Top Tans: Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Lotion And Spray

Hi lovelies, 

I hope you enjoyed my Cocoa Brown Tan review yesterday. The first in the "Series". So the next tan I'd like to share with you is an instant tan "Sally Hansen Airbrushed Legs". 

A bit of History about Sally. According to the website - it was a company set up by Sally and her husband in the 1950s primarily focused on nail care which I'm also a huge fan of but extended out to tan. "The philosophy was simple: educate the consumer and develop quality, practical products that were competitively priced and easy to use." Which it has stayed true to all this time. 

It comes  in a spray and more recent a lotion. It is probably one of the most popular instant tans I know. It is basically a flawless makeup for your legs. Also it may say for your legs but you can use it all over your body. I remember I was going to a friends birthday in the middle of summer and I was about 16 and I remember getting my Sally Hansen done and sure wasn't I just the bees knees haha.

You know those times when you agree to something last minute and it could be a night out? Well the amount of times I've said "go old reliable Sally". You literally grab it and go.

I will say it does have the ability to stain clothes as many of you might know. I've had to re-wash dresses and tops a lot due to Sally transferring but the trick is to give it enough time to dry in - at least a half an hour or longer if possible. 

While my tan dries I do my hair and make up - especially if I'm wearing something white, I give myself plenty of time. The spray has been around for years and year at this stage and it's a classic. I think it was April 2013 that Sally Hansen brought out a lotion and this was a huge thing. It was a bit pricey coming out around €16 but in more recent times I've seen it at €8-€12. I waited for a while to get it but I ended up getting it at €8 I was delighted. 

The spray and lotion both come in four different shades. The Spray comes in: Light Glow, Medium Glow, Deep Glow and Tan Glow. 

The Lotions are called: Light, Medium, Tan, Deep.

For anyone out there who would like to try out a tan - I'd 100% suggest Sally Hansen. It can be easily applied, built on but doesn't leave you with an orange colour. 

I have a lot of love for this tan. It has been here when I first started out with learning how to use tan and it's clearly here to stay! 

It can be purchased throughout pharmacies, Penneys/Primark, shopping markets, Dunnes. It retails from €7-€13. At the moment in some places there's a promotion to buy the the Tan (spray) with a Sally Hansen nailpolish so look out for that offer. It would save yourself some money and get the two for as much as€10-€12. It would be an ideal gift especially coming up to Christmas or a nice treat for yourself!

Of course it can be bought online at: 

feelunique.com

www.carapharmacy.com

Until next time beauties,

A x

Top Tans: Cocoa Brown 1hour Tan

Hi guys and dolls,

Instead of putting my Top Tans in one blog, I thought I'd spread them out. That way I can talk about each one in detail and how they work for me. 

The first one I'm going to start with: Cocoa Brown 1Hour Tan. 

(Image from: www.cocoabrown.ie)

I discovered this tan around January 2 years ago as one of my roomies Amy was doing her tan for a ball. The colour turned out amazing on her and straight away I thought I need this tan in my life. 

Cocoa Brown is an Irish brand by a woman named Marissa Carter who spotted a gab in the market for what I would probably call a salon tan in a can, excuse the cheese pun at a fantastic low, affordable price of €7-8. It can be purchased throughout Ireland and England and bought online and shipped to many countries. 

Most of us Irish girls, we absolutely love a tan for day to day and nights out, especially one that doesn't come out orange or isn't streaky or will come off in a flash. Cocoa Brown was the answer. 

She came out with a tan that can be put on your skin for 1-3 hours (depending on the colour you'd like it be), wash it off - leaving your skin with a glow and it will even continue to develop after it's been washed off. 

I will be honest and tell you my first experiences with the tan and how the tan worked for me. Before this the only time I ever got a tan that I washed off was a spray tan for my debs other than that it had always been instant. The first time I used it, I gave it a trial run just I see how it would work out for me as I was heading out in a few days. I followed all the exfoliation steps and my skin was all prepped and ready. I left it on for maybe 2 and half hours, washed it off, patted myself dry and I could see there was no colour left. I thought maybe it'll develop itself but the next day there was nothing. I was a bit worried because anyone I talked to or read reviews online it had worked perfectly for them. I gave it another try leaving it on for 3 hours and still nothing. 

I didn't want to give up so I read about how tans can pick up skin pigmentation differently with everyone so the next time I used it I put it on at midday and washed it off at 6pm that evening, hopped out of the shower to see a glowing colour.

 

I have given advice to a few friends to leave it on for maybe 12 hours or even over night and wash it off the next day as everyone's pigmentation is different. 

I recently wanted a deeper colour so i decided to put it on at 9pm that night and washed it off at 9am the next day. 

9pm picture

Picture I took later that night after washing it off at 9pm. 

Most people I talk to 1-3 hours works perfectly but I have to leave mine on for about 6 hours for a colour to develop it all depends on how strong the colour can be picked up on the skin. 

I have used a lot of tans but this is still my go to tan - a Holy Grail of tans as I'd call it as the colour turns out absolutely beautiful, it's so so affordable and the colour can last up to 5-7 days (especially using the Cocoa Brown Chocolate Whip moisturiser). 

This a 100% recommendation. Fabulous brand. Also how fab is the packaging and colour?!

My advice if it doesn't work straight away do what I do and leave it on for a few more hours ,you'll see a difference and always exfoliate!! My top tips for prepping your skin for tan is up you can see it here: http://wonderstruck-beauty.blogspot.ie/2014/11/top-tanning-tricks-and-tips.html?m=1

(Image from: www.cocoabrown.ie)

Check out Cocoa Brown's other products on:

www.cocoabrown.ie

You can also purchase the 1hour tan and the other products featured on the website in Penneys, Primark, Superdrug, Boots and online at:

cloud10beauty.com 

feelunique.com

carapharmacy.ie

Happy buying - let me know what ou think of Cocoa Brown through here or my twitter @wonderbeauty8 or Facebook - all links on the right. :)

Until next time beauties,

A x

Top Tanning Tricks and Tips

Hi fab things,

I promised a tan blog and I'll deliver on it. 

This blog will be all about prepping your skin for the perfect tan.  

The absolute key to a perfect tan is prepping your skin: Exfoliate, Exfoliate, Exfoliate!! Can't stress that enough as it is the most important part of exfoliating. 

These are some of my top tips:

• Exfoliating can be done one day prior to tanning with an exfoliating glove. These can be picked up in pharmacies and Penneys/Primark for a €1 in a variety of colours.  

• With regards to shaving, it should be done at least two days in advance. 

• Some of my favourite exfoliators:

"Tough Stuff" - Cocoa Brown, The Sanctuary range, Clinque, Elemis and The Body Shop all have a great range of body exfoliators. Just to mention a few.

• If I'm not tanning I'd moisturise after showering but when tanning make sure you don't moisturise after exfoliating.  

• So the day of tanning - I like to take a shower in the morning using an oil-free body wash: I'd suggest one from the Neutrogena range. This is important so the tan won't have a barrier before it's applied. (I've learned this from past experiences)

• The absolute best way to apply tan is with a tanning mitt, these are also very cheap to pick up in Pharmacies and Pennes/Primark. Make sure to apply tan in circular motions - leave your hands until the end. When you're finished with your tan, there will be a little bit left on the glove and just use that. 

• After the tan is applied - give yourself plenty of time for it to dry and develop. Wear loose clothes and maybe hold of from doing anything that could work up a sweat just to give your tan a chance hehe. 

These are my top tanning tips. I will post my Top Tans in the next blog as a part 2. 

Until Next Time Beauties,

A x

November Haul

Hi beauties,

So I was half way through my detailed post about my Haul and it didn't save so second time lucky I hope. So Im excited to share all the bits I got over the last week. 

I hadn't been home in so long so I had a few days off so I headed down. One of the days, myself and my lovely Mam had a fab girlie day out. We got our hair done, got lunch, coffee, and of course browsed the shops a bit. 

I did end up a few Christmas presents for family and friends but I also I treated myself. The first item I'll talk about is the Real Techniques Blush Brush (try saying that fast 5 times ha).

Over the last year and a bit my RT brush and other brush collection has been growing. So my lastest addition is the Blush Brush that I picked up at half price so I couldn't leave it there!

(Excuse the chipped nail polish)

I love the RT brushes by sisters Sam and Nic Chapman. They are amazing quality and do exactly what you want even better. I have been using the brush since Tuesday and I can honestly say I'm already loving everything about it. The fibres are so soft, contouring the hollows of my cheeks is a breeze but it's also flexible enough that you can pop on blush the way you want. Huge props to this brush but unsurprisingly this brush is absolutely top quality just like the others.

The next item I am absolutely crazy about. I have tried out so many brands of eyelashes at this stage. From Eylure to Penneys and I really liked the range especially the girls aloud Eylure range but I came across Ardell Lashes while out with fellow blogger and bestie Linda (Beauty-La-Linda.blogspot.ie) she was looking for a pair of lashes for a night out and spotted these in boots. They were the Demi Whispy Lashes and I loved them from first looking at them. They are beautifully natural and the curly is absolutely gorgeous.

I will of course use Eylure and Penneys lashes as they were always my go to lashes. I love the thought of lash extensions and the Ardell lashes look exactly like the ones I've seen on friends but only at the price of €7.35.

The next item is a foundation I have heard so much about this from bloggers and magazines: L'oreal True Match Foundation. I'm only after getting around to buying it and I don't know how I exactly feel about this foundation yet as I've only been using it since Saturday. So far I love the light weight feel of the foundation and it matches my skin tone perfectly which is the best aspect. It doesn't have the strongest coverage or staying power. Saying that, when I buy a new foundation I always like to give it a proper run so I'll use it for the next week or two and then see how I really feel about it. 

The next bits are smaller items: I got bits from one of my favourite skincare: Sheisado. I bought a lot from the range and I got given samples of things I've used before which I'm over the moon with as I'm running out. 

The NYX range is absolutely amazing and I'm delighted it has come to Ireland more. Anytime it does, things seem to sell out in a flash so I was lucky to pop in and see the butter glosses stocked up. So I had to buy one. I got the colour maple blonde. It has a gorgeous strong pigmentation, slightly sticky but if used with Vaseline it is perfect. 

I picked up a gosh lags strengthener at half price so I will be using that for the next few weeks and see if there's any difference. 

I have seen the Karona tan range talked about on So Sue Me 's blog and I saw the Karona CC Cream with 20% off and thought to myself I must pick it up. So I have yet to try it out. I will on Saturday night to go along with my tan. I'm excited to use this as the Karona tan range is hugely praised.

I think that's enough for one night but I will be keeping you updated on bits I have yet to try out or try more of. Look out for my blog post tomorrow all about my favourite tans and tricks and tips I've picked up for the perfect tan. 

Thanks for reading! 

Until next time beauties,

A x

  

Crazy Times

Hi lovelies,

I'm determined to get back into my blog. I update my Facebook, Instagram etc regularly but I haven't sat down and written reviews, favourites for a while. 

Work and college have been my main focus for the last while but surely I can fit in my blog which I love doing as it's anything beauty related. 

So I'm going to set myself some targets this week to get back into it. 

Monday will be all about a haul and review of bits I bought over the weekend. Looking forward to discussing things. 

  

Tuesday will be about my favourite tans and little tricks for the perfect tan. 

Wednesday will be about my favourite nailpolishes for autumn/winter. Also a catch up of previous hauls. 

Thursday I'll discuss all about contouring and highlighting.

Friday I will be doing an easy everyday makeup look that you could do in 10/15 minutes. I love looks like that especially in the mornings because who doesn't love a few minutes extra in bed!

So that's it for now but stay tuned for the week because I'm really looking forward to getting back into my blog. 

Until next time beauties,

A x

Catch Up

Hi guys and dolls,

I'm so sorry about the lack of blogs and reviews. I've been up the walls with college, societies, dance class & catching up with friends but I've been sick for a few days and now on antibiotics so that kinda set me back with doing make up looks and bits etc.

But I promise starting Monday the blogs will be flowing. I have lots to review from 'My Haul', my 'Go To Products' and lots of make up looks to show everyone. I've been updating my Instagram daily: wonderstruckbeauty8 and my Facebook page : Wonderstruck-Beauty - links are at the right hand side of the blog :)

But I will show you a few bits I bought today  - I picked up some clothes which I will eventually do a blog on (college style, autumn wear etc). I'll focus on my beauty bits today.

• I got my reliable "Wake Me Up" Rimmel concealer/highlighter in Ivory 010 and the new Rimmel Mascara with Argan Oil. I got a great deal - the concealer was E6.99 and the E9.99 on their own but there was an offer for 2 for E12, sure I couldnt say no to that in Boots.

• I saw a All-Purpose Brush for the Beter cosmetic range. I'm building up my brush collection slowly but surely and this was a must.

•  Anytime I see an Essence stand I am always drawn to picking up one item or looking for new ones. I need a new eyeliner so I spotted the 2 in 1 eyeliner pen - a thick and thin side. I've tried it out and it is absolutely fab - great to have an option of a thin or thick line.

• I always find a heat protection spray essential - my own one has run out recently so I had to pick up a new one and I find the V05 range brilliant and the smell is amazing.

• The next item I saw was tea tree deep cleansing nose pore strips. I love pore strips when I'm having a pamper night and at E1.99 I couldn't turn them down

• I picked up a gorgoues Sleek Make Up Lipstick in the colour "Baby Doll" 771, a baby pink colour. It may be Autumn - even though the weather has been roasting the last while, it doesn't seem to know its the Autumn season yet - I love a pop of pink in my wardrobe

• The next item I got were Gentle Facial Cleansing Wipes. I like to use these wipes on my face before doing my cleansing routine in the morning and night as I feel it softens the make up a lot and I will have no residue after cleansing my face.

• Last little bits are very random - a Lily O' Brien chocolate and jelly beans - something for my sweet tooth.

Well thats it for now - but look out next week for my posts and getting back into my blogging routine. I hope everyone has had a great september and has settled back into school or college or teaching whatever it may be.

Until next time beauties,

A x

Haul Time!

Hey fab beauties,

So I've decided to do my first haul as I picked up a variety of things yesterday when I was out shopping from; Penneys/Primark; Brown Thomas; Marks and Spencers.

 

I was in around Brown Thomas, Cork yesterday and I spotted the MAC counter. I need a new highlighter/concealer, I was all for heading over to Boots to pick up my favourite concealer - Rimmel 'Wake Me Up'.

E6.99

I have been watching a couple of youtubers lately and a lot of them seem to use MAC concealer so I said I'd pick it up and I will give it ago and do a review on it as soon as possible. I also picked up MAC's Studio Sculpt. The Concealer is E21.50 and the Foundation is around E31.50. MAC is not my everyday, go to product as I can only buy them every so often because it can be expensive for a student so MAC is definitely a huge treat to get and it lasts absolutely ages.

 

I used the foundation a few years ago when I was experimenting with make up so I'm going to give it another try (I feel like the concealer and foundation needed to be matched up, thats my excuse hehe).

So the next items I picked up were from Marks and Spencers, their own brand of make up called the 'Limited Collection'. They come in at about E6-7 each.

I loved the packaging straight away, very eye catching. I got the matte bronzer, in the shade light and the blusher, in the shade apricot.

The matte bronzer is perfect for autumn. I prefer matte to sparkle. So I'll have a review about these cute things soon.

The next spot I headed to was of course, Penneys/Primark. I picked up a few bits unrelated to beauty here.

 

I picked up a cute, colourful laundry bag. Its just so pretty.
I also picked up Nivea wipes 2 for a strange E4.46, theyre for dry/sensitive skin. I use wipes on my face before I cleanse in the morning and at night. I also got some little slippers E1.50

 

Also I got a travel bag for E15, that can be turned in a suitcase and the pattern is fab.

I also bought such a cute macaroon lipgloss E1.50

 

A random little thing but it was so pretty and smells so sweet.

 

I can't wait to review my bits and pieces for you fab things. Happy Haul! 

Until next time beauties,

A x

FOTD

Hey fab things,

I've picked a little random FOTD: Vanilla Coke. 

I found it one day while out shopping with my boyfriend (he's a massive fan of vanilla coke!!)

 It's hard to come across this flavour coke, I remember having it a few years ago once or twice and it was lovely. I'm not the biggest fan of coke but I'd have it every now and again. So we picked up one or two of these at the 'olde time sweet shops' around the country and we were happy out.






Until next time beauties,

A x

Go To Products

Hi guys and dolls,

So over the next few blogs I will be reviewing a fast range of products. I want to show you some more of my go to products that I've been using over the last few months.

In the photo, you can see; 

• W7 In the Buff and In the Nude Eyeshadow Palettes
• W7 Souffle Mascara
• Naked 3 Palette
• Vaseline - Spray and Go
• Cocoa Brown 1hour Tan
• Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze
• Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Lotion
• Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Spray
• Sleek MakeUp Contour and Blush Palette
• Vita Liberata Tan Mousse
• Shiseido Refining Moisturiser

All these products have been tried and tested for months. I can't wait to tell you about each one and show you make up looks that go along with some of the products.

Until next time beauties,

A x

FOTD - L'Aimant Paris - Fleur De Rose body spray

If anyone has used the powders or perfumes then you'll know that it has a very soft, subtle rose scent. It is divine to indulge in after a shower or bath.

So when I spotted the body spray for only E2 I couldn't say no! When I'm out and about with friends or shopping it is nice to freshen up with a spray of the l'aimant. I bring it with me on nights-out as a deodorant because it is a handy little size to pop in a small going out bag or hand-bag.

If you love the l'aimant line of powders and perfumes, then you will love the body spray. I have always loved the different packaging for the powder and perfume and the spray is as pretty with the design and colour.

You can pick up the l'aimant line in supermarkets, department stores or pharmacies.



Until next time beauties,

A x 

W7 Cosmetics - "Africa" Bronzer Review

Love: The colour, The packaging, Great for contouring, The affordable price

Negative: You could easily use a lot of product as it can gather on your brush but that can be easily sorted.

Hey there again beauty queens,

Back with another w7 cosmetic, the next product I’m going to review is “Africa” a little multi bronzing powder. The price is E4.99 – so so affordable. The swirl pattern is effective and very appealing to the eye. It’s a very compact little product and you could pop it in your handbag especially if you were out all day and wanted to build up a bronzed look for the evening as I have done once or twice. I adore the box packaging. 

The packaging is adorable. You can use the brush that comes with it to contour the hollows of your cheeks or any standard angled brush but the key thing is not too use much on your brush at all!! The colour seems to just cling to the brush even if dipped.

I use my Laura Geller angled brush for contouring.

I contoured by starting with my cheek bones, up to my temples and down to my jawline – in a three formation with the brush for full effect. In the picture, there is a subtle shadow but this is an everyday look so I didn’t want to go too heavy. If I was heading out, I would define the areas a bit more. I will be going through some make up looks in details you can use for day and night using this bronzer in the next few blogs so look out for those.

The important thing to know with this bronzer is to dip your brush in so lightly and tap the excess as you could easily use too much. I made the mistake of when I first tried it out. I really really like this multi bronzer and for the price and quality it’s brilliant. I will definitely be repurchasing it when it runs out. It is definitely up there with the high quality bronzers. Just like the “Captain” foundation it can be bought in pharmacies through-out the country – check my tumblr for a rundown of the stockists - http://wonderstruckbeauty8.tumblr.com/

Also buy online:

http://www.w7cosmetics.co.uk

https://www.carapharmacy.com/

Until next time beauties,

A x