Summer time, and the livin is easy...

Though getting a tan in Scotland isn't quite so easy! We had a week and a half of us being so warm we melted onto the pavements, then the torrential rain came out and we froze, gazing longingly at our abandoned maxi dresses and sandals. I even wore my uggs to work for three days! sigh


So I've given up on a real tan and have reverted to old faithful fake tan (it's better for your skin anyway). I normally slum it with St Moritz (£2.99) which does the trick, but being a beauty blogger and curious as to what's out there, I've tried a couple of other brands since. As you might have seen in my May empties post I had a Fake Bake tan I got on a deal from BuyaPowa. I did love it but it's expensive compared to St Moritz and wasn't THAT much better. So onto attempt no 2!

I got this free in my last SheSaid beauty box and was over the moon when I saw it! I'm sad to report I'm not quite as happy now. We got quite a big sample, which was great and it was the medium/dark shade which I was also fairly happy with. It's billed as an everyday moisturiser, so I figured it would be a bit like the Dove or Johnsons ones I've tried before and build up slowly. WRONG.

As you can see it just looks like a normal, unassuming body moisturiser, it doesn't smell like biscuits and it glides on nicely. The only problem is it's hard to tell how much you've put on or if it's all even as it soaks straight in and is sheer once smoothed out. The result is horrendous streaking. The tanning agent is great in that it develops over the next four hours, and I would say after four hours you already have a sun-kissed look, not a full tan but not my deathly pale shade of normality!

So I put this on once yesterday morning and at night saw how patchy and streaky it was, so in the evening applied more to the bits that needed topping up, thinking this would solve the issue. Oh Emma, how naive and hopeful you are. Look at the state of this:

I'm not a glutton for punishment and I don't have supermodel legs so please understand I have sacrificed myself in the name of science (well, beauty) in putting pics of my legs up here haha! I've also had to make them XL so you can see the lines properly!

Brown knee, random brown patch on side of calf, random brown patch near ankle, vague hint of tan everywhere else??? I honestly was so careful when putting this on, trying to smooth it out evenly to avoid this happening. I don't know if the pictures do the streaking justice, but it is really bad in real life. So, as I'm going to a wedding on Sunday, I'm going to have to scrub this all off and start again with St Moritz if I want to look bronzed. St Tropez 0 St Moriz 1

Little brown knees, streaky uneven legs. Woot woo!

Sorry if anyone out there loves this, it has put me off the whole range to be honest, though if I see the normal tanning products on a deal I could be tempted.

4/10 but only because it tans really quickly and doesn't stink

SheSaid Beauty Box June 2012

It's Beauty Box time again! My friend Claire at work, who sometimes reads this so hi Claire if you're reading, alerted me to the fact that this was due to arrive today, and we both got rather excited about the contents. I quite like the fact that SheSaid give you the chance to have a sneak peek at what you're getting before it arrives, if anything it makes the anticipation greater. So my lovely box arrived today:

I'm really happy with its contents, I've read loads of blogs bitching moaning about the fact that there have been lashes in quite a few of the SheSaid boxes but I love lashes so this makes me happy, I have a nice little collection which I intend to grow! Plus they're usually at least £6 for each set to buy so it makes the box worthwhile.

These are Let's Go Lashes in "Tease" which to be honest might not have been my first choice of  the lashes which were available, but this is a good thing as a lot of my lashes look similar. I'm really looking forward to trying these out. These are £8.95 normally.

Next up is an Elemis Spa@Home Bath Elixir. I love Elemis, I use their lip balm so was glad to see this. Tranquil Touch is a very warming scent, almost spicy and comforting. I can imagine soaking into this with aching muscles to relax. We got 50ml and it is £19.00 for 300ml.

Now isn't this a sight for sore eyes (and pasty skin)? This is the ideal time of year for us to get a tanning product, it was either this or the Perfect Legs spray which I believe washes off so for me this was preferable. I've thought about buying the full size product before, but for £14.30 I've always ended up getting full fake tan or another cheaper gradual tanner so this is great to be able to give it a try.

We then got a couple of smaller samples, Yardley seems a bit of an old-lady brand to me but this is a special perfume for the Jubilee, and I actually really like the smell, it's floral without smelling like a granny, and quite zesty too. Also, it's ony  £9.99 for100ml which is a massive bargain. Then a sample of Ginvera Green Tea BB Cream. From what I can find online, Ginvera is a company founded in Singapore, which will make this the first authentic eastern BB cream I will have used which is very exciting. Look at the cute packaging and instructions inside! Tap tap tap! (if you can't see it that's the writing around the girl's face)

I'll let you know how I get on with this! Last but not least Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream, which is worth £6.00 for this size. I don't like this at all, despite it being a multi-award winning product. It works fairly well as a hand cream, is very thick and does what it says on the tin. But my hands don't feel very soothed. My main problem, though, is that I DETEST the smell. It's a bit like the Neals Yard products, most of which I also hate, as they smell too strongly of essential oils. This has Lavender in, which I really like but the patchouli comes through far too strongly and it reeks!! I will be donating this to my mother.

Generally speaking, this was a really good box, even the hand cream works well just smells horrid! My 3 month subscription just ran out, and I think I will re-subscribe!

What did you get in your box and were you happy with it? xxx

May Empties so Far!

I've placed myself on a bit of a ban for buying day to day cosmetics, as I have boxes full of shower gels and cleansers that I need to use up. My problem is seeing deals in store and thinking ah I'll use it at some point, then before I know it I have five shower creams on the go at once! I've actually managed to use up all of these products so far this month and am trying to work my way through some more.

1. Dove Go Fresh Shower Cream. Oh my lord I love the smell of this, I saw it on a deal yesterday for the big one and was sooo tempted to replace this but managed to refrain. It smells like nectarines, and is amazing for summer fruitiness. I may need to get some for my summer holiday!

2. Garnier Eye Makeup Remover. My eyes are super sensitive so I can't use a lot of eye makeup removers, but this one is soft and gentle so I stock up whenever I can.

3. Fake Bake Original. This is the first time I've ever tried Fake Bake, being a St Moritz devotee! I saw this on BuyaPowa and thought I'd give it a shot for once. I love the colour it gives me and have had lots of compliments on my tan. It looks a bit scary on, like you've painted yourself with fence paint, but once it washes off it looks gorgeous and is streak free. The only slight problem I have with this is that it doesn't dry fully so I find my self standing around starkers or trying to perch on our brown couch not touching anything, praying the postman doesn't come! I still would recommend this though and may keep an eye out for future deals.

4. Kleenex Facial Cloths "cotton touch". These are a great alternative to cotton pads for taking your makeup off. For the eagle-eyed amongst you, yes the box above is not empty, I binned the empty one yesterday (oops) so this is my next box. I love the clean looking packaging and it makes getting the cloths out really easily. These are fab for using different sections for eyes, cleansing then toning and the cloths are pretty big and very absorbent. They're not great for nail varnish removal though. You can still get them half price loads of places.

5. Kudos nourishing shampoo. This was a free shampoo from our hotel in Manchester and I loved it so much I brought it back with me! I've since searched online and you can only buy them in bulk boo! I loved this as it has a gorgeous smell and a crazy jelly-like consistency.

6. Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care. I got sent this to try out, and I loved it so much I ended up buying the full size product. It smells fruity and nutritious and has a shiny gold ribbon running through the conditioner. This leaves your hair so soft and feels nourished all through.

7. Prince shaving cream. I haven't mentioned Lush on my blog before, but I have been devoted to Lush for about 12 years now! I bought Richard a mens gift box and this was in it, but he decided to grow stubble and trim it so this came to me, and I'm glad it did. It's a bit of a pain scooping it out of the pot with your fingers, but the end result is worth it. It smells of oranges and lots of aromatherapy oils and leaves your legs silky!!

So that's it for now ladies, I think I'm getting there slowly!!