Vinted: Love preloved clothing

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.

Today I want to talk about a website called Vinted. Many of you might not have heard about it but it's an amazing website for clothing. I am a self diagnosed shopaholic, I just love buying new clothes all the time. The only problem with this, is one little word: MONEY. Money is quite tight for me at the moment, some of you may have read that I currently work as an apprentice, which doesn't come with a great salary. So, for me, having little money and wanting so many beautiful clothes is slightly getting to me. That was until I found Vinted.

Vinted is a site similar to Depop. It's where girls can sell their unwanted/unworn clothes and others can buy them at an amazing price. Since starting my new job I haven't walked into Topshop, River Island or Zara purely because I couldn't afford them, but because of Vinted I can afford items from all of these brands and more.  I've even stumbled upon Kurt Geiger shoes on here selling for £30 and with the tiniest bit of wear on them. I've managed to get rid of unwanted clothes from my wardrobe that I haven't worn in years and at the same time I've been able to update my wardrobe. I will be doing a seperate post on the bargains that I've managed to obtain, but that will be in the New Year as I'm actually waiting for a couple of items to come in the post! Eee it's exciting.

When you first sign up to Vinted, you can chose to sign up with either an e-mail or facebook. I used facebook as you can share your 'items for sale' with a click of a button. It's free to sign up and you only have to pay a small amount after you've made a sale. 

This is what the homepage looks like, you get a 'news feed' of items that have recently been uploaded onto the site, as you can see there's an item from Topshop, Boohoo and Miss Selfridge on there.

I thought I'd share with you my 'favourites' list. This is a list of items that I've 'liked. I normally create a favourites list of around 20 items, this month I've gone a bit mad and liked 33 but nevermind! I always have every intention of buying an item once I've favourited it. I think it's nice to have a list of items there in front of me as I can create outfits and work out what I'd wear with certain items.

So, here are a few of my current favourites.

I am in love with all of these items. This gives you an idea of what great bargains you can find on this site and how this really is an affordable way of updating your wardrobe. Most items on here have either been worn once or still have the tags on. 
Here are the links to all the items I have above
Motel Rocks Sequin Dress
Forever 21 Cami Top
New Look Statement Necklace
New Look Skinny Jeans
Missguided Faux Fur Coat
ASOS Skater Dress
Missguided Halter Neck Jumpsuit
River Island White Shift Dress

I am in love with the Motel Rocks green sequin dress on the top left. It's a beautiful colour and an absolute steal at £25.00 considering it is still selling at £58.00 on the Motel Rocks website. 

I love the pink cami top too, I'd pair this one with the New Look skinny jeans and some nice nude heels for when I go out for a couple of drinks. Plus, these two items together come under £20. 

If you're on a tight budget or want to make room in your wardrobe then Vinted is definitely the website to go to. I was a bit sceptical about it at first but after making 18 sales and buying 21 items I really do trust this site. If theres ever a problem with a sale, whether you're the buyer or seller, the vinted team are always there to help you out to resolve any issue you may have.

You can also download the app for this website. Simply search for Vinted on your app store.

To go to the webiste and sign up please click here.

Happy Bargain hunting!

Sophie

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Making your hair last

Hello Everyone!

I haven't been posting much on here recently but I've had a pretty hectic month. 

While I was at work today I realised that I hadn't actually washed my hair in three days. Which normally would terrify me, but today I found that my hair doesn't actually look that bad.

I've read from multiple beauty bloggers that it's actually worse for your hair if you wash it everyday. This is because you're washing all the natural oils that your hair has in it which makes it smoother and healthier. So it got me thinking. Why do I wash my hair pretty much everyday? I found that my answer was: to keep it from getting greasy. The problem with my thought process was that in reality I'm actually doing the exact opposite of what I'm aiming to achieve. 

So i decided I was only going to wash my hair 2-3 times a week and see how my hair pans out. Now I've only been doing this a couple of weeks now but I am finding that my hair is getting slightly less greasy on day two and it is a little softer than it has been in the past. 

The thought of having greasy hair absolutely terrifies me, so to avoid this I use a dry shampoo to help it a little. If I want my hair in a ponytail I back comb my hair which makes it a little messy, this drags the attention away from the potential greasy look and more towards the volume of my hair in an updo. 

I'm really enjoying the fact that I'm not having to spend copious amounts of my time just washing my hair and worrying about it getting greasy. I'm also enjoying being able to style my hair more, as with freshly washed hair it's difficult to style. Braiding is a lot easier with two day old hair aswell! Which I'm loving! 

Have you got any tips for making your hair last just that little bit longer?

Sophie 

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November Favourites

Hello Everyone!

I know I've been a bit quiet on the blogging the past couple of weeks! Apologies for that but there's been a few things going on that's been keeping me preoccupied. 

Today is my first blog post of December!  Can't believe it's two weeks to Christmas!

Today I thought I'd share with you my November Favourites. These are a few items that I've been loving the past month (and a half!).

Sleek i-Divine Palette - Storm 578

Rimmel London Kate Moss Lasting Finish in 107

Lush Cosmetics Bubblegum Lip Scrub

Makeup Revolution Blush in Treat

MUA intense colour lip liner in Caramel Nougat

As you can see the i-Divine palette is well loved - especially with the pink and cream! I love that there is a matte black in this one as I hate not being able to create a good smokey eye with a black. Most palettes have a black but I find they have a slight shimmer to them, this one has no shimmer so I was very happy!

I love this lipstick colour from Rimmel, it's a lovely shade of red that's quite berry toned. It applies smoothly onto my lips and looks beautiful. I've almost ran out of this one so it's on the top of my christmas list for a replacement. This goes really well if you're looking for a red lip but one that's not too bold, you can apply this lightly for a subtle look. I used to be terrified of wearing a red lip, but I now know that I suit more berry toned colours. The best way to find out what suits you is to experiment!

The LUSH Bubblegum lip scrub is an amazing product that I will continue to purchase again and again. It's such a nice product to use and is perfect to use in the winter months to keep your lips smooth! I love the smell and the taste of this lip scrub. Who wouldn't? It's Bubblegum! I love using this before I put on my makeup as it gives my lips time to recover after using this before putting on my lipstick. 

The Makeup Revolution Blush is amazing and was an absolute steal for £2.00! I bought this in Superdrug after falling in love with the colour. It's kind of a pink/coral colour and it applies quite nicely onto my skin which lasts pretty much all day whilst I'm at work. For £2.00 I really can't complain about this product, it's incredible and I definitely recommend this blusher to anyone. If you're on a budget keep an eye out for this in your local Superdrug.

The MUA lip liner is really soft and easy to apply. I got this in a fairly nude colour as I already have a deep red and needed a liner that I could wear with my lighter lipsticks. I love how this applies onto my lips and for £1.00 you really can't go wrong. It's a beautiful colour and will definitely be buying more shades from this brand!

Sophie

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I've got a secret

Hello Everyone!

Yes, I've got a secret to tell you all. It's pretty shocking, so I suggest that you should sit down for this one...

I'm a LUSH VIRGIN!

(gasp!)

Well, not anymore... 

I've actually been meaning to go into my local lush store, but whenever I've gone to the shopping centre where it is, it's a tiny shop that's always rammed with customers. My worst nightmare! I don't really like tiny spaces filled with tonnes of people. So this lush store is literally smaller than the bathroom in my parents house. It's teeny tiny!

Today however, I jumped right in, not literally though because that would look so strange. I walked in and was surrounded by amazing smells and gorgeous looking bath bombs and soaps. I didn't buy tonnes of things as to be honest, I don't have the money to right now leading up to christmas so I bought myself a couple of things to try out.

I was looking at all the cleansers and beauty products that they had and came across a product called 'Ultra Bland' it's a cleanser that removes dirt and makeup. I didn't actually buy this as the sales assistant saw I was unsure about it.She gave me a sample size of this, it's a little pot and she actually filled it to the brim which I was really surprised about. I'm looking forward to using this as a cleanser, I've had to go back to using make up remover wipes - hands head in shame. The wipes seem to have created more problems than solved so I'm looking for a good cleanser thats worth the money I pay for. So I'm going to give this a try out and maybe treat myself to a large pot for christmas! Look out for a review on this product in the next week! 

You can buy a pot of ultrabland from your local lush store or online here, there are two prices for the different size pots.

This purple beauty is the Twilight bath bomb. This one is meant to help you sleep as it has a lavender fragance which is meant to be a soothing, mind clearing and calming fragrance. I loved the smell of this one and it's got a really pretty purple colour to it. I can't wait to pop this into my bath after a long day at work. I've been struggling to sleep recently so I'm hoping that this will help me out.

You can buy the twilight bath bomb here for £3.35

This is the Sakura Bath Bomb. It looks so cute and pretty. It's very different to the Twilight bath bomb I bought, it's fairly plain apart from the splodge on the top where it's really colourful and looks like a crystal. It smells a little floral and doesn't smell overpowering, it's quite sweet so I think I'm going to enjoy this one.

You can buy the Sakura Bath Bomb here for £3.35

This little cutie is the Butterbear!

It's so cute I just couldn't resist picking this little teddy up! It's made from cocoa butter and has a vanilla fragrance to it so I was pretty much sold from the word cocoa. I love the smell of vanilla and think this will make my skin feel and smell amazing! I picked this one up right by the till as I was paying for the other two bath bombs - damn those sneaky sales people trying to make me buy more stuff just because its so incredibly cute!

You can buy the Butterbear here for £1.95

So there you have it! My FIRST mini Lush haul for you guys.

I really can't wait to try all four of these items and I will definitely be writing a review of the Ultrabland cleanser.

What products do you recommend from Lush?

Sophie

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Toner - hydrate your skin

Hello Everyone!

So as it's now officially getting very cold, we really need to start looking after our skin. With the cold weather our skin will start to dry out very quickly and will be more prone to cracking. It's not good for your skin to be dehyrdated and when you try top cover it up with make up I think it looks worse as your foundation will stick to the dry patch and makes it stand out. It's important to keep dry skin under control in the cold months as it can make it worse and can make the problem 100x worse.

This is the Toner that I currently use. It's the Elemis Rehydrating Ginseng Toner. I first bought this after having a facial at my local Dove Spa. My beautician used quite a few products on my face and I really loved how they made my face feel. So I bought three of the products which were; the cleanser, toner and a face balm. I have run out of the cleanser unfortunately but I will do a seperate post of the face balm as its an anti ageing product.

This product is available from most Dove Spa's and you can buy it online here at Feel Unique for £22.00.

I love this product so much, on the back of the bottle it says it 'effectively tones the skin, rebalances the pH level and preserves natural oils, without the use of alcohol or harsh detergents.' It really does hydrate your skin, you're meant to apply this using a cotton wool pad and dabbing it on your face but I usually just spritze it on my face and leave it to soak into my skin. 

I use this twice daily, in the morning before applying my makeup and I also use it in the evening after taking all my makeup off. It's great as a revitalising face spray. It feels so fresh when you spray it on your face and in the morning it helps me to wake up. It's like a little boost to get my face to wake up.

One more thing that I love about this product, well actually Elemis as a brand, is that they don't test any of their products on animals. This is really important to me as I know that animals haven't been harmed to make their products.

Sophie

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Reached 50 followers through Bloglovin'!

50 Followers might not mean a lot to pretty much everyone who is reading this, but to me, this means a hell of a lot. To have at least 50 people who are interested in what I'm writing is incredible! 

So Thank-you. To everyone reading my blog and following it.

If you're not yet following I have a link just on the right hand side that will link you to Bloglovin' so you can follow me.

I didn't think I'd actually be this excited over this but yeah, thank you :)

Sophie

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Black Friday - UK Version

Hello Everyone!

So today I thought I'd talk about something a little different to what I've done before. I thought I'd write about my opinion on whats been happening across the UK for Black Friday.

Again, this is my own opinion, I'm just saying how I feel in regards to what has been happening, I'm not writing this to start an argument with anyone.

What started as a simple sale that was brought over from America where everyone would get excited over the chance of snapping up a bargain for christmas time, has actually turned into what looks like a brutal scramble to grab as much as you can no matter what it is.

I've seen horrific videos on youtube that have been shared all over facebook of people fighting - yes you heard me fighting, over TV's, Kettles, Xbox's etc. Considering that over in the UK we have Boxing Day sales and January sales I have never seen a site as bad as this. I'm all for grabbing a bargain, but only for things I need. I don't see the point in buying a brand new TV just because it's like £100 less than what it should even though I have a perfectly good one at home.

I think it just shows us what some people have come to and it outlines the greed in people. Mindlessly pushing and shoving people out the way just so you can get your hands on a shiny new kettle. I think that the people who did go to stores on Black Friday should have been a lot more mindful of people surrounding them. Especially around Christmas when there are thousands of people who don't own a TV or any electrical items for that matter, I think it really does show that people are greedy and selfish just buying things for the sake of buying.

Sophie

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The Kylie Jenner lip

Hello Everyone!

So over the past month, I think? Everyone has been obsessing over Kylie Jenner's mysterious lips. Is it liner? Is it fillers? Either way everyone is pretty much loving them, me included!  Now normally I don't go past my normal lip line when doing my lipstick but the past few days I've been experimenting with it. I wanted my lips to look a bit bigger but not so much that I ended up looking like a clown. 

I haven't used lip liner for this look as I don't currently have a light enough lip liner :( it ran out just before September and I got into darker lipsticks. So lighter colours were sent to the back of my mind. Silly me!

For this look I am using the Bourjois Paris Rouge Edition in 04 Rose Tweed. It's sort of a nude pale pink/red. I think this is a perfect colour for this look, it's a matte lipstick with a bit of shine. It's also really smooth when you apply it.

Now you don't want to go too overboard when going over your lip line. The only girl I know who can pull this off is Miranda. I love her videos she makes me laugh so much.

So, for this look I literally went slightly above my lip line on my upper lip and made my cupid's bow a little bit bigger. On my lower lip I only went a tiny bit over my lip line as I think it would look terrible if I went over anymore! 

So there you go guys!

My version of the Kylie Jenner lip look!

Sophie

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Christmas Sparkle: Nails

Hello Everyone!

Coming up to the Christmas party time us girls like to get our glitter polishes out. I've just done my nails using the Loreal Paris Colour Riche in 836 over the top of the Barry M matte in 336 which I've used for my accent nail (I've used that so much the name of the colour has rubbed off!)

 

I know my nails aren't exactly perfect right now, I'm trying to strengthen them as they keep breaking off, then they're too short for me to try and shape. Trying to grow them first before shaping. Also my nail painting isn't exactly on point but I'm not a professional!

 So these are my favourite glitter/sparkle nail varnishes right now.

My top one is the Loreal Paris Colour Riche in 836 Scarlet Tinsel.

 Loreal Colour Riche - 836 Scarlet Tinsel - £4.99

I love this colour, its so pretty and gives a good amount of coverage over a base colour. I used a deep burgundy colour underneath. It also dries really well and fairly fast. It doesn't leave your nails feeling tacky or sticky even after leaving them to dry for 5/10 minutes.

Rimmel Space Dust - Luna Love - £3.99

This colour is a pretty pink, its has a light glitter to it so it's not so in your face as other glitter polishes. I like to use this for a little glitter for work. It's quite nice to have a little sparkle but not too much. It gives good coverage but needs two coats to give a good colour.

Barry M Texture - Countess - £3.99 

I like this polish as its a little different to the usual gold and red polish that you can wear over the party season. It's a nice colour and you will need two coats to get the full colour out of it. I'm not really too fussed about the texture of the nail polish as I go over all polish with a clear top coat.

Barry M Nail Paint - Gold Glitter - £2.99

I love a good gold glitter for an accent nail for nights out. Pair it with a matte black polish and your set for a perfect look! You'll need a couple of coats of this as it's not fully loaded with glitter there's quite a bit of clear polish to get through.

Barry M Texture - Lady (White Pearl) - £3.99

This colour is so pretty! It goes so well with a plain red polish and looks so christmassy I love it! Hello Festive nails! It gives really good coverage, you'll probably only need a single coat of it.

Barry M Nail Paint - Red Glitter - £2.99

Unfortunately I can't get a link for this polish through boots. I don't know if they've discontinued this colour but it is lovely. I like having this on for Christmas as obviously red is the signature colour for Christmas time!

So those are my favourite glitters for any Christmas parties/nights out!

Sophie

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Growing up

Hello Everyone!

You know the feeling when you do something fairly 'grown up'? Yeah well, I had a lot of that feeling today. Me and my boyfriend have been talking about it for the past month or so and we finally decided to have a look around. 

Okay so that sounded a bit cryptic... We decided to go have a look at some new build homes in our area today. 

I'm 22 and my boyfriend is 21, we've been together now for two years. About a month ago we had a chat about what we want in the next two/three years and the main thing was that we both wanted to have moved out of both of our parents houses. Seeing as neither of us know anything about buying a house we decided to book an appointment at a new development.

When we arrived at the development sales center we were greeted by a lovely sales representative who showed us around several show homes. She told us everything we needed to know and got us in touch with financial/mortgage advisors who talked us through the whole process of buying a house. The man we spoke to explained how much we would be able to borrow, how much our repayments would be and explained the help to buy scheme to us. 

photo from Bellway website

We really liked the three bedroom houses that they had there,for us to own that we both need to be in a job which pays a little more than what we currently earn. This is so that we can live comfortably, paying bills off as well as being able to put money away into savings each month. 

So today we both felt rather grown up, finding out what we really want and making plans in order to get what we want. It was quite scary but it felt right doing it. It was an insight into what we could afford, I enjoyed looking around the show homes too, my god they're so pretty!

Sorry if this was a bit of a boring post for you guys but this has really excited me today. I absolutely love making big plans!

Sophie

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New things!

Hello Everyone!

I've just made the leap onto Twitter!

For some strange reason I was actually terrified to go onto Twitter. I don't know why but I did it.

I've been meaning to do it for ages now but I've done it.

You can now follow me on there: @bysophielouise1

I'm still getting to grips with it, so I'll posting on there fairly soon. 

If you're on twitter please leave your username for me :)

Sophie 

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Home Decor Hack - Tea Lights

Hello Everyone!

As we are now in the cooler months and the candles have made their appearance in our homes I've managed to dig out a gigantic box full of scented tea lights! Mmmmm!

I absolutely adore scented candles and I really am itching to get my hands on the Yankee Candle Christmas Collection. However, I've decided that it was about time that I used up at least some of my little tiny tea lights before investing in yet another candle. My Yankee Candle obsessed mind is telling me off right now for not buying any BUT my financial mind is thinking hold up lady! You need to use up what you already have first.

So, I've set myself a little challenge - Use up at least half of the tea lights and I can treat myself to a Yankee Candle.

The only problem with this is, I hate having tea lights just set on tables on their own. I like having candles in glass containers. I don't know why, I just like how they look. Yes, I'm slightly weird. So I've just managed to whittle down four glass contained candles. Two were from The Disney Store and two were from Glade. I cleaned them all out and removed the end of the wicks from all of them.

Once I had cleaned them out I removed the tea lights out of their foil containers and popped them into each glass.

By removing the original packaging you allow the wax to melt into the shape of the container, which will make sure that the wax will go down. Minimal clearing out for the next candle! 

These are the Imagination Winter Candle Glasses that I got for Christmas last year. I love these glasses as they're so pretty, they're slightly cloudy so they give a nice glow out of them when the candle is lit. When all my lights are out it also gives a nice shadow too. 

These are the Glad candles that I bought last Christmas, I kept the glasses because I thought they were really pretty and would come in use someday. They look so nice lit up and the colours and patterns on them are so christmassy it gets me all festive and happy.

I love how pretty they look in the dark and lit up. 

As an extra hack with the glade glasses, as they are quite wide containers you could chop up the candle wax and pop it around the original candle. 

So there you have a very quick but cute home decor hack to use up your old tea lights.

Sophie

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