Alright everyone, let's hop on the nostalgia train back to 2008 when we all shopped at Republic and wore SoulCal & Co. Does anyone even remember Republic? We had a shop in Blackpool town centre but it shut down years ago. It had a Schuh store on the bottom floor and I would get my converse and DCs from there because I was an edgy emo/skater (who did no skating) who refused to grow up after leaving highschool (I can gladly say I have now grown up....somewhat...I may be into the whole 'basic' aesthetic right now but once an emo, always an emo. Pretty sure this entire section is the name of a Fall Out Boy song.....).
Funnily enough, whilst writing this post I went back and did a little research and it turns out SoulCal is an own brand of Republic! Republic was bought out by Sports Direct and merged with their USC brand. My apologies to anyone not from the UK reading this but I always thought SoulCal was an American brand. It's still going as well and looking very much like the Hollister line up back in 2010.
I was even more surprised to find out that you can still order this set from Boots online! I found this set in TK Maxx and thought it was some old stock that they had acquired (which it still might be) and for £5 I thought I'd give it a go as it's pink, rose gold and has palm trees on it. Like I said, I'm totally basic now.
Heat Shimmer // Rose Gold Foil
I bought the set for this shade because it doesn't get more Pinterest than this. It surprised me a little as it took a good 4 coats on the swatch wheel but only 2 on the nails. It also has a light duo-chrome finish as it appears to shine a little peach when the light hits it. I love how it looks in the bottle with the brown palm trees so I attempted to recreate that quickly and I really love the result. It does dry with a few streaks in it but unless your super up close you can't really see that. Pleasantly surprised.
Bikini // Bright Pink Foil
Well it doesn't get more sparkly princess than this. It's not a cheap pink though which is again; surprising. I feel like there was a shade from the OPI Christmas calendar just like this. Looking at the swatch wheel it looks very similar to Reykajavik Has All the Hotspots (which is a little darker). Colour-wise though it matches Princesses Rule (how fitting) but that has a shimmer finish. I'd say this is better than both of those though. It needs at least two coats as it's a bit sheer but I'm surprisingly happy with it.
// Verdict
Relatively shocked. I won't lie; I bought them just because I liked how they looked, I wasn't expecting them to perform but Heat Shimmer is really beautiful in the sun. I perhaps paid a little too much for them, I think they should've been £1 each really but I got a cute emery board in the shape of surfboard as well so all it's not all bad. If you like the look of them, they've got loads of them in TK Maxx right now.
....pssst. I used the MoYou London Tropical 31 plate for the design And Zoya 'Codie'.
No comments
Post a Comment