Pantene Expert collection AgeDefy Advanced thickening treatment review

I have very thin hair so any thickening or volumizing product is always welcomed. I think it is a new product, I haven’t seen it before in our drugstore so of course I decided to give it a go. It cost 9,99€ for 125 ml.

Claims: “within one week there is less hair in your brush, as hair is becoming less prone to breakage, hair has more texture and is less limp, hair is easier to manage. In one month hair is suppler (all compared to untreated hair).
AgeDefy Advanced Thickening treatment provides thickness to existing hair strands. The formula, containing vitamin B3, panthenol and caffeine, helps your hair become suppler in one month.
Thickens existing hair so it's like you have up to 6,500 more hair strands” (from the information and instruction guide included in the box).

Application (also from the instruction material): “apply once a day, every day, to the wet or dry hair, do not rinse, style as normal. While standing in front of mirror part your hair in lines and spray the product 3 times along each of them. To cover all the scalp approximately 15 pumps are needed. Massage the scalp for about a minute to spread the product evenly”.
I followed the instructions and applied the treatment as mentioned here above. I tried applying it both ways, into the wet hair as well as in dry, already styled, hair (2nd and 3rd day hair). I used up the whole bottle (picture was taken just when I bought it).

Pantene Expert collection AgeDefy Advanced thickening treatment

Texture: in the bottle it looked like the gel, it moved little bit when you moved the bottle. However when you sprayed it (or rather squirted it as the product comes out only through one hole) it was a liquid slightly thicker than the water. After I massaged it into the scalp, hair became thicker; it definitely added some texture to it. It looked bigger/more voluminous and not as sticky as it usually is after volumizing styling powder.
I’ve noticed that if the product got on the hair it looked little bit greasy so accurate application at the roots of hair is important.

Smell: it smells a lot like alcohol (first ingredient) and little bit like flowers, it reminds me traditional Eau de Cologne. When I applied it on the scalp, the smell didn’t linger too much so all in all the smell is ok for me.

Final verdict: I’ve been using this product for almost 2 months, not every day, rather 2nd and 3rd day (after hair wash day). It instantly adds volume without making it sticky but you have to be careful to apply it at the roots. The claim that it thickens the hair so it’s like to have 6500 more hair strands is questionable. On average, there are 100-140 000 strands of hair on the scalp so to realize that it feels like 6500 more strands (6% more) is very difficult. Therefore I’m not going to tell you that I agree or not with the claim. I can see the product adds the texture to the hair and makes it more voluminous but it is instantaneous. If I wash my hair and don’t apply it, the volume is not there for me.
Would I repurchase it? For now, no, I still have volumizing styling powder so I don’t need to buy volumizing/texturizing product but maybe in the future I will, at the end it wasn’t a bad product at all.

Cleansing gadgets

Past few years I’ve tried different cleansing gadgets and so far I only liked one (I haven’t tried famous Clarisonic yet and I probably won’t). Here are few reviews in case you see them in the shop or on some website. 

NEUTROGENA MICRODERMABRASION SYSTEM

It cost 14,39$ on Amazon.com but I think you can buy it in drugstore in US as well. The set I bought included gadget (see the picture), foamy puff that you would attached to the gadget (the puff on the picture is from something else but looks similar, I could not find the original), 2 batteries and one pot of a peeling/cleansing cream. I’ve seen recently that they updated the gadget; you get puffs already soaked in the peeling product.

Claims: it says that you can use this product 3 times a week and that it replaces your regular scrub. It’s supposed to make your skin “more luminous and more polished today and younger firmer looking skin tomorrow”.

My experience: in old version I have, you put the product on the puff, turn it on and circulate it few minutes on different parts of your wet face. As there was only 1 puff included in the kit for the whole cream I had to clean it after every application. In new version you get disposable puffs.
I started using it 3 times a week as advised but it was too abrasive for me. I have generally dry skin so for me the product (cream) was very aggressive. I switched to using it only once a week and it was better but I still felt that my face was very tight after an application. I used up the cream but I haven’t noticed any extra change in my skin texture. I wouldn’t repurchase it since it was very harsh for me. I wouldn’t recommend it for dry or sensitive skin. 

NEUTROGENA WAVE SONIC POWER CLEANSER

It cost 14,69$ on Amazon.com but you should be able to buy it in a drugstore where they sell Neutrogena. The old version I have includes gadget with only one speed, batteries. Nice addition in new version is that the head spins. The kit includes pads soaked in the cleansing product. 

Claims: “gentle daily cleansing gadget, for noticeably soft glowing skin, cleans 50 times better than regular cleansing”.

My experience: first, I attached the pad to the gadget and wet my face. I turned the gadget on and circulated it over the face (I imagine that with new spinning head you don’t need to circulate it anymore). It created foam like a regular cleanser. Again, it was too drying for me, my skin was very tight after an application and I just could not use it every day. It cleaned my face thoroughly and I used it up but wouldn’t repurchase it. It wasn’t gentle enough for my dry skin. I think it is suitable for oily to very oily skin, I wonder if the normal skin would enjoy it or not.

(from left upper corner in clock direction) Neutrogena Microdermabrasion system, simple Facial brush, Olay Prox X cleansing system, Neutrogena Wave Sonic Pwer cleanser

FACIAL BRUSH

I bought this facial brush in DI drugstore, I think, and it cost under 5€. French Sephora sells similar one for the same price. It is very simple brush as you can see on the picture, nothing automatic, no batteries; you have to circulate it on your face by yourself, use the cleansing gel of your choice as well. I think this is one of the main advantages of this brush apart of the price; you can actually use the cleanser that suits your skin type. However the bristles are very stiff and unless you are very careful and light handed it will hurt using it. I won’t throw it away though; I will definitely use it for pedicure or other part of my body if needed but not on my face.

OLAY PROFESSIONAL PRO X ADVANCED CLEANSING SYSTEM

This gadget is so far the most expensive I tried but I haven’t bought 250€ Clarisonic yet so I’m not sad about it. It costs 39,99£ and I bought it via Amazon.co.uk but I’ve also seen it in the drugstores in Spain so I guess it is sold wherever the Olay brand is. It came with a brush head, 2 speeds gadget with batteries and deluxe sample of Olay scrub. You can buy brush heads separately as well.

Claims: “daily deep cleansing and gentle exfoliation, cleanser from the kit purifies and renews your skin's texture for a refreshed, smooth feel, gadget is water-resistant for use in the shower”.

My experience: it has been my go-to scrub gadget if I don’t want to use chemical peeling (AHA or BHA acids) for few years now. The cleanser that came with the gadget wasn’t something special to me but I used it up and now I use cleansers of my choice. First you wet your face and put the cleanser on and then you turn on the gadget and move it on the face. The brush head circulates itself; it has 2 speeds which I find both working almost equally. The bristles are gentle and not as stiff as on the cleansing facial brush mentioned here above.
I cannot say if it’s comparable to Clarisonic since I’ve never tried it but I’m pretty much happy with Olay and I don’t have any interest in buying Clarisonic so I consider Olay actually quite a nice alternative.

Final verdict: Olay cleansing system has been my go-to cleansing/peeling gadget for past few years but I recently discovered something new that is all natural and less expensive. So far I’m amazed and I will definitely write about it soon so hold your wallet don’t buy the Olay yet!

Smashbox Camera Ready BB cream vs Estée Lauder DayWear BB Anti-Oxidant Beauty Benefit cream

BB creams have been around for some time and now the companies started with the CC creams which are basically updated BB creams that claims to have not only skin care benefits but to correct skin tone as well. As far as I'm concerned they all perform about the same in term of skincare so for me the most important thing is coverage and how it wears during the day if worn alone or under foundation. Usually I go for drugstore products but I bought these two products in some sets so I decided to try them and see.

Price: you can buy Smashbox in Sephora (30 ml for 34€), Estée Lauder either in Sephora (30 ml for 39,90€), in Belgium in IciParisXL (31,45€) otherwise try your local perfumery.

Smell: Smashbox has almost no perfume, I can smell little bit of chemicals (maybe active SPF ingredients). Estée Lauder has fresh cucumber perfume.

Application: I applied both BB creams with hands. I used them instead of my daily face lotion since they contain SPF 35.

(left) Estée Lauder DayWear BB Anti-Oxidant beauty Benefit cream , Smashbox Camera ready BB cream (right)

Texture and finish:
Smashbox: it has cream texture that is nor too thick neither too thin, it spreads nicely into the skin and soaks in 1-2 minutes (comparable to regular face lotion) so you have time to blend it well. When I wore it under the foundation I noticed little bit of shininess on the nose during the day, so I would recommend this BB cream rather to dry skin girls than to others.
Estée Lauder has thick cream texture which is harder to blend than Smashbox; you have to press your finger more on the skin to blend it well. It dries very quickly so you have to work fast. Even though the texture is thick it doesn't alter the finish of the foundation you put on, so I would recommend it to the girls with normal or even slightly oily skin.
Worn alone they both have natural finish, so neither matt nor luminous.

Colour: both BB creams are in colour Light, which is 2nd lightest colour for Smashbox and lightest colour for Estée Lauder. While Smashbox has 9 colours to choose from, Estée Lauder has only 2. What concerns shade Light, in both case the BB creams have warm undertone although Estée Lauder seems to be warmer when applied on my skin than Smashbox and that’s why I prefer Estée Lauder (colour wise). I’m NW15-20 in MAC and these BB creams seem to be about NW20 when blended on the skin (the swatches on the pictures are very heavy so the colour looks darker than on the face).

Smashbox Camera ready BB cream (left),  Estée Lauder DayWear BB Anti-Oxidant beauty Benefit cream (right)

Coverage: Smashbox has slightly more coverage than the Estée Lauder but they are both buildable to the point they actually create medium coverage (in foundation terminology). This is very unusual for BB creams as they tend to have very sheer coverage.

Longevity: when worn alone they tend to last for about 4-5 hours. When worn under the foundation, they stay on as long as the foundation does, they neither disrupt foundation longevity nor extend it.

Final verdict: both products are very nice. I can imagine that they would be great for girls who don't like wearing too much makeup or somebody very busy to put lot of makeup on as they offer good coverage and good SPF35.
I always use foundation on the top of them, although only with sheer coverage (MAC Face & Body) and the makeup looks so much nicer and more natural than with regular lotion and heavier foundation. I will use both of them during the winter months or when I'm not self- tanned. As the summer approaches I will go back to my Garnier BB cream which is sold only in darker shade (review here). As of now, I cannot decide which one I would repurchase; I like the texture and coverage of Smashbox but the colour of Estée Lauder. Once I use both of them up I may have a better idea which one I like better.
I recently both new drugstore BB cream from the skincare line I liked, I will test it and let you know if it’s a dupe or not for these creams.

Self-tanners fail products

From all the self-tanners I’ve tried there are few that were outstandingly bad that I would like to write about them in case they catch your eye in the shop. All four products are from the drugstore so at least there wasn’t much of the financial damage there.

SOLTAN BEAUTIFUL BRONZE SELF-TAN GEL

Smell: it has nice Shea butter smell when applying it, so quite pleasant; later on when it develops it has bit of the self-tanner smell.

Application: I applied it with hands like I tend to do with cream self-tanner which was a major mistake as the self-tanner dries immediately and it is therefore very difficult if not impossible to remove it from hands. Since it dries quickly I had to be fast and blend it quickly to avoid streaky lines. My skin wasn’t sticky so I could get dressed almost immediately after the application (at least good new here). On the bottle it says “tinted colour for instantly luminous skin”, well, it actually means LOT of yellow glitter. I’ve never had so much glitter on my body in my life. It wasn’t a nice look but for sake of testing I endured the experience.

Colour: I bought the tube last summer and tried it during the winter so only 6 months after buying it. It says on the bottle that the product should be used within 2 years however the self-tanner was separating into yellow glitter, brown gel and green gel already. I had to shake it before use and it still look weird. Anyway the colour I obtained was light brown with red undertone which wasn’t the most flattering for my undertone.

Longevity: it lasted few days as standard drugstore self-tanners do; there were no patches when fading.

Final verdict: it was so much work to blend it in and so much mess; the amount of the glitter was too much for my taste and the outcome nothing special. I haven’t even finished the bottle I had.

(from left to right) Nivea Sun Touch Lait-Soin autobronzant, SOLTAN Beautiful bronzer Self-tan gel, Neutrogena PureGlow

NIVEA SUN TOUCH LAIT-SOIN AUTOBRONZANT

Smell: it had really strong self-tanner smell mixed with something else I cannot identify.

Application: it is a cream but very light liquid consistency; I used only my hands and most of time the application was ok, few times I got some streaks so I would suggest using a mitt. It dries quickly (not as quick as Soltan, so you have time to blend it) so it is practical if you are in a hurry.

Colour: it gives very light yellow colour, by very light I mean really light and you cannot build dark colour at all, it just stays at light level and doesn’t change even after using lot of times in a row. It says on the bottle it is for light skins but I just didn’t expected to be so light.

Longevity: it didn’t last too long as the colour was very light and therefore once it started fading I could not tell if it was still there or not.

Final verdict: since the smell was awful and there was almost no colour I wouldn’t buy it by any means.

NEUTROGENA PUREGLOW

Smell: I don’t want to use negative words but this product actually stank. It had very chemicals-like smell to the point that I would make faces when applying it…

Application: it looks like regular face lotion, white in the tube, transparent when blended. It soaked into the skin nicely, wasn’t too sticky and dried quite quickly.

Colour: firstly, keep in mind that when you use face self-tanners you cannot use peelings, AHA or BHA acid, retinol or other products that peel the upper skin layer. Apart from the peeling, you have to keep the skin moisturize so that the tan has a chance to build up (the face self-tanners tend to be light in colour so you need more colour). So I really paid attention to all that and there was no colour what so ever after 2 applications. I mean nothing at all.

Longevity: since there was no colour I cannot report on its longevity or fading.

Final verdict: no colour and disgusting smell, I could not keep on using the product.

L’OREAL NUTRIBRONZE LAIT HYDRATANT

I already posted a review about this product (you can read about it here) but I wanted to mention it again here as I haven’t used the product up as it was so bad.

Sorry to be so negative today, I promise the next self-tanner review will cheer you up little bit.

Maybelline New York Master Drama liner in ultra-black and deep purple review

I’ll go straight to the point: I’ve been using Maybelline Master Drama liner in ultra-black for about 2 years and been very happy with it so when new colours came out (I’ve seen brown and purple) I ran to the drugstore to buy some. Oh boy what a disappointment…

Maybelline New York Master Drama liner in Ultra-black and  Deep purple

Pigmentation and colour: 

Ultra-black: as the name says it is full on ultra-black, very consistent black colour that transfers the same way on the skin as you see it in the swatch.

Deep purple: here comes the trouble: the colour is not deep saturated purple; it is not even plain purple! The base of the colour is greyish brown and it contains purple glitter. On the pencil it doesn’t say it contains glitter at all; it just says deep purple so I expected to get nice dark purple comparable to the black one. The glitter is not consistent either so somewhere you get it somewhere not, it looks patchy. On the upper line, it looks like you have some glitter here and there, the brown base looks muddy and I had to actually put black liner over it to correct this mess. If you put the purple over the black liner it looks so-so as the glitter stands out, but overall, no thank you. On the water line it also underperforms as it doesn’t transfer on the waterline almost at all and it only leaves little bit of colour on the skin attached to the water line.

Maybelline New York Master Drama liner in Ultra-black (left) and  Deep purple (right) 

Texture: both liners have the same texture, very soft creamy so you won’t experience dragging your skin when applying it. I think the era of hard eyeliner is over as nobody wants to hurt the eyes and skin when applying the eyeliner, especially when you apply it on the waterline.

Application: for the waterline, just apply it straight from the pencil to the line and smudge it if you want, nothing new here. For the upper lash line I would recommend using small angle brush or eyeliner brush: since these pencils are soft they are difficult to sharp to the thin tip and therefore you won’t get that thin line straight from the pencil.

Sigma brush E05, Make-up for you angle  brow brush, Real techniques fine liner brush

Longevity: they are really longwearing. Once they set they don’t move unless you remove them by makeup remover. They last almost all day on water line too and that is where I use the ultra-black one. I think they are most longwearing eyeliners in drugstore (at least in Europe, in US try for example  Jordana Liquid eyeliner pencil, I have one in brown and it is very nice).

Final verdict: definitely buy only ultra-black liner not the purple at all. If you’d like to try longwearing colourful liners, go for these:

• Jordana Liquid eyeliner pencil (in US in some drugstore, otherwise on cherryculture.com)
• NYX slide on pencil (in US and Germany in some drugstore otherwise on cherryculture.com)
• Urban Decay 24/7 glide on pencil (in Sephora)
• NARS Larger than life long-wear eyeliner pencil (in Sephora)
• MAKE Up FOR EVER Aqua eyes pencil (in Sephora)

Back to basic: blush

Blush is one of the makeup items that everybody has in the makeup bag even if you are not a makeupholic like some of us. It gives a skin healthy look, makes the face look less flat after foundation application. Generally speaking there are no rules to blush application (it's makeup, have fun with it) but some tips and tricks are very useful since it is a colour product.

What to keep in mind when applying a blush:

• start with less and build the colour slowly, it is easier to put more than get rid of too much (if it happens that you put too much, take your foundation brush to blend the edges and use clean brush to blend the rest of blush), 
• choose the colour according to your skin undertone, there is a pink with warm undertone as well as with cool one and it just looks better when the blush really suits your skin,
• use smaller brush for precise application, lot of drugstore blush brushes are huge and you end up applying blush all over your cheek ( even on the spot where the contour and highlight should be), the blush should not pass the half of your eye and should be applied upwards to the temples to lift your cheeks,
• choose natural bristles brush for powder blush and synthetic bristles brush or hands for liquid and cream blush,
• tip off excess of the powder blush before the application to avoid fall outs and excessive amount of product on your cheek,
• don't put too much blush close to the centre of your face as this part tends to be already little bit red, blush would only make it worse, 
• if your skin is mature and the cheeks are lower as where they used to be, don't smile when applying the blush otherwise it will appear lower once you stop smiling therefore not where it was intended to be.

(left) Sedona Lace FB05 with natural bristles for powder blush, ELF stipple brush with synthetic bristles for cream blush (right) 

Liquid and cream blushes: 

• are very often advertised as multitasking products that you can use not only on your cheeks but also on the mouth instead of lipstick. On the cheeks, they should be applied before any powder so if you use powder foundation you should stick to powder blushes as well, 
• liquid and cream forms are great when you want to create that healthy dewy finish or if you have very dry skin and don't want to use any powder product, 
• they are great for layering when you want to extend the wear of the blush (put the cream blush first then top it with powder one), 
• they are used to fake suntan (see my post about bronzers for suntanned look here), 
• some creams/liquids have cream to powder texture which means that you apply them as creams but then, once they set, they change into powder matt finish. They are great for natural finish and can be used on the powder as well (depends on specific product qualities). 

(from left to right) Maybelline Dream Touch blush, Tarte Cheek stain, Benefit Benetint, NYX blush

Blushes come in different finishes, matt, pearl, shimmer and glitter just like eyeshadows and I think it is personal taste what kind of bush you choose to use. I personally put blush with shimmer only when I don't intend to use highlighter so that I don't look like a disco ball. I tend to go for this trio: matt cool tone bronzer for contouring - matt blush - shimmer highlighter (more about contouring here). I reserve blushes with sparkle only for evening, special occasion’s looks.

My favorites:

• Maybelline Dream touch blushes (cream to powder blush, in any drugstore) 
• NYX powder blushes (in Germany and in US in some drugstores, otherwise on cherryculture.com) 
• Benefit box powder blushes (at Sephora) 
• NARS powder blushes (at Sephora) 
• Body shop powder blushes

Garnier Ambre Solaire BB crème SPF 30 and Anti-Age crème SPF 30 review

I’ve been using Garnier Ambre Solaire BB cream SPF 30 already last summer and haven’t seen many reviews so far, plus this year I discovered Anti-Age SPF 30, its untinted version, so it's about time to present them to you.

You can buy them in any drugstore (at least in Europe) since it is Garnier, widely available everywhere. In Belgium they cost around 12 euro which is ok price for day lotion with SPF 30. I hope I don’t need to emphasize how important it is to wear SPF during the day even if it’s cloudy or raining like in Belgium.

Garnier Ambre Solaire BB crème SPF 30

Smell: it has light sunscreen smell with hint of nutty aroma

Shades: unfortunately there is only one shade of this BB cream. I’m NW20 in MAC foundations and I would say this is probably NW35 so quite darker than my skin shade. I compared it with foundations I have and it is quite the same to L’Oreal Lumi Magique D/W3 or to Cover Girl Outlast stay fabulous 855/soft honey. I can use it only when I’m self-tanned. It’s a pity that there’s only this colour, if there was a lighter one I’d definitely use it during the winter as well.

Application: I used my hands to apply the BB cream but I think it would also work with the brush or the sponge. The texture is light cream so neither totally liquid nor a heavy cream.

Finish: it has natural finish with hint of luminosity, skin looks suntanned and healthy. It moisturizes skin well enough for my taste (in spring and summer my skin is normal or slightly dry). It soaks well in the skin so no problem with foundation application on the top of it.

Coverage: it has nice coverage for a BB cream; almost medium coverage depends on how many layers you put on.

Longevity: it says on the tube that the cream is water resistant. I haven’t tried it in water but the cream stays nicely all day, doesn’t smudge once it sets. I also mix it with the foundations that have longevity issues to extend their wear.

Final verdict: as I said in the introduction I’ve been using this BB cream last summer and I used up one tube. I already bought new tube for this summer as well. I would definitely recommend this product, the only problem I see is the colour. If you are light skin colour like me and you don’t self-tan you may not get the use out of it.

Garnier Ambre Solaire BB creme SPF 30 (left), Garnier Ambre Solaire Anti-Age SPF 30 (right)

Garnier Ambre Solaire Anti-Age crème SPF 30

This cream is a transparent version of BB cream: it has the same smell, longevity; it leaves natural finish, soaks well in the skin and wears well under the makeup. It doesn’t have any colour, it is white and, when applied, blends in the skin without colour. I’m definitely going to use it during the winter as my day moisturizer or when I’m not wearing its BB cream version. What concerns the Anti-aging properties, they are related to SPF that the cream offers and therefore prevents creation of new wrinkles.

SOLAIT Tinted bronzing lotion in Medium/Dark review

I continue today with some SOLAIT products reviews as mentioned in previous post. This tinted bronzing lotion costs £ 6,99, so quite inexpensive, and you can buy it in Superdrug (UK based drugstore). On the bottle it says that it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, it is not tested on animals and it doesn’t contain sunscreen. It says it can be used on face and body, I only used it on the body.

Smell: it has a coconut smell but when the tan is developing the smell changes to the self-tanner one.

Application: it has a colour indicator so you can see where you put it. I used a mitt to apply it however it turned streaky after 1st application. With 2nd application I covered the discoloration caused by first application and then it was ok. It wasn’t sticky and dried in about half an hour just like regular lotion.

SOLAIT Tinted bronzing lotion

Colour: it gives quite a nice tanned colour with yellow undertone. After 1st application the skin colour changed only little bit so 2nd application was definitely needed to get more colour. If you like darker tan, you would need 3rd application for sure and it still wouldn’t be the darkest tan ever. It’s written medium/dark on the bottle and I have light skin so I expected far more colour after already first application.

Longevity and fading: it lasted 4 days and then started fading. It wasn’t patchy at all and faded nicely.

Final verdict: it is nice drugstore self-tanner, I used whole bottle and I would probably repurchase it to alternate it with more expensive self-tanners. However, I like the colour of SOLAIT Dry mist bronzing spray more so I’ll be still looking for the self-tanner that would perform about the same without that horrible patchiness (you can read my review here).

SOLAIT Pink gloves, Self-tanner corrector wipes, Maxi bronzer

I also used these SOLAIT products:

• SOLAIT Self-tanner corrector wipes (£1, 49): they can be used to wipe self-tanner from your hands right after the application. When I bought them I thought I would use them when the self-tan is developed and I see some mistakes – streaks to erase. The wipes don’t work after the tan is developed, they can be used only when the self-tanner is freshly applied. 
• SOLAIT pink gloves (£1,99 for 5 pairs): I used them when a mitt would transfer self-tanner inside, on the hands. The gloves are extremely cute, really bright pink however they are quit tiny and not very elastic. They are made from a delicate rubber and would tear apart easily. I wouldn’t use them for household choresJ. 
• SOLAIT Maxi bronzer (22g for £4,99!): I use this bronzer for contouring as it has dark cool tone colour. It blends nicely and stays on for about 4-5 hours; price for such a size is a great deal.

SOLAIT 360° Dry mist bronzing spray review

I tried few SOLAIT products last year and even though there are only available in UK I think it’s worth writing about them. UK is not that far from Belgium or other European country by train or plane so in case you’re going there and see these products in SUPERDRUG drugstore, here is one of my reviews, whether to pick them up or not (next reviews already coming already on Monday).

The Dry mist bronzing spray is really inexpensive, it costs under £4. On the bottle it says that it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, it is not tested on animals and it doesn’t contain sunscreen. It says it can be used on face and body, I only used it on the body.

SOLAIT 360° Dry mist bronzing spray review

Smell: it has a self-tanner smell

Application: self-tanner doesn’t have a colour indicator, it sprays white liquid. I sprayed it on the mitt and applied on the body. You have to keep the mitt wet in order not to make it streaky. It is sticky at the beginning but dries quickly.

Colour: it gives very nice brown colour. After 1st application the skin had light brown colour and after 2nd application, I looked like I had a week of vacation, so nice dark brown colour.

Longevity and fading: self-tanner lasted for 1 week which was surprising since it is from the drugstore and it’s cheap. After the week it started fading away and unfortunately it wasn’t a nice sight. It was very patchy and it wouldn’t go and stay patchy for another week. It looked very “dirty” on me. So when I selftanned with it again and it started fading in patches I made sure I scrubbed it off immediately.

Final verdict: if I was on the budget I would buy it because it has really nice colour and lasts for a whole week. I would make sure that I have a good scrub to use once it starts fading away. I used 2-thirds of it when the bottle stopped working. If you tried it, let me know if it happened to you as well.

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint review

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint is a new foundation recently released by Lancome, probably only in Europe (I haven’t seen it on US Sephora or Nordstrom wepsites). I’ve been using it for 2 weeks and here is my review in case you are interested in buying it. I bought it from ICIPARISXL website (Belgium perfumery) when they held sales of 20%. It costs 39,85€, with discount 31,88€ for 30ml (with free shipping). In French Sephora it costs 46,50€ and if you order it online you pay also shipping of 9,95€ to Belgium so definitely don’t buy it there.

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint, colour 01 Beige Ivory

Smell: it doesn’t have a foundation smell; it reminds me of a toner water smell, very clean with hint of alcohol (its 4th ingredient).

Shades: I bought 01 Beige Ivory (“Beige Albatre”) and it was second lightest colour in ICIPARISXL (in French Sephora this is the lightest colour). My skin is NW15-20 in MAC foundations and I have to say 01 Beige Ivory is quite dark for me, I wouldn’t be able to use it in winter at all and I can use it only when I’m tanned.
ICIPARISXL carries 11 shades which is average number of shades, there could be more on the light and very dark side of the spectrum, medium skin is quite covered and from what I see online, they have cool and warm undertone shades there. French Sephora carries only 8 shades which is poor since even some drugstore brands carry 8 shades.

Application: it has very liquid consistency. It seems to be water-based, although first ingredient is Cyclohexasiloxane and Dimethicone. You need to shake it well to mix liquid with the colour pigments. It is best applied with hands. The sponge would “drink” all the foundation and the application with brush is not as nice as with the hands.

Lancome Miracle Air de Teint, colour 01 Beige Ivory

Finish: it has semi matt finish which makes the foundation look quite natural. It blends well enough even though it dries quite quickly. It is not sticky so it doesn’t need powder once it’s set. It is not suitable for dry skin at all, it clings to dry patches, even the small ones, so if you have slightly dry skin, you need to exfoliate and moisturize well before using it. Since it is so liquidy it doesn’t fill out the pores and scars so it won’t make your skin look flawless, but since it’s matt, it doesn’t accentuate them either.
It has SPF 15 and I haven’t tried how it photographs but since it’s quite matt and the SPF is quite small, it should look well.

Coverage: it has medium coverage, it is buildable and you can make it almost full coverage without making it look too caky.

Longevity: I powdered it and it still looked well only 5 hours before I noticed oiliness on my nose. I have dry skin during the winter and relatively normal during the summer so seeing actual shine and oil on my nose was a surprise. I wouldn’t recommend it to oily skin girls.

Final verdict: it is nice foundation for normal skin that doesn’t have scars or large pores. Since it has nice coverage I think it is suitable for people who just need to cover discolorations. I wouldn’t use it for 8 hours work day but it is ok for short periods such as dinner with friends, running errands and so. I will use it up, probably in conjunction with primer to make it last longer and to fill out my pores but I won’t repurchase it. I need foundations that are long-lasting and make my uneven skin more flawless.

Potential dupe in drugstore? Yes! L’Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint (mine in colour 110 Warm Ivory). While it is not the same colour (which is good, you have more options looking at both ranges) it is comparable in other features: the same smell, finish, texture and longevity. It is liquid and you need to apply it with hands, it has slightly less coverage than Lancome but buildable too, it dries slower but looks the same at the end. It also has lower SPF than Lancome – SPF 18.

L'Oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint, colour 110 Warm Ivory

It is not very surprising that these two are very similar to each other since L’Oreal owns Lancome and they may share patents and products. It is the same situation as with Bourjois that owns Chanel and lot of products are the same. Good advice, if you like something from expensive brand, do some research if there is any drugstore brand belonging to the same “family” and try to find the product there first.

Have you tried this foundation, girls?