Facial fake tan

As we all know, I am a great believer in my beloved Xen Tan Dark Lotion, in combination with the Sienna X aerosol mist for days when there is no one to tan my back. However, as I no longer get my face in the sun (SPF 50 and Sun Togs hat are always with me), I do have a bit of a brown-body-white-face situation and I looked to rectify this.

I am extremely careful what I put on my face. I only use active ingredients in their purest serum form and oil free, fragrance free products over the top. I therefore thought I probably shouldn't be using body tan on my face. I have used the Clarins Liquid Bronze tanner for years however as it gives quite a natural tan (compared to my body which goes very dark even with SPF 50 use), it has to be used repeatedly to give colour, and whilst this worked well, it also resulted in various blocked pores and comedones. I therefore avoided any gradual tanners as I do not want to have to apply a product daily to get a result when I already have a hefty skin care routine with very carefully chosen ingredients.

Therefore I looked for specific facial tanners with minimal ingredients and minimal oil.

I have tried A LOT for you. Prepare for some fairly hideous photos. Apologies in advance.

La Roche Posay Anthelios Self Tanner

I thought I would first of all see what one of my favourite skin care brands had to offer from their self tan. This comes in a large bottle as I believe it is meant for body, however good old La Roche Posay are famous for their no nonsense, non irritating forumlas so I was quite happy to use this on my face.

 As you can see, the result is VERY natural, and would only really pick up in darker lighting. I found the formula quite sticky and I definitely would not want to try applying make up over it. However, unlike a lot of self tanners, it does not have a guide tint so if you used a good primer you could apply make up over it without it affecting the shade until it developed.

Verdict:
Not for me. This would require multiple applications to get to the desired colour and I have way too many other skin care products I would rather use than fake tan.

Xen Tan Medium Dark Face Tanner Luxe

Whilst this is marketed as a gradual tanner, I purchased the medium/dark option so that it would give a strong enough result on one application.

The "light vanilla scent" is anything but light. My nurse could smell it from where she was sitting despite me wearing a mask. It is a lovely smell, but the level of fragrance that this product must contain to give said scent terrifies me. It does apply very nicely and leaves less of a sticky residue, however it does come with a guide colour which is slightly on the orange side. I would definitely recommend wearing make up over it as it is not a pleasant shade on its own.

See below

Clockwise from top left:
Before, during, after 1 application, after 2 applications

As you can see, the guide tan is quite dark and orange, it gave a good change in shade however it clung to my darker areas of pigmentation e.g. around my chin and mouth. You could definitely apply it avoiding these areas to give a nice result, or if you are blessed, apply all over.

Verdict:
Good colour however I woke up the following day with a huge spot and blocked pores so will categorically never use this again.

Hylamide Glow Booster

I did not even bother to take photos with this as it did absolutely nothing to my skin. It was a nice but slightly sticky serum but absolutely no tan occurred. If you were very pale this may work, and give a slight hint of colour. The best thing is that it does it without DHA which can be irritating on some skins.

Vita Liberata Invis Foaming Tan Water in Super Dark

This seemed to be the answer to my prayers.
1) Super dark so only one application needed
2) Virtually nasty and oil free
3) Light, foam texture
4) No transfer
5) No guide tan

HOWEVER this was without doubt the WORST tan I have ever used. It clung to every single patch on my face. I had zero dry patches but it clung to every area of pigmentation I posses, even the ones that do not even show up in sunlight. I have shown below the patchiness. I look furious/depressed because I was.

HIDEOUS.
I wouldn't even use this on my body.

I therefore thought I would try my Xen Tan Dark body lotion on my face and ta da, perfect results. I avoid any areas of pigmentation e.g. where my melasma is, and it blends evenly and perfectly after 1 application.

Conclusion

If you have perfect, evenly toned skin, I would go for one of the mousse tans or the xen tan face. If you are a human being and have any patches of pigmentation or dryness, I would stick with whatever your favourite body tanner is, and just use it as a one off.

Summer proof mascara

I have - despite being blasted with Roaccutane - exceptionally oily eyelids. I also smile a lot. The combination of these 2 means that no mascara will survive the day without giving me panda eyes by 1pm.

Therefore I relied on waterproof mascara. This works amazingly well however during my time on Roaccutane, I found that any rubbing of my eye area AT ALL was catastrophic. Cue red myxomatosis looking eyes and eczema which takes a week to clear.

I therefore had to look for alternatives and after a recent stint in airport Duty Free, I purchased the Clinique Lash Power mascara. Now compared to my usual Maybelline favourites (Maybelline Colossal in waterproof) this is pricey HOWEVER for the lack of trauma it caused my eyes it was a God send.

The Clinique Lash Power is a type of tubing mascara. What this means is that rather than being made up of lots of tiny fibres within a black solution (as regular mascaras are), it creates a coating around each lash (like a tube). This means they are generally not quite so good at giving volume but will add length and a small amount of thickness. They are also great for separating and most importantly..no fibres = no flaking, which is what causes the smudging and panda eyes.

It also means that they are simply removed by holding a hot flannel over the eye and gently wiping away.
If you are a 2-3 layer kinda girl like me, this may take a couple of swipes, but compared to the absolute nightmare of removing waterproof mascara, this is a doddle.

I can also confirm that I remained smudge free poolside in Majorca as well as in the evening - which is unheard of for me. A+ to Clinique.

Below are some before and afters just to prove my point...

Top: without and with mascara
Bottom: Before and After

Summer feet part 2 - foot mask

Dead skin be gone

In a bid to get my feet holiday ready I had 2 options, spend hours soaking and filing my poor dry feet OR sit with some socks on for an hour and let the products do the hard work for me.

Being incredibly lazy I went for option 2.

Enter Footner Exfoliating Socks.

These are effectively, 2 plastic bags with a material soaked with exfoliating ingredients which include my favourite AHA's (see my post for a guide to these) - Mandelic, Glycolic and Lactic acid, as well as some hyaluronic acid for a bit of hydration.

You basically cut the top off the plastic bag to allow you to insert your feet, you then wear the socks for an hour - I put socks over them so I could carry on with my normal evening activities but I did find the solution sloshed about a fair bit so you would be better just sitting watching a box set while the mask does its work.

You then rinse your feet and forget that you did anything to them...until 3/4 days later. To start with I thought the product hadn't worked but day 5 hit and boom, my feet fell off.

I have inserted some delightful photos below. If you have a foot phobia perhaps scroll past these.

The result however is fantastic. I did an extra bit of scrubbing on my heel to get rid of a tiny bit of remaining dead skin, but the rest of my feet were baby-bum smooth.

I would definitely recommend however be prepared to have around 4 or 5 days where your feet will not be in a presentable state and to have socks filled with dead skin. The process isn't pretty (although it is incredibly satisfying peeling off the shedding layers), but the results certainly are.

Before

During treatment and 3 days later

Days 4-5 post application (and post a bit satisfying self-skin removal)

Nail varnish worn:

Lavender Violets Coral Gold and Apricot Ice ( I wouldn't recommend as the apricot ice bit basically looks like you've half removed a glitter topcoat and given up, but to be thorough I thought it best to include)
Canni UV Milk Shake

Summer feet - part 1

At home gel nails

I have gone from high maintenance to low, to back again and feel I have now settled somewhere in between. I however have strong feelings about foot care. Manky looking feet are an absolute no. I would rather wear full cover shoes than sandals with scabby looking nails, HOWEVER I am not prepared to spend hours in a salon and my life's earnings to achieve this.

If you are like me and spend any amount of time wearing trainers/in a pool you will understand the issue of painstakingly pedicuring your toes only to have them destroyed after a session in the gym or pool.

Hear enters the beauty of gel nails.

I have now fully tried and tested an at-home nail gel system and can confirm that I can EASILY get 4 or 5 weeks wear out of a pedicure (if I can keep one colour on for that long before wanting a change). The process is also significantly quicker, as soon as that light beeps, you are set and ready to go. The novelty of being able to put your foot in socks and shoes within 30 seconds of the last cure still hasn't worn off.

The system I used is by Nail Star. It is an LED vs UV light - not so important for your feet but if you are concerned about ageing you want to limit the amount of unfiltered UV that your hands receive.

It was an absolute bargain and it is so light and transportable I would definitely purchase again.

The only other thing you need to buy is some acetone solution for soaking off the polish (I got mine from Home Bargains) and a prep solution which dehydrates the nail to allow better bonding and also removes any sticky layer left if you use a top coat which causes this.

Being such a bargain hunter, I was also unwilling to pay £15 for a nail polish that I was unsure I would use regularly so over to Ebay I went.

I will link all the polishes I have used below.

Top and Base coat
Pale Green: VB 182
Blue: Kiki London Zesty Sea Breeze
White: Kiki London Cream Puff

Absolutely would recommend the Kiki London range, under £4 a pop and the staying power is incredible.