Room Tour...


What Sopho Wore

Hi lovelies! 

Good news! I have finally moved house, i'm excited to show you all my lovely new room (i'm a little bit in love) so get ready for a little room tour in the near future! It's got absolutely huge windows and is gorgeously bright and airy so it's going to be absolutely fab for blogging and filming in! Now that things are much more settled it also means that my very exciting festive series is in the making so get ready for 12 days of christmas treats! 


(Shirt - Topshop, Jacket - Topshop, Fur Collar - Vintage via Ebay, Jeans - Jack Wills, Ballet Pumps - Topshop,  Handbag - Marc Jacobs)

Anyway, back to the present, this is a little outfit I wore over the weekend for a spot of christmas shopping while Dan was visiting. I love this monochrome heart print shirt from Topshop, it reminds me of the much much pricer but oh so coveted oxblood coloured Burberry version that is pretty much everywhere at the moment but for a comparatively tiny price, this one is a fab compromise! Other than that it is my usual skinny jeans, leather jacket combo, but as it is the winter season, the faux fur collar is out to keep me nice and toasty! The ballet pumps I love love love as they remind me of proper nude coloured ballet shoes (although as winter has well and truly hit the South West I can't say they were the best choice for keeping my toesies warm! Very pretty though!) My handbag is my probably one of my favourite possessions, my Marc Jacobs Stam bag, which was bought for me in New York back in 2008...it's still beautiful and it still makes me so, so happy; every time I get it out of my wardrobe I'm reminded of being an extremely excited 16 year old standing in Saks Fifth Avenue with my Dad clutching the big paper carrier bag feeling like the luckiest girl on the planet. These days it tends to spend long periods of time in it's little dust bag as it's one of my pricer pieces and I don't tend to use it as an every day kind of handbag, this weekend was high time for a little outing though! 

South West Bloggers Meet

Hi lovelies!

I am alive! I have not (as you may have wondered) fallen off the edge of the earth! I'm in the middle of moving house (hence this scheduled post!) and as a result any potential blogging days have been filled with cardboard boxes, packing tape and sharpie markers...I'm going to try and get some posts scheduled for next week to get a bit more of a schedule underway! It never hurts to be organised after all...



Anyways, a couple of weekends ago, after lots of waiting it was finally time for the much anticipated South West Bloggers Meet in Exeter. The event was organised by two lovely ladies, Liza of Glambeautys and Kerry of Lived With Love, who both did an absolutely amazing job...more about the organisers later though! As any fellow bloggers from the South West will testify I'm sure, there doesn't tend to be an awful lot of blogger based events in this part of the world as they tend to happen in London, so the opportunity to meet lots of bloggers, have a natter and try out some lovely products outside of London Town was one I absolutely couldn't pass up!



As this was my first ever blogging event, I was pretty nervous, but after a little wander down Gandy Street in search of the venue (a lovely cocktail bar by the name of John Gandys) with my newly printed business cards at the ready I bit the bullet and went in! After meeting Liza, and Jo from A Little Pop Of Coral I soon got chatting to some other girlies as they started to arrive. I met a few lovelies from Plymouth like Becky from Beckawoo and Nicole from Sleekchic and a few that I'd spoken to before on twitter like Albertine from Dippy Writes along with other girlies like Bella from B-Jolly and Amy from  Beauty Loves it's always nice to be able to put a name to a face and meet people in person!



We were lucky to have some brilliant ladies from Lush Exeter and a super impressive selection of lovely goodies which as you can imagine all looked and smelled amazing! I haven't had a chance to have a proper look in there since the Christmas stock launched so it was fab to get a proper look (and sniff!) at everything. We also had Liz from teeth whitening company Pearly's there giving everyone a try of their teeth whitening products along with tips on how to keep teeth beautifully white and shiny. They're a company that I've been curious about for months so a chance to test out their teeth whitening powder and some other bits was ideal. My teeth felt incredible and were absolutely sparkling afterwards and I can't wait to receive some more samples in the post!

The entire day was topped off with a brilliant raffle with amazing prizes ranging from Enrapture hair tools to make up brush sets and all proceeds going to the Talia Castellano charity. The girls did so amazingly to get so many fab prizes and there were a lot of very happy girlies in the room along with a brilliant amount raised for a very good cause. Nobody left empty handed though as we all went home with a huge bright pink goody bag stuffed with full sized products like Cocoa Brown tan, Swarzkopft Osis hair spray (a personal favourite of mine!), a facial polishing kit and loads of others with absolutely loads of little product samples too... Prepare for lots of reviews! 

The whole day was just fab and I loved having the opportunity to meet some brilliant new blog friends and discover loads of new blogs and products as well as encouraging me more than ever to well and truly get my blog on! As for Liza and Kerrie, thanks to you both for an amazing event, you worked so so hard to organize it all and it was very much appreciated! 

(Image Credit - www.glambeautys.blogspot.co.uk)

Hope you're having a lovely week! 

What Sopho Wore

(Hat-Topshop, Jacket- Topshop, Faux Fur Collar- Ebay, Top- Jack Wills, Skirt- H&M, Handbag- Mulberry, Sunglasses- Ray Ban, Shoes- Converse)


Hi lovelies,
As the weather has finally turned a little more autumnal in Devon, the more weather appropriate items have found their way out of my wardrobe and I've found myself just wanting to be cosy! So I thought I'd share a little weekend outfit with you all, with photos courtesy of my lovely dad (where blogging is concerned, the family and friends get roped in A LOT!) so thanks Daddio! 


Anywho, the hat I bought quite recently in Topshop. I love a cute and slouchy knitted hat when it turns a bit chillier and the fact there's a little faux fur bobble was all the more tempting -I'm a sucker for a bit of faux fur as you all know! I got a really lovely navy one from Accesorize for my birthday but cream does go with absolutely everything... plus, for bad hair days, they will cover a multitude of sins!


(Windswept expression- bloggers own)

The jacket and the faux fur collar are things I've had for absolutely ages. The jacket was a Christmas sale purchase from years ago, but it has shearling collar that I've grown a bit bored of so with a little ebaying for a fur collar and a few cheeky safety pins I now have this little number! The rest is pretty boring really, a Breton top from my beloved Jack Wills that i've probably worn to death but still love. A bargain skater skirt from H&M (7.99 was a steal!) and my super cosy tights from Primark (best invention ever) I really was super super cosy and warm! 

What are your autumn fashion must haves? 

My Daily Brush Cleaning...

Hi everyone!

Something that always seems to pop up on the Twitter #bbloggers chats on a Wednesday and Sunday are questions about how people clean their make up brushes and as i'm a naturally nosy soul I do like a little insight into other peoples little regimes so I thought i'd throw my own into the mix! I've recently had a bit of a jiggle round of my dressing table and bought some new storage for my many many brushes which I do like to keep super clean. If you're a germaphobe like me, the horror stories of bacteria from your face on your make up brushes just fills me with utter dread and I can't bear the thought of it, so a quick daily clean is essential for me on top of a weekly deep clean of every brush. I also think that it's an essential step for your skin regime, as obviously no matter how thorough your regime is, the moment you use unclean brushes you're just transferring day to day bacteria back to your skin... it's just good sense!


(Wicker Pot - Homebase)

If you've seen my Products of the Blogosphere video (if you haven't, you can take a peek here) you'll know that I use a combination of the Mac Brush Cleanser and ordinary household washing up liquid or baby shampoo to really get every last bit of product off. For day to day though, it's really not practical to sit by the sink painstakingly washing every single brush and i've been on the hunt for a speedier solution to this other than popping some brush cleanser on a cotton pad and giving them a slightly half hearted wipe!



As you all know I love Benefit make up and something that i've noticed over my many visits to the counters is the fact that their antibacterial  brush cleanser, used after every customer, is in spray form, i'm not sure if other brands do this but it's something i've noticed in particular with them. This means that just a quick spritz and a wipe with a cotton pad leaves germ and product free brushes which dry quickly. Though they don't sell their own brand of brush cleanser, I thought this would be a fab idea for my own dressing table. I popped into Boots and bought one of their travel spray bottles for £1.55 and just poured some of my MAC brush cleanser in.



Now, after every use, I quickly spritz and wipe my brushes to remove any excess product, while the antibacterial ingredients work their magic to make sure any germs are well and truly dealt with. It stops me going through the cleanser quite as quickly as you use much less product in a spritz than you would by pouring it directly onto the brushes and it also keeps my brushes nice and squeaky clean. It also means that you aren't waiting for your damp brushes to dry which for someone like me that likes to reapply if i'm going out or going to work is absolutely fab as they're clean, dry and ready to go each time. It's also a fab idea if, like me, you spend time traveling. I always forget to take my brush cleanser with me to my boyfriends house but having it in this little bottle is going to make life so much easier!

It's a simple thing, and so cheap to do especially with a homemade brush cleanser (if anyone has any tutorials for these i'd be super interested!). Let me know your brush cleaning regimes, i'd be really interested!

On The Dressing Table - October...


Hi everyone!

So in the last month or so i've had a bit of a beauty product overhaul, i'm trying to prep my skin, hair and nails in time for the ever advancing winter months to avoid the seasonal ailments that chilly weather and drying central heating cause...theres nothing worse than the onset of dehydrated skin and chapped winter lips! I don't tend to do these kind of 'monthly favourites' posts but theres been a few real stand out products for me of late, most of which are ones that i've owned for quite some time and never used enough to fully appreciate, so I thought i'd share the recent beauty saviours that have been gracing my dressing table! 

I'll start with a hair product thats become one of those coveted products amongst bloggers and thats Hask Healing Shine Hair Treatment. A couple of months ago I re-ombred my hair after a much needed hair dye hiatus and if the terrors of my peroxide past have taught me anything it's that bleach does virtually nothing good for the condition of your hair. With that in mind, i've been on the hunt for anything that will stop unnecessary damage to my lightened ends. Heat protection spray has become all the more important as have moisturising shampoo and conditioners like the Aussie Miracle Moist range. The thing that i've been loving the most though is this Hask Oil which I found in Primark of all places (although if you can't make it to a Primark, it's also available here) I used to be an absolutely massive fan of Moroccan Oil after my very frustrated hairdresser suggested it to me to try and salvage my frazzled hair and I still to this day hold it pretty responsible for saving my bleach damaged barnet from the point of no return. However, with a £30 price tag, it's not a product that I find myself popping into my basket all that often. Hask on the other hand was more around the £2 mark and to be honest after using it for a few weeks, smoothed onto the ends of my just washed hair before blowdrying, the results are almost identical to those I got with it's Moroccan counterpart it delivers similar smooth, shiny and nourished feeling results and as such it's definitely going to be a repeat purchase!

As for skin, i've become a huge stickler for my nighttime skin regime. I've been removing my make up with a Micellaire solution (at the moment i'm using La Roche Posay Physiological Micellar Solution since I ran out of Bioderma) on a cotton pad, followed by a thin layer of Effaclar Duo to combat any potential blemishes followed by the Benefit Facial Cream to keep my skin moisturised. This little group seem to be doing the trick and my skin hasn't been this clear in a very very long time. The French pharmacy brands are absolutely killing it at the moment and the difference that i've seen in my skin since popping a few of them into my daily regime really is fab. I'm planning on giving the specific La Roche Posay eye make up remover a go to really make sure my make up is completely gone. Another French pharmacy product i've been loving is the Avene Thermal Water spray. I must admit, I didn't expect to love this product, in fact I thought it would be a bit of a gimmick, I mean how much of a difference can a spritz of supposedly miraculous water have? It's water at the end of the day! But having said that, although it's not given me a whole new face it has been brilliant to spray over my make up to set it and as a bit of a pick me up after the lengthy trek through Exeter up to uni, make up never looks good after those killer hills on campus. It's an ideal size to just pop in my handbag and it really has been a bit of a saviour for refreshing after long days spent in seminars. On top of that i've been pretty obsessed with lip care of late, i'm on a mission to avoid chapped lips at all costs this winter and as a result my Lush Popcorn Lip Scrub has found it's way out of storage and into prime position on the dressing table to buff away any pesky dry areas. It's also brilliant for prepping lips for lipstick, a quick scrub with this and a generous slick of Burts Bee's Mango Lip Butter (or similar lip-saving super balm) creates a perfect base for those oh so gorgeous autumn lipstick shades that we're seeing everywhere at the moment!

Lastly, this is less for actual nail care and more an outlet for my recently rekindled love for all things nail polish.  I've well and truly leaped aboard a certain topcoat bandwagon and a bit controversially have been left wondering what on earth I ever did without it... and i'm not even a teeny bit sorry! You got it, it's Seche Vite. I've read an awful lot of bad reviews of people that have been left less than pleased about this product, but i've also read quite a few good ones. As someone who loves pretty nails but absolutely despises the annoying and lengthy drying period this product is absolutely ideal, you pop it on in a fairly thick layer over still wet, freshly painted nails and they are touch dry almost instantly! To go under this snazzy little miracle worker i've discovered this gorgeous Essie polish in the shade Eternal Optimist, it's a really pretty warm rose colour and i'm loving it for the first few weeks of Autumn!

What have been your stand out products this month?

Handbags and Gladrags...

Hi everyone!

I'm a huge handbag fan. Massive in fact. I don't go anywhere without one and i'm often told that the stuff I cart around in the crook of my arm every day isn't dissimilar to the stash that Mary Poppins carried around. I like to be prepared for every eventuality and so a pretty big bag is an absolute must for me. Now that the new uni year is underway it means a couple of books added to the usual haul and it also means I was on the lookout for a new bag.


Nica - Verona Tote c/o Bagable.co.uk

Bagable is an online retailer that sells a huge range of branded handbags from the likes of Fossil to Kipling, in styles from totes to backpacks, purses to suitcases. Absolutely perfect for the handbag fans among us. With styles to suit pretty much everyone it's ideal if you're on the lookout! Theres so many to choose from on the website, but when I found a lovely oxblood coloured, Nica tote I was smitten, it looked big enough for all of my uni stuff, so practical to use on a daily basis, but the gorgeous autumnal colour made it the perfect addition to my ever growing Autumn wardrobe. Practical and stylish? Thats always a winner in my book! 



The bag itself is a fab size. Not so big that you feel like you've packed enough stuff for a weekend mini-break but not so small that all you can fit in is your phone, cards and a box of tic-tacs... in more practical terms, it fits my iPad, A4 folder and notebook with plenty of room to spare. It has three separate compartments which kind of reminded me a bit of the structure of the much hyped Zara City bag. The main one has a zip closure with internal pockets for your phone, keys and other bits you want to keep safe. It has another section on the front with a popper closure which is ideal for folders and a further section on the back which would be good for anything else that you need quick access to like your lipstick or your tissues. 



I've had Nica bags before and i've always loved the attention to detail that you find on their products. Theres a real vintage feel to a lot of their handbags, with floral silky linings and interesting effects on the materials themselves. This one has a gorgeous laser cut dotted detail all over the faux leather material giving it a really lovely textured look along with a pretty cute coral pink flamingo and floral print lining. It also has a really cute bow strap detail on the front. For bags that retail for under the £60 mark, all of the little details really do make the products look much more expensive than they are.




Another fab feature that I absolutely love are the handles. I tend to carry my handbag in the crook of my arm and a lot of the bags that I go for tend to have shorter handles for this reason, i'm not really much of an 'across the body' bag kind of girl except for where my satchel is concerned. This particular one though has slightly longer handles which means that it can either be worn on your arm or on your shoulder, fab for those days when you've got to carry a bit more than usual, saving on the inevitable arm ache!




I absolutely love this bag, as i'm sure you tell and I definitely think that Bagable is worth a look if you haven't stumbled across it already...even more worth a visit when I tell you that they are offering you lovely people a cheeky 10% discount on any product on the website when you enter the code SOPHODIARIES10 at the checkout! Just think of the endless handbag possibilities! 

I hope you're all having a lovely week and happy handbag shopping!
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