Review: Makebelieve Self Tan Lotion with bronzer

Another week, another tan but since it is all about donating my skin for the greater good (kinda). I don’t mind.

This week we have Makebelieve which is an Independent British Company providing the UK market with tanning products that ‘makes you feel better about yourelf [. . .] helping you to feel more confident to release your inner glow’ since 2005 by choosing ingredients that leave you with ‘beautifully tanned and moisturized skin’ without the fake tan smell or colour’. Now I just want to take a little time for THANKING the Makebelieve team for providing this for the ‘Tans for Women of Colour’ project as well as 2 other products from their product line which is INCREDIBLY nice of them because we had no clue they would do this.

The Makebelieve Self Tan Lotion with Bronzer comes with a 1-5 zone guide; where 1 is the lightest and 5 in the darkest, with great descriptions on the effects you should get when using a tan in that colour range.

Zone 1 – Provides a Subtle Glow

Zone 2 – For a  Warm Glowing look

Zone 3 – For a Medium Tanned look

Zone 4 – Provides a Golden Tanned look

Zone 5 – That very Dark Tanned look (which can be achieved by layering zone 4 twice)

I was sent the Zone 4 Self-tan lotion in Zone 4 (RRP £24.50), which is a light, moisturing lotion that is meant to bring a golden tan to the skin while still conditioning it and I LOVE the fragrance of this tan. It has a very warm, smell that reminds me of a mixture of pink oil lotion and pineapples.

I kid you not.

I was having throw back sessions to my childhood when I used this tan and I couldn’t resist sniffing my arm during the day. I just loved the smell! I didn’t really care what colour it turned my skin when I first slapped it on because the smell of this tan just won me over but alas I still have to do a review and stop obsessing about how nice it smells.

The Self tan comes in white packaging with a bright blue and gold colour, and comes with a pair of tanning gloves inside the box which is a really nice touch as it saves you having to go out and get a pair of mitts and gloves (top marks for that Makebelieve).  It does come out a creamy, dull brown colour which a lot of the bloggers on the project refer to as milk chocolate but honestly I don’t know what those girls were seeing because this doesn’t look milk chocolate to me loool.

Colour wise, I am not a fan of the colour this tan turns my skin as I think that it brings out the red tones in my skin and suppresses the yellow tones, which made my arm turn a weird orange shade that I wasn’t in love with, so I don’t know how golden your tan might be with this but mine was a lot more amber than gold. However, it does moisturize my skin very well but I do think that the fact that this tan has so much moisturizer in it makes this tan take a little while to dry.

I found that it didn’t last a week on my skin but about 2 or 3 days which is definitely not bad. Honestly I really love everything about this product except its colour but I think that a body bronzer on top of this would add more yellow tones to my skin and make this perfect

I’m off to sniff my arms some more but check out the other Makebelieve Self Tan Lotion reviews from the #TFWOC ladies.

Sophia Tattooed Tea Lady

Safiyah FrootiBeauty

Tass Une Tasse

Grace All That Slap

LaaLaa Dolce Vanity

Hafsa Muslimah Beauty

Yinka Vex in the City

Stephanie Nerd about Town

Dija Dija’s World

Lola LolaStar Heart

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Glistening, Golden and Bronzed - Beau Bronz Shimmer Tan Boost Review

Paraben free, Cruelty free, Formaldehyde free, Sulfate free, Lanolin free, Alcohol Free, PABA free and UREA free with no Artificial Colours. We are starting off the Tans for Women of Colour project with the very ethical, green and organic Shimmer Tan Boost from Abi O’s Beau Bronz

Beau Bronz was started in 2004 by beauty TV presenter and Celebrity Tanning Specialist Abigail Oleck, who developed the brand with the ethos of being committed to using highest quality, organic ingredients but also being Paraben free.  Supplying products for every skin shade, regardless of if you are an English Rose, dark brown like yours truly or a skin shade reminiscent of a vampire, this holistic progressive tanning solution is available in spas and salons across the UK and we are so happy to have them involved with the TFWOC blogger project that is taking place over the next 5 weeks.

Abi O’s Shimmer Tan Boost is a golden tan that is meant to complement a variety of skin shades. On black and brown skin types the shimmer tan adds a yellow tone that recreates a glow that black/brown skin tones natural have when exposed to the sun. 

First off, I love the white and gold packaging to this. It looks really luxurious and very neat. Second, when I swatched this product I actually squeezed a bit too hard and got enough product to cover the length of my entire arm so a little goes a long way (don’t say I didn’t warn you). It’s very easy to work into the skin and leaves my skin with covered in gold particles

For some strange reason - my camera didn't pick up the shimmer that much (MUST REDO!!!)

As this tan only has 2.5% Ecocert DHA it is not enough to actually tan my skin, as I need a tan product with a DHA of 8% or over to make a darkening effect, I do love the glistening gold particles that this product deposits as my skin does tend to do something quite similar when I go on holiday to Africa or UAE so it gets top points for mimicking what my skin does naturally. My only negative comment would have to be the smell

I’m not sure if it is because I’ve never used a tan before and I am not used to the smell but I found that after 5 minutes of using this, my nose picked up a very unusual, musty, smell that can only be likened to freshly cut potatoes. I know that might sound a bit odd but the nose knows, you know.

I’m a big fan of looking glowy and sunkissed. I would definitely use the shimmer tan boost on my shoulders and legs on a night out to get that golden toned shimmer but I would probably soak my body in the strongest perfume I own to get rid of the musty potato smell (I really don’t love the smell)

You can get 25% off til the end of September by using the voucher code ‘LOVEABIO’ on the Beau Bronz Website

Read More Abi O Reviews from the TFWOC Bloggers 

Tattooed Tea Lady - Sophia's kicked our TFWOC project with the first and frankly amazing review of the Beau Bronz Gradual Tan & Shimmer Boost

Frootibeauty - After using the Shimmer Tan Boost for a few hours, Safiyah got a hint of colour with the Shimmer boost and lots of shimmer but I think she's very happy with the results

Dolce Vanity - Laalaa was given the Midas touch by the shimmer tan but it doesn't matter as her skin is GLOWING!

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We Need You . . . To Tan!!!!

Hello My Lovelies,

I’ve got something a bit fun to share with you today.

Laalaa and I are starting a little project for Women of Colour living in the UK.

It’s the ‘Tans for Women of Colour Project’

Yes . . . You read right . . . We are going to tan up the Olives, Browns and Black Beauties all for the love of Science Beauty.

This blogger project just stems off an email some bloggers received recently about tanning products for brown/black skin, and as you can imagine I was a bit confused as to why I would tan, I mean I'm already dark.

Turns out tanning is a great way to even out your skin tone, plus tanning products targeted at brown/black skin isn't necessarily about getting you darker but giving you a shimmer or bronze glow (so its more like a 4-5 days bronzer)

The project basically a great way to see how different tanning products would look on different skin shades, so right now we are rounding up the different bloggers that are interested in taking part in this project.

We have currently looking for any Asian or Light brown ladies who are interested in getting involved as we have already got a lot of response from the middle to the end of our scale of N35 – N50.

ALSO I would love to find a lady has a very dark brown skin (talking NW55/58)

If you are interested in joining our project then drop me (Epiphanniea@hotmail.co.uk) or the gorgeous Laalaa (laalaa@dolcevanity.com) an email.

Image by Laalaa Monroe of Dolce Vanity

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