Wow Brown Liquid Tan - Review

Just in time for Tan Thursday. I recently attended the Irish Beauty show in the RDS Dublin. I had a few items on my list that I had to buy, one of these items was Wow Brown self tan.

Wow Brown is an Irish brand created by Fran and Don.

The lovely girls at the stand were so helpful (and the stand looked great too). I have skin that just wont go a dark colour with any self tan. It will take but will not be very noticeable. I relayed this to the girl at the stand and she told me that one of the developers of this tan Don also had the same problem and guaranteed me this would work. She suggested I buy the liquid tan. So that's what I got. And it was on offer for €10 which was a steal.

This bottle is 100ml so perfect for travelling with!.

What Wow Brown say about this tan:
 THE GOSS ON WOW BROWN READY TO GLO™:
Ready to Glo is Fran and Don's darkest tanning formula.Designed for gals who want a dark tan in seconds that lasts 7-10 days.
This condensed tanning liquid gives you the same full body applications as it's sister product DIY.
The bottle also says with a scent that's boyfriend friendly.

What I say: OK so let me just remind you, I never ever get a dark result from self tan ever!!! So my skin is a challenge for fake tan and Wow Brown was well up to the challenge. I was delighted with the results. People actually noticed I was tan and I got loads and loads of complements. It has a dark guide colour in it which is a golden brown colour so its safe to head out with it on while its developing. The scent while it might be boyfriend friendly lol its most definitely not husband friendly as Mr Lip gloss made the comment "the smell of fake tan off ye" lol. Its not anymore smelly than other brands but for the colour pay off I am more than happy to smell like fake tan :) and the smell really only lasted until the day after I had applied it. It wore of fantastically well, not a bit of scaly looking skin in sight.  

I was patchy in areas but that was all my own fault I was spraying myself instead of spraying the mitt at the start ha ha. So make sure this is how you apply it too spray the mitt and then apply to your body. And as it's a really dark colour make sure and apply moisturiser any dry areas as they will develop super dark if not.

So to sum up, I love it. Hate the smell but its something I can live with as it has excellent results. If your like me and can never find a tan that will give you the results you want you need to check this tan out. 

You can purchase Wow Brown here it retails at €21.99. Check their facebook page too as I'm sure from time to time there will be offers going on.

Happy tanning ladies

Donna
XXX

PS: I done some before pics but then completely forgot the after ones lol I'll be applying tonight so I will update this post with them then.

Yves St Laurent - Rouge Volupté Shine

I told you guys about this Lippy a couple of weeks ago, well the lovely people over at YSL sent me one to review for you guys, I was over the moon :)

The colour they sent me is no 17 Rose Intention. It’s a lovely deep pink colour.

It isn’t a colour I would wear normally on a day to day basis but would wear it on a night out. I think my favourite colour from the collection for everyday wear would be no 9 Nude in Private.

So the nitty gritty. What YSL say "Rouge Volupté Shine contains an all-in-one cocktail of lip care, for lips that are increasingly beautiful, comfortable and plump.
- Moisturizing action. Hyaluronic acid microspheres seal in moisture and prevent lips from drying out.
- Antioxidant shield. Pomegranate and rice extracts combat free radicals.
- Protection and extreme comfort. Emollients make the lips soft and smooth.
- Intense shine and luminous colour. Candelilla wax, combined with silicon oils, sheathes the lips in a shiny film coating that enhances the colour. Protection, comfort, wet-looking shine, homogeneous colour that doesn’t smudge: Rouge Volupté Shine melts on your lips and stay with you for hours of pure pleasure and unlimited seduction."

What I say: Firstly I just need to say the packaging on this lippy is one of the nicest I have ever seen!! It's soooo sexy :) This will be the lippy I pull out to make other people jealous he he he. The thing that stands out to me the most is the fabulously delicious mango scent, it smells so good. It feels really nice and moisturising on the lips, quite pigmented and it lives up to the name shiny. Its probably one of the most long wearing lippy's I've tried and it does leave a slight stain on the lips too. It kind of feels like a lip balm when it’s on which feels very nice. I think I'm in love.

I've been wearing this since I got it wanted to give it a good going over before I put the review up and I am honestly in love. I’m more a lip gloss girl (hence the name) but I could really get used to wearing a lippy everyday if it felt as good as this does on the lips. With the cold weather we have been having my lips haven’t been chapped once, which is something I normally suffer this time of year. 

With 19 shades to choose from I'm sure there will be a colour to suit every girls needs. Here's a top tip: We've all been asked at one time or another "what would you like for your birthday/Christmas?" and we always answer "ah I don’t mind". Ladies this is when you say oh well there is a YSL lippy I'd love :)

Rouge Volupté is available at YSL counters mid March and retails at €31.50.

What are your fav splurge items?  Do you own any fab Lippy's?

Love

Donna
XX

My favourite foundations for under €20

I'm constantly on the search for the perfect foundation.  Does it exist? I'm really not sure! I wear foundation all day everyday and let’s face it, it can be expensive. My latest love affair was with Estèe Lauder Double Wear foundation, only problem with this was the colour match I've three bottles at home, none of which actually match my skin. And at €35 euro a pop isn't cheap. Reason I love Double Wear so much is how well it lasts on my skin. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hate having to faff around with my makeup in work but I always want it to look good.

So my mission was to find an alternative more affordable replacement for my beloved Estèe Lauder Double Wear. I've three fantastic foundations to tell you about and all are under €20 one is even under a tenner!

So here they are

From left to right:  Revlon Colour Stay in 150 Buff Chamois, Rimmel Lasting Finish in 100 Ivory and L’Oreal Infallible.

Fist up Revlon, This foundation comes in two Skin type options, Normal / dry and oily /combination. I’m normal to dry so this is the one I chose. I am normally the lightest shade in the high street / pharmacy foundations and this was the case with all three of these foundations.

Revlon claim this to be a 24hr lasting foundation and I'd find that hard to test as I would never wear a foundation for that long but I can tell you this foundation lasted me a full 12 hours for sure before it started to look patchy. It’s a very thin consistency compared to others and offers a medium to full coverage. It has a very matte finish to it so if luminous skin is what you are looking for this won’t be for you.  In fact most long wearing foundations are definitely matte. Revlon Colour Stay reminds me a lot of Mac Studio Fix Fluid and at €17.80 it's over €10 euro cheaper making it a great alternative. I have heard of quite a few makeup artists who are stocking this in their kit as they believe it’s even better than the studio fix fluid. My only bug bear with this foundation and in fact with the double wear too is the lack of a pump!! Please listen to your customers Revlon a pump would be amazing :).The Revlon shades come in a variety of tones leaning more on the yellow side.

Next up Rimmel Lasting finish Foundation, this just comes in one skin type,my shade was 100 Ivory.  This foundation claims 25 hours staying power:)  It’s been a long time since I stayed up 24hrs so I can’t tell you how true this is lol however it definitely lasts up to 12 hours. This is a much thicker constancy than the Revlon and is full coverage, I didn't feel the need to use concealer with this one which is bonus. Shade range in this foundation is more on the pink side. For €8.85 this foundation is by far the most affordable and best value for money. (*BOBS)

Last but not least L’Oreal Infallible. This foundation has the most realistic of hours of wear on the bottle claiming 16 hours of wear :) this I can say for sure I can test out100%  (god I'm old :)). It mentions on the bottle Hydro-luminous complex.  I didn't find it hydrating or luminous, in fact I thought this one made my skin look very matte compared to the other two.  Now that could have been because I was having a bad day anyway with my skin feeling dry?  I'd need to wear it more to say for sure.  If definitely lasted the 16 hours with only my nose really getting patchy. Again was a fantastic foundation for the price €17.99. Shades with L’Oreal again were more on the pink side. 

So there you have it. Can I choose an overall winner from these three? No!! And that's simply because they all are long lasting, medium to high coverage and great value for money, everything I want in a foundation.  I think it will come down to the right shade for your skin tone in the end.  For me the L’Orealone was the best colour match for me. Rimmel was the best price (definitely a*BOB purchase) and Revlon had the lightest consistency. And just to note they all lasted as long as the Double Wear so it would seem I have found my replacement in here somewhere.

When choosing a shade to suite your skin tone I suggest applying to the neck close to the jaw line, leaving it there for a few minutes to dry in, some foundations oxidise when drying and can therefore turn to a darker shade so it’sbest to try this technique out.  If you find you are too embarrassed to try it on your neck, do the same on your hand apply it and walk away browse the shop and come back once its dried in. It can make a huge difference.  And although these foundations are on the affordable end of the scale we don’t want to be throwing our money away either so try get a shade which is as best a match as possible.

Oh and another foundation really also deserves a mention is Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. This is a fab really fresh, really comfortable feeling foundation. Its also long wearing, smells Divine. They were out of my shade when I visited boots. I will do a review of this one once its back in stock. Is perfect for old / young skin alike!
Have you any long lasting foundations that I should try?  Or is there a foundation out there you would like me to review for you?  Leave me a comment, I'm only too happy to try new things :)

Love

Donna 

*BOBS = birds on budgets

Yves Saint Laurent - Rouge Volupte Shine

Had to share this one with you as they are just soooo sexy!! This is the latest offering from YSL, Rouge Volupte Shine. From what I've been reading on UK bloggers sites its a kind of in between a lippy and a lip gloss which sounds right up my street! How hot is this colour? Not really a colour I would probably wear myself but I really love it!

What YSL say: 

Rouge Volupté Shine contains an all-in-one cocktail of lip care, for lips that are increasingly beautiful, comfortable and plump.

- Moisturizing action. Hyaluronic acid microspheres seal in moisture and prevent lips from drying out.

- Antioxidant shield. Pomegranate and rice extracts combat free radicals.

- Protection and extreme comfort. Emollients make the lips soft and smooth.

- Intense shine and luminous colour. Candelilla wax, combined with silicon oils, sheathes the lips in a shiny film coating that enhances the colour. Protection, comfort, wet-looking shine, homogeneous colour that doesn’t smudge: Rouge Volupté Shine melts on your lips and stay with you for hours of pure pleasure and unlimited seduction. 

Sounds divine if you ask me!! Cant wait to try this out.


These beauties come in 19 different shades and hit the counters in Ireland in mid March with an RRP of €31.50.  



Love 

Donna 
XX