TFWOC Project Week #2 - Karamel & Brown Glow Fast Review

Next up on the #TFWOC agenda is the Karamel & Brown Glow Fast*. This product is my first official tanning product with a higher percentage of DHA than the Abi O Shimmer Tan Boost.

The first thing I noticed about the Karamel & Brown Glow Fast was the colour, it’s very intimidating. But despite my worry, the vitamin-rich, organic solution really gave me a gorgeous glow.

I love the fact that the Glow Fast comes with a tanning mitt – although honestly speaking I had no idea how to use one!

Please excuse the odd angle, these are my legs but from a birdseye view – if you can even tell?!

The right side is with nothing applied, and the left side is with two coats of the Glow Fast. You can really see that my leg is a lovely, deep brown colour and although it’s not picked up well in the picture, it was glowing. I honestly loved the colour, it helped even out my skin tone a bit, and also made some of my many scars a little less noticeable – win!

Again a weird angle!

Check out my ankles! My skin looks slightly red in the images, the camera had a mind of its own! But I’m really impressed with the overall tone of my legs. You can also see how the colour in my legs and feet is more uniformed.

I loved how it appeared on my arms, where I’ve got horribly uneven colouring!

I didn’t find that the colour intensified over 8hrs as the packaging said; however the glow did increase in the hours after application.

I probably wouldn’t use this all of the time. I think it’s more suited to ‘special’ occasions, but I can see myself using it pretty regularly during the summer and ‘bare-leg’ days.

The glow started to disappear two days after application, but even four days later I can still see the lovely colour left behind.

My only issue with the tan is the smell. The packaging says it has a “sumptuous coconut fragrance”, and I’d be lying if I said I could even smell a hint of coconut. The scent is quite bitter but it’s not overpowering, and luckily disperses once it’s dry. My only other issue is not so much an issue, but an advisory. It dries very quickly and needs to be worked into the skin quickly otherwise you’ll streak!

Bottom line: I generally really liked the tan. It dries amazingly quickly when massaged into the skin and gives a gorgeous colour. Apart from the smell I can’t say anything bad about this product. Although take this with a pinch of salt, as this is my first tan!

TFWOC - ★★★★

You can buy Karamel & Brown Glow Fast direct from the Karamel & Brown website, priced at £18.95/200ml.

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What I Bought: The Body Shop & Boots Clearance Haul

The Body Shop

Inspired by the #TFWOC Project, I decided to buy the Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil. Mainly because I really can’t afford to spend £44 on Nars Body Glow, and this was a steal at £16 (minus my Love Your Body discount). It smells ah-may-zing.

Since The Body Shop is celebrating their one year anniversary (of what, I’m not sure?!) they were giving away a free 200ml body butter. The choice was between the Love Etc or Dreams Unlimited, so I opted for the light, sweet scent of Love Etc.

Next up I went to one of my all time favourite stores – BOOTS CLEARANCE. Yep, clearance.

Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Scrub has been discontinued but is on sale in the clearance store. I reviewed it here, and it’s still one of my favourites. They had a huge crate of them, and at £2 a pop how I not grab one, or three!

I couldn't help but grab two Soap & Glory gift bags too - 25p each! 

NIP + FAB Cellulite Fix isn’t because I have cellulite or anything, ahem, it’s all in the name of beauty blogging – HA! Who doesn’t have issues with cellulite?! Plus this was a bargain at just £9, less than half of the normal retail price.

Again another bargain with the Trilogy Purifying Masque. I’m a big facemask enthusiast so when I saw this for just £4.50 I had to have it. It retails for £18.50 I’m pretty proud that I got the only one in the store!

Have you found any bargains recently?

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What I Bought: Liberty London Haul & Deluxe Gift With Purchase

I blogged about it the other day and I’ve been harping on about it on twitter, and finally I’ve managed to get my hands on the amazing Liberty London gift with purchase deal.

To be eligible to get the gift, you had to spend £125. Gasp. I know, it’s a lot and I’d usually never dream of spending that much (in one go anyway!) but the deal was too good to pass up.

So here’s what I bought. Long, picture heavy post – you’ve been warned …

NARS The Multiple in Malibu, £29 
 I can’t find this on the Liberty website.
My first NARS item! I love the colour and the fact that it’s multiuse!

NARS Sheer Lipstick in Damage, £17.50 
 Again, not on the Liberty site. Odd. I tried this in store and it’s gorgeous. I prefer sheer lipsticks and this is like butter!

Egyptian Magic Secret Magical Cream, £29
The name alone had me. I’ve read great reviews on this for acne and scar treatment. We’ll see.

Korres Fig Body Butter, £12.50
I reviewed the Quince Body Butter, and since figs are my favourite I picked this up.

Korres Plum Lip Butter, £7  
Not on the Liberty site, but £6 from FeelUnique I’ve been wanting to try one of these for ages!

Korres Mandarin Lip Butter Stick, £7 
 Not on the Liberty site available from FeelUnique I wasn’t aware Korres did chapsticks, very excited to try this.

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Ultra-Moisture Body Oil, £34
At £34 this is a crazy expensive body oil. But I’ve finished my beloved L’Occitane Oil so I grabbed this. I’ve got high hopes – but again, we’ll see.

And then the freebies …
Please excuse the lack of links, a lot of this stuff isn't available to purchase from Liberty so I decided it was best to not include any links at all.

It all came in this very cute makeup bag, although half of it wouldn’t fit inside because there was so much! This is going in my handbag as it's bigger than my current one and

Diptyque Mimosa Mini Scented Candle, worth £20

Decleor Aroma Confort Moisturising Body Milk, worth £6

REN Hydra-Calm Cleansing Milk, worth £3.60

Blanche Body Lotion, worth £7.50

Cowshed Soothing Hand Cream, worth £2.60

EPSA Energising Body Lotion, worth £12.50

Aromatherapy Associates Balance Shamoo, worth £3

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream, worth £14.50

QMS Medicosmetics Hand Care, worth £20

Margaret Dabbs Intensive Hydrating Foot Lotion, worth £6

Malin+Goetz Grapefruit Cleanser, worth £3

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant, worth £7

Aesop Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash, worth £2.70

Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat, worth £11

Chantecaille Luminous Lip Gloss in Guava, worth £15

Hourglass Film Noir Full Spectrum Mascara, worth £25

Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster SPF Lip Gloss, worth £16.50

Ellis Faas Glazed Lips Lip Gloss Sheer Dark Brown, worth £22

Slightly off the £220 Liberty claims it’s worth, but an amazing goody bag nonetheless. 
I’ll be reviewing most of this stuff in the coming weeks, and I managed to get a few duplicates so expect a few giveaways too.

Best Gift With Purchase ever, methinks.

Have you tried any of this stuff?

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Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist

As a Caudalie Beauty Elixir lover, other face mists are automatically looked down upon, as the elixir – wait for it – is my Holy Grail mist.

When I bought The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist, my face was really sensitive as I was just getting over a horrible rash and wanted something to help get rid of the tightness in my skin. I used it twice, hated it and locked it away in a cupboard – promptly forgetting about it. I even left a comment on Maliberry Makeup after Mail reviewed it, confessing my regret at buying it.

Right now I’m going through a bad-skin phase and the tightness in my skin has been unbelievable. It’s horrible, and almost feels as if my face will rip if I dare to crack a smile! So when I found the mist in the back of my cupboard I decided that maybe I should give it another go.

Whilst I’m not too keen on the rosewater scent, the mist itself is great. It really calms down my skin and gets rid of the dreaded tightness across my cheeks. I only apply it as and when I need it, as I’m worried that it may be a little to rich for consistent use. Although recently I’ve been using it almost daily and haven’t noticed any adverse effects.

Caudalie still has my heart, but the Vitamin E mist is working its way there.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist is available from the The Body Shop – instore and online, priced at £7/100ml.

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