If you are free this Sunday, then come down to the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair for a Luxury Christmas Fair with a VIP Charity Auction courtesy of Mason' Magic Children's Charity
This week we are focusing on the ‘Best Kept Secret in Self Tanning’ aka St. Moriz,
which makes sense as it is the last brand to be reviewed for the TFWOC project.
Yes, Ladies and Gentle-frogs, the TFWOC project which has been going 7 weeks
strong is now FINISHED!!!!! (Not sure whether to be ecstatic or sad . . .that’s a
lie, I’m HAPPY!!!!)
St Moriz
is an affordable range of self tanning mousses, mists and lotions that help you
look effortlessly sunkissed. Their formula of English sourced ingredients has
helped them win both the Cosmopolitan Beauty Award for Best Body Self Tan 2012
and the Pure Beauty Award 2011, and has been used by X-factor finalist, the
cast of Hollyoaks. . .and the cast of
Towie *shudders*
The St Moriz Instant Lotion is fast!! I’m
talking super-duper fast drying here. By the time I had taken a swatch picture,
the lotion had already activated and left a swatch shape blob on my arm that I
had to massage like crazy to blend out for the swatch picture. Personally I
felt that this was a bit of an odd one as the difference in my skin shade was
very subtle and very slight. I had to take a picture of my swatch with the
flash on (which NEVER do) just so
you could see the shade difference.
While I do like the fact that it is only a
subtle difference, I think the difference is a bit too slight plus I found that
24 hours after I swatched it, the tan had disappeared. No joke! The next day
the tan was gone *poof*. Personally, I’m not too sure if the dark lotion
is dark enough to stay on dark skin or if I should have applied more product
for the first layer or added more layers to this to get a lasting effect.
If you want to try this out for yourself, I
suggest that you apply it generously and do a little Google search because you can find
the St Moriz Tanning Lotion cheaper than it’s RRP of £4.99 at Fragrance Direct which is going for £2.99.
I’m all for a bargain to be honest and if you are
looking for a British Sourced, Affordable Tan to give you a bit of sun, while
the sun is hiding then you might want to give this a try.
We are DONE
with the Tans for Women of Colour Project. I had NO idea that it would last
this long when Laalaa & I put this
together in August and while it has been an insightful journey into the world
of tanning. Ican’t tell you what a
relief it is to be almost done . . .I actually thinkI’ll treat myself and take a blog holiday . .
. .or not. This week we are focusing on the ‘Best Kept Secret in Self Tanning’
aka St. Moriz.
St Moriz
is an affordable range of self tanning mousses, mists and lotions that help you
look effortlessly sunkissed. Their formula of English sourced ingredients has
helped them win both the Cosmopolitan Beauty Award for Best Body Self Tan 2012
and the Pure Beauty Award 2011, and has been used by X-factor finalist, the
cast of Hollyoaks. . .and the cast of
Towie *shudders*
I received two products from St Moriz, the
Dark Instant Tanning Lotion and the Dark Bronzing Powder (RRP £4.99), but I am
only going to reviewing the St Moriz Dark Bronzing Powder today (because I
llllllluuuuuurrrrrrvvvveeee it!) and since this is the last product
for the TFWOC project I thought I should sign it off on a high note.
I’m in love with bronzers. Seems like I
stock bronzers and MAC’s MSF like they are gold. They just add a bit of a 3d
finish to any makeup look that takes it from blah to ‘popping’ *says in a Lil’
Mama’s voice* . The St Moriz Bronzing Powder comes in two shades Light
(gold/yellow toned) and Dark (bronze/red toned). I can’t tell you how happy I
am that a brand actually has two bronzers with different undertones.
Ladies on the dark skin spectrum tend to
have a combination of red and yellow skintones (which is why orange eyeshadow always
appears nudish on me) so this red-bronzer is a great add to my
collection because its in a shade I can’t easily come across. The best thing
about this range is that it is VERY affordable. Doing a quick Google search
you can get the St Moriz Dark Bronzing Powder for £2.75 at Fragrance Direct, which is a BARGAIN
The only thing I am not loving this is it’s
wear time. Over time I find that the bronze particles become very dull and murky
and looks more like a dull shimmer blush than a bronzer, which isn’t really
what I’m after but honestly I can just carry this around and reapply to top up
the shimmer.
I hope you have all loved the TFWOC reviews from all
the Ladies, who have been absolute dulls giving up their blog space and time
for almost 7 weeks!!!!
I never knew white ankle boots could inspire such negative response or hold a negative stigma until I decided to post up a picture of these 'beauties' with an image title of 'White Boots. Yaay or Naay' . . . Can you believe that everyone said 'Naay'??
I know beauty is the eyes of the beholder but is everyone apart from me blind?!
These shoes are lovely and when matched with a pair of black leather trousers, they have the power to be AWESOME!!!!!
I think someone jinxed me or has some 'Zoodoo' up their sleeves though. When I opened up the ASOS box to take out the second pair, they had a huge scruff on them . . . I demand to know the culprit who damaged my babies!!!!!
*sigh*
It's all for the best though. I have a feeling my sister would have chucked them out the window if I decided to keep them
Vita Liberata uses a 70% organic and ‘special combination of natural nourishing
extracts’ in their 2-3 week tan and ‘contains
all the USPs of their other tanning products, but can last up to 4 times longer’
with no streaking PLUS has the added benefit of being moisturizing
and sensitive enough to be used by fake tan lovers with sensitive skin.
Using the free Tan Mitt which is normally
included with this Long-lasting tan mousse, you can choose to apply:-
1
Application = 7 Days approx.
2
Applications = 10+ Days approx.
3
Applications = 2-3 Weeks approx.
Ok I want to be completly, 95%,
‘hands-over-my-heart’ honest, so I have to mention that the first thing I thought
after applying this and working it into my skin was . . . stinky!!! Like this has the
weirdest smell on earth, and I can’t really pinpoint the smell as it is a cross
between rubber . . . something rubbery. . . and something else stinky. I’m not
sure if this is the ‘biscuit tan smell’ that everyone refers to but OMG. . . .It
sure is something.
Although you have to understand that one of
the great selling points of the Vita Liberata pHenomenal Self-Tan Mousse is
that it is 100%
free from parabens, alcohol and PERFUME!!!!!! The great thing is that after a
shower the smell wears off and all that is left, is your tan colour.
This is the most expensive tan in the whole
project (RRP. £37.50) so I expected this to give me the best result out of all
the tans and for me it actually did. While the other tans in the project made
me too red or too gold toned, this tan just made me brown(er). It gave the
truest natural tan results as it subtly raised my skin tone just enough to
mimic a natural tan but not enough to change my skin undertones.
I honestly didn’t think that much of the
tan when I first applied it, but 3 days after I applied a thin layer and the it
had had enough time to settle in, my arm was still a noticeable shade darker
and the colour didn’t really fade away til about day 6. So in terms of
wear-time, the pHenomenal Tan claims are true!
If you are looking for a very subtle difference to
your skin tone then Vita Liberata might be for you but I have to mention that
some of the other girls in the project have experienced extreme
orange tones, have highlighted
why you NEED to exfoliate if you are using this tan and also that if you
are a little darker than me this
might not show up on you.
You would think that the first real sign
that autumn has finally descended onto London, would be a 5 minute struggle
trying to brush a stack of bronze, orange leaves off the outdoor bin, but
noooope! The first sign of autumn is a trip to Selfridges to pick up a new
batch of Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (aka my steady A/W foundation).
I’m just happy that they actually stocked
the little pump this time round because last time they didn’t and out of sheer
laziness I’ve been using my last foundation pump-less (is it just me or does that sound dodgy?) for
the whole of A/W 11.
Think its time to stock up on a winter coat
and gloves before it becomes to late . . .
Ok, I'm having a mini attack right now but I've finally got round to post a makeup tutorial.
YES!!!!
My first Makeup Tutorial . . .ok it is an eyebrow tutorial and only lasts about 3 minutes BUT it is the FIRST and I am super nervous about posting this up because my camera was being silly and unfocusing all the time.
You might notice that I have a significant lack of hair since the last video I posted well . . .that's because I chopped it all off. I'm not sure if giving myself a very low cut in October was the smartest idea I've ever had but I really love how easy and carefree the style is . . . but let's get back on track.
Ladies & Gentle-frogs for your viewing pleasure, my first makeup tutorial . . .
Product Used
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW40)
Real Techniques Detailer Brush (Core Collection)
MAC 224 Blending Brush
Eco-Tools Angled Gel Liner Brush
Maybelline NewYork Eye-studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner 24H in Brown 02
Spurned on by the recent Eylure &
Elegant Touch Event last week (and coincidentally being the proud owner of 10 pairs of
false lashes) I thought I should do a post of one of the little
tools on the market, specifically designed to help make false lash applications
just that little bit easier. Bourjois’ Faux & Fabulous 2-in-1 Tweezers
(RRP. £4.99) is a new lash applicator tool from Bourjois’ brand new Faux &
Fabulous Eyelash range
Looking like a cross between a confused
exotic fish and an angry looking fish (all depends on which way you turn it). I
first saw this oddity on Thursday on Milly from Pearls & Poodles Instagram and
honestly I just thought it looked dangerous. . and purple, but when I popped
into Boots on Friday and saw them in person, they actually didn’t look as
intimidating and I could tell this could actually be a useful little gadget for
anyone not confident in their faux eyelashes application.
The Faux and Fabulous False Eyelash
Tweezers has two ends to help with your lash application. The tweezers end has
a wide and curve shaped designed to follow the natural shape of your lash line
and an angled, doe-foot, rubber tip to push and secure the lashes into the
corners of your eyes, helping you get just that bit closer to your natural lash
line.
Truthfully, seeing as I tend to put on my eyelashes with my
fingers or with tweezers when my nails have grown too long, I wasn’t sure how
these would work for me but I find that I quite like how easy it was to place the lashes on my lashes but the doe-foot rubber tip just made everything complicated. I'm going to give this to my mum (who I actually bought this for) as she loves false eyelashes but can't actually apply it herself (and bugs me to do it)
How
do you put on your lashes? Are you a fingers or tweezers person? If you are not
confident putting on lashes, do you think a lash applicator like this would
make things easier for you?
Last night was big ol’ blogger get together at the W Hotel in Piccadilly Circus courtesy of Eylure and Elegant Touch, who were showcasing their latest and current collections. Of course I took it as a opportunity to stuff my face full of mini-cupcakes (ate 5 . . .and yes I’m proud) but it was really great seeing so many familiar faces in one room and being able to catch up with everyone’s lives.
Can someone tell me how I didn’t know about Eylure’s Hedkandi False Lash Collection?? Here’s me thinking I know almost everything about their brand and I seemed to have missed out on these silver, glistened party lashes.
Following the success of the Envy Wraps and Envy Wraps Bling, Elegant Touch have launched 4 new designs to add to their best-selling nail wrap collection. Honestly I was so happy that Elegant Touch ladies were around for this event since I have been having a bit of trouble using their New Nail Envy Wraps but they gave me a few tips on how to get the most out of their eye-catching nail wraps so watch out for a review on some graffiti nails next week
It was actually false-lash and nails city and I went a bit giddy staring at all the different styles and collections and an extra bonus of the night was that all the bloggers got a chance to get their nails and lashes done for them and honestly if I didn't have such a comfy seat near the cupcake stand, I probably would have gotten my lashes and nails done.
As I'm forever buying makeup and I actually didn't feel like going through each and every single beauty purchase on camera, especially when I've already covered the majority of it in a number of blog posts during the month sooooo I thought it would be great to focus on my recent brush purchases as I've (snail-pace) slowly replacing my makeup brushes in the last few months as some of my brushes are quite old and aren't working as great as they used to.
I originally wanted to do a blog post on the Royal and Langnickel Haul, but when I realised that the total number of brushes purchased went into double digits. I decided to cool my jets a little and do a video
This week marks the last of the 3 reviews
for Makebelieve for the 'Tans for Women of Colour' Blogger Project and their
lovely scented products (Ok, you’ve had me obsess about their Self-tan for 4
weeks so I'm not going to go into it now). This week we are reviewing the Makebelieve Sunbeam Bronzer & Brush, which is another product from their Enhance
Range designed to top up your tan and bring a glow to your face, as many people
(me
included) do not add tanning products to their face.
I’m not going to lie . . . I had a staring
competition with this product trying to figure out the best way to use this.
The matte formula of this bronzer paired with the fact that it was a few shades
too light made this very difficult for me to review.
Sooooo I gave it to my blog wife Sam of Sam Ram Beauty to review for me
and here is what she had to say:-
-----------------------------
Hey guys! First, I just want to thank Annie for allowing me to do a
guest post on her blog. I love her blog so I was super excited to be a(tiny
bit)part of it =)
I will be reviewing the Make Believe Enhance Sunbeam Bronzer
and Brush compact. On first appearance, I really do like the packaging. The
black box and gold writing gives a glamorous feel, and we all love to fell
glamorous right? When you open the box it comes with a decent sized mirror and
a medium sized Kabuki style brush. The brush is super soft and cute. I love
that it’s not too small and not too big. I always find kabuki style brushes to
be rather big or they come out too much on the sides. This one is rather
tapered and dome shape which is great for contouring too. The bronzer is a
matte medium brown shade. This may be disappointing to some who associate
bronzer with glitter, I on the other hand, was rather happy. I don’t like
shimmery face products because I fear I will look like a disco ball.
Now I don’t actually ever wear bronzer or use products to
tan. Partly because I feel that I am tanned enough and I really don’t
understand how I could benefit from tanning. So with this mind, I tend to use
bronzers to contour with because it gives you a sun kissed, summery, glowish
look. Whereas if you just applied the bronzer all over your face, this could
look like a mess, it could look unrealistic and it’s not really doing much for
your face. If you apply the bronzer in the correct places, such as where you
contour, this, to me, gives a more realistic tanned look. It’s an illusion of where
the sun has kissed you. This is my personal understanding of it, anyway onto
the post.
I decided to use the Sunbeam Bronzer as a contour powder. At
first I was a bit sceptical because the bronzer is lighter in shade to what I
generally use to contour with. I use the Sleek Contour Kit in medium and the
contouring powder has a slight rich brown tone to it, whereas this bronzer is a
dull washed out brown tone (If that makes sense). I assumed I would need to use
quite a heavy hand but I was wrong. See the pictures below
No Bronzer Added
I first contoured my cheeks and my jawline. As you can see
from the pictures, it gives a great colour. It gives a different look compared
to my Sleek contour kit, and I actually prefer this look. I think the Sleek
contour kit can look heavy, whereas this one is more subtle, blends in better
with my skintone and looks more believable. Make believe with that!
I then decided to contour the sides of my nose. Contouring
my nose is not a thing I’m good at. I still need to practice a lot more. I
found this bronzers tone to work great against my skin and it really reduced
the size of my nose. Always a bonus! The bronzer blended out nicely and didn’t
look too harsh which my Sleek Contour Kit tends to do. Having said that, I
still think it looks a bit obvious that I have contoured my nose. I’m trying to
learn how to contour my nose without people thinking I’ve contoured it – if
that makes sense.
Overall, thumbs up for being a great contour. As an all over
bronzer, I would never personally do that. I actually like this more than my
sleek contour kit (kill me). Where does one buy this from?
