Cocoa Brown Instant Tan Bronzing Gel Matte and Shimmer

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

A couple of months ago I was invited along to Cocoa Browns Passion Persistence Pink Event in the Shelbourne Hotel. I made some new friends at the event and got to catch up with some old ones too. I can safely say that an enjoyable afternoon was had by all. I Snapchatted the majority of the event including Marissa's reveal of the two brand new Cocoa Brown products. If you haven't already heard, these products are as follows:

• Cocoa Brown Instant Tan Bronzing Gel 'Matte'
• Cocoa Brown Instant Tan Bronzing Gel 'Shimmer'

I was extremely excited with the announcement of not one but two instant tans to the Cocoa Brown family, it's exactly what the range needed. I'm a massive fan of the 1 Hour Tan and the Night & Day Tan Mousse, I've reviewed those products already and you can find the posts here and here. While I absolutely adore both of these tans and use them religiously, sometimes I like to have the option of being able to wash my tan off completely the next day. I couldn't wait to put these two to the test. Unfortunately I had to wait until my eczema calmed down to do so but let me tell you it was well worth the wait!

Lets kick things off with the packaging. The packaging really didn't come as a surprise to me its typical of Cocoa Brown, it's pink, fun and girly. You would easily spot a Cocoa Brown product a mile off!

I only fake tan on special occasions as some of you will know, I embrace the pale the rest of the time. However when I do decide to fake tan I like to have quite a dark appearance to my skin. I started out by testing the matte shade of bronzing gel and I must admit even I was a little scared when I squeezed some of the product out of the tube. It is very dark.

The shimmer bronzing gel on the other hand looked to be a lighter shade of brown. Normally I favour a matte appearance to my skin but I was blown away by the gorgeous golden brown colour of the shimmer bronzing gel. 

Now to put the two to the test!

Before - Tan Free Skin

After - 1 Layer of Cocoa Brown Matte Bronzing Gel

Like the rest of the Cocoa Brown range the gels are scented with Cocoa Browns signature Tahitian Gardenia scent so absolutely no need to worry about the biscuit/curry smell that other tans give off.

The first night I wore this tan was to the Irish Blog Awards last month in the Tivoli Theatre. When it comes to important events I stick to my trusty makeup and tanning routine, I never try new products on the day of an event on the off chance disaster strikes. Unfortunately for me that day/night consisted of a series of unfortunate events, one being that I ran out of tan mid way through tanning myself from top to bottom. I had applied the Cocoa Brown Night & Day Tan Mousse to the top half of my body and when I went to squeeze some more out of the can.....nothing. I had ran out. Crisis adverted though when I found the Matte Bronzing Gel in the bottom of my bag. I must have put it in there by accident but I was very thankful that I did!

The tan is definitely splash proof as it passed the test on the night. It was very crowded in the theatre and someone knocked into me accidentally which caused me to drown myself in the lovely Prosecco I had been handed moments before. The tan on the top half of my body ran which was a given as it was an instant tan so I didn't mind too much, nothing some bronzer couldn't fix! My dress had a slit as you can see from the above photo so my legs were mostly covered but it wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't of been. The drink hit my right leg and the tan didn't budge, not one bit. I was extremely surprised!

After - 1 Layer of Cocoa BrownShimmer Bronzing Gel

I found it very hard to do the shimmer bronzing gel justice, in person it gives such a gorgeous sheen to the skin. You really have to get the gel and experience it for yourself, you will not be disappointed! If you click into the photos it enlarges them you'll see the shimmer more clearly that way. In the last two photos in particular, you can see the shimmer particles on my arm but its so much more stunning in person.

Both bronzing gels are lightweight and glide onto the skin with ease. You can build up the intensity of the bronzing gels by applying them in layers but one layer is dark enough for me. If you are pale like myself you can also mix the gels with your regular foundation to match your face to your body. You can even contour your skin with the gels or Tontour as Marissa calls it, to see how to tontour you can check out Marissa's post here.

The bronzing gels are fantastic multi use products that will set you back a mere €6.99 for 150ml of product. Honestly, you can't go wrong! Cocoa Brown is available from large retailers such as Penneys, Boots, and Superdrug. The range is also available in pharmacies nationwide. If you are outside of Ireland not to worry, Cocoa Brown is available from sites such as Cloud10Beauty and Feel Unique who ship worldwide :)

Happy Tanning!

Eimear x

Giorgio Armani Ecstacy Lip Lacquer Shade 502 Boudoir Review

Hi Everyone!
Hope you all are well :)

Yesterday marked the launch of the Ecstacy Lip Lacquer range from Giorgio Armani. I received this product prior to the release date and have been putting it through its paces over the last week or there about. First off the press imagery that accompanied the product, simply stunning. I've tucked it away in a drawer that contains my makeup books and other clippings that I have collected over the years. If I am ever feeling stuck in a rut or uninspired its the first drawer I reach for. That aside, lets get on to the actual product itself!

For me, the packaging alone gets a solid 10/10. I like how subtle the design is, the brand name isn't largely printed on the packaging instead the Armani logo is situated at the opening of the tube. I love the sleekness of the tube also. Each tube is black but the black fades gradually into the colour of the product that is contained inside. 

There are an impressive eighteen shades in the collection in total. Ten intense lacquered/varnish shades and eight shades that have a metallic finish to them. I own shade '502 Boudoir' which is one of the metallic shades in the line. I'm not a huge fan of lip products that contain tonnes of shimmer or that have the wet look finish to them so I wasn't sure if this was going to be my cup of tea.

I swatched it on my hand before I applied it to my lips and I was blown away by the pigmentation alone. This pink/rose toned shade is so vibrant and gives off such a lovely sheen.

As I'm tilting my hand towards the light now, you can see the glittery particles a little better. I don't think my photos do the product justice, the shine is extreme and there are lots of different tones running throughout the glitter, mainly gold though.

After I had taken my product shots for this blog post I went to remove the lip lacquer off of my hand. I used a makeup wipe and the above photo was the end result, it didn't budge. The lip lacquer is a gloss-stain hybrid, as a result to remove the product you will need an oil based makeup remover. After I had swatched it on my hand I felt this product could be promising so I tested it on my lips next!

This product is buildable due to its formula, most of the times that I wore this lip lacquer I just applied two layers and that was enough for me. If you apply one layer it will give you a light stain, the more layers you apply the more glossy the lips will appear. The doe foot applicator has a slight curve to it making the product a little easier to apply which is always a good thing. Even though its a glossy product its not really sticky, it just has an ever so slight tacky texture but it isn't uncomfortable. In fact quite the opposite really, its very comfortable on the lips and isn't drying in the slightest. Another thing I noted was that it doesn't have a scent, which will be a big plus for some of you out there.

I'm not keen on the metallic finish. I find the particles separate and clump together on the lips. If you click on the above photo and enlarge it you might be able to see where the lacquer has clumped on the top lip. The particles stick together and I just find that this gives the lips a bit of a patchy appearance. I do love the formula though, the lip lacquer is extremely long lasting and it doesn't suck the moisture out of your lips. The lips stay nice and glossy throughout the day lasting a solid 7 hours with eating and drinking. 

As this is a Giorgio Armani product it does come at a price, the Ecstacy Lip Lacquers retail at €31.50 each. Really the only thing I don't like about this product is the fact that its a metallic finish, I'm just not keen on the glitter particles in the lacquer. I'd absolutely love if this came in a matte finish because the formulation of the product is fantastic, even the varnish/lacquer shades sound a bit more promising! But unfortunately, I'm not a fan of their metallic range.

The Ecstacy Lip Lacquer range is exclusively available from Brown Thomas Dublin, Cork or Limerick or from www.brownthomas.com, which you can find a direct link to here.

Chat soon!

Eimear x

Inglot Pro Store South Anne Street Launch

Hi Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

*Disclaimer*

I cannot be held responsible for the possible damage caused to your bank balance after reading this post. If you choose to do so, drooling over products shall be done at your own risk!

Now that we have that out of the way...lets get onto the details :D

I was so chuffed to be able to potter along to the bloggers event at the store the evening before it opened. The grand opening of the store on South Anne Street (just off Grafton Street) was on the 28th of September at 11am, with goody bags supplied to the first 50 people in line.

If you haven't seen the inside of the store yet...lets have a look now!

On entering the store, to the left we have a wonderful wall filled with glorious products. First up we have nail products such as the nail enamels from various different collections like the 'noble collection', 'nightlife collection' etc.

Next to the nail varnishes we have the lip products. Included on the wall are products such as lipsticks, lip paints, sleek lip gloss, soft precision lipliners all in every shade imaginable. There are also pigments, gel eyeliners and brushes located to the left up near the counter.

As you all know by now I am a die hard Inglot fan, I don't think I have created a makeup tutorial without using one of their products. For someone who loves to create colourful makeup looks, Inglot is an absolute god sent for me!

 Great products that are highly pigmented in an array of colours at an affordable price!

What more could a girl want?

Aside from Inglots amazing colour selection, my favourite thing about the brand is that you can create your very own palettes. This is so handy for me, as a makeup artist it majorly cuts down on the weight in my case.

It is not practical for me to carry around tonnes and tonnes of eyeshadow palettes so that I can offer my client a variety of shades and finishes.

With the freedom system I can customise my palette depending on my client and his/her needs. Another brilliant thing about the freedom system is that you are not limited to just eyeshadows. With this unique system you can create your own blush, bronzer, concealer and lip palettes. I would be lost without it!

To date I customized 11 palettes...and I still need more.

The eyeshadows come in a rainbow of colours as you can see, and are situated when you walk in the door on your right.

Next to that we have all the foundations, powders, concealers, bronzers...the works! Along with two fully lit makeup stations down in the bottom corner.

The new pro store stocks all of the Inglot Cosmetics range along with a few exclusive products from 'The Professional Zuca Makeup Case' to 'The Mattifying 3S Range of Pressed and Loose Powders' and more!

One particular item caught my eye as I walked straight in the door, and that was the 'Multi Action Toner'. I had absolutely no idea that Inglot stocked a toner so I am really excited to pick that up when I can!

Amazing so far isn't it? Yes, I did say so far.

There is an upstairs too!

Upstairs is quite spacious with various makeup stations to aid private makeup courses, parties and master classes.

Speaking of which, top makeup artist Jon Hennessey is flying in from Vancouver  to celebrate this exciting launch. Jon will be hosting a couple of masterclasses sharing his tips and tricks of the trade. 

The classes will take place on the following dates:

Wednesday 2nd of October from 11am-1pm

Thursday 3rd of October from 6pm-9pm

For more information call 0873973434 as places are limited!

Rosaleen and I at the launch :) 

(check her out here!)

As there was a full house at the event, the Inglot Makeup Artists put on a couple of demonstrations for us. One upstairs and one downstairs :)

I love seeing makeup being applied on models! As a makeup artist I am always learning so it was nice to pick up a few tips and tricks from the girls and also to learn a bit more about products from Inglots range.

With makeup there are no rules. Just because a product is labelled 'eyeliner' it doesn't mean it has to be used solely on the eyes. One of the extremely talented makeup artists created this floral look on the night using an array of the gel eyeliners. So detailed, so gorgeous!

A fantastic night was had by all and of course a few cheeky purchases were made! I'm thrilled with the new location, as I am from Wicklow the easiest store for me to get to is Dundrum. I'm in college about 5 minutes away from Grafton Street so I have a feeling I won't be a stranger to the store!

If you haven't been down to the new store yet, definitely pop in..the atmosphere alone is great..you won't be disappointed! :)

Have you tried any Inglot products before?

Let me know which ones you can't live without!

Eimear x

Cocoa Brown Tough Stuff

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

This morning I woke up to a quirky pink parcel at my door..yes, PINK! 

Who else could it have been, but Cocoa Brown. 

I shouldn't have expected anything less!

To my delight, inside the beautiful pink package was the latest offering from Marissa Carter..Tough Stuff. Marissa describes this as a 

"No nonsense scrub for rough areas such as knees, elbows and feet."

Needless to say, I was itching to try it out..literally.

Although over the last couple of weeks I have heard lots and lots about this product, I wasn't actually sure how to use it and I was curious about how it worked! Don't fret, the application of this product is fool proof just like the rest of Marissa's range. The back of the packaging is jam packed with Marissa's nifty tips and tricks with regard to making the most of this product. Everything you could ever need to know is posted clearly in pink and white! Delightful :)

Tough Stuff has been cleverly designed to remove old tan from rough areas of your body such as the hands, elbows, knees and ankles with ease. Kiss goodbye to your current exfoliator and make space for Tough Stuff, this 'stuff' is nothing short of amazing. If you thought Cocoa Brown was quick and easy to put on Tough Stuff makes it even quicker and easier to take off, believe it or not!

I have used generic exfoliators for years, I would always be left with fake tan still sitting on the surface of my skin. With the use of Tough Stuff my skin was stripped clean of all fake tan leaving my skin radiantly white and silky smooth. It does exactly what it says on the tin..or packet in this case!

Due to the fact that the exfoliator comes in a sachet, instead of squeezing it out I decided to cut out a section so you could clearly see the product inside.

My jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw the product.. I don't know why I'm surprised like I said I shouldn't have expected anything less from Cocoa Brown. PINK..yes the scrub is bright pink!

Funnily enough the first thing I thought of when I saw the product was Ditto from Pokemon...yes, it looks like a melted version of Ditto from Pokemon!

Apply the gel to the skin using long backwards and forwards sweeping motions, the quicker you sweep the deeper the exfoliation. What I like about this product is that it can be used wet or dry. Meaning if you are using it to gently exfoliate the skin, you can use it more frequently! For a gentle exfoliation use the scrub on wet skin in the shower. It lathers up nicely and is so gentle on the skin, perfect for anyone who has sensitive skin. If you are using this method to exfoliate the skin, the scrub can be used 3 to 4 times a week.

The consistency of the gel makes it suitable for use on dry skin, this is the method I prefer to help remove that stubborn tan. 

I have highly sensitive skin and using the scrub on dry skin suits me down to the ground. The results are simply fantastic!

When I said I was itching to try out this product...I wasn't lying.

As most of you know by now I have highly sensitive skin and I also suffer from eczema. It kills me to admit but yes, I am a scratcher :( 

I will get quite bad eczema in around the crease of my arms, when I am wearing no fake tan I can get away with scratching. With tan..its not so easy.

While I pride Cocoa Brown for coming off layer by layer leaving no patches or scaliness on the skin, when my eczema flairs up I scratch the tan off. It fades off nicely everywhere else except for in the creases of my elbows. As you can see from the pictures above and below, my eczema has calmed down but you can see where I had an outbreak because my pasty white skin is peaking through the tan!

I couldn't wait to get my mitts on Tough Stuff to see if it would resolve my problem. It is quite evident that it does! Just look at that difference!

Tough Stuff is like Cillit Bang for your skin....BANG and tan is gone :) 

I used this up my arms to remove the tan, even though it is for the more rough areas of the skin I didn't suffer any irritation. To my surprise it even softened those nasty red bumps I have on the backs of my arms, I cannot believe they are almost gone! My skin is just so soft, its never looked better :)

I am so pleased with this product and I know the 50ml sachet is going to go along way. I only needed the smallest amount yesterday to do both my arms.
At €2.99 this product is an absolute bargain. I can safely say this has now become my holy grail product, I have never used anything that has worked this well!

Another winner by Marissa Carter and the Cocoa Brown team, they really are taking the world by storm!

Thanks for tuning in guys :)
Eimear x

Haul: e.l.f, Catrice, Inglot and more!

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all are well :)

Today's blog post is going to be a haul as you could probably have guessed from the title.

Now I have always said to myself that I would never do a haul video, purely because I don't want to sound as if I'm boasting. Sometimes I feel haul videos can come across that way for example I spent "X" amount of money on this and "X" amount of money on that. That's just my own view on them I realise that may not be the intention but there you go...(digging yourself a hole Eimear haha)

Anyway, I decided it might be better to write it down in a blog post so I could show you all what beauty bargains I picked up, and good quality pictures of the products :)

So the first item I picked up was this e.l.f 32 piece palette. This is my first e.l.f purchase so naturally I'm very excited! I have been reading reviews about e.l.f products for a long time on Nina's blog. She is another Irish blogger/vlogger who is a fellow bargain hunter! 

I'll leave a link to her blog here, so you can check her out. 

When I saw this beauty in Tk Maxx for only €6.99 I had to pick it up! 

The next set of products I picked up are all from Catrice. My mam rang me to say that the pharmacy down the road from where we live had a sale on cosmetics. Selected products from Essence and Catrice were reduced to half price! This was around the 20th of August I think so I'm not sure if the offer is still on in the selected pharmacies. The first few products I picked up were eyeshadows. You have to excuse the packaging, they were riddled with sellotape and half price stickers haha!

Absolute Eye Colour

280 Heidi Plum

 Absolute Eye Colour

130 Sitting On A Volcano

                              

Absolute Eye Colour

Grey's Philosophy

Absolute Eye Colour

390 Top Of The Cops

Absolute Eye Colour

030 OMG! I Want That

                                  

I love the cute little names these eyeshadows have! I think eventually when I make myself a magnetic palette I will depot these eyeshadows and put them into that, just to save space.I misplaced my receipt but I'm almost certain these eyeshadows were €1.40 each, they were half price anyway, absolute bargain! I can't exactly remember how much the quad was either as soon as I find out I'll stick in the price!

I'm not a huge fan of blusher I usually like to play up my eyes with some colour and then add some bronzer to my cheeks. I like the main focus to be on my eyes :) So my next purchase is for my kit! I picked up these two gorgeous blushes. The coral shade will be lovely for summer, oh if I had of spotted it sooner! These blushes were half price too I think I could have paid €1.40 for these aswel! If not they were definitely under €2 anyway.

Defining Duo Blush

030 Pink Grapefruit Shake

Defining Duo Blush 

020 Peach Sorbet

So back to Tk Maxx with my next purchase. I actually bought these the same day as the e.l.f 32 piece palette. I've never heard of this brand before but when I saw the price I figured it was worth giving them a shot! I had seen these lashes sold separately in Tk Maxx before €5.99 each but when I was in there recently I saw they had a pack of four for €12.99. Absolute no brainer there so I picked them up! On the price tag it said they retail at €59.50, shocking! I haven't tried the lashes yet but they look like they are good quality lashes, cant wait to use them on my next night out!

i - lash

Black

2703

i - lash

Black

2701

i - lash

Black

2702

i - lash

Black

2704

Last Sunday I went up to Dundrum Shopping Centre with my friend Laura so she could get a few bits and pieces for college. Of course I couldn't go to Dundrum without visiting Inglot, and that's where I picked up my next few pieces :)
I got three eyeshadows in refill form. Soon they wont be selling the eyeshadows in the circle pans anymore so they are having a sale on the last few. I already have a 20 circle palette and that is why I picked up the eyeshadows in refill form just so I could pop the eyeshadows in there when my other ones ran out. As I said Inglot are scrapping the circle pan palette system so these eyeshadows were on sale at €2.50 each!

AMC Shine 05

D.S 504

Pearl 426

Inglot Duraline

The last item I had been meaning to pick up in Inglot for a long time and that is Duraline. This basically will turn any powder to a liquid so any eyeshadow you have now can be transformed to a liner. I also own the Inglot Gel Eyeliner, the duraline will be perfect to make that more fluid as it can dry out easily. This set me back €8, I used my Inglot MUA card.

And that brings my haul to an end! I hope this was helpful and maybe you got a few ideas :)
I'll do reviews on the products after I have had a good run through of them too! So far I am very very impressed with the e.l.f 32 piece palette to say the least!
Hope you all had a lovely day and I'll chat to you again soon :)

Eimear x