done the Colour Run or something similar?

Sophie

Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclait

This post was bound to appear sooner or later. I’ve mentioned it in so many of my previous posts so I thought, why not do a bit more of an in-depth post on it?

I first discovered this foundation just over a year ago. As I may have mentioned, I used to use the MAC Studio Fix foundation but it never seemed to apply the way I wanted it to on my dry skin, so it was definitely time to find a new one. My Mam was the person who introduced me to YSL because she always used it when she was younger, so she suggested I had a look and, after consulting one of the lovely ladies on my local YSL counter, I left with a bottle of this in hand. I had owned one of the Perfect Touch foundations previously and was not a fan at all, so I was a wee bit sceptical as to what this offering would give, not really expecting much. Oh how wrong I was.

Eventually, a foundation has been found that actually proves a pretty damn close match to my ridiculously pale skin tone (as mentioned in previous posts, I wear the shade BR10) - something I’ve always struggled with, especially with high street foundations. On their website, YSL claim that the illuminating foundation "highlights the contours of the face" and gives a "long lasting look of radiance and the appearance of a flawless perfection" and I can honestly say, it really does. As I only really wear foundation if I'm going out somewhere special, I wanted something that was going to be long-lasting with excellent coverage that would still give me a natural look- this just ticks all those boxes. It has a pretty dewy appearance and only requires a light powdering for that perfect flawless appearance, and with an SPF of 19, it’s ideal for those lucky enough to tan in the British summer! Also, it has the most gorgeous smell, not too highly fragranced but very nice.

It pains me to say it, but this foundation does have one small fault. Lately, I’ve found the skin around my nose to be quite dry (thank you hayfever!) and when I’ve applied my foundation, it has clung a bit to these dry patches however I’m pretty sure most foundations would do the same thing, so this certainly isn’t something which will cause me to stop using it.

So, have any of you used this or any other YSL foundation? What did you think of it?

Sophie

Victoria's Secret: Sexy Little Things Noir

I've always been a big fan of fragrances and I've never really been known to stick to a specific one; I much prefer to have different perfumes to suit different seasons and occasions. My main problem with perfumes however is that I often find I’m allergic to them, like Nina Ricci’s Nina and many of the Britney Spears fragrances. As I don’t really buy myself perfume often, my collection is pretty small and only seems to bulk up at Christmas or birthdays! I can go through perfumes quite quickly, like the bottle of Rihanna’s Reb’l Fleur I received at Christmas- gone in just under 2 months (oops, it just had the most gorgeous smell!). I also received a bottle of Vera Wang Princess but, at the price of this, it certainly isn't something I should use quickly (student budget’s don’t stretch as far as I’d like!), so I decided to find something I could use day-to-day and didn't really break the bank.

After stumbling across the Bond Street store of Victoria’s Secret and dragging my Mum in, I felt compelled to buy something- come on, who doesn't want one of those adorable shopping bags? I took this as the perfect opportunity to find myself a nice, summery scent- enter the Sexy Little Things Noir collection.

I settled on the body mist which was one of the cheaper options at £22 a bottle, slightly steep but definitely worth it. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is literally a bottle of summer. As a blend of amber, nectarine and cattelaya orchid, the fragrance is light, refreshing and fruity and is definitely ideal for this summer. Thankfully, for the price, the mist has a pretty good staying power so a few sprays and you’re set to go, although admittedly, I am a wee bit too heavy handed with it so it may not last me as long as I’m hoping. So many people have commented on how amazing it smells when I've been spraying it near them, quite a few have said it reminds them of sweets and I have to agree, it’s absolutely beautiful!

The perfume was something I bought when I got home, after the reception of the body mist I just had to. I actually picked it up in a store called TJ Hughes for, wait for it... £19.99! I’m pretty sure that’s about £30 cheaper than it was in Bond Street, so how could I resist? As you can see, the fragrance comes in a black, 50ml glass bottle and also a matching black atomiser with black tassel detailing trailing from the end of it. I adore the bottle for the perfume; the shape and colour are so beautiful, and the atomiser just gives it that extra touch of class and elegance- it looks like it should be on the dressing table of a glamorous, sophisticated 1920s woman. The atomiser gives out just the right amount of fragrance with each spray, so I’m hoping that this will make this perfume last a lot longer than many of the others I've owned!

I think next time I go to London I may have to stock up on the body mists- I'm looking forward to trying some of the other Victoria's Secret fragrances too! Have you ever tried one of the fragrances? Which one, and what did you think of it?

Sophie

Another trip to London?

Yes, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I had another trip to London in April- surprise surprise.  It was insanely hot this time so I got the opportunity to air a bit of my summer wardrobe early (not that it’ll get used much up here in the North!) and visit more places around the city that I’d never seen before or those that I loved so much, I just had to go back. Another trip to Camden lead to us stumbling upon London Zoo (a place we had got lost trying to find on one of our first trips) where I’m pretty sure I wanted to take almost every animal home with me, especially one little monkey who was simply adorable. An obligatory journey to 221B Baker Street ensued, as did a trip to Abbey Road- but the real one this time (see my post about my December trip)! 

Camden Lock is so pretty in the sunshine!

How cute is this little fella?!

How cool is that drawing? It was on the wall outside the Abbey Road studios where loads of Beatles fans come to write messages or just sign their names.

Of course, no London jaunt is complete without a trip to Harrods, where I decided to buy a few things as I was feeling a wee bit flush for a change! First up, I had a wander around their beauty hall (which is stunning, it really is) and had to pick up another bottle of my favourite foundation ever- the Yves Saint Laurent Le Teint Touche Eclait, which was £30.50 and is in the shade BR10. A browse to the footwear department of course led me to the Kurt Geiger area where I fell in love with these shoes.

I know, they're beautiful, and at only £29 I had to buy them. The shoes have a slight suedette finish with the shiny gold buckle across the front which just gives them that extra something. Despite being a little bit painful on their first outing, these have become my go-to flats- they go with pretty much all of my clothes in my wardrobe and add a little touch of class to an outfit. The only downside is they really don't like the rain, and can get marked quite easily- something I know all too well as mine now feature two black lines across the toe of the right shoe, no idea where they came from! Suddenly I'm wishing I'd bought them in the black instead... I'm hoping they clean up somehow because they are possibly one of the best pairs of shoes I've ever bought and I'd hate to think they're ruined now!

Have any of you had a similar problem with nude shoes- how did you clean them up?

Sophie

Naked Basics Palette: Review

A little slow on this one but I eventually got the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, a Christmas present from my fabulous best chummy Holly (hello if you’re reading this!) who knew I’d been wanting it for ages. I was so chuffed with it and I can honestly say it is being well used!

I love the packaging for the Basics palette; it fits really well with the whole ‘basic’ thing. The mirror in the upper half of the palette is a great size and I use it all the time when I’m applying my daily face- ideal for people who wear glasses because there’s nothing to get in the way (seriously, applying eye makeup is a pain in the backside when you wear glasses)! The hard plastic casing makes the palette durable and better at withstanding the inevitable bumps it will endure if you carry it around in your bag which, due to its fantastic compact size, you can do with ease.

(from left to right) Venus, Foxy, Walk of Shame, Naked 2, Faint, Crave

The palette contains 6 brilliantly versatile shades, ranging from a gorgeous shimmering almost-white to jet black.  Venus is the palest shade and works fantastically as a highlighter, just lightly applied on the inner corner of the eye and just under the brow. Foxy, a yellow-toned cream, and Walk of Shame, a more peach-toned shade, look great when applied across the lid with the pale coffee shade Naked 2 blended through the crease. Applying a small amount of the darker brown Fade to the outer corners of the eye gives them a greater depth, although blending this shade through the crease makes for a more dramatic look. The fantastic black shade, Crave, works really well for the classic smoky eye look, as a soft eyeliner or to intensify liquid or gel eyeliner.

I always apply the shadows over a thin layer of the original Urban Decay Primer Potion and they stay on pretty much all day. They apply really well and have a really great consistency; you totally forget you have them on during the day because they’re so light! I love the fact that all the colours are neutral because, despite the slightly steep price tag of £22, the shadows are extremely wearable so you definitely get your money’s worth. I think I may have to invest in one of the other palettes by Urban Decay because, if this is anything to go by, they’re simply fantastic.

Have any of you got one of the Urban Decay palettes- what do you think of them?

Sophie