What is in my Make-up Bag

So to start off with my make-up bag currently is Zoella's Just Say Yes make-up bag as still she started opening up more about her anxiety it has made it easier for me to come to terms with my anxiety and also to be able to just even speak more to my parents about it. She has helped me realise that I can't let it ruin my life and make me regret something I wish I said yes too.

So to start with my foundation of choice currently is Maybelline Better Skin, my shade is 005: Light Beige. I started using this after hearing some good reviews on it plus also due to the fact it's meant to have vitamins and minerals to help make your skin look better, I have several issues with my skin lately with breakouts, redness, dark under eye circles and just general dullness to my skin.

I also use two different concealer, the first being Soap and Glory's Trick and Treatment in the shade Bright On which I use under my eyes as it says it's meant to help with dark under eye circle and help to reduce them over time. The concealer I use to help with any redness or spots changes between the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer is the shade Fair or Maybelline Fit Me concealer which I use in the shade Fair or Light. 

When I am going for the bronzer I generally use The Body Shop Honey Bronzer in the shade colour 01, when I am going for this look I will also use the Topshop Glow Highlighter in places the shade I use in this is Polished. I like to mix things up so when I want to use a blusher instead of bronzer the blush I am currently using is Sleek's Rose Gold. I like using this blusher due to the fact it's a two in one product, the blush as a slimmer to it so you don't need to use a highlight with this product. 

If I am having a typically oily day I will use a power to help create a Matt look by using Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot, it's a nice thinly milled power and a little goes a long way.

When it comes to eyes, I am using Benefits They're Real mascara, this mascara is great for lengthening your lashes perfectly just a real pain to take off at night when using the wrong product to remove your make-up. As far as eye shadows go, I am really not adventurous with this I use either Urban Decay Naked Basics palette which everyone has heard about or Boot's 17 Wild Metallics Eye in the shade Wild Nude which is a great all over cream shadow when you either have no time for more complicated looks or you are in a rush.

With my eyebrow, I find the ends of them are pretty non existent as the hairs are so light which mean I need to fill them in otherwise I only have half an eyebrow. The product I have been using for over a year is the Soap and Glory Archery which has a great felt-tip pen like nib which is the tint I use.   

Lately the lip colours I have been going for is either Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien which is a lovely pinky your lips but better colour or I am using Maybelline Colour Drama in Nude Perfection which is my perfect nude over the last 2/3 months when lightly patched on the lips. 

Much Love

SophieClaire <3

AWOL: My Struggles with Life Continues!

So I haven't really been writing on my blog for a long while, I am at a point in my life where I had enough of the judgement from people in my life about how I act in situations. Which I am still struggling with now a lot. I am going to be writing a lot about my personal demons and fears on here as my own personal therapy hoping maybe it will help release my negative thoughts, as I know my blog is called Sophie Claire Beauty I will attempt a beauty post after this one depending on how I am emotionally feeling.

My anxiety is causing so many problems for me at this point still, from personal issues with the people I care about most of all, my work situation as I have been off sick for almost 3 weeks due to a kidney infection which may turn out to be something more (will have to wait and see what happens with this in the near future) but I now find I have a lot of anxiety at the thought of returning to work nothing to do with my colleagues or the work itself as I love my job colleagues they are all great in their own special ways. It's just due to the fact I have been off for so long, this little voice in my head just keeps saying all this silly things e.g. Judgemental thought about me being off, thinking I haven't actually been ill. Which I know many of you may think it's silly while others will understand exactly where I am coming from. I am now beginning to realise where my anxiety/insecurities are holding me back so much in life.  

This time last year I was about of start a 6 week course of counselling with a charity based in Bristol called OfftheRecord, which at the beginning I was extremely anxious and unsure about as I normally hold everything back for anyone I know and just let the thought be put to the back of my mind as I personally think I don't want to force or push my problems onto anyone else as when you get older you soon realise many people are dealing/fighting their own personal demons. I have now realised I can't keep holding all this inside myself as it will get to me twice of much as I am now finding myself crying which I think is for no reason but in the back of my mind it's because of all that I am holding back. While I was at my counselling I soon began to realise I have many issues that I hadn't began to realise were effecting me so much, family, friends, old school related issues, work related issues. The counselling I found helped in one respect to get certain things off my chest which I haven't spoken about with anyone at all while in other ways I found it made things twice as worse as I found I was struggling with a lot more than I was wanting to admit to myself let alone someone I didn't even know. Which I won't be going into detail now but maybe do a post on each in the near future. 

Lately due to my kidney infection I am finding I am anxious about my work life being completely different, my health getting worse or even becoming sick again, my personal life is struggling a lot at the moment with issues with my boyfriends, loss of a friend, losing touch with other friends, struggling to open up and speak to family members. Which is causing me to feel very alone and lost. I am currently using the app called Calm to help me sleep and to also help me when I am feeling extremely anxious to the point of almost having a panic attack. 

If anyone can give me any tips or pointers that they have used to help the emotional stability that would be great.

Much Love

Sophie Claire <3 

How Anxiety Effects Me and How I Feel Currently

Time to be really honest, this is going to be one of the hardest things I have written........ I have anxiety, yes I know mental illness is very taboo but I have been TRYING to deal with it for years with counselling, trying to speak about how I am feeling honestly with the people I am closest to, speaking to others about their experiences and reading self help books. Honestly nothing can can truly help as I am starting to learn as I hate it when you try to explain how you feel and people are trying to help excuses for you e.g. your just quiet, your just shy, just need to come out of your shell a bit more. 

Well no anxiety for me is when I'm to the point of panic and being almost in tears, uncontrollable shaking, heart racing, sometimes even struggling to breathe at just the thought of getting on a busy bus, going out for drink with friends, trying to start and keep a conversation going, meeting new people and even sometimes just walking down the street. The worst part is when the people closest to you don't understand or even try to understand and when people who have no clue what you are like or what you have been through to get to this point as they think because your quiet you hate them or are stuck up! 

Mental Heath/Illness is never considered when meeting someone new, people need to learn/think about how someone might be feeling on the inside while trying to put on a brace face because from my personal experience it's all about trying to be strong and maybe putting up a wall so I don't get hurt more than I already am. People may think this is all for attention but really it is I have got to a point where I just need to be open otherwise people will never get to see the real me as I don't show the real me to many not even my FAMILY as maybe I am scared or ashamed I have let them down in some way, which I know really deep down might sound silly but I just cant help the way I feel or think about things. I am always wanting to help/support and even be someone I know I cant really be to make others feel better and for the family to be happy. 

I'm learning I need to think of myself a bit more but its become a habit for me to think more of others than myself which I have people tell me its not healthy. Honestly I would love to not have to work, leave my house, sometimes even talk to people but I know I need to as i wont be living properly and wont feel any better Not even sure if this is making sense any more or if people even have read to this point but just needed to get this off my chest as it were as just struggling to cope right now,so time to sign off now.

Much Love 

SophieClaire <3

New Hair Care Products

I have recently updated my hair care routine. 

I have changed my shampoo and conditioner from the Tony and Guy shampoo and conditioner for Dry hair 

to The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner as I wanted to use a more natural products on my hair. As the shampoo and conditioner from The Body Shop as No Silicones, No Sulphates, No Parabens and No Colourants.
I have also stopped buying hair masks from the drug store and instead I went to Holland and Barrett recently and brought Extra Virgin Coconut Oil which I am now using as a hair mask. I'm loving the coconut oil so much, I brought the bigger pot they do and I have used it every week and I have hardly used it. Plus I have researched into coconut oil a lot, so I can really say it makes your hair feel so nice. I find if I put the coconut oil on in the evening then wash it out on the next morning during my shower, you get the best results from the oil as it is absorbed into the hair follicle all night while you sleep.


Much Love
SophieClaire <3

Haul

In the past week or 2, I have got a bit of a shopping addiction and haven't been able to stop myself very naughty of me! First of I went to Boots as they have 3 for 2 on pretty much everything which make things twice as bad, as I feel like there is twice as much I came in for.
So first off I got Biore Nose Strips as I have always wanted to try them and see if they really work which I have to admit they work a treat. After hearing all the raving on Youtube about Nivea Lip Butter I decided to try one so brought the favour Caramel Cream which smells amazing. With my obsession with Soap and Glory getting worse I decided to get Calm All Calm One Bubble Bath and Gloricous Moisturising Mist. Also as Boots and with their many deals as I spent over £10 on Soap and Glory I got a free Butter Yourself Body Butter.

After Me and my boyfriend popped into Home Bargains so I could up some Re Gen cream after hearing so many great things about this cream so have to try it out then found some other great Bargains!! 

Nail Polish of the Week

 

Hi Guys, I know its been a long time since i have done one of these posts but at the beginning of March all my nail decided to clip or break so I thought it was best to give my nails a break for a while. As we all know nail polish isn't great for our nails even with a Base Coat.

 

But anyway now my nails are a little bit better I thought I could go back to painting them as I didnt have them painted at all for a whole month, so wierd as they are normally painted.

 

So I thought I would give my Barry M Hi Shine Gelly Nail Polishes a go finally after buying them and not using them at all. So this week i'm wearing Greenberry which I love the colour of completely its a lovely bright colour but not too in your face. I like to think of it as a Mint Green.

Gorgeous Colour

Another great thing about these nail polishes are that where they are so thick and glossy you only really need one coat and dont really need a top coat. But I would recommend a base coat as these colours can discolour your nails.

Of course you can buy these from any Boots or Superdrug

Sophie Claire <3

Nail Polish of the Week

Sorry guys just found this I forgot to Schedule this to Publish, so here's an old post a wrote a while ago.


So this week my nail polish is from Rimmel London and its there 60 seconds collection. The colour I'm wearing is 430 - Coralicious. I do have to say this nail polish does dry quickly maybe not quite 60 seconds but does dry quicker than other nail polishes which I love as I hate the waiting process when painting your nails. This colour is a vibrate pink with a hint of orange mixed into it.

So on Sunday 17th February, I was working with some friends on a short film they are making called Wingmen so thought a more brighter colour was important as they were filming in a nightclub and plus I was wearing a navy skater dress from Primark which I brought recently which will appear in a Haul post very soon. So look out for that :) So I needed a pop of colour for my outfit.  

They have a nice mixture of different colour but this as to be one of my favorite colors from this collection! Of course you can buy these from Boots and Superdrug.

Here's the link for Boots.

By clicking on Boots it will take you straight to Rimmel London 60 Seconds Nail Polish so you can see the wide range of colors they have on offer at the moment with 3 for 2!! 

Have you tried 60 Seconds Nail Polishes from Rimmel? Let me know and tell me what your favourite colour is from this collection.

Sophie Claire <3