THE BEST OF HIGH STREET MAKE UP

High street make up brands have seriously upped their game recently, the packaging, formulas and prices are competitive and the ranges are pretty impressive. Here are a few of my favourite picks from the following brands:

Topshop Beauty

Supposedly made by the same company as MAC, Topshop's Make up range is beautiful and has been a favourite of mine for a long time. The lipsticks are creamy and long lasting, the blushers are pigmented and the packaging is gorgeous and feels well made and sturdy.
My favourite products of the range are the highlighters, especially Topshop's Glow Highlighters as they are beautifully iridescent and give an almost ethereal glow to the skin. I also love Topshop's Chameleon Glow eyeshadow in Shuffle the Cards, it's a buttery smooth shimmery rose gold and a great dupe for Nars Outer Limits. The blushers, lipsticks and nail polish shade range and formula are also divine.

H&M Beauty

I spent a long time in H&M last weekend swatching and testing out their new make up line. The collection looks impressive, it's affordable and the shade range is incredible. The packaging completely drew me in with it's dreamy hexagon shapes, monochromes and golds. However, although alluring, some of the packaging feels quite fragile and a little plastic.
The pencil eyeliners, cream eyeshadows and blushers are my favourites of the range, they're pigmented, long lasting and blend seamlessly onto the skin. The eyeshadows ranged vastly depending on the shade, 'Chin Chin' was beautifully pigmented and buttery smooth but most of the glittery shades felt quite chalky and had a lot of glitter fallout.
I picked up the eyeliner in Grand Cru, a light golden champagne which is unbelievably soft, creamy and long lasting and a Pure Velvet Cream Blush in Hot Pink, a blendable, pigmented deep berry pink.

Accessorize Beauty

The make up selection in my local store was quite small but I managed to swatch a few eyeshadows and lip products from the line. The eyeshadow formula was impressive, buttery, shimmery and pigmented and the lip products were pigmented and creamy.
Out of everything I was most drawn to the new nail polish design, it has to be the prettiest nail polish bottle that I've ever seen! The rose gold and geometric glass dome makes a such dreamy combination, it looks beautiful sitting on my dressing table. I bought the shade Petrol, a matte blue grey, the formula is quite thick but this may be due to it being a matte shade (which I didn't realise until application!) It took two coats for an opaque finish and lasted well on the nails. I'm really not a fan of matte shades and so unfortunately I'm not sure I'll get a lot of use from it, I love the look of the nude and light shimmery shades, I'll have to test those out next!

Which is your favourite high street make up range?

8 WAYS TO EAT SEASONALLY THIS AUTUMN

At the beginning of each new season I pull out my copy of Eat Pretty, click open a new tab on google and make a list full of the best and most beneficial foods to feast on in the month's ahead. Eating seasonally is not only good for the environment, it saves you money and helps your body to get the best nutrients and support for each season. Here's a few ways to eat seasonally:

1. Visit farmers markets for affordable, local, organic produce.

2. Check for the best prices - Seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables are often a lot more affordable as they are so abundant.

3. Do a little research - I love the Eat Pretty book, it's organised into seasons and so all the information is easily accessible and readily available. It's great to learn about seasonal food, their properties and benefits.

4. Make lists - I save each month's seasonal produce list on Pinterest, it's easy to refer back to and helps you to keep track of what's in season.

5. Snack on Apples - Crisp apples contain pectin and anti inflammatory flavonoids that help to detoxify the body and work to cool your body after the summer's heat.

6. Plan your Meals - My autumn meal repertoire includes, roasted butternut squash and warm kale salads sprinkled with cranberries, chestnut and mushroom puff pastry pies, balsamic roasted parsnips, leeks and courgettes and oven baked sweetcorn wrapped in foil, dripping with melted butter and sprinkled with salt and cracked black pepper.

7. Incorporate spices to add nutrients, enhance flavours and add variety. Cinnamon helps to regulate blood sugars, ginger is anti inflammatory and nutmeg is antibacterial. Added to apple crumbles, hot chocolates and blackberry porridge it makes everything taste delicious and autumnal.

8. Pumpkins and squash are rich in restorative vitamin A, try roasting with a few sprigs of mood boosting rosemary and pair with quinoa, houmous and chard for a warming nourishment bowl.

Do you like to eat seasonally?

SEPTEMBER'S ROSE GOLD FAVOURITES

Moving swiftly onto the colder months and my favourite seasons of the year, September passed by in a blur. A rush of autumnal and even festive things have been flooding into the stores already, everything seems to be moving forward so much faster this year! 

The Great British Bake off has inspired a lot of baking in my home this past month, I love using these copper cookie cutters, they're so cute and look pretty hanging in my kitchen. My current favourite biscuit recipe is this gingerbread one, I add 1tsp of cinnamon to mine too, they're so delicious and unbelievably moreish!

Accessories

H&M has been my go-to store for affordable rose gold jewellery this month. I adore this pink and gold cuff, it works perfectly with a cosy grey jumper and rose gold midi rings.

I've been wearing my Daniel Wellington Classic Sheffield* watch every day in September. I love the rose gold detailing on the dial and the minimalistic, classic design works so well with every outfit. Use the code sophiesmakeupblog for 15% off on the Daniel Wellington site up until the 15th October if you wanted to treat yourself to one!

Beauty

A light dusting of MAC Melon Pigment across the lids gives a touch of copper to the eyes that works so well with a vampy berry red like Topshop Beguiled, I've been wearing this combination for an everyday autumn look throughout September.

I've also been reaching for Topshop Chameleon Glow in Shuffle the Cards which is a great dupe for Nars Christopher Kane Outer Limits eyeshadow (see swatches and a comparison here). I've been alternating between the two, patting a small amount of these beautiful and sparkly, iridescent rose gold eyeshadows onto my lids.

For Highlighter, I've been dabbing MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush, a beautiful rose gold pearl on the top of my cheeks, brow bone and on my cupids bow to bring luminosity and radiance to my complexion.

On my nails, Essie Summit of Style has been giving me gilded tips this month, the chunky coppery/ bronze glitter works so well as ombre tips or built up as a glittery accent nail paired with Essie Sole Mate for an autumnal mani.

Lastly, I'm still so in love with my Zoeva Rose Gold Make up Brushes. I have the Rose Gold Complete Eye Set Vol2 set which comes with 12 beautiful, soft brushes. I've been loving to use the 228/Luxe Crease and the 231/Luxe Petit Crease brush to blend my eyeshadows, I have my eye on the original Rose Golden Luxury set to get next!

What were your favourite products in September?

EARLY AUTUMN HOME SNIPPETS

I love switching up my home decor with the seasons and so I've been adding little autumnal touches around the home to make it feel cosy and ready for the colder months.

I've been burning candles non-stop and Diptyque Baies has been filling my home with the wonderful scent of blackcurrant and rose. I've also pulled out Diptyque Pomander, with it's divine scent of orange, cinnamon and cloves, it's perfect for autumn and for the lead up to Christmas!

I made the little pumpkin garland last year (using this tutorial for the pumpkins) and have hung it over my bookcase for a festive touch. The dreamy copper lamp, ampersand print and Roberts Radio are sitting atop along with a little succulent, candles and this cute cat ring dish.

There's an abundance of fluffy throws and blankets in my home as I love scattering them around for a cosy, homely feel. They're perfect for gloomy autumn evenings spent with a good book and a cinnamon tea. I'm smitten with this mug from Anthropologie, they normally bring out the gold version at Christmas, fingers crossed they bring out a copper/rose gold version this year!

Lastly, I pulled out all of my favourite berry, red and plum beauty products (including MAC Plumful, Essie Bahama Mama and Topshop Beguiled) and organised my dressing table - find a full post on my autumn dressing table up dates here.

Have you added autumnal touches to your home?

AN AUTUMN WISHLIST

Now that it's officially autumn, I though that I would compile a little wish list full of autumnal things. There are so many wonderful products in store at the moment, these are a few of my favourites:

Charlotte Tilbury The Vintage Vamp Luxury Palette: With crimsons and rose gold, this looks like the perfect autumn eyeshadow palette. It slightly reminds me of Estee Lauder Raisins, a palette that was huge in the blogging world but sadly got discontinued before I could get hold of one.

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned: Another ViviannaDoesMakeup inspired lip product that I've added to my wishlist, damned looks like the perfect berry/wine shade for autumn.

Diptyque Vanille: It's safe to say that I'm now definitely hooked on Diptyque candles, Vanille sounds incredible - a sophisticated vanilla scent with woody and spicy notes.

New Look Keyring: This fluffy, faux fur pom pom keyring is so cute and affordable, I love the dusty/powdered pink shade!

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light: I've wanted an ambient lighting powder for the longest time and after a lot of research, I've finally settled on the shade Diffused Light, a radiant, soft pale yellow. It looks like a great fix to perk up dull skin during the colder months and would possibly be a contender for my Wedding day powder!

Essie Nail Polish in Wicked: A vampy, deep dark red polish, this looks perfect for the lead up to Halloween.

Topshop Skirt: I love the scalloped detailing on this topshop skirt, I can imagine that it would work so well paired with black tights and knee high or suede ankle boots.

What's on your wishlist for Autumn?

METALLIC NAILS FOR AUTUMN

Although I'm normally drawn to berry shades for autumn, this beautiful metallic nail polish has been adorning my nails non stop lately. It's a great choice if you want something that's still autumnal but a little different from berries, deep reds and dark hues.

Leighton Denny Nail polish in Queen Hera* from the A/W I Am Goddess collection is a stunning metallic antiqued gold. With hints of green and gold this beautiful duo chrome shade changes as it reflects the light and looks so flattering on the nails.

There's something quite divine and ethereal about this shade, which is reflected in it's name 'Queen Hera', the Queen of Olympus and the Goddess of Marriage. It's also quite mermaid-esque and so would be perfect over Halloween and also for the transition from Summer to Autumn.

I've had this on my nails for 5 days now and there's minimal chips and wear. It's a great formula, fast drying and opaque in just two coats. It's a modern shade that's inspired by this seasons latest trends and such a pretty shade for autumn.

n.b the Salted Caramel Muffin from Costa was incredible!

AUTUMN BEAUTY

With my bright and coral hues tucked safely away for another year, I've pulled out some of my favourite autumn shades to wear for the upcoming months. My dressing table is looking a little more autumnal and I'm excited to embrace burgundy, plum and berry shades.

With darker nights and mornings slowly creeping in I've been left feeling quite tired and my skin has been looking a little lacklustre. Origins High Potency Night a Mins is great for autumn as it's a thick, creamy moisturiser that helps to combat dull, tired skin. It contains vitamins E, C and H, helps to fade acne scarring and gives a boost of radiance to your skin.
Nuxe Reve De Miel is my lip saviour for the colder months, it contains honey, sweet almond oil, shea butter and calendula to keep lips soft and supple.

For blusher, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure is so perfect for autumn. It's a beautiful rose/plum shade with swirls of ambient lighting powder running through that leaves you with a flawless, radiant finish. Nars Orgasm (worn here) gives a warm, golden pink flush of colour to your cheeks that helps to keep your make up looking fresh and glowing on gloomy days.

On my eyes, I've been gravitating towards MAC Quarry, a muted plum and MAC Sable, a bronze with plum pearl. Both look great smudged under the lower lash line for a hint of colour or blended through the crease for definition.

I'm a huge fan of autumn nail polish shades and so it makes me so happy to be wearing berry shades again. Essie Bahama Mama is a divine rich plum and one of my favourite nail polishes, it works so well paired with Essie Summit of Style, a bronze chunky glitter to give you gilded tips.

Autumnal lipstick shades are some of my favourites to wear, Topshop Beguiled (worn here) is a beautiful berry/red with slightly shimmery undertones, it's velvety formula glides easily onto the lips and is such a flattering shade to wear. MAC Rebel is a gorgeous autumn berry lipstick that's perfect for blustery autumn days as it stays put for hours. I opt for MAC Plumful (swatched here) if I want something a little more subtle on the lips, it's a pretty mauve berry that's buildable and feels soft on the lips.

Lastly, I've been running a little Beauty Protector Protect & Oil through the ends of my hair for silky soft tresses. This smells incredible - like candyfloss, doesn't weigh down my hair at all and a little goes a long way, I only need to use a couple of drops for glossy, bouncy hair.

What are your beauty picks for autumn?