Thursday, 29 July 2010

Tanning tales...

Hey dolls...

Hope you're all having a fabulous Thursday and getting ready for the weekend!!

It has always been my dream to achieve the perfect tan, because I like many others buy in to the thought that 'people look healthier with a tan' - I certainly do.

My tanning idols:

Kim Kardashian

Lauren Conrad

... how sunkissed and gorgeous do they both look?

On my quest to achieve the perfect tan I tried two methods, real vs fake and I believe both have pro's and cons. Without further ado I bring to you my tanning tales!

Exhibit 1: MY MAKE-UP FREE MUG and pout AFTER USING ST TROPEZ

I really enjoyed using St Tropez, and purchased the huge mahoosive salon size lotion bottle (950ml) from eBay for around £56 - meaning I had endless supply of tan. I paired my St Tropez with the Nspa Vanilla creme brulee body scrub (available in most ASDA's). Although I was pleased with the results I found the process of tanning very long and wasn't too impressed with the biscuit-like smell. For application I used disposable latex gloves. The tan lasted for around 2-3 days before starting to fade evenly. For a deeper colour I would apply every 2 days and every night on the face as that's the area that fades quicker.

EXHIBIT 2: SERIAL SUNBEDDER and an overdose of MSF!


NOTE: I am not in any way whatsoever promoting the use of sunbeds!!

** If you want to use sunbeds, make sure you're over 16 years of age and always use a licensed salon not one of those coin operated salons. First and foremost be aware of the dangers of sunbed use. **

I absoloutely adore having a natural tan, and frequented the sunbeds 3 x a week for 6-9 minutes a time. Unfortunately, my local sunbed shop in Liverpool city centre is about ½ a mile away and after a long day at work, it's a lot of walking for my poor little tootsies! It does take time to build up a tan and you have to continue useage otherwise it will fade just like your holiday tan. The average sunbed shop charges £1 for 3 minutes - it may seem cheap but in comparison to fake tan it works out expensive. I always used a cream to help enhance the colour, again there are thousands available on eBay plus I used a moisturiser with tan enhancers.

In this photo I teamed my tan with MAC's Shimpagne MSF and warm soul blush for lots of shimmer and sparkle.

Toodles lovelies

xoxo

P.S. I will be doing an Xen Tan Review within the next 2 weeks.

Monday, 26 July 2010

My 3-step skincare routine

After much perusal and pennies spent on skin care I have finally devised my own 3 step daily skin care routine for my combination skin tone...

I am not saying that these products will work for everyone but they definitely work well with my skin.

1) Simple baby moisturise and care wipes> the best wipes I have found to remove all the grime and gunk that clogs your pores
£1.99 for 80 wipes in Boots



2) Neutrogena visibly clear gentle exfoliating wash
this exfoliating wash is freshly scented and has fabulous little exfoliating beads to help remove dead skin cells. It is gentle enough to use on a daily basis and incorporates Microclear technology which contains spot fighting technology to dissolve oil
£3.59 in Boots




3) Simple clear skin oil balancing moisturiser
A lovely moisturiser with great consistency, but most important it doesn't contain any harsh perfumes/colour which means it is less likely to irritate your skin
£3.99 in Boots




N.B prices were correct at the time of me writing this blog, all prices can be found on Boots