NOTD - Models Own Bubblegum

I forgot I had this polish and found it under my bed of all places a few weeks ago and have fallen back in love with it, I'm really into my bright neon's at the minute, I know I should be all over pastels for spring but I can't shake my neon obsession, I love this polish anyway, it's so bright and this drys to a semi-matte finish which I like because it means that you can either throw a shiny top coat on or leave it matte, I'm a high gloss kinda gal so I throw on a shiny top coat, currently loving Seche Vite but I think this is a great colour for a night out, especially if you're wearing something quite plain so that these nails can jazz it up a bit. I find Models Own formulas can be a bit hit and miss but I quite like this one, easy to apply and has good wear.

Now, looking into this, I think this has been re-packaged as one of part of the Ice Neon collection, I haven't tried this but I'm assuming it will be the same colour/formula.

What do you guys think of this? What's your favourite polish at the minute?

Soph x

teapigs Matcha Green Tea #matchamay

Recently the lovely people at teapigs sent me a sample of their Matcha Tea, the timing was perfect as I'd been reading up on it and was dying to try it. I'm a herbal tea addict - seriously, if you look in my cupboards, I have a ridiculous amount, my favourites are green and nettle tea (straight up, no flavourings) but I have all sorts of variations for when I do get bored of just drinking plain old nettle and green tea. I work from home and my office is in part my kitchen, which means that my "stretching my legs" time is quite often a wonder to said tea cupboard which happens at least every few hours, I try and avoid caffeine and dairy and have done since I was about 14 and it was then that I got into herbal teas and I've been addicted ever since, I can't stand normal tea anymore plus I really do think that they hold a multitude of health benefits depending on the type you drink, I'll do a separate review on some of my favourites. So, anyway, onto the Matcha Tea, Matcha Tea is basically the ground up green tea leaves, the theory is that you are gaining the goodness direct from the leaves, rather than boiling a tea bag and throwing away the good bit (the leaves), one serving of this tea is the equivalent to drinking 15 cups of regular green tea  which is an absolute win. It comes in a fine powder form which you then either add to boiling water and mix (they recommend whisking this in using a one of those little hand held whisks that you use to make lattes!) Or, adding this to warm milk to make a latte or adding to a smoothie or milkshake which would be great for those that aren't into the green tea taste. 

I believe Matcha Tea can also be used to aid weight loss although I can't personally comment on this because the sample size wasn't enough to put this to the test, If I decide to pick some up though I will let you know how this goes, but it basically boosts the metabolism. It also claims that 60% of people that tried this noticed an improvement in skin, hair and nails in 2 weeks which is pretty amazing. I really loved the taste of this, it's very similar to regular green tea, just a bit stronger but equally as refreshing and is a bright green colour which makes you feel like you're drinking pure goodness. Another little fact about this wonder drink is that it contains 70 times the amount of antioxidants of Orange juice and nine times the amount of betacarotene of spinach and vitamins A, B and C. Ok, I'll stop blurting random facts out at you now, but just to finish up, I really did love this and if it wasn't for the price tag (£25 for a 30g pot making it around 83p per cup), I would have 100% re-purchased this already, once pay day comes around though I'll definitely think about picking it up, when I think about it, I would easily spend that on a face mask (in fact, I just have!) which is a surface product while this tea is doing goodness from within but I don't know whether you would find cheaper teas that could do the job as well, I almost want to try it for longer to see. If you want to try this yourself, you can find it here plus I also have a 15% discount code for you all to use if you want which is Bloggers12

What do you think, would you try this? 

What are your thoughts on a regular tea review?

Sophie xx

Mini Haul - Nails, Nails, Nails

Hi All,

Just wanted to share a few little nail purchases I've picked up recently. Most of these are nail purchases which wasn't the intention but as you know, I do love my nail items.

Hope you enjoy!

Soph x

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips - Fragrance Direct - £1.99

I have high hopes for these bad boys, I've wanted to try some of these for literally about 2 years, these were a bargain at £1.99 and the neon pink will be perfect for summer!

Essie - Fear or Desire - Fragrance Direct - £1.99

Honestly, I wasn't impressed with this, when I got it, the colour had separated and there were large clumps of solid colour stuck to the brush - has anyone else had this issue with the Fragrance Direct Essie polishes?

Sally Hansen - Cuticle Trimmer - Fragrance Direct - £1.99

I liked this strange little device, up until the point that I used it a little bit heavy handed and sliced some of the skin above my nail off. It is handy though although I think I prefer my normal cuticle scissors.

Seche Vite - Boots - £9.99

I LOVE THIS - Full Stop. It's changed my nail routine completely, I don't know how it's taken me this long to buy this but I think it's amazing.

30 Ways to Save £1

I'm forever on the hunt to save a couple of quid, I learnt my penny pinching ways from my dad who's never been keen on handing over cash to people (I think my filthy beauty product habit is excluded, I somehow always manage to justify spending ridiculous amounts of money on that!) I spotted that moneysupermarket.com have a competition running to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the pound coin where they want people to share some of there ways to save a £1 (or thereabouts). I decided to get in on the action so here are some of my top tips for saving a pound or two!

You can find out more about it here - come on, join in on the moneysaving fun!



1. I know this may be quite an obvious one but shop in charity shops, you really can find some great things for a fraction of the price.

2. Check out the discount section of your local supermarket, they tend to have things going out of date today or tomorrow there with a big discount, most use by or best before dates are precaution only anyway. 

3. Have a clothes party with your friends, all bring some clothes that you no longer wear and swap them among yourselves. 

4. Always check online for discount coupons before eating out. 

5. If you get bored of a piece of clothing, try customizing it and making it look completely different, customizing is a lot cheaper than buying something new. 

6. If you can't customise it, try selling it on eBay, things that you want to throw away might be someone else's idea of treasure.

7. This is a random one but if your umbrella or water proof coat is getting old and starting to let water through, give it a spray with hairspray and it will help make it waterproof again.

8. Go for a run in the park or a long walk around your town rather than spending money on expensive gyms. 

9. If you know your prescription, buy your glasses online, they tend to be lots cheaper than high street stores. 

10. Ring up your telephone or cable provider and try and barter your bills down, if you're a loyal customer they can do good deals, I recently shaved £16 off my phone bill. 

11. Shop in the sales, you always find amazing bargains. 

12. Take advantage of half price and buy one get on free deals especially if it's on essentials like toothpastes or shower gels, you will use it and it saves you buying it full price. 

13. Use Skype and Whatsapp to keep in touch with friends abroad (and here at home), it can save big money on expensive phone bills. 

14. If the weather's nice, always dry your clothes outside, tumble dryers cost a lot of money to run, sunshine is free :)

15. If you're feeling brave, cook at home rather than eating out, it's a lot more satisfying knowing that you made it with your own fair hands. 

16. If you don't feel up to cooking and are hankering after a take away, check out the supermarket versions, they tend to be a lot cheaper than  ordering from a takeaway.

17. If you're off out for a day, take a picnic, that way you can find a nice park or a pretty spot to sit and eat it in and save money at the same time. 

18. Turn plugs off if your not using something, it's pointless paying an electric company to keep your TV on standby. 

19. Use points cards, Most supermarkets and the likes of Boots and Superdrug have them, it's a great way of getting something back when you buy things. 

20. Check online cashback sites, you can link your card to them so that when you buy things online or in store, you're making money from them. 

21. Car share - if you work with other people, why not take it in turns to drive so your not all using up petrol etc, it saves money and you get to chat to friends on the way to work. 

22. Make sure that when you use up beauty products, you've got everything out of the bottle or tube, most people will throw away but you'll find that if you cut open the top, there's still a lot of product left inside. 

23. Check that you can't buy something cheaper online, it's not great for the high street but it might just help your wallet. 

24. Why not start a vegetable patch and grow your own veg and fruit, you'll get a huge sense of achievement and have some delicious, fresh things to eat!

25. Save money on an expensive night out by inviting friends to your house for drinks. 

26. Find restaurants that have a "BYOB" policy, that way you can save on buying expensive bottles of wine and drink. 

27. Left over veg? Make up a soup or stew and freeze it, that way you can get it out and eat it as and when you need. 

28. When it's chilly outside, throw on an extra jumper instead of turning up the thermostat, it will save you a lot of money in gas bills. 

29. Downsize your morning coffee, it might not seem like you're saving much but when you save 50p per coffee each day, that's almost £180 per year.

30. Rather than buying expensive hair oils and moisturisers, give a multi purpose product a try like coconut oil, it works as a cooking oil, hair oil, moisturiser, it's a bit of wonder product.

Acorelle White Orchid Anti Stress Eau De Parfum

So, I wrote briefly about Acorelle's White Orchid Anti Stress Eau de Parfum in my Haul post a little while ago - link here - but I just wanted to go into this a little bit more in depth, I tend to normally just go for brand perfumes, my all time favourite being Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb and Issey Miyake so this was a bit of an out there purchase for me, but I just completely got sucked in by the scent, it's sweet but a little bit spicy, it's a bit musky but it's fresh at the same time. It's also incredibly hard to describe because there's so many words popping in to my head to describe it. It's mentioned as having sandalwood and orange in it, but I don't get either of these scents as a top note in it if I'm honest, there's a definite citrus scent in there but it's not overpowering, I'm really not a fan of citrus scents so I wouldn't go anywhere near this if it was strong but the smell is kind of a spiced orange if anything. It really is just a deliciously yummy scent and it's got pretty good lasting power as well, I sprayed this in the morning before work and was getting whiffs of it all through the afternoon. 

It's made from 100% natural ingredients (thumbs up for Acorelle) and 90% of those ingredients are organic (major thumbs up again) which I think is great, I'm definitely starting to become more aware of this in beauty products recently, there's quite literally nothing bad in this just loveliness. I can sometimes struggle with very strong scents in that they can sometimes be so overpowering that they can induce a bit of a headache but I have no problems with this. It's part of a series of perfumes from Acorelle and this one in particular is Anti Stress which I get, it's definitely got a calming effect when you spray it on, it's stated as helping with Stress and Anxiety as well, neither have been too bad recently but I'm hoping this will help if it kicks off at any point. 

I picked mine up in the beauty section of our local Wholefoods Market but I've spotted this on the M&S website here as well for £29.50 for a 50ml bottle which is very reasonably priced considering the quality and it's making me really want to try out some more of these perfumes. 

NOTD: Models Own Hed Kandi Beach Party Polish

I know it's not officially summer yet, nor is it even particularly sunny here in the UK but I wanted to brighten things up a little and recently I've been really loving orange nail polishes, I've bought a few, a Revlon and another Essie one but I think this Models Own one has to be my favourite, it's neon but creamy at the same time and just really "pops" on your nails, Even if you're wearing a plain outfit, this adds a bit of something extra to it! I'm not overly keen on the formula if I'm honest, I find it a little thick so I work it by scraping most of the polish off and doing a thin initial layer so the second layer has something to stick to otherwise it just goes gloopy and smudges I find! 

What do you think of this polish? 

Soph x

Herbal Essences Herbally Ever After Breakage Defender Shampoo & Conditioner

I spotted this pair in Boots recently and fell so head over heels in love with the scent that I had to snap them up immediately. Herbal Essences remind of being a teenager, I used to be obsessed with the fruity, floral-y scents when I was in School and to be honest, they all still smell flipping amazing. The Herbal Essences Herbally Ever After range was created to celebrate as they say "40 years of pleasure in and out of the shower" and there are quite a few different scents from the range. I went for the Breakage Defender Formula, which I didn't realise until after I'd bought it if I'm honest, I was completely swayed by the smell and packaging with this one, but it's quite lucky really because it's quite a good match for what I normally go for, I can't say I've noticed a massive difference in the brittleness of my hair but it does leave it my hair feeling lovely and soft when I use it, I don't think it would be great for those with oily hair, mine is borderline at the minute and it does feel like it's quite a heavy product when I use it because it is quite moisturising. 

The packaging is very cute, purple packaging with a green lid and a special limited edition wrap with Jasmine Flowers and Gold star bursts working up from the bottom, I'm not sure why but it reminds me of the film Tangled (I love that film!) and boy oh boy, These smell AMAZING, it's made with Royal Jasmine and Silky Sea Palm Extracts and just smells really Fruity, Fresh and Clean, the smell lingers in your hair as well for a good day or so after using it. 

These are currently in the 3 for 2 offer across haircare and selected makeup in Boots so check them out if you want your hair to smell, quite literally, divine! 

Soph x


p.s Apologies for the stock image but mine are looking a bit battered and I've lost the photo's I took of them when I bought them!

V05 Refresh Me Quick Dry Shampoo

I picked this VO5 Refresh Me Quick Dry Shampoo on a bit of a whim to be honest, I'm pretty loyal to Batiste Dry Shampoo's these days after going through some horrors of dry shampoo's (I didn't like the Timotei Pure dry shampoo at all - review here). Having said that, I really liked this one, it smells amazing, it's got a sweet scent but is really fruity and fresh as well, it's definitely got a clean and refreshing smell to it and it just really nicely refreshes my hair in between washes and gives it a bit of volume (but not too much, some can leave you looking like you've just stepped fresh out of the 80's). It doesn't leave a residue either, I find sometimes that your hair can get that real powdery feel to it after using dry shampoo which can sometimes leave it feeling worse than before but this leaves virtually no residue. Plus, it comes in bright pink metallic packaging, what's not to love? 

I would have re-purchased this but I went to Boots the other day and couldn't find it so I did re-purchase my Batiste but I would definitely pick this one up next time. Price wise, they're fairly similar, Batiste is about £2.99 and the V05 is about £3.69 and for me, V05 just wins because of the smell! 

Which is your favourite dry shampoo? 

Soph x

Cybercandy - Skittles Darkside

I was recently sent some Skittles Darkside from the lovely people at CyberCandy. I’m a huge fan of all things American and in particular any American food, I’m always slightly jealous that they have so much Peanut Butter flavoured chocolate stateside and a far better selection of Pop Tarts! I remember when I first visited the Cyber Candy store near Charing Cross, I must have been about 13 and my sister used to take me every time I went to visit her in London, at the time, I would always pick up Reeses’s Cups, Marshmallow Fluff (add to brownies, makes them super gooey!) and Lucky Charms, come to think of it, that’s still pretty much my shopping list on CyberCandy so when they asked if I wanted to try these Skittles Darkside I jumped at the chance, my brother helped me to test them because he’s skittles obsessed and we’ve put our thoughts on the flavours below.

Green - Midnight Lime - Nice and Lime-y but not quite as sweet as the other Lime skittles flavours. 

Blue -  Forbidden Fruit - Delicious but hard to make out a particular flavour other than a fruity kind of flavour, bit passion fruit-esque if I had to name something. Bit smoothie like.  

Red -  Pomegrante - Personally, my favourite, tastes a bit like watermelon as well - delish. 

Orange - Blood Orange - Definite orange flavour, not much more to say about this, probably my least favourite but only because I don't really like orange flavoured sweets anyway. 

Purple - Dark Berry - Tastes similar to the forbidden fruit, nice but not overly flavourful. 

He does think that a mouthful with each flavour is the best though.

You can check out CyberCandy here.

What's your favourite American sweet? 

Soph x

HAUL - MAC, H&M & Forever 21

Hi Guys, 

How's everyone's week going? I did a little shopping at the Bullring last week, I was surprised I didn't buy more to be honest but I went straight to MAC of course, oh how I wish we had a MAC counter in Cheltenham, although, my bank are probably happy that we don't! 

Hope you're all having a good week so far! 

Soph x

I picked up a MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study along with the Mineralize Skin Finish in Soft & Gentle - LOVE this!

H&M - £3.99

This was a little bargain from H&M - I think it was about £4 in their basics section, it's just a long flowy vest but it looks really nice on. 

Primark - £4

I actually bought 3 of these pillows from Primark, I knew they didn't have any in my local Primark so I was immensely happy when I saw these in the Birmingham Primark.

Forever 21 - £1.90

I actually picked these up with some little silver bows for your hair as well, they're just see through blue bracelets but it's a really pretty blue colour for summer. 

I can't remember where I bought this from but I remember it was £6, it's just a little night light that changes colours.