Wednesday, 6 April 2016

Cocoa Brown new instant tan bronzing gels reviewed.





I was luckily invited by Cocoa Brown to their #PassionPersistencePink event in the Shelbourne hotel. It was an amazing day filled with amazing makeup demos, tantouring & girlie treats.

Everyone who attended received the two new Cocoa brown products. Unless you have been living under a rock or have neglected social media in the last few months you will know that Marissa Carter has added Two bronzing gels to her fabulous tanning collection. 

This is exactly where this brand needed to go to next! Marissa is such an inspirational level headed lady that anyone can't help but admire! After finally meeting this fab lady in person I love the Cocoa brown brand even more. I have always been a huge fan of the tan for no other reason than the beautiful reliable results but knowing that my money is going to such a strong Irish business woman who supports so many woman trying to come up in the business themselves makes it even more appealing as a brand for me.

So back to the products....

The two tans she launched are instant tans, which wash off in the shower. However, they are water resistant meaning if you do get caught in a bit of rain (100% going to happen in Ireland) you won’t go polka dotty yayyy!

Instant tan bronzing gel - Shimmer.
So I was soooo interested in trying this one out in particular because Cocoa brown has never had any tan before with a shimmer in it. I wanted to see what their signature bronze glow would look like with that extra sparkle. The first time I seen the actual gel was on snapchat with all you guys. I was blown away by the gel alone! It was such a beautiful bronze glitter. 

I couldn't wait to get it onto my skin. I love this tan but honestly have been picking up the matte one more, but I know I will absolutely love this tan in the summer for the bronze glow.
Buy here
 €6.99

Instant tan bronzing gel- Matte

I had high expectation for the matte one starting out. I adore the colour of the 1hr Cocoa brown & was hoping that this instant one would live up to the expectations of the mousse. 
It definitely did, I honestly can't wear any other instant tan since it’s such a beautiful colour like the original and smells really similar to which is a pleasant smell. This tan is great if you need to tan last minute rather than letting it develop and washing of you just apply and your good to go. Prefect for last minute plans. It is worth every Penney’s and stands out compared to more expensive instant tans I have tried.
Buy here
 €6.99

Deluxe Double-Sided pink velvet tanning mitt.

Seen as this was also in my goodie bag, I thought I might aswell tell you what I thought of it. Firstly, I had tried a velvet tanning mitt before but completely forget the brand. I loved it because it felt amazing on the skin, it didn't eat up product & it gave a flawless application. So when I seen this in my goodie bag I was delighted! 

I love this mitt, I have bought a second one since because it just makes your tan go on so seamlessly and feels so luxurious 

Buy here
Price: €5.99 

Iwhite my experience.

I have always wanted to whiten my teeth but have been afraid of the side effects and wether or not what I was using was safe. When I heard about Iwhite been an 100% safe way of whitening I was dying to try them. I bought my in Mccabes pharmacy for €30. ( shop here here )

You get ten trays filled with teeth whitening goodness. Your supposed to use a tray on the bottom and on the top teeth at the same time for 20 minutes. 

As a tea and coffee drinker i'm very conscious to make sure I don't get any stains. I feel any stains I did have are definitely reduced. I definitely noticed a difference and felt more confident with my smile. Obviously I don't look like i've stepped off the screen from the only way is essex but I am happy with the results.

However using the trays can get a little messy, the best way I found to use them was to use them trays separately. I used them together the first time and it made the whitener ooze from the trays as the banged off each other. I kind of wish it wasn't as messy as I feel you could tolerate it more they would be prefect if they where a strip rather than tray as there would be less mess. But I suppose pain is beauty as they say so I'll bearing the slightly oozing bottom tray for the results which are safe. I like to use these before a night out. I don't think Ill repurchase them when I run out however. I want to try a few different teeth whiting methods until I find the one for me.

If you've tried them let me know your thoughts.
Jessica, xx


KARORA tan review.


I was kindly giving these tanning products to try out. On first impressions when opening the package I received, I thought the packaging of the tan was beautiful. To me It looked expensive straight away, Although these products definitely wont brake the bank. 


Karora Instant Tan- The glow glamster.

Instant tan is a great way of looking like a bronze goddess but quickly and without the comitment. This tan is water resistant but like all istant tans not full water proof, but as long as you dont go swimming you'll be fine.

However, this tan has a very greyish undertone which I found very hard to blend out on my skin. I feel that it doesn't suit the yellow undertone in my skin, but would be more suited to a more red based skin tone.
Price: €15

Karora tinted self tan mist.

I firstly thought this tan was a moisturizing gradual tanner.
Because It has botanical extracts which help the skin lock in moisture this for me is key as I love my skin to feel nice and hyrdrated but its hard to find in a developing tan. For me theres no point in been tan if your skin looks like sand paper. Theres no nicer feeling then when your skin is fresh, glowing and tan and this is exactly what this tan offers. It contains aloe, acai berry, argan oil & coconut oil which are all so good for your skin. It also has a beautiful citrus smell. For all those reasons this tan is beautiful. However this tan is light/medium and was very natural looking on me but I wish it was slightly darker. But for a lighter skin tone this tan would be absolutelty stunning and very natural looking. Despite the fact it wasn't dark enough it still is very beautiful and left my skin glowing and healthy with a lovely glow for everyday.
Price: €26.99 200ml
€16.99 100ml 


Stockists & Links to buy Karora Tan

March Favorites 2016.


A small favorites this month, mostly makeup surprise surprise.

Alien perfume

I have been loving this perfume. It was my first time purchasing it and its love. Its such a strong scent you literally just need a drop. What I love most about it is that you can get your bottled refilled in Arnots which is great rather than having to waste packaging, Plus its cheaper. Buy it here here
Price 30ml: €58.00

Mr.Price glitters
Okay, so alot of makeup artists have been using this. To be honest I thought they where mad at first. You cant use craft glitters on the eyes, as they are far to chunky and could easily damage your eyeballs. I got them just to use for my characters in college for the body and face. But I got very curious once I seen just how fine the glitter was and tried them on my eyes. I used duo glue to stick the glitter down, and it worked prefect. I love these glitters they where completely fine on my eyes. Yet, saying the I wouldn't use them on clients just incase. If you are going to try them just try them a little at a time.


Nima Kabuki Contour face brushes
These brushes are the best face brushes I've ever used. I have a set for myself and a set for clients. I just think the give the skin such a flawless finish. Ive been using them for the past year and just can't get enough. I cant use any other face brushes to do my base.

They come in a set of four for €50, I definetly recommend them as they are all the face brushes you'll need.
Shop them here 

Flormar Setting spray 

I have been loving this flormar makeup setting spray! I've been spraying it on my beauty blender when applying my cream contour and my make literally lasts all day long prefectly without having to touch it up. Ive been using it on clients also and they've been loving it to, I've heard great feed back from them. It has gylcrine in it which helps everything stick. I've been spraying it on my brush while applying primer also to help everything stick over it. For such an afforable product the quality is amazing.
Price: €7.99
Shop here

I hope you liked this months favorites.
 Please let me know your favorites in the comments.
Jessica xx

SoSu contour pallet by Susan Jackson

I never thought I was going to love this pallet as much as I did. As a makeup artist I've tried lots of contour pallets and they end up going to the back of my makeup drawer. If I'm completely honest I was over the hype of contour pallets. Don't get me wrong I do use them all the time on clients as they usually have a range of colours to contour and highlight the face but for the average makeup lover half of those shades go to waste. I always tell clients find a good cream contour and a good concealer two shades lighter than your foundation and your good to go. 

However, this pallet is different it has made me eat my words. I love this pallet! I use it on my self and clients.

What the pallet includes:

There are four cream shades and two powder. 
The four cream include two warm dark shades. 
Shade two been the darkest and shade four been the lighter of the two. Then theres shade one which is a prefect shade to use as a highlight. Then you get the most beautiful cream highlight which is my favourite part of the pallet and makes it even more universal.  This will look good even on mature skin as there isn't glitter in it just a beautiful luminous glow it will hydrate the skin without settling into any fine lines, pores or imperfections. It is also a beautiful champagne shade which will suit a high range of skin tones. The two powder shades are fab. I love the highlighting/setting powder. It is a prefect yellow toned shade to highlight, it isn't to yellow however as many pallets tend to have a very banana coloured shade which can look a bit ridiculous on most Irish skin tones. The contour shade is the prefect neutral shade not to cool toned like many contour powders which gives you a harsh strip unless you use a bronzing transition shade, Or too orange/warm that you wont get enough definition on the face.

The difference between cream and powder contour 

 Unlike most makeup artists who have a preference between cream and powder contour I use both. As I've normal/dry skin I love cream contour as I feel it looks more natural and keeps my skin feeling hydrated. Cream contour does not have to be just for night time, it doesn't have to be heavy or like the instagram tutorials. You can simply enhance your features with cream products without going overboard. If your heavy handed a damp beauty blender is your best friend as will remove any excess product keeping it all very natural. If your going for a natural looking cream contour I feel the trick is not to go as heavy with your foundation as your going to be adding on extra coverage a foundation like Mac face and body is what I tend to use before using cream products. Also applying the cream while your foundation is fresh and still a little wet with help with blending of the cream shades. But essential the beauty blender is your best friend. I will always set my under eye highlight with a highlighting powder to stop it from creasing also.

Using SoSu contor pallet to contour and highlight on a client

Powders however on a oily skin can be a great way of ensuring your makeup lasts all day long while keeping the skin matte. It also wont add that much extra coverage so it can look more natural and is a quicker way of contouring if you don't have the time to blend out cream products. The key to powder contour is setting your foundation first with a translucent powder. Translucent powder has no added coverage but it will ensure that the powders on top blend seamlessly on top.

How I use this pallet:
Using Sosu contour pallet for contour and highlight on myself.

I really get my full use out of this pallet. Ive used it for my full face (excluding brows, lashes and lips)
To use for foundation I mix shade one and shade four to get my prefect shade. It wouldn't be my absolute favourite foundation but it does the job and it wears nicely during the day. 
I use shade one as an under eye concealer, down the bridge of my nose, cupids bow and a small bit on my chin. To blend this out your fingers are brilliant of even your damp beauty blender
I use shade two to contour/bronze up my skin. I use this under my cheek bones and around my forehead. I blend it out again using my beauty blender. Sue herself recommends using mac fix plus sprayed on the sponge to help the cream last longer and stick which works amazingly!

Shade three is a brilliant setting powder/highlight powder which I use over the cream concealer. For day time I don't tend to setting my contour unless I need to have it on me for a long day and don't want it to budge. For nights out I will always set it, so I use the shade six for setting the contour, or even on its own over foundation for a quick slight contour during the day. 

I use shade five which is the cream highlight for day time mainly as I feel its more natural for day time. Ive been using this non stop during the day lately even when I not wearing any makeup. As it brings such a radiant glow to the face which is so natural yet my family and friends have noticed but just in a healthy 'you looking glowing' way. I can tell I will use this non stop in the summer I just love cream highlighters for summer and this is one of my favourite shades that I own now.

Clients makeup using Sosu pallet to highlight and contour.

I would honestly recommend this pallet, Susanne really knew what she was doing when she created this product. She did think of her followers and what they would need from a contour pallet rather then just doing a carbon copy of every other contour pallet that's out there she put her own twist on it, making it prefect for the average makeup lover. Most contour pallets only get used to its full potential by makeup artists are there are normal just lots of different shades but this is no use to the average person just doing their own face that's why this pallet works so well, because you will use each shade. Its the best contour pallet I've used to date the colours are genuinely so blendable and creamy I was shocked at just how high end the quality was. I genuienly love this pallet and think everyone will too.

If you have tried out this pallet yourself I'd love to here your own thoughts on it, I hope you love it as much as I do.



Jessica xx