Review: Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronze Universal Make-up Base

 

As I am currently away on holiday, I was faced with the almighty task that is duty free shopping, I felt slightly panicked, what to buy? With a limited budget and an element of self restraint I whittled it down to 3 items, one of them being the cult product, Chanel Bronze Universal! So with plenty of time by the pool I thought I'd take some time to tell you all about it.

First, the packaging is gorgeous! In line with all Chanel products, it comes in a black and gold box and the bronzer itself is in a frosted pot. You get 30g of product for £30 (or £24 in duty free) which I think is actually pretty good, compared to say a Mac cremeblend blush that is 5.6g for £17.50. 

The product smells fruity which I really like, however if you have more sensitive skin it may be worth trying it out before purchasing. The colour is a soft, light, matte brown which is ideal for sun kissed skin. I have found it is best applied to the areas where the sun would hit your face rather than as a contour but it also works well for that! It blends beautifully but I advise starting with a small amount of product and building up to a colour level you would like, I do this with a Real Techniques stippling brush as it works best when buffed. It leaves a soft satin finish on the skin which, other than the colour, in undetectable. It's perfect for Summer make-up, I'm loving it with my Vitalumiere Aqua foundation and my Something Special Mac cream blusher.

All in all, this is a beautiful matte bronzer, that blends well and is best suited to Summer skin. Let me know what you think of this product in the comments below.

Swatch: Un-blended and blended

MAC eyeshadow giveaway

Review: Shu Uemura Sheer Face Powder

As a big fan of the Laura Mercier translucent powder, I was dubious about trying anything different; surely nothing could match up to its dewy finish with oil controlling properties that make it look like you're not wearing powder? So when I got the Shu Uemura Sheer Face Powder I half expected not to like it.

It is a finely milled, translucent face powder, that aims to 'leave skin radiant and glowing with vitality'. A claim that it certainly achieves! I have normal to dry skin so I don't always feel the need to powder, however I do lightly brush this over my T-zone to control any oil and set my make-up. I tend to use a small powder brush to do so as the puff or a large brush applies too much and I find that drying on my skin, the powder can also appear cake-y if over applied. It lasts on my skin for about 6 hours after which I tend to touch up a little, I think this is because of the 'sheer' formulation, for those with oily skin it may be best to try the matte version. At £26.50 it's a fair bit cheaper than the Laura Mercier and as you can see, I've got a lot of product left, despite having used it most days since Christmas. However, if you're a Laura Mercier convert, this may just not cut the mustard, it's a lovely powder, don't get me wrong, but the LM just does everything right, it leaves a perfect, radiant veil on your skin and it's invisible! 

Any questions about this product? Have you found a HG powder? Let me know in the comments below!

Don't forget to enter the MAC eyeshadow giveaway, open til Monday 2nd July! Good luck!

NOTD: Ciate Purple Sherbet

Just a quick post for some lazy Saturday afternoon reading. I recently picked up the Ciate nail polish, free with Marie Claire, in the colour Purple Sherbet. I think this is limited edition with the issue however looking at their website, the colour Sugar Plum looks very similar. Ciate polish is a consistent high performer, they have fantastic brushes, dry quickly and only need 2 coats. I also find they last on my nails for 4-5 days without chipping if you use a base and top coat which is very good in my books! This is a perfect colour for summer and I urge you all to try it! I apologise for not being able to show the colour on my nails as I have just them done for my holidays, but I can assure you it's the same colour as seen in the pot, a great alternative for those of you who find Lilacism from Essie too pale!

Have you got any colour suggestions for summer? Let me know in the comments!

Don't forget to enter my MAC eyeshadow giveaway, it's open til Monday 2nd July.

GIVEAWAY: Mac Eyeshadow

****CLOSED****

I will start with a massive THANK YOU to all you lovely people who have followed my blog, it means so much to me and I love reading your comments and checking out your pages too! I've reached 50 followers over night (51 now!) and so I'd like to do something to show how grateful I am for the support.

I am giving away a Mac eyeshadow in a colour of your choice, so I'll purchase the shadow once the competition closes, this also means you can choose whether you want a pot or palette version, as I know some people will have palettes that they are building up. I appreciate this is a daunting task as the selection is huge so I have picked out a number of popular shades and listed them below as suggestions.

Mac eyeshadows are probably my favourite, they are pigmented, very blend-able and come in the most incredible selection of colours and finishes. They are a little pricey but worth it! So I hope the winner enjoys them too!

The giveaway is open worldwide so everyone can enter, all you have to do is...

• Be subscribed to my blog with google friend connect (see sidebar for GFC if you're not)
• Tweet " I have entered @HollyS1992 's MAC eyeshadow giveaway at http://hollysbeautyreview.blogspot.co.uk/ " (if you have twitter)
• Comment below with your email address, the colour of eyeshadow you would like and whether you would like the pot or pan version.
• If you're under 18, please ask permission from your parent or guardian first.

Best of luck to everyone, the giveaway closes on MONDAY 2nd JULY, and I will choose the winner using a random number generator. I will then contact the winner for their details in order to post the eye shadow.

Colour suggestions (if you can't decide, here are a few of my favourites):

Nylon

All That Glitters

Shroom

Naked Lunch

Satin Taupe

Woodwinked

Patina

Espresso

Carbon

Haul: ASOS Summer Shopping

Despite this awful British weather we have at the moment, I'm ever hopeful that the sun will make an appearance at some point! I'm also off to France next week so I decided I needed some new shoes for the Summer!

Park Lane Beaded Front Suede Mocassin £55 £34

Fancy Studded Flat Sandals £25

Park Lane Leather Sandal with Embellished Panel £45 £26

I also ordered a pair of the Super-soft Skinny Jeans no. 11 in white, the fit was fantastic but the white was a little too see through, but I think I'll be ordering them in light blue denim for Summer!

Review: Boots Soltan Beautiful Bronze Self-Tan Lotion

As a huge fan of a healthy, year round glow, and the owner of milk bottle pale skin that refuses to tan under any circumstances, I am constantly on the look out for the perfect fake tan. I've tried many, from St. Tropez to St. Moritz, both of which have their good and bad points, St. Tropez more good points... St. Moritz more bad (but still fabulous for a night out... and it's SO cheap!) However, I recently came across the Boots Soltan range of sunless tanners, which really appealed to me, as a middle price range product with a good name behind it. So I purchased this Self-Tan Lotion for £8.99 and gave it a try!

Before I get on to the review, all I can say is EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE, EXFOLIATE!!! Fake tan needs a perfect canvas to be applied to, otherwise you're going to have a tan disaster!

Anyway...

It's a thick lotion in a rather alarming shade of orange with shimmer particles... I know what you're all thinking, it sounds horrendous, BUT if you stick to the traditional tan before bed, wash off in the morning principle, then it's alright. If you like to tan in the morning I advise you keep away from this as you will be like a walking Academy Award, try the mouse version as it has no shimmer and only a warm bronzed glow to it.

Moving on from the initial alarming colour, I apply this with a tanning mitt to already moisturised skin, use something that sinks in quickly but leaves your skin soft (I like The Righteous Butter by Soap and Glory) and this means that it applies evenly and does not cling to any dry patches. As this has a colour guide, it's easy to see where you're putting it, and I find as long as you cover everywhere it does not go streaky, i.e. only missed areas will show up, over application does not matter.

As I said before, I apply this before bed, which allows it plenty of time to develop before I wash it off, but I would say it needs between 4-6 hours for the colour to appear. It ends up as a warm, light tan, it is not orangey (if you exfoliate!) and does not cling badly to elbows and knees. If you're looking for a dark tan this is not for you, it does not look so good with multiple coats. One layer, every week is perfect for a summer glow, but it will not make you look like you've had three weeks in the Caribbean. It does however have a fake-tan smell, which is often unavoidable with most products. Although more often with high end products, there are no 'smell' issues, so when using this, I find it particularly noticeable! But if you can handle that then go for it! The mouse version does not smell so I think I'll stick to that in future.

All in all, I think this is a good tanning product for the price, I like the colour that it goes and the smell disappears when it's washed off. It's easy to apply and the colour guide is ideal for beginners.

Have you used this product before? Can your recommend other tans for me to try?! Let me know in the comments below.

Review: Benefit Posie Tint

Recently I've been moving away from powder products to cream and liquid formulations in order to achieve a more dewy, glowing finish to my skin. Last year I received a free sample of Benefit Posie Tint with a magazine and took it away with me on holiday as my sole blush product; a risky move! However it turned out to be a great success as I fell in love with it! As a sister product to the big hit Benetint  I had high hopes for this.

The Posie Tint is a liquid pink stain best applied to the apples of the cheek with three strokes of the applicator, which is the same as a nail polish brush. I then like to pat it in to my skin to blend and it leaves a beautiful soft pink glow to the cheeks. If you leave it too long it will stain your cheeks where you paint it on, but as long as you work quickly it's perfect. The colour is a blue-toned pink, so perfect for paler skin tones. The colour lasts all day long, definitely no need to touch up this product! It can also be used on the lips as a pretty 'bitten lip' pink colour and again, lasts all day!

As a side, it's never caused me to break out, it's not fragranced as far as I can tell. I recommend starting with a small amount as it can always be built up for a brighter effect. It lasts for ages, I've had my full sized one for a year and I use it most days, which makes its £24.50 price tag seem a lot more reasonable. It really is one of my favourite beauty products, and when it eventually runs out, I'll definitely be re-purchasing. I'm interested to try the new Cha-Cha tint and Sun Beam highlighter, so I'll be sure to review those when I try them out!

Top: Blended Bottom: Un-blended (Without Flash)

Top: Blended Bottom: Un-blended (With Flash)

Any more questions? Have you tried this product? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: Wella SP Repair Mask

First, I would like to apologise for my absence over the last few weeks, things have been pretty busy for me at university but I've now had my results back, I passed, hurrah!! So I'll be back blogging more frequently again.

Now, onto my latest hair care miracle! The Wella SP Repair Mask, available from Beauty Bay for £14.95 (or £11.96 if you hurry, sale on now!), is an intensive treatment mask for damaged hair.

It claims to restore up to 100% of damage with the first use and protect the hair from further harm! As someone who has bleach highlights every 6-8 weeks, blow dried and straightened hair every day, I know all about dry hair... topped off with split ends and fly away frizz! I first tried this last year when my hairdresser recommended I try something to keep my hair from getting destroyed by all the stress I put it through. I took her advice and tried this product, it was amazing but when I finished it I didn't repurchase because the salon was selling it for £26 and that was just too steep for me. A year passed by and I completely forgot about it; my hair also started to get into really bad condition so when I saw this on Beauty Bay at such a good price I snapped it up!

The mask is almost paste-like in consistency and is best applied to towel dried hair after shampooing. It spreads through easily and I like to comb through my hair and tie it on top of my head. The longer it's left the better but 5 minutes should be sufficient. It smells lovely, I feel like I'm getting an expensive salon treatment when I use it and it's best to use it about once a week. After I've washed it out, my hair feels silky smooth and it does not make my hair greasy at all. I've been using it again for the last month now and my hair is in amazing condition, it's regained its glossy shine and feels gorgeous.

If your hair is in need of some serious TLC then this is the mask to go for. I think it's a good price compared to other high end products as it's as good if not better, and will last for about 3-4 months depending on how long your hair is.

Have you used this before? Got a product to recommend? Pop your questions in the comments below!