Sunday 25 July 2010

I live for the nights that I can't remember, with the people that I won't forget...

I had an amazing night last night celebrating my birthday with my friends. I love them so much, far too many drinks were consumed and a good time was had by all!  This photo probably shows my makeup the best, I'm on the right as you look at the pic and my best friend Tia is on the left. (I think if you click on it,  it will get bigger?!) It was slightly over the top. Let’s just say drag queens would have been proud but sometimes, more is more! Let me know in the comments if you'd like a tutorial!





In other news, today I am going to the most glamourous of destinations that is Syracuse, Central New York State. About a four hour drive (merely down the road to North Americans!), Syracuse is a University town, home of the famous ‘Orange’ basketball teams. It holds a special place in my heart; when I was thinking about going to University and trying to decide where to go, for some reason I was really interested in Syracuse. We went with some American friends on homecoming weekend and it was just SO fantastic, eventually I decided to go back to London but Syracuse still holds something for me. The city itself is nothing special but the reason many Canadians flock there is for the shopping. The shopping is great. The main attraction is the Carousel Center Mall, home of faves like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister & J. Crew for basics, Old Navy, Forever 21 and H&M for cheap & trendy, Pottery Barn, Yankee Candle & Williams Sonoma for my Mum and department stores JC Penney, Macys and Lord & Taylor plus much much more! As well as the mall the Waterloo Outlets are nearby. Unfortunately these outlets are definitely no Bicester or Woodbury Common but there is a Cosmetics Company Outlet so I will be stopping by to see if there are any bargains to be had!
I am SO looking forward to going! It’s just for four days but it will be nice to relax, get away and indulge in some retail therapy! Will report on any purchases when I’m back!
Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend, will be back after my short trip!
Speak soon, 
Love Sophie xx

Saturday 24 July 2010

Go Shorty, It's your birthday. We're gonna party like it's your birthday...

My 21st Birthday was at the beginning of January. I was in London and luckily so were my family. For the last two years until recently, Dad was working in London leaving my Mum and Pippa in Ottawa. He used to fly back here every 10 weeks or so and see them, very complicated! So he & I were in London (NOT living together, I hasten to add, that would have been a nightmare!) and they were in Canada. Anyway the point of this rather longwinded explanation is that M & P were in London for Christmas. We had the perfect London day. Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien on the Kings Rd near Dad’s flat, shopping at Harrods then Selfridges, lunch at Sticky Fingers in Kensington and then a relaxed evening. It was lovely but not particularly celebratory. My best friends are all here in Canada so I never really had a chance to celebrate with them. SO (are you still with me?!) this weekend my best friend in the whole world Tia, who’s 23 on Tuesday, and I are celebrating her birthday and my belated one. We are both getting hotel rooms at a hotel downtown and having our closest friends over to predrink and celebrate and then heading to a club to meet the rest of our friends. I am SO looking forward to it! I only wish that some of my London friends could be here and come out with us.
The point of this whole shiz is that a big night out requires beaucoup de preparation. I got ma hair did yesterday (ps. why is it so expensive?!), had a spray tan today (post coming on that, I promise!) and have a whole list of various things I need to do tomorrow. Like most girls I know, lists are basically my favourite things. Here are my lists for all the things I need to take with me to the hotel. I’ll check in at three and then the primping starts! I love getting ready to go out...maybe even more than the actual going out?!

(Excuse hideous, chipped nail polish! All will be redeemed when do nails tomorrow!)
Um yes I am taking four possible pairs of shoes. Here’s my issue. I love heels, they’re beautiful, sophisticated, make legs look longer etc etc, however, I cannot, for love nor money walk further than about 10 feet in them. I have tried a million different pairs and keep buying them, positive that these are the pair that will change me, with no luck. Any tips? 
Oh yeah, If you follow me on Twitter you’ll know I got the bargain of the century when it came to my dress. I kind of knew what I was looking for, had a look in a few stores, tried a few things on, one of which (A Herve Leger style black bandage dress...bit too clingy though) I quite liked. So I put it on hold and was umming and aahing about it. Then the next day I went to a different mall and found the most perfect dress, exactly what I was looking for, that fits perfectly and it came to the grand total of...are you ready...$14. It was on sale from $100 to $24 and then there was an extra 40 percent off. That’s amazing! They do that all the time in North America, you’ll find something on sale and then when you take it to the cash, there’s another massive discount! So that was fab. Love finding bargains!
I’ve been thinking about makeup too. Was originally going to do very dark black smoky but am thinking might do a more Kardashian-esque smoky eye. We’ll see...maybe I’ll do a tutorial on the final look if anyone’s interested?
Anyway this post is basically me just blathering on now so I’ll sign off. Anyone have any pre going out rituals they’d like to share, let me know in the comments!
Speak soon!
Love Sophie xx

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Last name Ever. First name Greatest.


Oh Drake. He of dreamy smile and Canadian passport, how I love you. I’ve been totally  into Drake for a while now, the Toronto raised rapper is part of Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew and I’m all kinds of obsessed with Lil Wayne, as is, rather disturbingly, my Mother who has been known to sing along enthusiastically to ‘Mrs. Officer’ (a song about Weezy seducing a female cop, natch) and the creatively named ‘Prostitute 2’. So Drake, he used to be on a Canadian show here called Degrassi, where he played Jimmy, a character who eventually became wheelchair bound after being shot in the school hallway. Yes, really.  Now however he is pretty much an international superstar and BOY do the girls like him. He also references Flight of the Conchords in a song, which basically makes him the coolest rapper ever.
When I heard that Drizzy was coming to Ottawa Bluesfest, there was no doubt that I was going. Just like last year when Matisyahu came and two years before that when Kanye played. Not going was not an option. So Pippa (my sis) and I got our tickets and last Friday the 16th, headed Downtown for the show. Bluesfest is basically a big outdoor music festival and unlike it’s name may suggest, has very little to do with the Blues. There’s always big name acts mixed in with cult faves and local talent. It’s awesome and every year there’s always a couple of must see acts. This year it was all about Drake and we, along with seemingly the entire under 30 population of Ottawa arrived at the venue just before Drake was meant to go on. 















































And here he was. Wearing all black (swoon) he hit the audience with a barrage of hits, including guest verses from super-hits like ‘Forever’. He also talked...a lot. Hey I’m not complaining, I could listen to him talk all night and the content was completely and totally aimed at his adoring female fans. You know ‘I always said I would marry a Canadian girl, well maybe I’ll find an Ottawa girl’ (cue screaming)...that sort of thing. At one point he dragged a girl on stage and proceeded to slow dance, caress and practically make out with the hysterical teen (not before suddenly leaping away from her, asking the audience to turn off their cameras and checking her age), once it was ascertained that she was indeed 18, the seducing could continue. You could almost hear the sneers of ‘Lucky bitch’ coursing through the crowd. In fact, the show was SO aimed at the ladies that if I’d been a guy there, I might have felt a little left out. Didn’t seem to bother the guy in front of me, who  danced like no one was watchin’ the entire show, much to our delight. An hour and fifteen minutes later, pretty standard for Bluesfest, Drake left the stage. The set was great, with crowd favourites such as ‘Over’ and ‘Best I ever had’ proving particularly good live. Drake was charming and every girl, including myself, left more in love with him than she arrived. 




Sophie’s Top Five Drake songs you must download like, right now, in no particular order.
1. Bitch is Crazy...within about a week of being in my iTunes, this had made it’s way into the top 25 most played songs. It’s just that catchy.
2. Unstoppable - this samples another song from one of my faves, Santogold and features a fab guest verse from Weezy. 
3. November 18th - Just a super hot song. Have fun singing along with the deep voice sound effect, Pippa and I sing this in the car. Hilarity ensues. 
4. Show me a good time - I’m pretty sure this was Kanye produced. ‘Nuff said.
5. Successful - Minimalist and self explanatory. He wants money, cars, clothes and hos. Simples. 



Let me know if you love/hate Drake, your fave songs and who else I should listen to!
Speak soon, 
Love Sophie xx

Monday 19 July 2010

Dropped off the edge again down in Juarez



Now if you’ve been on the blogosphere in the past 24 hours, chances are you’ll have heard about the whole Mac cosmetics/ Rodarte collaboration controversy. I shan’t go into it in too great detail as there are many bloggers out there who have done a fantastic job in explaining the matter in an eloquent, detailed way. In a nutshell, the Mulleavy sisters have joined forces with Mac for a collection coming out in September. That, unsurprisingly is not the issue. The reason the beauty world is in an uproar is because the collection was inspired by the sister’s trip to Juarez, Mexico. Ever heard of it? No, me neither before this whole issue. Juarez is a bordertown, known for it’s violent drug culture. Amok with rival drug cartels, the citizens of the city have to fear for their lives daily, with the presence and threat of shootings a very real reality. In fact, just a few days ago a car bomb in the city left by a drug cartel killed at least four people, but this is not the only issue the people of Juarez face. There are huge numbers of so called ‘missing women’, indeed 3000 women have been reported missing in less than 20 years and in the same period of time there have been 400 femicides (murders committed simply because the victim is female). Many of these women worked in the Maquiladoras, or factories and this is where the controversy begins. 
Several of the products have rather eerie names associated with Juarez and it’s violent history, including ‘Ghost Town’, ‘Bordertown’, ‘Sleepwalker’ and, leaving no room for misinterpretation ‘Juarez’ and ‘Factory’. Understandably many feel that these names are uninformed and in poor taste on the part of Mac/Rodarte. Since this started causing shockwaves, the companies have both released statements and Mac is going to give a portion of their profits to a relevant charity to help the people of Juarez. 
Hmm now unlike most I am in two minds about this collection. What is happening in Juarez right now is undeniably terrible. Something needs to be done and it is shocking that due to various factors these murders are for the most part unsolved. It is also beyond my belief that a company such as Mac, who are behind the brilliant Viva Glam campaign, thought that the names of these products were acceptable without a charitable donation. Did Mac think that their intelligent consumers would simply not notice/care about the morbid names and even morbid-er (not a word but I’m stickin’ with it) promo pic? But this is perhaps where my thoughts differ from some, who think that the products should be renamed or even pulled. I don’t necessarily think that the names of the products are totally inappropriate. Shocking world events have long inspired art and fashion, with beauty being an extension of this. I actually would have had no problem with the names of the products if the collection had been in the manner of Viva Glam with a donation to a suitable charity from the start, as opposed to a vague, rushed afterthought. This could have turned what is now an unmitigated PR disaster into a thoughtful and useful collaboration campaign. After all, I, like many other previously ignorant bloggers and consumers am now thoroughly educated on the situation in Juarez, which is surely a very positive thing? While most believe that the names are inappropriate, if the products hadn’t had these controversial names, we would have remained oblivious to Juarez and it’s terrible and violent happenings. In one respect I think it is a good thing that these names somehow passed through the Mac corporate ladders, if someone, like most are suggesting had indeed suggested that less evocative names had been chosen, we would still be in the dark about the situation and bloggers galore would not be posting about the situation in Juarez and educating thousands of people, who perhaps will make an effort to inform others, donate and generally spread the word about this impoverished Mexican bordertown and it’s missing women.  
Will I be buying anything from the collection? Perhaps, though probably not. If Mac step up to the plate and donate their entire profits I will be that much more inclined to support the collection and in turn the people of Juarez. 
I’d love to know what you think, please let me know in the comments.
For far more detailed and educational posts on Juarez and the Mac/Rodarte situation, you can visit some of my lovely twitter friends and fabulous beauty bloggers who have commented on the situation. Here are just a few...


and many of them have more links to other fab beauty bloggers who have also given their two cents, 
Speak soon, 
Love Sophie xx
ps. In less serious news I will be posting my thoughts on my spray tan just as soon as I scrub the orange off my legs, just kidding! x

Tuesday 13 July 2010

I can make you a celebrity overnight

Like so many WAGS and reality stars before me; tomorrow, ladies and gentlemen I, she of pale skin and blue eyes, will be getting a spray tan. Yes that’s right, a spray tan. I will be willingly undressing, entering a tiny booth and being sprayed with chemicals, all in the name of beauty and paying actually a rather reasonable $20 for the privilege. Now half of me, the sensible half, knows I am being ridiculous and that being pale is fine but the half of me which wants to be a Kardashian (more on this another time) feels that I need to be brown. Also I cannot leave the house without bronzer for fear of blinding the general public with my white, blotchy skin. So this has led me to the spray tan. After all how bad can it be, it only lasts a week, right? (Horror stories on a postcard please) I have tried the gradual moisturisers which are generally fine for a couple of days before wearing off leaving one with attractive dirty marks in manner of hideous flesh eating disease. Not a good look and I refuse to go in the tanning beds, terrifying things. So tonight I will be exfoliating to within an inch of my life, moisturising, defuzzing the legs (a mammoth task) and generally preparing myself for tomorrow. Feel almost like am getting ready for wedding or similar, instead of tan. Tomorrow I shall report back on the experience. I am going to a place which has the Mystic Tan HD Booth, which sounds very impressive and having watched a YouTube video on the process, seems relatively quick and easy. If you have any tips/tricks, please comment and let me know! Keep me in your thoughts and pray that I do not ‘pull a Ross!’
Speak soon!
Love Sophie xx