God dammit, will someone take my bank card away!?

hello gang! sorry i haven't posted in a while, but it's all still a bit hectic after being poorly!

anyway, a couple of posts back, i accidentally ended up having enough stuff to do a haul post. and now it might have accidentally happened again and i don't know how, i just need my purse taking away from me! these bits have all been accumulated over about three weeks, but for my student budget this is super naughty, so i don't think you'll be seeing a haul post again for a while. so here we go... the story of how Sophie ended up poor. 

CLOTHES

maybe i should've warned you that this post would be a little photo heavy - sorry! i've stupidly uploaded these photos in the wrong order, but i'm sure you are all clever enough to match them up. 

first off, the cream jumper was probably the first thing i bought in this little haul. the day i went back up to Leicester after two weeks off ended up with a Primark trip to cheer me up and this has now made its way into my posession. now i love a jumper, but all the ones i have are in really dark wintery shades so i wanted something which was a little brighter for the spring (which the snow has now ruined, thankyou!) and this seemed perfect. it cost just £6 and they still have it in store in about 5 different colours, so an absolute bargain - it it pretty see-through, but just a plain bandeau underneath makes it okay. 

second are the ASOS Disco Pants (available here). i originally had a pair from internacionale and lived in them, but they just lost their shape and i was in dire need of a new pair and then when i was poorly i lost a hella load of weight so i was left disco pant-less. i'd been deliberating over the ASOS and Topshop pairs for a while but couldn't quite bring myself to part with the money, but when an e-mail landed in my inbox for 20% off ASOS, it just happened. these are actually the petite version because i'm only around 5ft2 and i don't know how i ever lived with my old pair bunched up around the ankle so much. i'm in love with these and they were well worth the £24 i paid for them. i've since been into Topshop and seen their version and i'm so glad i went for ASOS - they are so much thicker and sucky-in which is everything you want from a disco pant!

sadly for my bank balance, just a couple of days after this ASOS started offering 25% student discount - why?! they clearly know what this does to me and i ended up buying the white swing vest (available here) for just £7.50. as much as i love my disco pants, i hate them being worn with short tops or anything tight - in my opinion they need to be paired with an oversized top, so i bought this for such occasions. i also hate things which are tight under the arms, so the dropped armhole is perfect for me. i went for white because it's so easy to dress up/down and i can see myself getting loads of wear out of this. 

then finally for clothes, is the floral skater dress from Primark. this little purchase happened just yesterday, but it was only £5 so it was hardly going to bankrupt me. i think it'll look great with tights and boots while the weather is still chilly, but be fine by itself with sandals if we ever get a summer. i wasn't sure on the colour at first as i'm so pale and thought it would wash me out, but it looked fine on and there's a reason why fake tan was invented. i'm actually planning on wearing this for a meal on Sunday with my family & boyfriend teamed with another purchase which i shall mention in just a minute..... 

FEETY THINGS!

all aboard the Primark train for this section. 

i picked the sandals up on the trip where i nabbed the cream jumper, and i'd been looking for something like these for a while when Ellie from elliesramblings.com tweeted a picture that she'd found these in Primark so i went on the hunt. unfortunately i haven't been able to wear them yet, but when the sun comes out i shall probably be living in these. i think these cost £12, but they are genuine leather so not too shabby! 

the socks were just £1.50 each and i picked these up yesterday too. i'm addicted to the Topshop version, but i find that they aren't quite long enough so that you can see them over the tops of my ankle boots and these looked a little longer so i thought i'd pick them up for such a bargain. 

now these beauties are currently on their way to me in the post, but i couldn't leave the blog postless any longer so i shall do an OOTD with these when they arrive. i was snooping on the Daisy Street website the other day and came across a tan version which were down to just £11 in the sale, but unfortunately the black pair were still full price at £30, so i went scouring round every website i could think of to find a cheaper alternative and ended up on Barratts. now you may all think this is a bit of an old lady fuddy duddy store, but my winter boots for this year were from there and they've barely been off my feet since, so there, point proven. they were originally £35, then they'd been reduced down to £25 and they were then offering 25% off on top of that, so i picked these up for just £20!!!! even if i only wear them a handful of times i will have more than got my moneys worth out of them. i have a couple of nights out coming up so these will be perfect to dress outfits up but also keep me warm because i hate nothing more than nights out in winter! you can pick these up here in either black or tan! 

HAIR & MAKE-UP

of course there was going to be some hair & make-up pieces, what kind of blogger do you think i am!? i picked all these bits up yesterday and they were all pretty bargainous! 

i go through dry shampoo like there's no tomorrow, but find that Batiste and Superdrugs own ones really gas me out a bit, so when I was in Home Bargains and saw the Charles Worthington Balancing Act Dry Shampoo for just £1.99(!!!!!) i picked up a bottle. this is currently £5.19 in Boots and the only reason i can think that this was so cheap is that the packaging is slightly different, but a £3 saving is amazing and i'm kind of wishing i'd picked up a couple more now. i haven't got round to using it yet, but i of course shall let you know my thoughts in due course. 

i then ended up in Superdrug and picked up a few eye bits. i have a feeling my mascara is slowly running out, but i really couldn't afford to buy another one. the L'Oreal Telescopic was in my hand for a good ten minutes before Mollie convinced me to put it down, so instead i picked up the Collection Longer Lashes Mascara in Black/Brown for just £2.99. now i used this this morning, and it's okay, nothing amazing but in all honesty what was i expecting for £3?! it will make do with some other mascaras i have laying around until i am brave enough to give L'Oreal £11... 

i also picked up these New York Color Eyeliner/Brow Kohl Pencils for £1.49 each. i've always worn black mascara and eyeliner, but lately have found myself wanting something a little more natural, so i picked up the colours 922 Dark Brown and 927 Taupe. the fact that they can be used for brows and lining makes them perfect multi-taskers and they are so long aswell so i'm really hoping they'll last a long time. i again haven't used these yet, but they feel really soft so i can't wait to give them a go. 

MISCELLANEOUS (ooo-er!)

first is the new love of my life, my ASOS Boyfriend Watch. i nabbed this again whilst there was 25% NUS discount, but you can still pick it up here full price. this cost me £16.50 and i've been wanting a rose gold watch for so, so long now and i will happily raise my hand and admit i am a member of the Michael Kors lust club. as much as i love this, i'm having a little dilemma with it - i can't decide if it's losing its colour already (i recieved this Friday, it's now Wednesday). in some lights it looks fine and in other lights it looks as though the rose gold is rubbing off and it's silver, but i can't decide if this is just where it's reflecting off of white surfaces like the ceiling. i'm going to keep an eye on and just hope that it's me being paranoid, but i will be super sad if it is losing its colour. can rose gold even lose its colour!? i don't know. this does come with one removable link, but it's still huge on me so i'm going to have to get a few more taken out, but yes, i am in love. regardless. 

the final part of this haul is a little different, but something i think will end up as an essential in my life - a portable iphone charger. i know i'm not alone in saying that my iphone battery is useless and will no way last me a whole day if i'm out and about, which is something i shall be doing a few days in the near future galavanting around the country for gigs (*cough* one direction *cough*), so i thought i'd grab one of these and hope that it will solve my problems. i paid just over £4 for this from ebay, and it seems to work fine for me. you charge it like you would your phone and then plug it into the bottom of your phone to charge on the go. i would say it takes 2-3 hours for the portable bit to get fully charged and it gave my phone 20% extra battery in about an hour? i can't be bothered with the maths, but it will do the trick for keeping your phone alive that little bit longer but it won't fully recharge it. 

so yes, that is all, and the end of the story of how Sophie ended up poor. 

don't forget to follow my blog over on bloglovin - there's a link in my right bar just under my GFC widget. also, if anyone does go over to my bloglovin then could you pleaseeee let me know if it's showing up with my most recent posts because when i look it just seems to show posts from last year?

new favourite website?

hello lovelies! 

first off, i am very, very sorry that i've been a bit AWOL lately - if anyone has read my last couple of posts you may know i've missed two weeks of uni what with being poorly so the last couple of weeks have been a bit manic with sorting out deadline extensions and catching up and the what-not, but with the easter break for the next three weeks i promise that i will set a day aside and write up a whole load of posts so i don't get behind again! i also may or may not have ended up with enough new things to another mini haul, god help me! anyway, on with the post. 

todays is a little different - a new favourite website if you will! i was introduced to this via Zoella's youtube channel and i've instantly fallen in love - wantworthy.com. it's basically like a Pinterest but for all the things you're currently lusting over and wanting to buy online - a wishlist in all honesty. such a simple thing, but i've become addicted! i always find myself being asked what i want for my birthday this year because i'll be turning 21, even though it's not until october, and i never know what to say when people ask me, so i think this will be a great way to keep track of all the things that are catching my eye whilst i spend half my life online window shopping! 

in all honesty, it's a pretty simple concept. once you've added things to your wantworthy list, you can delete them if you change your mind, be linked back to the product to buy it and then tick it off once you've nabbed it for yourself after not being able to resist any longer! you just add a little link to your bookmarks bar (the site will explain this when you sign up) so you can add things to your wishlist from absolutely any website that you're on without having to switch between tabs/windows and the what not.

i shall stop rambling now and let you all go and check it out for yourselves - to see what i'm currently too poor to buy but wish was in my life then click here! if anyone else has a wishlist or makes one after reading this, then leave a link to yours in the comments - i love being nosy and seeing what other people have found!

also, if anyone is still fretting over the Google Reader hype, i'm now over on bloglovin. if you want to follow me on there, there's a link to the right of this post just under my GFC Followers widget! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

What with Google Reader being closed down soon, I'd love it if you could all follow me over on Bloglovin' so that you can all keep up with my blog if the closure of Google Reader affects anything. You can follow me on Bloglovin my either clicking the title of this post, or there's a little link on my right sidebar just under my GFC widget! xxxx

e.l.f Essentials Powder Brush

unfortuately, this is one e.l.f brush that i just don't get on with. the head of the brush is far too small to apply a pressed foundation all over the face so i've had to go back to my old, battered powder brush until i can afford a new one. there's so little bristles for an all over coverage and i found myself constantly putting more product onto the brush to try and cover my whole face. i might try using it for blush and bronzer, but i'm loving the angled brush so much more for contouring, so i think i'll just be keeping this as a spare. when i next make an e.l.f order i might upgrade to the studio powder brush to see if i have any more luck.

this is just £1.50 from the e.l.f website

They see me hauling, they hating...

that was an awful post title, i'm so sorry! 

over the last couple of weeks i seem to have built up a little stash of new purchases (most of which i think have been made to make me feel better whilst i've been poorly with food poisoning!), so i thought i'd share my little haul with you. i will so proper, full reviews on the bits and pieces in the near future once i've actually used the products more than once and know if they actually work! 

Hair

Lately, i've got really fed up with how flat my hair is looking so i'm on the prowl right now for anything to give me a little bit of volume. 

the first thing i picked up was VO5's Plump It Up Volumizing Spritz. i picked this up on a bit of a whim from superdrug on a flying visit without really reading the packaging, but basically you spray this into towel dried hair to add a little volume whilst blow drying. i've not seen much of an effect yet, but keep an eye out for a full review once it has been in my hair care regime for a little longer. £3.89 from Superdrug. 

because of my hair being flat, i tend to wear it in a natural wave to add more volume too, and i've been looking for a salt spray to add a more beachy feel, so i picked up Fudge Urban's Sea Salt Spray whilst it was on offer for half price. in all honesty, it was the smell that made me pick it up - it has a coconut/tropical scent to it which i LOVE. i use this daily now as it can be used on dry hair without my hair going crispy. this is usually £6.99, but is currently £3.47 in Superdrug.

another similar product is the new Tresemme Tousled Wave Spray. i think the name makes it come across that it'll give a really natural wave, which it does, but this is definitely better for use on damp hair as it left mine feeling a little crispy when i applied to dry hair. i picked up two bottles because this was on offer at £5.49 each or £6.99 for two. 

i'll eventually review all of these products in full. 

Skincare

as i was queuing up in superdrug, i saw that they have a huge 3 for 2 deal on clear skin products at the moment, and i'm keen to find an affordable, drugstore skin product that works wonders on my skin so i thought i'd pick up a few bits. 

first up was the Simple Spotless Skin Blackhead Eliminating Scrub (£4.99). i haven't actually used this yet, but i do like a good face scrub as i feel like it does more at cleansing and revitalising my skin. 

i also picked up Garniers Make-Up Remover Purifying Gel (£4.99). i will admit that i never quite manage to get all my make-up off, and i really wanted to try some Bioderma for this little task but can't afford any, so i though i'd try this at getting rid of pesky bits of make-up that i normally can't budge. i have only used this once, so again i will review it once i've used it and seen an effect.

the last thing i grabbed was Neutrogena's Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash (£4.89) and i think i picked this up due to all the hype that was around it when it was released, so i wanted to see for myself what all the fuss was about, so i shall let you know if it lives up to my expectations! 

Make-Up

more pieces that i picked up because of the hype around them in the beauty blogosphere. both my current concealer and powder are on their way out, so i picked up these two to see if i get on with them as much as every other beauty blogger seems to.

i picked up the Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in Fair, and i love that this comes in such a pale shade as my pasty skin is a nightmare to match up to. i have tried this out and i'm loving it so far!

i also bought the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 003 Peach Blossom after hearing Tanya Burr speak about this all the time, so i will again let you know how i get on with is once it makes its way into my make-up bag. 

i've also picked up two new MUA pieces, but completely forgot to photograph them as they're already in my make-up bag. i grabbed the Undress Your Skin Flawless Skin Primer and (£5) and Highlighting Powder (£3) so i will review them soon too. i'm loving the highlighter so far, but not sure if the primer is too good yet! 

Clothes

of course i had to buy some clothes too! 

i follow a lot of shabby chic/cath kidston-esque instagram accounts and over the weekend i found a lot of photos of this topshop top crop up and i instantly fell in love. it did break my little student bank balance a little bit at £22, but i am in love with it already and can't wait for the summer to get loads of wear out of this. i don't often buy from Topshop, but i don't mind spending a little more on something that i know i'll wear all the time. 

the jumper is from new look, and i picked this up on my first outing once i started feeling better to cheer myself up. i love knitwear, and i've loved the warmer weather we've started having recently, but all the jumpers i currently own are in all the winter colours, so i instantly picked up this gorgeous peppermint shade. it has a marl sort of effect in it too with almost turquoise flecks. i paid just £8.49 for this which is an absolute steal! it was on offer for just £9.99 from £14.99 when i popped into store and i then got student discount off of what should have been the full price - bargain! 

has anyone else had a sneaky little shopping haul lately? if you have, then leave your link below as i love reading posts like this. 

Soap & Glory 'A Great Kisser' Lip Moisture Balm

this was my first ever Soap & Glory purchase and i am so, so glad i bought it - this has easily become my favourite lipbalm. i was originally going to buy the Balmi coconut balm, but after i opened this and had a little whiff (it also has a coconut scent) it smelt so much better and a lot sweeter, so i went for this. the second picture in this post really doesn't do justice to how pretty this product is - initially it looks like a solid white balm, but once you swipe it onto your finger to apply it turns into a slick gloss and has the tiniest, almost iridescent shimmer to it - it's so much more than your bog standard lipbalm. it's so moisturising and really long lasting, no matter how much you smack your lips together. it also really works for chapped lips - it leaves my lips feeling a lot healthier after just one application - i'm sure this is just the beginning of a Soap & Glory addiction! 

i've just looked this up on the Boots website and seen that they also do it in Juicy Peach and Chocolate Cherry - i now officially need them both!!!!!

this is available from Boots for £5

MUA Pro Brow Kit

(disclaimer - i drafted this post months ago and never got round to posting it, but i feel that in light of recent MUA publicity events on their Facebook page I would like to state that this will have no effect on this or any future reviews of MUA products on my blog)

sorry it looks so battered! it's taken me so long to getting round to reviewing it!

excuse my horrendous skin, but before and after

(please note, i wrote this post back in November, and it's just got lost between all my other posts, so i apologise for how late i'm posting this!) 

this is just one of the many beauty products that i've bought after the blogger world went crazy for it. i've never actually included my eye-brows in my make-up regime, but i thought i'd just give this a try when it was on offer for £3, so just £2.70 with student discount.

and wow... i am so glad i bought it! i never realised how thin and sparse my eyebrows were until i started filling them in with this, and i don't have a bad word to say about the kit. 

i apologise for how worn and battered this looks, but i bought it in my break from blogging so it's taken me quite a while to get round to reviewing it for the blog. 

i personally mix the 2 darker shades to match my hair colour, but i think it's great that one kit has the versatility to suit to many different people. the powder is pretty compact and doesn't fall everywhere during application, and the tiny little slanted applicator brush is so precise that it makes adding an extra step to my make-up regime effortless. i use the other end of the brush for the setting gel, and just swipe this over the whole of the brow. 

the staying power of the kit is so professional, it actually stays put all day which is more than can be said for the rest of my make-up which often needs reapplying - this is one of the only products that will still have traces left when i come to take off my make-up. 

obviously this is the first eyebrow product i've used so i can't compare it to anything else, but you can't go wrong for the price. i'm sure this is just as good as any higher end eyebrow product! 

has anyone else got this, and what do you think? or do you use a different product that you'd reccomend?