How to Save Your Dry and Damaged Hair for Under £3

Thursday 23 February 2017


How To Save Dry and Damaged Bleached Hair Pint Sized Soph

So basically I have discovered a £3 miracle product that your bleach-damaged hair needs, right now. 

It’s not a surprise to anyone who knows me that I love to experiment with my hair. Ever since the age of 14 I’ve been dying my own hair. 

I rarely go to the salon, I mean, I’ve got relatively long and thick hair and for a simple cut + colour I can pay anything from £80 - being a broke student just doesn’t stretch that far. The few times I have stepped into a salon, I've often left disappointed or haven't achieved what I wanted. Apart from with my hairdresser Emma, at Bliss in Loughborough - she's an angel sent from above. 

I’ve pretty much been every colour under the sun, from red to brunette to my current ombre grey. I'm so restless with my hair, and there's always something I want to try. I tend to just watch Youtube videos for techniques, and the odd review if I fancy trying a new product. I wouldn’t say I’m too precious with my hair, as it grows back pretty quickly. 

I am a box dye fiend, and I'm always convinced that I can recreate looks at home, sometimes they're terrible, of course I'm not an expert.

So for a person who dyes their hair every other month pretty much (sometimes more) I know, I’m terrible, I’ve been through my fair share of hair products. From salon professional brands, to what you can find in Superdrug or Amazon. I’m always on the hunt for something that’s going to keep my hair the healthiest it can be.

A few of my personal favourite products for my hair have been the Moroccan Oil in Light, Oslo Wonder 10 (which you can get from Amazon for like £10 and it's honestly unreal, and more recently the Aussie 3-Step Oil.


All of those products have helped me retain some sort of normality, but during the winter my hair has become increasingly dry and brittle. A few days ago, I popped into Superdurg to find their own brand coconut oil. 

LONG STORY SHORT, I’ve found a miracle product and yep, it’s under 3 fricking quid. 

Basically the Superdrug coconut oil is bae. I basically chuck some in a little bit, heat it in the microwave for a minute and bang it all over, being very generous. You can either leave this for a few hours, or sleep the whole night with it in. Simply wash the product out with shampoo - you MUST shampoo else you’ll never get the greasy devil outta ya locks. 

Apply heat protection, blow dry to your heart’s content et voila. You’ll be left with silky, healthy locks that will remove the signs of your dry, lifeless hair. My only regret is not trying it sooner. I'll definitely be putting this oil in my weekly haircare routine from now on. 


You can thank me later hun. Let me know if you give it a try!


Thanks for reading gals!

Love,



February Make-Up Menu

Tuesday 21 February 2017


These make-up bits have been my February go-tos. With the weather being a bit colder and harsher, I’ve been wearing a little bit more make-up to keep my face in place all day (haha!). All of the products are incredibly affordable, as you know, I'm a broke student. Gal don't wanna be eating beans 24/7. 


Foundation: Maybelline Poreless | £5.99

I love this foundation. It trumps the high end foundations I’ve tried. There, I’ve said it. It’s a matte finish, but not too matte (I still like to have a bit of dewy-ness). It’s formulated for those with normal or oily skin, which is great for me as I can often suffer with oily breakouts. It’s really great at blurring out all my pores and imperfections, leaving me with a really smooth base. It’s super inexpensive too, there’s also currently a 2 for 1 offer on Maybelline products too.


Concealer: LA Girl Pro Conceal in Porcelain | £3.99

Now like most girls, I love the Collection Lasting Perfection but I think this LA Girl concealer has taken the top spot in my makeup bag. It’s super long wearing, and has really good coverage - which is what I look for in a concealer. It blends like a dream, and is also really good for contouring. 


Powder: Rimmel Stay Matte | £3.99

I’ve rekindled my love for this absolute beauty staple. I picked this up a few weeks ago, and can’t believe I even used a different powder. I have it in the shade Translucent and it does a great job in setting my under-eye concealer. For the price, I really have no complaints. 


Bronzer: Sleek Contour Shade | £9.99

I love Sleek, and I think they’re really killing it right now - especially with their highlighters. But this contour kit, is completely underrated. For starters it’s so handy for travelling, and the contour shade is a perfect match for my fair skin. I find it hard to get a shade that is light enough for my skin tone, but despite the colouring, this contour shade is a dream. Great for chiselling those none existent cheekbones. 


Blush: Limited Edition Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Radiance Palette in Mystified | Sold Out

This palette is my favourite thing about 2017 (so far). I’ve never had any products from Tarte before, so when Santa bought me some on Christmas Day, I was ecstatic. The blush in this palette is super-wearable, and as a person who rarely wears blush, I love it. It’s super flattering on those with a pale skin tone too. 


Highlight: New Look Beauty Strobe Kit | £7.99

New Look have recently relaunched their beauty range, and of course I had to try some of their products. Their old packaged highlighter was a stand out from their Beauty range, so I was pleased to see they had kept a highlighter. This palette is great because it comes with 3 different shades, one more pinky shade, a bronze and a more pale whiter shade. I tend to just stick to the more golden shade, but the formula of this palette is super smooth. I love it! 


Eyeshadow: Limited Edition Tarte Rainforest of the Sea Radiance Palette | Sold Out 

This is my palette of dreams. 

As a girl who is a hardcore Urban Decay fan, I think Tarte has stolen my heart. Unfortunately, this palette is limited edition so it's no longer available. The palette itself comes with 6 wearable shades, and a beautiful blush. The eyeshadow shades are all brown shades, with mostly matte formulas. I literally wear this palette every single day, it can take you from day to night. 


Eyebrows: NYX Brow Pomade | £5.50

NYX brow products are just brilliant, for ages the Micro-Brow pencil was my brow staple but as my preference in my brows is more bold, this pomade is brilliant. It allows me to shape my brows, even if they need a good wax. I can still have sharp looking brows with this pot of heaven. I've seen a lot of people compare it to the Anastasia Brow products, but I haven't tried them (cus I'm a broke student). Definitely a steal for £5.50. 


Mascara: L’Oreal Miss Manga | £7.99

I picked this mascara up on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. It's so great at lengthening my lashes and given them more volume. I have relatively long eyelashes, but whenever I wear this mascara with eyeliner, I've had a lot of people asking me if I'm wearing falsies.. so that's a winner in my eyes. L'Oreal generally do brilliant mascaras, a lot of people rave about their Million Lashes, but for me, Miss Manga takes it. 


Lipstick: Nyx Liquid Suede in Sandstorm | £6.50

NYX are the baes of lip products for me. As a lover of their soft matte lip creams, I was dying to try their Liquid Suede formula, and boy they do not disappoint. They are super long-wearing, but without drying your lips out. I know this is a common reason people are put off matte liquid lipsticks, but these are beautiful! I always get compliments, and I've often been asked if I'm wearing Kylie Lip kit (which can only be a good thing.) 


Hopefully, when I've got a few extra pennies I can try and few more bits this year. There are a few higher end beauty bits that I'm dying to try. Let me know if you have any recommendations!



Thanks for reading, pals!

Love,







* To note * - This post may include affiliate links, but all my thoughts on the items are all my own. Please see my full disclaimer in my 'Contact' tab for more information. 

21 things I’ve learnt at 21

Saturday 4 February 2017

21 thing I've learn at 21 - pintsizedsoph

So I've been a terrible blogger because this post has been saved in my drafts, for like, ever. 

My 21st birthday was in October, and I had the most dreamy week on holiday with my number 1 a.k.a Leon. We went all-inclusive to the Labranda Alyssa Suite hotel in Lanzarote, and I couldn't recommend it enough, especially for a sunny, relaxing break. 

I did a post when I turned 20, entitled something incredibly similar but I feel going through my first year of my twenties I've learnt a whole lotta other shit. 

So, here goes, 21 things I've learnt at 21:


1. Success isn’t measure by money but love and trust

2. People can be pricks 

3. University isn’t for everyone

4. You determine your own future 

5. I’ll never master a winged liner 

6. Shaving is overrated 

7. The number on the scales doesn’t mean shit

8. In general, numbers don’t mean shit

9. Loyalty is rare today, when you find it, hold it tight 

10. Sleep is always the answer, but only in 15-minute power naps

11. You can always count on your Mum

12. Netflix is always going to be a great investment, especially over food 

13. Read more

14. Stop taking everything at face value

15. Heels were created by a man, of course they’re never going to be practical

16. It’s okay to not have a massive friendship group

17. Concealer is your best friend 

18. You are more productive on 6 hours sleep, than 9 hours

19. It’s okay to like your own company 

20. A fresh fake tan will make you happier than chocolate ever can

21. Just keep doing you. 


I think it's important to reflect on your person growth, sometimes we're too hard on ourselves and I'm all to aware of being my own worst critic. I've definitely learnt some important lessons since moving out of home, and starting university again - maybe not any financial tips though. (So hit a girl up if you're a boss at budgeting). 



Can you relate to any of these? or have you learnt some tough lessons this year - let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


Love,



Why We Need to Talk About Feminism

Friday 3 February 2017

If you guys follow me on Twitter you will see that I put a poll on to ask how comfortable people felt calling themselves feminists. Recently, I attended a Women in Leadership conference at my university and it really got me thinking about how I feel about feminism.  




It's important to open up the conversation. Everyone can be a feminist, and proud.

I wrote a post way, way back about how feminism shouldn’t be a dirty word and I still stand by what I said, although my outlook has slightly changed.

One thing that struck me in the conference was the historical stigma that surrounds the term ‘feminist’. A lot of the women that attended felt that the connotations were normally negative, and felt they wouldn't be taken seriously if they defined themselves as a feminist. 

Personally, I have no issue in identifying myself as a feminist (gosh I feel like I've said that word a million times). For me, feminism is simply believing in the equality of the sexes, it’s an all-inclusive feminism rather than for small demographic who have typically ‘radical’ views.

Alike my favourite feminist, writer and all-round boss Chimimanda Ngozie Adichie, my feminism comes from the belief of the social, political and economical equality of the sexes. 

We need to open these conversations, not just with our fellow sassy female friends but the wider community. I recently had a real good natter with a male friend of mine (shoutout to Aaron if you're reading) and it was really promising and encouraging that he engaged in the conversation with me about feminism. 


Personally, I think it’s important that we take ownership on the term feminism, during these turbulent times. I believe that we can mould and adapt feminism into what we want it to look like. Feminism for me, is empowering other women. I think as women we are too hard on not only ourselves, but other women too. We need to stop that. 


I’d like to live in a world, where if a women is doing something you think is cool and inspiring - tell them, let them know. Compliment each other. Build each other up. It’s important more now than ever to spread love and kindness to one another.


I believe we have evolved from the original concept of feminism - which is often misconstrued by not only women but men too. Standing for feminism is saying “hey, I believe I should be paid as much as my male counter part because I’m as awesome as him!”. We need to let feminism grow with us, and the society we live in.


I'm a feminist because in 2017 there should be no gender pay gap.

I'm a feminist because I shouldn't be forced to wear certain clothes to my workplace.

I'm a feminist because in 2017, I shouldn't be hearing misogynist rhetoric coming from the leader of the free world.



It’s gonna be tough guys. The next four years more than ever, but don’t lose hope. 


However, if you are after an educated chuckle, I recently discovered the podcast hosted by comedian Deborah Frances-White called The Guilty Feminist, and I fricking love it. If you shy away from the world, and feel like you can’t define yourself as a feminist then give this a listen. It’s funny, yet insightful and empowering. Let’s be proud to stand up and say “yes I’m a female, and I love it.” They cover all kinds of topics in a light-hearted way, which is nice as conversations surrounding equality can be a little dry. 


The world is going through scary times, so love and be loved. Share happiness. Share the light. Be kind. Be mindful. 


Thanks for reading pals, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Love,

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