review: Bondi Sands dark tanning foam

Bondi Sands is one of the most popular tanning products on the market in Australia at the moment and is a favourite with a lot of girls. I’ve been using it on and off in rotation with a couple of others for the last year or so when I first picked it up at Priceline. At $20 for a large pump bottle it’s pretty cheap and IS green based to ensure you don’t turn orange. I’m naturally super white which I don’t love, for me personally I enjoy having a tan, even though it’s such a pain keeping it going all year round between scrubbing off and re-applying.

Let me start by saying no matter what tan I’ve tried, and believe me I’ve tried most on the market, I never become really dark. I usually apply two coats, either on the same day within an hour of each other or the next day. As I said, I’m naturally very pale so this probably has something to do with it. My skin type is also dry to very dry meaning no tan lasts on me very long before it either fades or needs reapplying.

Application: I’ve tried going nuts with this mousse and applying very liberally, i.e three pumps for each arm, five for each leg and I’ve also been conservative; one pump for each arm, three for each leg and the result is much more even if you’re conservative, the difference in colour between the two methods, for me, was minimal. Going lightly also means you can apply during the day and still look pretty normal. Generally though I’ll apply a couple of hours before bed and have a chill evening. And please, always ALWAYS use a mitt to apply. I use the ModelCo one. Using less product also means it dries WAY quicker, I was able to move around pretty comfortably after around 20 minutes. As far as stickiness factor Bondi Sands isn’t the best I’ve used but it’s certainly not the worst if you use a minimal amount. The scent is fine, it’s meant to be a coconut fragrance which I guess it is, my boyfriend thinks it smells good so…

Results:

These are taken after showering the next day (I slept in it) after applying two coats of the dark mousse. As you can see, I don’t get a super dark result (sigh) but there are pics of other girls who do. With tanning, it really is an individual result. On my dry skin, Bondi Sands will last around 4 days and become a little patchy after that at which point I scrub it off in the shower with a removal mitt.

Used Bondi Sands? Want to? Have a favourite tanning product?

x Jess

review: M.A.C face & body foundation

The other day I finally bought some M.A.C Face & Body foundation, it always seems to appear on sets and in makeup artist’s arsenals and because it has no SPF and is credited as being great for photography (hence being on sets) I thought it was time to try it.

First up, the packaging: some M.A.C foundations come in glass, such as studio fix while others are in squeezable plastic, like studio sculpt. Face & Body comes in a squeezy plastic bottle and I personally love this format, I don’t have to be worried about dropping it on the bathroom floor when I’m in a rush because I slept late (again) and the screw cap lid means it can be transported easily without worrying it’s going to end up through your bag. I bought the small 50ml size as I wanted to trial it before I committed to the big 120ml as I have a bit of a love/hate with M.A.C foundations. The colour range is good with about 14 colours to choose from in Australia. I bought the colour C5 to go with my (fake) tan and the colour is absolutely perfect for me. Colours come in two types, C or cool i.e yellow- based and N or neutral which are more pink- based. I’ve always had problems finding an ideal match with foundations, especially with a fake tan. I’ve generally found NARS to either be too yellow or too pink but obviously skin tone is a personal thing so you’ll need to colour match to see if there’s a shadfe for you.

The consistency is a thin liquid which makes it super easy to blend into your skin, it also means you can layer it and still get a great result. I ended up using quite a lot as the finish is probably even more sheer than I’d anticipated and I like at least a medium coverage but each layer blended in effortlessly. For the application I used a brush as I’m not a fan of fingers and didn’t have a blender sponge on hand, the brush I used was the Real Techniques expert face brush and it was amazing for this foundation. (I’ll review the Real Techniques brushes later in the week). I applied the foundation after having moisturised my face – I use M.A.C Lightful moisturiser at the moment- and then applied primer – M.A.C Prep and Prime Natural Radiance Base to only one side of my face to see if it made a difference to the finish and wear of the foundation. After applying my desired amount I found I still wanted a little more coverage in the areas where it tends to get a little red such as the chin and around the nose so I cheated and dabbed a bit of my Bobbi Brown foundation stick in #4 Natural on those areas. The result you get is VERY dewy, HYPER dewy which could tend to translate to ‘sweaty’ which won’t please some people. While I do like the dewy look I thought this was a little extreme so applied M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish which is low pigment to matte it out a little and made it a whole lot better.

In terms of longevity this foundation really seemed to last and I noticed no difference between the side that had primer than the one that didn’t. I have a bit of a habit of leaning my face on my hands and there was no noticeable patches where it had rubbed off unlike with many others.

Verdict: Set with powder this is a pretty amazing foundation, particularly if you’re after lighter coverage. Buying the larger 120ml size also provides great value at around $60.

Have you tried M.A.C Face & Body? Have you been wanting to try it?

x Jess

monday makeup haul

Ever since I got into makeup at around 19 or 20 I’ve always loved a combination of high- end and ‘drugstore’ cosmetic brands. I love my Chanel, Armani and NARS and I also love brands like Maybelline and L’Oreal for some items, because you don’t always need to pay big coins for great beauty buys.

So today I went (a little) nuts and brought home a bit of a makeup haul which I’m now super excited to share with you. Sorry bank account! (I’ll point out now that I didn’t actually purchase the Revlon mascara today, it came free with a magazine the other month but I haven’t yet used it so I popped it in there too).

We have:

Real Techniques brushes: the setting brush, stippling brush and expert face brush

NARS: satin lip crayon in Palais Royale and eyeshadow crayon in Goddess

Maybelline: Age Rewind concealer and treatment in pale, Master Precise liquid eyeliner in blackest black and FIT ME Foundation stick in Toffee (for contouring).

L’Oreal: Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette

Australis: Mineral Inject lip colour in Ballet

M.A.C: Face & Body Foundation in C5 and Lip Pencil in Subculture

Revlon: Grow Bold mascara

I’m super excited about trying these so check back in the coming days as I’ll try and review all the products you see here with my thoughts on what works and what doesn’t.

Have you tried any of these items? Any on your love list or your want – to – try list?

xx

review: Kit Cosmetics Vanilla Smoothie Kit

Once again, big apologies to my readers for the extended time off, I’ve been super busy with study and other commitments but now I’m back with a lot of new things to share with you.

Every year without fail I buy myself a gift for Christmas (actuallly I buy myself a lot of gifts for Christmas) because I go into shops with the purpose of finding things that my nearest and dearest will love and then I decide I love the items too. This ALWAYS happens whenever I go into Mecca Cosmetica and this year their sister company Kit has brought out a fairly amazing body duo.

image from Mecca Cosmetica

As you can see, mine’s had some use.

Now, if you aren’t into Vanilla you may want to skip this review but keep your eyes open for my coming reviews.

The outer cardboard carry box looks fun and is great if you’re gifting (and at $29.95 why the hell not!?) but I’m loving that they kept the bottle packaging a little minimalist and edgy with just plain old black. Looks good in a modern bathroom, trust me I checked.

The wash is your standard shower cream, smells of vanilla, maybe even a little caramel. I kind of think of Creme Brulee whenever I use it, which happens to be everyday until I run out. Every day use of the wash has been gentle on my dry skin.

The lotion is again the vanilla confection and is a standard thickness that you’d expect from a lotion. I find it’s a little greasy so I tend to use it in the spots where this won’t bother me such as the chest and shoulders. My boyfriend has also been wonderful enough to give me a few massages with it (sigh).

These duos are limited edition (you can also buy the lotion separately) so you’ll need to leg it to a Mecca store or Kit counter asap or buy online here:

http://mecca.com.au/kit-cosmetics/vanilla-smoothie-kit/I-019574.html#start=1