Saturday 31 August 2013

L'Oreal Paris Revitalift Miracle Blur Instant Skin Smoother Finishing Cream review



I can't exactly figure out what L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur is. On the reverse of this sample, sent to me my my lovely reader Lanalei, the manufacturer defines this cream in terms of what it is not while hardly giving any information what it is.

This is a very thick cream which immediately brought Smashbox Photo Finish Targeted Pore and Line Primer to my mind. You are supposed to use this over your moisturiser to visibly smooth your skin. You may leave it like that or follow with a foundation of your choice. 

I used this cream on my nose and cheeks, where my pores are most prominent and I must say that this cream successfully prevented my fundation from getting in the pores much better than most primers. How does this work? Well, it feels pretty much like any silicone primer, but it's way thicker, so it settles in your pores and fills them in, making them imperceptible under foundation. If you don't mind silicone-based primers, this might turn out to be a really effective tool for disguising large pores. I must say this works for me. I apply it on my nose, where my pores are volcano-size and my foundation always finds a way to flood these craters while leaving bold patches on remaining parts of my nose. The result is that my foundation stays in place and doesn't migrate towards the pores during the day. I haven't experienced any break outs or deterioration in my skin condition. 

A little goes a loooong way. You need only a tiny drop to cover those target areas.
I wish this thing had also some mattifying properties. I suppose it does control oil a bit, but a mattifier it definitely is not.

I think that if large pores are your issue and you don't mind actually clogging your pores, this kind of targeted pore primer might be exactly what you're looking for. 




Disclaimer: I received this product as a complimentary sample for my personal use and I'm not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my personal opinion.
  

Friday 30 August 2013

Glossybox August 2013

This month I would have found my Glossybox very satisfactory if it hadn't been for the fact that I'd just bought two of the products included (Aussie shampoo and conditioner) a couple of days before I got the box.

The box consisted of:
Avon Mega Effects mascara (I was quite surprised to receive something as 'in' as this) - full size
Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo 
Aussie 3 Minute Reconstructor
Anatomicals Spray Misty for Me - full size
Yasumi Express Shaker Mask  - Polish brand, full size

and a gift from the Glossybox - bronzer/blush brush 



Thursday 29 August 2013

Korean goodies: Etude House Sunprise Water Essence Gel SPF30 review


Before the summer is officially over I'm trying to test all the sun care samples I've gathered. This time it was the Etude House Sunprise Water Essence Gel. I've used a couple of products from the line and I liked every single one of them, but this one suited my taste best. I regret this arrived at my door so late cause I would definitely have ordered it full size back in June.

I loved this sunscreen for its thin, watery consistency which applied well, absorbed quickly and didn't feel greasy on my skin, which is of utmost importance if your skin is oily. This gel makes a lovely make-up base. I didn't notice any white cast or unpleasant smell. Actually, the gel has a lovely, flowery smell, which appeals to me a lot.

I'm sure next year this Water Essence Gel will replace my trusty Biore Aqua Rich sunscreen. Absorbs even better, stays even more matte, and smells more beautiful.

EDIT: I've just checked e-bay for Etude House Sunprise products and to my astonishment not a single one is available there. 


Disclaimer: I received this product as a complimentary sample for my personal use and I'm not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my personal opinion.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Affordable beauty: Catrice Absolute Eye Color eyeshadow in Carbon Bleu review

Catrice Absolute Eye Color eyeshadow in Carbon Bleu

This is probably the cheapest make-up item in my collection. Catrice is generally a cheap brand, but they have a constant turnover of stock. No products seem to be permanent in their lines. This refers especially to eyeshadows which are regularly discontinued and sold at discount prices. This particular one cost roughly $1.

While in the shop I fell in love with the most unique shade of Carbon Bleu. I thought it was denim blue but in fact it's more of a blueish gray. The name would suggest a blackened blue kind of shade, but it's not that dark.
I would describe the finish as matte with silver microshimmer.



Catrice Absolute Eye Color eyeshadow in Carbon Bleu

This is not the best eyeshadow in history but it's quite decent. It's nicely pigmented and the colour is easy to build. I use this in my outer corner for some definition, it blends well to create a smoky effect.
My major regret about this eyeshadow is that it's quite dry. This is somewhat characteristic of matte sparkle finishes in general, yet  I would like it much more it it was a bit more creamy.

When used over a primer and a base the eyeshadow lasted all day without creasing or fading.

For $1 I think this has made an excellent addition to my eyeshadow collection.

Catrice Absolute Eye Color eyeshadow in Carbon Bleu



Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Maybelline Master Drama Chromatics Khol eyeliner in Purple Light review


Maybelline Master Drama Chromatics Khol eyeliner in Purple Light

I spotted this pencil among other items constituting Maybelline summer collection which launched in Poland pretty late as for a summer collecion. I got some promo info about it at the end of July. I got hooked by the coloured mascaras, which will be reviewed later, but while in the shop I spotted this Master Drama Chromatics Khol liner in Purple Light.
I had no previous experience with Maybelline eyeliners, except the horrible Master Smoky shadow-pencil, so I didn't quite know what to expect. Fortunately, this pencil turned out to be one of my favourite pencils ever. 
It's not as difficult to find a cheap high quality eyeliner as it was before. A couple of years ago Urban Decay and Make Up For Ever ones set up standards for eyeliners, while nowadays you've got plenty options to choose from. I really love my eyeliners by Sephora and Rimmel and now Maybelline Master Drama has joined the club.  
This pencil is exactly what I want my eyeliner to be. It's supersoft, it glides on my lashline effortlessly, it's so pigmented that the line it leaves is true to the colour of the pencil when swatched, messing it up with the eyeshadow on my lid doesn't turn the pencil to stone and affect its performance. And once it sets it won't budge.
The only thing that drugstore pencils usually lack in comparison to the aforementioned 24/7s by Urban Decay is colour range. This bright purple pencil with chromatic shimmer and shine makes a nice diversion from the rule. I find the shade very pretty and unique and it's a great addition to my pencil collection. 

The only regret I have about this product is that it's so soft that you need to be extra careful not to break the tip off, which happened to me a couple of times. If this is the price I have to pay for the incredible softness and no-tug factor, I'm ready to bear it.

Excellent stuff, desperately need more master dramas as long as they come in such unique shades!
Maybelline Master Drama Chromatics Khol eyeliner in Purple Light





Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Soundrive Fest Gdansk 16-17.08.2013


One morning, before going to work, I checked my Facebook and to my utter astonishment I saw that one of the bands I kept returning to over the past year, The Soft Moon, was scheduled to play in my own hometown at Soundrive Fest, which I'd never heard of before.

 A couple of months later, one lovely summer evening we arrived at the most magical place in Gdansk. The venue is located on the grounds of used to be the the famous Gdansk shipyard, the birthplace of the Solidarity movement. The place looks like a small industrial street, with disused railway tracks lying in the middle and rows of derelict red brick buildings that create the unforgettable atmosphere. We were welcomed by the sounds of a medley of alternative tunes of all times, played by a DJ, from a container box elevated above a Desperados bar. Every member of staff was super nice and even security people displayed courteous manners and showed symptoms of sense of humour. Once we passed through the gates we joined a not-very-dense crowd of tattoed people, who were definitely awaiting some metal or hard rock band we didn't even attempt to see.

We treated ourselves to a couple of beers and the time to see The Soft Moon came. The guys blew my mind off. They played mostly their new album material, which I like less than their debut one, nonetheless when I heard it live went wild. Even the initial technical difficulties didn't spoil the show, they seemed annoy the musicians but in fact this impurity and unpredictability of events was so natural in this stripped to the basics place. There was no weak moment in the whole show, the guys didn't give neither themselves nor the audience a break, but what in the finale was far beyond my expectations. The wall of sound they created from the looped drumming and guitar noise is something I cannot describe. Unfortunately, after climax there was no denouement. No encores. Nobody insisted. The band just left the stage. I suppose this is the festival timing thing. Just do your thing and sod off.  I do realise that The Soft Moon like a parasite draws from their predecessors but the way they do is amazing. They made me feel so warm at heart!

After such a treat we were quite disinterested in seeing other performers, but we did venture in from time to time, mainly to go to the toilet. At this point I just need to mention that the toilets were impeccably clean and remained like that till the very end.

I can't explain how this happened but we got awfully wasted that night. When I was leaving the place I was under the impression that I was the only person showing symptoms of drunkenness. I didn't seem to remember exactly how we got to the train stop, and that bothered me the whole following day until the moment I compared my experiences with Ania and we seem to have experienced a memory lapse in exactly the same place. The conclusion is, that was not the amount of blood in my alcohol but the magic of the place. Bermuda triangle kind of thing.

Next day we returned, still not feeling quite right, and it was a quiet night for us. We saw many more artists than the night before and drunk substantially less. I was also more able to draw any conclusions about the festival itself. I was generally unable to figure out what kind of festival it was. Of course everything fitted in the wide term 'alternative', but there was no connecting line between the things. On day one the audience seemed to me more hard rock type than hipster, more hipster types appeared on day two. I figured that Soundrive was a festival of 'heard it before' kind of music. You could see those inspired by Pink Floyd, The Doors, The Cure, shoegazers, wall-of-sound artists, rock and metal bands. Those who escaped any classifications were so harmful to the ears that only hipsters could find 'interesting'. I do realise this sounds like a very critical opinion, but I actually enjoyed myself very much. I didn't quite like the vocalists, but almost every band had a decent drummer and I love good smashing and trashing of the drums.

I believe the organizers could have been quite disappointed with the number of peolple who turned up, but for me that was just perfect. No queing to the beer and food stalls, toilets, no crowd stamping at your feet and pushing you around. The atmosphere was sooo laid back, so holiday-like. We've made a resolution to return next year, just to enjoy the atmosphere. Some good artists would be a bonus.

To conclude I need to say something about the venue itself. B90 is a new club which has just opened for the festival. It was instant love for us. The venue consists of 2 rooms, where the main stage and the Soundrive stage were located. Both very industrial-looking. Each room has excellent sound quality, which is unheard of in my lovely city. The interior looks pretty rough, the only element of decor being LP covers making a wallpaper strip lining all the walls. The bigger room, which can hold about 2000 people, will make the first decent venue to host rock and alternative artists. I hope it doesn't go bankrupt soon.



Next up: New Model Army in October!

Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge review


I'd been hesitating whether to get the Beauty Blender, adding it to the basket, then removing it, when I spotted an alternative to the horribly overpriced sponge, the Cosmopolitan Blend Perfection Sponge which cost about a quarter of the original Beauty Blender price. 

As you have guessed already, I don't have the original Beauty Blender so the only thing I can compare is the what I notice about the design of the sponge. While the original Beuty blender is egg-shaped, the Cosmopolitan sponge has a 'waist' in the middle. Both are bright pink and both expand when wet.



As I've said, I don't know whether the original Beauty Blender is better or not, but this sponge is just perfect. Foundation applied with this tool looks not only airbrushed but also more matte. I use the sponge not only to apply foundation but also to blend in concealers and cream blush. I'm told I can use this kind of sponge to apply dry products as well, eg. my setting powder and I'm quite sure it does this job in this area, however I haven't tried it with dry products for fear of ruining them by bringing moisture into the pan (this usually turns products which aren't meant for wet application into solid rocks).

I love this sponge dearly and use it daily, yet there are a couple of regrets I have about this product. 
First of all the tip is not sharp enough to reach all areas under my eyes. I need to squeeze and wriggle the sponge to get in the inner corner and I find this inconvenient. Every eye shape is different, but to make this sponge suit everyone's needs I would make the tip sharper.
Secondly, it's not easy to clean. Cream products stick to the sponge like crazy. Need to get the special washing stuff for sponges like these.
And finally, this sponge bleeds pink when washing, fortunately I haven't notice pink colour transfer onto my face. 


This sponge is a perfect alternative to the horribly expensive Beauty Blender and an indispensible make-up tool.  This little sponge has put the reason to keep all those fancy foundation brushes I've got to question. I'll keep repurchasing whenever the need arises, though I've heard Sam Chapman of the Real Techniques is bringing out her own one this autumn, which I'm sure will be equally inexpensive and worth giving a try.



Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.


Saturday 17 August 2013

Garnier Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer exfoliating glove & applicator mitt review


This year I thought I'd perfect the way I use my self tan so I got this self-tan kit by Garnier.
It consists of an exfoliating glove and an applicator mitt.


The glove is nothing to write home about. It's the kind of glove you can get for a couple of pennies from any drugstore, often added to some purchases as a freebie. It helps to exfoliate the skin and thus prepare it for the use of self tannner. I prefer sugar scrubs or other, but this is prefect when travelling. Small, weightless and handy. Does its job pretty well.


The mitt, however, is a discovery of the year. It's not the most ergonomically-shaped mitt in the world, I've seen other bloggers use St. Tropez one which seems to fit the shape of a hand much better. This one is a simple pouch with one fleece side, protected from the inside by a sort of plastic lining, which prevents leaking and staining your hands and also reduces the amount of product soaked up by the mitt itself.

I use the mitt to apply my St Tropez mousse and the results are amazing. I just apply a ball of foam onto the mitt and then massage my legs and other parts of body using no particular method of application. I can't explain how this works but I never get any streaks and the tan looks most natural.

The mitt is easy to wash and, being made of synthetic fibres, dries quickly.

The only thing I don't quite like is the shape of the mitt. It kind of slides off my hand and sideways. The other mitts I've seen on offer have a kind of 'lollipop' shape, narrow at the bottom and wide and round at the top and I believe they could be more comfortable to use.

However, I can't really complain for the price I've paid. This thing, or one by another brand, is an indispensable accessory for anyone who uses self tanners. If mine starts showing symptoms of wear and tear I'll probably pick one by Fake Bake or St. Tropez, but for the time being it's perfect!


Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Friday 16 August 2013

Korean goodies: Etude House Sunprise Cotton Touch Powder Cream SPF50+ review



Etude House Sunprise line consists of a number of products, all of them devoted to the goal of sun protection. I had tried a couple of samples of various sun creams and decided to get something full-sized to use to protect myself against the sun. So when my eyes fell on the Cotton Touch Powder Cream I decided to pick the one as the concept seemed quite unique to me.



The product comes in a sealed aluminium tube.
The cream itself is a thick white substance with a somewhat pinkish hue. The texture of the cream is most peculiar as it is kind of dry and grainy. When blended out it looks sickly white at first and then it becomes quite invisible. The finish is shine-free, and feels like a mix of primer and powder. 



You can read below what the product claims to do:


I understand that this is not a sunscreen only but a moisturiser which I can use on bare skin. When I do my skin feels fresh and moisturised and decently matified. I have oily skin and this seems just perfect for me. If you have dry or combination skin, I would recommend applying this cream over a moisturiser appropriate for your skin. This product feels much more like a primer than a moisturiser. I can feel something silicony on my skin, but I actually don't mind as it evens out the skin surface and diminishes the appearance of pores beautifully. The cream has SPF50+ PA+++ and smells very nice, nothing like the typical sunscreen smell. It does leave white cast here and there, round my nose and brows in particular, but I don't mind. I like this cream cause it reduces product overload in the summer. 
Instead of using a moisturiser, a sunscreen and a primer I can get away with just one product, which is great!

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi Purpose Dry Oil review


With one of my online purchases I received I got a couple of samples of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, the renowned dry oil for whatever you want, face, body or hair. 

What I liked about the product is its faint but nice floral smell. However, the fragrance masks the smell of sunflower oil, which I find repulsive, only for a couple of minutes. When applied on my face it absorbed quickly and made my face feel soft without turning my oily skin into an oilslick. If someone gave me this oil for free this is how I would use it.

I enjoyed using the product but still I can't understand the hype.
In blind testing I wouldn't see a difference (apart from the smell) between this one and a light baby oil my sons used to have.
It sinks in quickly and moisturises well just as any other oil does.
On my very dry hair it looked all right (just like my L'Oreal Mythicd Oil does) but did not repair my hair in any way.
The golden version might be of some interest for me as a body oil for the summer, but this one is overpriced and overhyped


Disclaimer: I received this product as a complimentary sample for my personal use and I'm not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my personal opinion.

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Nails Inc nailpolish in Brook St review


I received this mini-size nailpolish by Nails Inc. in my Glossybox. I love the brand, but if I were Nails Inc. I wouldn't offer this particular polish for those unfamiliar with the brand to try out as the formula was not as good as the other polishes by the brand.  

What I didn't like was that the formula was thich and gooey. The polish was opaque but streaky and took ages to dry. 

The shade is bright pink with coral undertones and milky base. Looks brighter and pinker in real life than in the pictures. This flat milky/pastel base made it look like wall paint on nails. However, I believe the shade itself might appeal to many pink lovers and it definitely would suit warmer complexions than mine better.



Monday 12 August 2013

Made in Poland: Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel #93 review

Inglot Eyeliner Gel #93

I've never been a fan of Inglot gel eyeliners as they always seemed drying and gooey to me, but when I was the new additions to the previous matte range I immediately knew I needed to try some of them out. 
There are 4 or 5 new shades which are marketed as eyeliner gels but they differ substantially from the previous range.


Inglot Eyeliner Gel #93
First of all the previous gel liners were all matte, the new line is all shimmer. The texture is also way softer and smoother, that's why I bought shade no.93 to use as an eyeshadow base, not an eyeliner. You can use this as an eyeliner, but the shade is too light to line the eyes for more definition.

Inglot Eyeliner Gel #93

The product comes in a flat little jar, sealed securely to protect it from drying during the storage time, which is perfect cause a numbers of eyeliners I bought (eg.ELF) were dry before I even used them first time.

Inglot Eyeliner Gel #93

Shade no.93 is very hard to describe. In the shop I thought I was buying a mid-toned silver. However, in broad daylight it turned out to be a greige taupe, which sometimes leans more beige, sometimes I even notice purple undertones.

The texture is unusually smooth, smoother than my Make Up For Ever cream eyeshadows and blends like heaven. The staying power is incredible. I found it impossible to remove the swatches using soap and water, frantically trying to rub this thing off my hand. It gave in only after I pulled out heavy duty artillery in the form of an oil based make-up remover, which I normally use to take off my eye make-up.

I haven't been using this eyeliner/eyeshadow for a long time so I cannot say anything about how it performs after a couple of months' time. If the performance level decreases, I'll keep you updated. For the time being, this is perfect. For a fraction of the price you get a superior quality eyeshadow base. There's one more shade I'm planning to get, but it seems strangely reminiscent of Maybelline Color Tattoo in On and On Bronze, which I have. I'll need  to compare swatches before I make my purchase. 

Inglot Eyeliner Gel #93




Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Sunday 11 August 2013

Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Beauty Booster in Light review & swatches



This summer I drifted slightly off my 'Korean goodies' and went on to explore a number of high-end BB creams by European brands. I pestered my friendly ladies for tons of samples out of which I picked a couple of gems for myself.


Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Beauty Booster is one of the best BB creams I've ever used, Korean or not. It comes in a seemingly standard kind of packaging for most BB creams, a plastic tube with a pump. However, there's something about the quality of the tube, its pearl beige shade, the print, the metal cap embossed with a logo that makes it look classy and luxurious.


The assistant at Sephora insisted on me trying out the medium shade, but knowing myself better I asked her to make a sample of the BB cream in Light as well. As you can see from the swatch below Light turned out to be a far better match for my NW20-25 skin tone. In fact it's a bit too light now that I'm sort of tanned, but when I add a touch of bronzer it looks perfect. Using the Medium shade was out of the question, it was far too dark and too yellow, made my face look like an overgrown orange.
Light is a pale neutral beige with very slight peachy undertones, which my camera always fails to pick. 


I have quite trouble-free skin so high coverage is not what I'm usually after, but I expect my face products to tone down the redness and even out my skin tone and this is what this BB cream does prefectly. I usually need only one pump to cover my entire face. I don't like to build the product up cause it starts looking heavy and this is not what I expect of a BB cream. I use my fingers or a make up sponge to apply and blend and I've noticed that when I use the sponge I get higher coverage and more matte finish.
The coverage itself is actually surprisingly high for an European BB cream, in this respect it's definitely comparable to the Korean frontliners like Skin79 or Etude House. 
The manufacturer advises using this BB cream under foundation for greater coverage, however, I really don't see the point, it's such a perfect product on its own. 


I really like using this BB cream this summer. It's been pretty hot during the past few weeks and this BB cream managed to look weather appropriate, natural and skin-like, didn't turn my face into an oil slick and lasted pretty much all day.
And it has the most amazing smell of all and I really love fragranced face products.
I know I'm not to rely on foundation for sun protection, and I don't, but it's always useful to have suncreen in your BB cream as well, this one has SPF30. 




Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Lancome La vie est belle EDP review



I got this sample of Lancome La vie est belle as a freebie added to my purchase.
The fragrance fits in well within my comfort zone. The manufacturer lists iris, jasmine, orange blossom, patchouli as notes of the fragrance. I would describe this more as woody, musky kind of thing without being sickeningly sweet. The smell that appeals to me most at night time or in winter.
smells a bit dated.
I loved low long this fragrance lasts on me, I could still smell it on my clothes the day after and more.
It comes in a beautiful, classy bottle, quite simple, yet revealing the high-end nature of the product. I always say, simplicity is the key, polka dots and ladybugs look cheap and tacky to me.

The only thing I don't like about the fragrance is that it seems dated to me. I would describe the fragrance as "so nineties nostalgia", it smells to me like a mix of Kenzo Jungle, Miss Dior and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. While I love the latter two, I never liked Kenzo Jungle and these notes repel me in Lancome La vie est belle. 
However, this is one of the most attractive fragrances I've tried recently and I wouldn't mind getting it for my birthday or Christmas. 


Disclaimer: I received this product as a complimentary sample for my personal use and I'm not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my personal opinion.

Saturday 10 August 2013

Affordable beauty: Catrice Sun Glow Matt Bronzing Powder for Darker Skin review




Catrice Sun Glow is one of my favourite bronzing powders. It's excellent in all respects, let me just list them all:
  • it's incredibly cheap
  • the packaging is good quality
  • the powder itself is embossed with Catrice logo
  • when I swatched the bronzer in the shop it seemed to be hard and lack pigmentation but in fact the formula turned out to be just right
  • the brush picks the right amount of product which blends perfectly and serves well as an overall bronzer and to contour
  • the shade is beautiful, it's a matte powder with no orange undertones which gives the most natural sunkissed look
  • the shade is perfect for my skin in the summer (NW20-25) but in winter I'll get the lighter skin version



This product is a gem of drugstore. It's beautiful, cheap and I cannot imagine the formula of a bronzer can be any better. 


Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Friday 9 August 2013

Sephora nail polish in Crush in Moscow #60 review


Sephora nail polish in Crush in Moscow #60 is the second nail polish I got from the brand and I haven't been disappointed so far.
#60 is a coral toned red with silver micro glitter. It is very opaque, almost a one-coater. The polish is easy to apply, quick drying.
It is harder to remove than shimmer polishes, but easier than the glitter ones.
The polish has a stiff, wide, flat brush which I call a beaver's tail and which I find very handy.
The only drawback is that the tips of my nails showed signs of wear within a couple of hours after application. This might also be attributed to the condition of my nails. 



I got this polish on sale at Sephora, cost about $1, and you definitely can't go wrong for the price, even if the bottle is really small. Apart from that this is a very decent, affordable nail polish. The shade doesn't match my skin tone very well, but in the summer everything bright and sparkly will pass.

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.

Thursday 8 August 2013

St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse review


I am fair, but my upper half of the body tans quite easily in the summer, and even though I usually wear some kind of sunscreen, my face, neck and arms never look ghostly white. My legs are another story. For many years I hated their whiteness so much that I wore jeans or long dresses all summer long not to demonstrate their stark white shade.
Self-tanners have liberated my legs, though finding a perfect one is a difficult task. Every year I make a point of trying out something different, and this year countless positive reviews of St. Tropez self tanners lured me to get their Bronzing Mousse.

The self tan comes is a white bottle with a dispenser pump which produces thin foam of weirdly khaki colour. This tint definitely helps distribute the product evenly, and once the self tan hits my skin the shade turns more reddish brown, and later on turns to pleasantly golden brown tan with no orange tones. Very pretty. The tanner dries completely within a minute or so, immediately makes the skin look lightly tanned and the full tan develops within a couple of hours. I always use a mitt to apply the product and I achieve streak-free tan, the only issue being darker colour under my knees.

The self tan has a very pleasant floral smell in the bottle and the unpleasant smell of self tan on the skin is minimal.

This product is almost perfect, but unfortunately not without flaws. 
The first thing I noticed about this self tan is that it doesn't last very long on my skin. The color fades substantially within a day so when you reapply the following morning/evening, instead of building the colour, you sort of apply from the beginning. When going away for the weekend I didn't pack the self tan with me, just prepped my legs one night before my departure, next day they were almost as pale as nature had made them.
The second thing is that the packaging leaks. Fortunately the bottle was sealed tightly during the shipping, but later on it messed my cosmetic bag when I decided to travel with it.

All in all, this is one of the best self tans I've used, though instead of repurchasing this particular one, I'd rather explore the brand further.  



Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.