Fake Tan Essentials

I thought I would share with you my current fake-tanning routine.  I have had my own fair share of disasters in this area, you know the ones..oompa-loompa tan, orange palms - need I go on?  So now that I have found something that works and is relatively inexpensive to boot, I had to tell you about it.

Exfoliation really is key to achieving the best faux-tan result.  I have wasted a lot of money tried many different exfoliators but generally I find them not scrubby enough.  A blob of cream with 2 scrubby beads in it just aint gonna cut it.  So around a year ago I picked up these Soap and Glory Exfoliating Gloves and I have never looked back.  Pop these on whilst in the shower, get them wet, use your shower cream of choice and scrub away.  Now, these kinda remind me of a brillo pad for the body as they are very scrubby, but I am a fan of that as it really seems to boost the circulation and, most importantly, get rid of any flaky skin or dry areas.  Plus, you can just throw these in the washing machine and they'll last for ages.  

Next up I have a self tan mitt.  The person who designed this ingenious bit of kit seriously needs to give themselves a pat on the back.  It is basically a piece of thin foam, backed with plastic, so that when you use this to apply your tan, you don't end up with the dreaded orange palms - genius!  You can pick these up for a couple of pounds in Primark.

My tan of choice recently has been the Karora Self Tan Mist in Dark.  I was sent this to try a while back and I am really enjoying using it.  It has a fine mist spray which doesn't dump all the product in the one area.  I usually spray this on and then buff it in with my mitt, just to make sure it's even and well-blended.  It dries quickly too so that's a bonus - no standing flapping your arms about (just me?).  I usually fake tan before bed, and then shower off any residue in the morning, so I'm not sure how long the tan takes to develop.  However it leaves an even, natural colour on my skin.

Somehow, it looks like my hand is a totally different colour in both the before and after pictures, but I think it's just the angle it's at.

Karora have their own website, however as they are an Irish company I'm not sure if they ship to the UK.  They also have a range of products on the Cloud10 Beauty website.  Karora have produced this handy application video, which you can check out here.

Festive Party Look! Green Goddess!

Christmas and New Year are definitely my favourite time of year when it comes to make-up, you can pretty much douse yourself in glitter and bright colours and get away with it under the pretence that it is 'festive'!  Or not...

I wanted to do a festive look using green with a bit of a bronzey orange thrown in for good measure, and this is what I came up with!

Products Used

Clinique Even Better Foundation

Benefit Erase Paste

Chanel Solieil Tan de Chanel

Benefit Hoola

Sleek Rose Gold Blush

Illamasqua Lover Blush

MAC Painterly Pain Pot

Inglot Shadows (Colours TBC)

17 Midnight Eyeshadow

Loreal Perfect Slim Superliner

Famous by Sue Moxley Eyeliner

NYC Show Off Mascara

elf Eyebrow Kit in Medium

17 Lipstick in Belle

MAC Dazzleglass in Baby Sparks

Here is the video!  I hope the lighting isn't too bad, I've rigged up this cheap 'n' cheerful lighting configuration and crossing my fingers that it'll do and I won't have to fork out on proper studio lighting!  Let me know your thoughts?

Take care!

Heather x

Sleek Glory Palette Review

Glory is the latest offering from Sleek Cosmetics!

I love the theming of this product!  I'm totally obsessed with anything vaguely Olympics-themed so this is right up my street!  Let's have a look inside...

And here are some close-up's...

Now, when I first saw the quite random selection of colours I thought it was poorly thought out.  However, I think that they have tried to appeal to a wide range of people with this; want a bright look? Check.  Want a bronzey daytime look? Check.  Want a smokey eye? Check.  They really seem to have covered all bases with this palette.  It's also a mixture of metallic and matte textures, although the majority of shades have a metallic finish.

Here are some swatches, over bare skin with no base or primer...

Pretty, ain't they?!

Most of the colours are smooth and pigmented.  The grey and the red, which incidentally are the matte shades, are drier in texture, however they can't be built up over a base if you have the patience.

I decided to do a video review of this product, and I have also filmed a simple tutorial...

 

Here are a couple of quick snaps of the look!

So, do you have this palette? What do you think?

And, most importantly...are you looking forward to The Olympics?? :)