Thursday 22 October 2015

Sportsgirl Nail It! Plain Jane

As far as I'm aware, Sportsgirl is mainly a fashion focused brand but they've branched out in to beauty. At first glance I wasn't overly impressed by the range, but a browse and a swatch later I'd ended up with six of their Nail It! varnishes in my basket. They were around $9 each and after wearing it the last week I'm so impressed I even debated going in to town to buy back ups. For a start, they apply easily, with an opaque colour in just one coat, they dry pretty quickly and after a week of wear I have 7 nails unchipped or marked which is unheard of for me, especially because I'm doing a lot of physical work recently. In particular I've fallen for the shade ' Plain Jane' which looks almost like a baby blue in the photo, but it's a light grey with a hint of blue. The range of shades isn't huge, I think the store I visited had about 12 colours, but along with nail paints, I also discovered their bronze body shimmer and their jewellery which is all very cool and inexpensive and doesn't leave you with discoloured fingers like some brands.
 

Saturday 17 October 2015

Loving Tan Ultra Dark Mousse

If you follow my Instagram (lisamichellexx) or my blog reguarly, you'll know that I recently quit my job, applied for a working holiday visa and ended up in Australia. While I'm here, it would be rude not to see what this beautiful place has to offer in the beauty department. If you haven't heard of Loving Tan before, they've an Australian based self tanning company that ship worldwide. I'd had my eye on the brand for a while, so when they offered to send me their Ultra Dark Mousse to trial along with their Deluxe Self Tanning Applicator Mitt and Skin Polishing Glove, I couldn't really say no. Who would know how to recreate a bronzed glow better then bronzed Aussie babes that also want to protect their skin at the same time?
First Impressions:
The packaging is girly and chic, a little easier on the eye then the basic packaging most other brands opt for. I love the branding of Loving Tan, along with the name and the range of products I've browsed on their website. They seem to have all bases covered, whether you're after a light tint, wash off body make up or an ultra deep olive tan. Their tanning products are salon inspired and claim to combine a self tanner with a moisturiser in one, whilst also being fast drying and deep in colour. The Ultra Dark is recommended for experianced tanners and having been 'body bronzing' for 6 years, this is the shade I opted for. The base colour is a deep brown with a red undertone and as I applied it I noticed how easily it blended in, how light the scent was and how deep the colour looked. Not to fear though, once applied the colour seems to settle in slightly and looks like you've had a few days on a beach in the sunshine, it then continues to develop and (if you're a regular self tanner, you'll know what I mean) its completely satisfying to see your skin tone deepen to a deep, olive shade. The test is always the next day though, when you wash off the colour guide, and I was not disappointed when I was still left with a realistic, dark tan. I also had my boyfriends mum and nan comment on how much nicer and natural it looked compared to my previous tanning products, even though it was darker!
I've used it three times now since then and each time I've been so happy with the result I've achieved, it dries quickly, it doesn't leave you feeling tacky and it lasts a full week on my skin which impressed me hugely as I'd never been able to maintain a tan for that long before! Considering I'm hugely lazy with moisturising my skin in the days after, all I can assume this is down to is the Skin Polishing Glove and the product itself. To prep my skin, I simply have a long soak in the bath, then exfoliate my skin, apply an oil free moisturiser on any dry areas then apply the self tanning mousse in circular motions, all over my body. Simple as that.
 At $39.95, it works out at £32.35 with the cost of shipping to get it delivered to the UK, or if you're in Australia shipping will cost you $9.95. If you're interested in seeing more before and after photos, search for 'lovingtanofficial' on Instagram or Loving Tan on Youtube and you'll be blown away by the amount of people that rave about it!
Here's some photos of me wearing the Ultra Dark Self Tanning Mousse.