.The Affordable Tan.

..Bronze Ambition..

The next in my series of fake tan testing is Bronze Ambition, which I was kindly sent, but was very interested to try as it is so so affordable on pretty much anyone's budget so I thought if it was good then it would be a great one to tell you all about!  

The first one I tried from the range was the Fake Don't Bake Tanning Cream, a body moisturiser with a bit of self tan is a product most people are familiar with and is a great way of either topping up a tan in between applications or for somebody who just likes a subtle glow.  I personally like these products for topping up in between or when I can't be bothered to go through the process of fake tanning, which takes a little more concentration and prepping.

I really liked this product, it smells gorgeous upon application, like pineapple and coconut, and doesn't get too 'biscuity' after the DHA's kick in either.  The cream itself is very thick and very hydrating, and it didnt take ages to sink in.  It doesn't have an instant bronze colour but I noticed the colour deepening quite quickly which was good.  It gave me a medium tan colour I would say and was completely streak free!

I just used my hands to apply it but I washed them straight away afterwards!

Me before I applied the cream.

Just after application, I feel it gave me a touch of colour quite quickly.

Couple of hours after application.

Next morning, so you can see it gives quite a good colour after a few hours!


Extremely impressed with this product, especially its £2.99 price tag! What!!?


Next product I tried was the Sun Kissed Mist Instant Spray Tan, I was interested to try this product because it said there was no need to rub it in, you could simply spray and go! 

It took me a few seconds to get the hang of how far away to hold it and I did create a bit of a mess but when I'd established the right distance (I'd say about a foot and a half) it actually did spray on flawlessly and give me even tanned legs!  I was super impressed!  There was occasionally a few speckles but I just patted them with a tanning mit and they disappeared.  Even when I did make the mistake of spraying too close and got a big blob, I just rubbed it in with the mit and it looked flawless still.  It dried in a matter of seconds and didn't transfer to my clothes (or white sofa!), love it.  Its my favourite one I tried from this range and it will be a firm fave in my makeup kit for sure!  Still a steal for £3.99!

Here I have the tan on the right leg and not on the left, I think you could easily build up the colour if you wanted it deeper.  You should have seen the position I was in to take this photo, I looked like I was practising my pilates haha!


The last one I tried was my least favourite, the Bronze Me Mousse, which gives you instant colour and then develops over time too. 

So the ins and outs of this product are; firstly the consistency of the mousse was very runny so I had to be extremely careful I didn't fling it all over my bathroom, which I did a little bit oops haha, but the actual application was very easy and quick.  I used a tanning mit to apply this, which I prefer to do with all mousse bronzers.

I found that it took ages to dry and I had to go to bed feeling very 'tacky' and also with quite a strong biscuit smell to me (boyfriend wasn't too pleased haha) having said that, I woke up in the morning with a gorgeous colour and no sticky feeling left!  Normally I would leave it on for the rest of the day and shower when I got home but because the fake tan smell was a little too strong for me I had to shower there and then!  I think because of this, the colour faded more than it would have done if I'd left it on all day and I ended up with quite a nice medium tan colour.


Here are some before and after pics...

Before.

Straight after application.

You can see how dark the initial colour is and also how even the application is.

Next morning before I showered it off, a lovely even colour, I so wanted to leave it on but the smell was just too much for me.

After shower, faded a little bit but still had a lovely colour and no smell!


All in all I still think this product is great for its £3.99 price tag but if you are like me and very sensitive to that fake tan smell then its not for you, plus you do have to wait a long time for it to dry.  But if all you want is a gorgeous, streak free tan at an amazing price regardless of smell or drying time then this is the product for you!


Bronze Ambition products are available to buy at www.bronze-ambition.com


Thanks for reading guys and let me know if you have tried any Bronze Amition before!


x Lucy x

.The Only Way Is Blogging.

..the first ever TOWIB event..

I just want to do a quick post about the TOWIB event that happened on Saturday!  It was organised by LondonBeautyQueen and was a chance for bloggers to meet each other, find out some info on a few brands and also get some advice on the sometimes confusing world of blogging!

There was a makeover demonstration by Katie Jane Hughes using MUA makeup which I stupidly missed down to my own lazy, hungover, saturday self, and partly the horrid weather!  But there are some gorgeous pictures on SuperGorgeous's blog so go and have a look there!

I got there half way through the talk with a skincare expert from Dove, explaining some things about dove as a brand and also talking us through some of the products that were there, we got given a conditioner which I'm interested to try so look out for a review on that!

Please excuse my bad picture quality, my iphone can't cope with dim lighting but I'm investing in a proper camera very soon so you won't have to put up with this for much longer promise!

Next up was a Q&A with BritishBeautyBlogger, ReallyRee and LondonBeautyQueen which was probably my favourite part of the day as they were all so helpful, honest and interesting!  I was genuinely fascinated and could have listened to them all talk for hours!!  Also I wish I'd written some questions down as I realised I had so much more I wanted to ask them after I left!

Sorry, terrible pic again but just so you can at least have a nosey.

After the Q&A it was ReallyRee's turn to tell us about Laurens Way self tan and do a mini demo, this was great as I have been desperate to try this tan and hear all about it for ages, plus Ree is such a lovely lady so the whole experience was very fun!  And just as SuperGorgeous (Alice) mentioned on her blog post, the most interesting fact of the day for me, had to be that the DHA's in the self tanner actually react with the bacteria on your skin to create the tanned colour, so if you haven't just stepped out of the shower and don't have the cleanest skin in the world then this isn't a bad thing if you want a deeper tan because the more bacteria on your skin, the darker the colour will go!!  No more pre tan showering for me then haha.

I had such fun (in the words of Miranda's mother) and I'm so glad I made it down, go and follow TOWIB's blog and twitter for updates on when the next one is (i think its 15th October) and I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Thanks for reading and I have super guilt bags about this shoddy photography so please forgive me, I promise to do better next time!

x Lucy x

.Another extremely important quest.

..the perfect tan..

Every summer I always dream of  achieving the perfect tan (sad but true), I find a bit of colour more flattering on me personally and it gives me a bit more confidence on the few occasions the sun decides to show its pretty little face and I have to expose a little more of the limbs than I'm used to!

I am always trying different ones out, so this week I'm going to do a series of current ones on the market.  

Just so you know I am uber lazy with actually being bothered to fake tan as much as I would like to and I rarely have that much time to do it either!  If I suited being a pale english rose type, trust me I would be ALL over it, but unfortunately I just don't.

So my fake tan of choice over the last few months has been St. Tropez Mousse, I flipping love that stuff because its so easy to use, doesnt streak blah blah..... but I thought it was time to change it up a bit and see what else is out there and how they compare.

My first choice of self tan was Beautisol, I was lucky enough to get one in the iFabbo event goody bag and thought as I'd never heard of the brand before this was a great opportunity to try it.  From what I can work out its an american brand, its available online to buy and they do a range of face tanners that have been produced for specific skin types which I haven't heard of another brand do before and seems like a fantastic idea.  Anyhoo, the one I have to try is the Dark Body Self-Tanner.

So I'll get down to the nitty gritty, this is me below as a paley with no makeup on.

The bottle comes sealed, and I appreciate stuff like that.

The actual product is very thick and very dark!

This didn't scare me but I was very intrigued as to how it would apply, and I have to say it wasn't the best application I've experienced, it was quite difficult to rub in and it looked quite patchy.  


My normal routine before fake tanning is to exfoliate with gloves and my normal shower gel rather than use a body scrub as often they have lots of oils in, and then lightly moisturise with a body lotion on the dryer areas of my body and moisturise as usual on my face.  I leave it until it has sunk in properly and then go ahead with applying the tan.  


Normally this is absolutely fine and I don't experience any streaks or patchy-ness so I was surprised this applied so badly.  But, I thought its probably just how its sitting on the skin so wasn't too worried about the end result.  


This is me just after application.

The overall finish looked fine, it was just in some areas on closer inspection there were patches, which you can kind of see below.

This is how it looked on my legs after about an hour.

This is me quite a few hours later just before I went to bed, terrible picture I know!

And finally here is a before (so you can see the colour difference), and after I had showered the next morning and applied makeup.  I have bronzer on my face but only to contour. 

The finish was really even after I showered so the patches were only on the surface, I would definitely use this again and be confident I would get a lovely colour but I would not apply before I needed to go out anywhere as the initial application isn't perfect.


MY TOP TANNING TIP: After you have applied your fake tan, before you put on your loose clothing, lightly spray the inside of your arms where they bend and your underarms with an aerosol deodorant to stop any sweating/moisture causing patches or streaks.


Thanks for reading and keep your eyes on my blog this week, as I will also be reviewing Bronze Ambition and Laurens Way self tans.


x Lucy x

.The Quest for Volume.

..and I think I found it..

So above is the final result of my attempt at, once and for all, achieving volume in my usually lack lustre locks!  I was very kindly sent some Indola, INNOVA hair products (Indola being the brand and INNOVA being a new range of their products that has been recently launched) I literally got these this morning so I thought I'd give them a go straight away (seeing as I needed to shower anyway...too much info?!) but anyway I am now blogging about them straight away too because I'm THAT impressed!  Especially as they are extremely affordable!  

I also thought this was the perfect opportunity to really try out my Babyliss Big Hair properly on myself, as so far I have only really used it on other people, and after watching Tanya Burr's video on the Babyliss channel this morning I had to give it a go!

So, here is my process in pictures!

I started off with towel dried hair, and sprayed all the way through  some of the Volume setting spray, it is also a heat protector! (please excuse the non makeup look!)

I then blow dried my hair upside down haha couldn't help but include this!

And before styling this is what it looked like, which is quite substantial volume, especially for me!

Then I got my Babyliss Big Hair out and section off the bottom third of my hair.  Watch Tanya and Babyliss's video (linked above) for a fantastic indepth demonstration.

Then brought down the next section and pinned up the very top section.

My tips for using this hot brush would to definitely use the buttons that spin the brush around, they are simpler to work than you think and they speed everything up so much.  Also make sure you pull upwards with the brush to help acheive as much volume as possible.  When you are holding the Big Hair hot brush at the roots with the length of hair wrapped round it, turn the device off and leave it there for a few seconds, then gently unwind it without turning the heat back on.  This will give you more shape and volume as the hair will cool slightly in this position.  

This is what I was left with after just pulling the brush out and not running my fingers through or adding any more product.

This is after running my fingers through, adjusting my fringe, and applying some much needed makeup!!

Hair looking slightly crazy here after just applying the INNOVA volumising powder!  I am so surprised at this product, pleasantly I should add, because I have tried so many of these in the past and they just leave my hair feeling sticky, heavy and with little white fibres all through it, which is NOT an attractive look!  This powder is so so fine and soft and almost disappears when you rub it with your fingers!  You can still feel it in your hair but not in an overly sticky way and its completely invisible.  It really added so much volume and I only applied probably a 5 pence piece size.  As I sit here a couple hours after applying it, my hair still feels soft and not sticky at all.  I very muchly like this product a lot!

So you can see how the powder disappears when you touch it.

So yes, this was my final result after calming down the volume a bit!  Ha, never thought I'd say that!!  And I am so pleased and surprised!  My hair doesn't feel weighed down by product at all, and the ends don't feel dry from the Babyliss Big Hair.  I would say the actual INNOVA products themselves get most the credit for the volume side of things and the Babyliss gets the thumbs up for shapely, shiny hair.  I can't see someone acheiving volume with the Big Hair on its own, I would definitely recommend using a volumising product, especially if you have fine hair like mine.

Indola products are available to buy here and are so reasonably priced from about £6.50!  The Babyliss Big Hair is available to buy in Boots, Superdrug and online.

I hope you enjoyed this post guys, and that it wasn't too long!  I was sent these products but my opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Thanks for reading!

x Lucy x

.Decleor Skincare.


Happy Sunday guys, I thought I would just tell you about some skincare products I have been enjoying!  About 7 weeks ago I was sent some Decleor goodies to use on New Look Style the Nation, which I was very pleased about because I haven't delved much in to the world of Decleor before...


My stand out products from what I was sent are...

Now that Style the Nation has finished, I thought I would continue using these products on my own skin to really trial them out and experience Decleor first hand.  I have to say I LOVE them.  A LOT.  If you don't already know I have major combination skin to every extreme possible, I get very very dry patches on my forehead, round my nose and on my chin, I suffer from breakouts at the slightest suggestion of an irritant, whether its; hormonal, eating bad food, or a reaction to a product, and I also have an oily t-zone (I know what your thinking, lucky me!)  How I personally tend to keep it balanced is by giving it a thorough clean and double cleansing with a facial wash for oily to combination skin and then I put the moisture back in with a normal to dry skin day/night cream (usually I have a few blobs of spot cream to apply to the desired areas, which I do just before my moisturiser)

These products have been perfect for my skin and slotted in to my routine nicely, my skin is really really fussy so when something works for me it usually means it is an outstanding product!

The face wash smells delicious, but in a very light, subtle way.  Its very gentle feeling on the skin and removes makeup very nicely.  I usually remove my eye makeup first with cotton buds and eye makeup remover but I have used the face wash a couple time to remove my eye makeup and it actually did a pretty good job without stinging my eyes.  I always double cleanse at night time, once to remove my makeup and then once again to deep clean the skin.  It leaves my skin feeling clean but not too tight and dry, although I always apply my moisturiser within about 1 minute of drying my face.

The Hydra Floral cream is a lovely consistency, thick enough to feel nourishing but not greasy and it sinks in pretty quickly.  I occasionally need to apply a second layer to the dryer areas of my face, but this is not unusual for me. It has quite a strong floral smell to it which I enjoy, but if you don't like strong smelling face products it might be too much for you.  I often use it as a day and night cream if I want to keep it a bit lighter for the night time but I think it is specifically meant as a day cream.  It also contains no parabens and no mineral oils which is a great bonus.  It leaves my skin especially soft which is lovely and because of the silky feel it acts as a great primer.

Here is the info on the box incase you are interested...

I can see most skin types getting on well with these products and they are perfect as part of a preventative ageing skincare routine.


Thanks for reading guys, and even though I was sent these products it was not for blogging purposes and I was under no obligation to write a review, these are just my thoughts and I was very keen to share them with you!


x Lucy x

.First London ifabbo event.

..and my current struggles with youtube..

Hey guys!  So I have just filmed a video on the ifabbo event that was held in London last night but youtube is being really mean and whatever way I try to upload, and trust me I've tried so many different ways, it wont let me post videos!!  Its very frustrating, and Im not sure what the solution will be yet as youtube aren't very helpful when it comes to things like this!  I feel like its someone somewhere saying "get a better quality camera women!" haha!

Anyhoo, the ifabbo event!!  It was held at The Powder Room which is parallel to Carnaby Street.  Ifabbo is already established in the US at helping beauty brands and bloggers and this was their first London event.  To sum them up their goal is to bring beauty brands and beauty bloggers together to help them work harmoniously alongside one another.  They stress the importance of bloggers being credible and reliable in the information they provide whilst also teaching brands on how to deal correctly with and interact well with bloggers.

A leaflet from The Powder Room

It sounds like a brilliant idea and I am very interested in how iFabbo will help people and brands and also how it will work in the UK compared to the US.

My personal experience?  I had a lovely time meeting other bloggers and youtubers, its not something I get to do very often so I really enjoyed that part of it, especially meeting Fleur from Fleur De Force who is so lovely and who Im sure you have all heard of (!!) from her youtube and blog (even though the lovely lady from iFabbo hadn't, which I literally couldn't BELIEVE haha) also Zoe from The London Lipgloss, I love her voice haha and her blog very much so!  I was there with Laura from This is Miss Laura and we were very pleased to also meet Louise from Makeup Loveer.

I was so wrapped up in meeting new people and catching up with Laura that I was pretty rubbish on the photo front but I do have a picture of me, Laura and Fleur!  You can see some really lovely photos from the event on the beautiful blog milkteef by Emma who I meant to say hi to and didn't get the chance!

iFabbo and the companies who contributed were extremely generous with the gift bag, it included Murad skincare, Witch skincare, Elegant Touch, Beautisol, Collection 2000, Makeup Store, Paul and Joe and Colbert.

I shall review some of these products when I get a chance to try them all out!


So thanks to iFabbo for having us and I look forward to my experiences as a member!  You can sign up at the website.


Lots of love and thanks for reading.


P.S if anyone knows whats possibly going wrong with not being able to upload videos to youtube let me know!


x Lucy x

.Muted Yellow Nails.

I got sucked in by this nail polish in Topshop on Friday...

I bought the Barry M yellow polish last year, hoping for something like this, but instead after two coats it was quite bright so when I saw this bad boy I couldn't resist!  I wasn't disappointed by the colour at all but I found it took quite a while to dry and was quite a thick consistency.  If you were careful not to get streaks, with the highly pigmented polish, you could probably get away with one coat which may help with drying time.

Overall I'm a fan!

x Lucy x