Cocoa Brown 1 hour tan review

I have loved tanning for years and over time, I have tried many different brands and style of tans, I love comparing them. When Cocoa Brown 1 hour tan came to my attention, I just had to try it!

The one hour tan is supposed to do just that, give you a natural looking tan in just 60 minutes. The accelerating ingredients mean it is a speedy tan so starts to develop after this time, if you want a darker tan, you can leave it on for up to 3 hours. With being a mum and the fact I'm exhausted by 6pm, a speedy tan sounded exactly what I needed!

It is a mousse which is my preferred formulation of tan, I find they dry quickly and I find them easier to apply and blend than sprays however they do sometimes dry your skin out. The cocoa brown 1 hour tan isn't too drying, especially if you're good at prepping your skin first with a scrub and moisturiser. I don't experience any streaking when I use this which s why I love it so much but I guess I am more of an 'experienced' tanner. It claims to not have that tell-tale scent of fake tan but I don't think you can ever get away with it; it does smell like fake tan just like any others but I'm ok with that.

The colour is extremely natural which is why this is probably my favourite tan I've tried so far. It never looks orange, it's a gorgeous natural brown however I do find I have to leave it on longer than 3 hours to get the tan I want. I still have to use it overnight; I found that after 1 hour my skin tone hadn't really got any darker at all and the same after 3 hours.
Overall I think this is a pretty good tan with a super natural colour but is definitely not a 1 hour tan for me.

Kerry

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Circulation Boost Skin Oil!

Winter has always been one of my favourite seasons however this Winter has rapidly changed my mind and I have found myself longing for long, hot summer days. The treacherous weather has had Sienna and I stuck in doors most weeks and I have found everything is suffering; from my skin to my mood!

When Inner Soul Organics asked if I wanted to try their Circulation Boost Skin Oil, I just couldn't say no. A bit of pampering always cheers me up and makes me feel better and an oil seemed exactly what my dehydrated skin needed. 

Inner Soul was founded with the aim of making customers feel beautiful inside and out with their ingredients being natural and organic and suitable for all skin types. The Circulation Boost Skin Oil is perfect for spring as it has uplifting essential oils in to combat the winter blues and helps reduce cellulite, perfect for getting your body ready for the warmer days.

I have been using this oil for the past couple of days and so far I adore it! It has become a nighttime ritual of mine to shower and then slather myself in this oil. My skin drinks it up and feels so supple and hydrated afterwards. I find my skin is much more glowy and full of life thanks to the circulation boosting properties, no sign of dull, dry skin to be seen! I haven't seen much change in my cellulite so far but I don't think it has been long enough, I will continue to use it though as it seems promising! This really has made me feel much better and happier the past few days and not to mention my skin has been loving it too! 

I highly recommend these if you need a bit of perking up this February or if you're looking for a lovely pampering gift for Mothers day! 

Kerry

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FIRST PUBLISHED ON LIVEDWITHLOVE.COM BY MYSELF

REN Clarifying Clay Cleanser Review!

Just a few weeks ago, my skin was breaking out so badly, I think it was the worst it had ever been. I immediately starting looking around at reviews of cleansers, spot treatments and anything that looked promising to sort my skin out. 

I read on Caroline Hiron's blog that foaming cleansers were a big no-no when it came to trying to keep bacteria and spots at bay. Uh oh, I was using a Clinique, foaming cleanser. I ditched it immediately and ordered this cleanser as Caroline had rated it an amazing 5/5 and it is recommended for blemish prone skin.

It's in a pump which is the best type of packaging and you can see how much you have used which is always a plus point too. It's a real creamy consistency and even though it contains clay, it doesn't dry at all like most clay cleansers/masks. You can really work it into the skin and then rinse it off easily. 

Now I will be honest, this did not help my breakouts immediately but I do feel like it helped calm the down, make them less angry and soothed any itchiness/irritation. I would probably repurchase and continue using because I love how it makes my skin and look in general. Now that my breakouts are clearing up (with the help of another product… review to come!), my skin looks/feels more hydrated, glowy and there is less redness. This cleanser doesn't leave my skin feeling stripped or dehydrated but more purified and 'comfortable'.

I would definitely recommend this if you want something that is gentle enough for sensitive skin but also effective enough for blemish prone/oily skin types. A must have in my books!

Have you tried this? What other REN products would you recommend?

Kerry

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What I Wore Lately #1

Welcome to this new series I am going to start. It is going to be just a few outfits that I have worn over the last month or so and really loved! I will link everything if I can find it on the website, if not I will just link the shop it is from if I can! Some people may think my outfits are boring but remember I am a mummy and so I need to be comfortable and stick to a budget but I still do try to be a bit stylish :)

Necklace; Charity shop, Jumper; Primark, Leather jacket; New Look, Jeans; New Look, Bag; Topshop, Flatforms; Maxstar store. 

Leather jacket; New Look, Necklace; Primark (old), Scarf; Buyakilt, Bag; F&F (old), Jeans; New Look, Boots (not really pictured, they are heels); F&F (old).

Necklace; Primark, Cardigan; Primark, Top; Primark, Watch; Tahlias closet, Jeans; New Look, Boots; F&F.

Jacket; OASAP, Blouse; Internationale (old), Necklace; New Look (I think..!?), Bag; Primark, Skirt; New Look, Heels; New Look. 

Snood; Britfash, Leather jacket; New Look, Bag; Topshop, Skirt; Freestyle Xtreme (old), Boots; F&F.

I hope you enjoyed this and look forward to these posts in the future. I love outfits posts they give me so much inspiration.


What have you been wearing lately?

Kerry

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KIKO 01 Lounge Warm Tones Palette!

When I saw this palette on Hannah's blog, I just knew I had to have it! It's a slightly unique palette I think because of the colours and finishes, there is a real mix of neutral matte shadows, as well as the matte cranberry and beautiful sparkly ones. When she said they currently had 50% off, I snapped it up in no time along with a few other KIKO products as they have a minimum spend of £25. (Free delivery off your first if you sign up!)

I was SO excited to receive it because I knew I was going to love it and I wasn't disappointed, just look at them! They are seriously pigmented and blend SO smoothly, the formula is lovely. I have been using this palette constantly for the last few days and you can create so many different looks. I have used some of the sparkly colours on my inner corner and it really makes the eyes pop. You can also use these shadow wet to intensify them which would be lovely for a night out. 

Top row & swatches.

From these swatches, you can see just how creamy and buttery the mattes are and how the tiny specks of glitter are picked up by the light in the sparkly ones. I have been using the first darker brown lightly in my crease for days where I want a bit of definition but still a natural look. I have used the cranberry colour a few times on my outer corner when I want a brighter look and I haven't tried out this gold yet.

Bottom row & swatches.

This first slightly bronzier gold colour I have also used a couple times on the outer half of my eyelids teamed with the matte middle colour. It looks pretty but again still soft and natural. The middle colour is the perfect base eyeshadow and when I have tan, really opens my eyes and looks gorgeous just all over the lid with a bit of mascara. This last colour is the one I have been using most often for my inner corners, it isn't too much for day time but adds a lovely reflective glitter to help open and brighten the eyes. This palette is such a great buy at full price let alone half price, I am SO glad I ordered it! It is now my go to palette no matter what look I am going for.

What do you think of this palette? Any KIKO recommendations? 

Kerry

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GHD V GOLD professional styler!

Shock horror, I have never owned a pair of GHDs! The thing is, I have pretty naturally straight hair anyway and rarely straighten my hair, so I have never really felt the need for high quality, top notch straighteners. 

However, in a bid to cut down my 'getting ready' time in the mornings so Sienna and I can actually go out and do things, I have started washing my hair at night. The only problem with this is by night time, I am so exhausted from the day that I can't even be bothered to blow dry it! This means it gets a couple hours (maximum) 'air dry' time and then I lay my head down for the night, with half of my hair still damp. 

(before)

This has meant I start waking to wavy, fuzzy, bed hair. Not what I am used too! I have tried to love it and go with it but I have been having more bad hair days than good and just started feeling that my hair always looked horrible. Thank the lord for this GHD V Gold professional styler.Bad hair days are now a thing of the past and my morning routine is still much quicker than washing & blow drying my hair!  

The design of this is gorgeous, we all know I have a new obsession with gold and so I instantly fell in love with the design; it looks very classy and luxurious. Black and gold are just perfect together!

As well as looking beautiful, it performs extremely well. It warms up to the highest temperature in around 10 seconds (amazing) and beeps to let you know it is ready, it glides through the hair no problem, none of this pulling and sticking I have had with cheaper straighteners to leave a straight, frizz free mane in a matter of seconds. It's so quick to do, you don't need to run over the same piece of hair a million times to get it poker straight.

(after)

It looks and feels so shiny and healthy, instead of dry and damaged. I can also use them to curl my hair if I want to stray from my conical wand for any reason! Now I know what all the fuss is about GHDs, they are totally worth the investment and I won't ever go back to cheaper ones! I love them!

Kerry

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FIRST PUBLISHED ON LIVEDWITHLOVE.COM BY MYSELF

Collective Beauty Haul!

My skin has been playing up recently and my acne has come back in full force. I have been prescribed some treatment by the doctor in the past and even though it worked after a few weeks, it's leaves my skin looking like I have had a chemical peel and is very harsh on the skin. Before jumping straight back into it I wanted to see if I could find any other products that would work instead. I also picked up some make-up to help me cover it until it clears up and a few other non essential make-up bits!

Here are the skincare bits...

KIKO eyes rescue £11.50, Ren Clearcalm 3 Clarifying clay cleanser £18.00, Soap & Glory Dr Spot currently on offer at £5.33, RRP £8.00.

The first thing I picked up was the Ren Clarifying Clay Cleanser. I have heard a lot about Ren lately and the fact that they are known as a 'clean' skincare brand stood out to me. This cleanser was reviewed on Caroline Hiron's blog (she is a skincare goddess) and got a 5/5 so I thought it would be a great starting point. I have been using it a few weeks now so expect a review to come soon!

I also repurchased the Effaclar duo from Amazon, however it is un-pictured because it still hasn't arrived yet, despite me ordering it on the 10th! I am very annoyed about this as I need it like, right now! So yesterday, I caved and went to boots. They didn't have the Effaclar duo in stock but I picked up the Dr Spot from Soap and Glory after hearing great things about it and have been applying it religious since, I will let you know how it works!

This month my eye cream ran out and I was so pleased to get this KIKO one. I had seen the eyes rescue talked about by Ruth from A Model Recommends and had it in the back of my mind to try next time round, so far, so good!

Now for the make-up…

Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Make-up £28.50, KIKO eyeshadow palette currently on offer at £8.40 RRP £16.90, Topshop Cheek Duo £12.50, KIKO eyebrow marker £5.90.

To cover my skin until it clears up, I picked up the Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover make-up. I use it as a concealer before my foundation and it does a bloody good job! I have used it before and loved it so I knew it was a good investment.

With KIKO, you have to spend a minimum of £25 on their website and as I wanted the eyes rescue cream, I had to purchase a few other things to make up the amount. This palette was reviewed on a few other blogs and it looked so gorgeous! At half price, I couldn't resist!

The Topshop cheek duo I have already reviewed here.

The eyebrow marker was the last thing I got to make up my £25 and as my current Avon eyebrow pencil was coming to an end, I thought it worked out quite well. I haven't tried this out yet but I'm excited as I have never used one of these marker type things on my brows before!

So that is everything I got recently. I am sure I will be doing a review on most of it, if not all of it soon! If there is anything specific you want a review of let me know :)


What have you been buying recently? What are your skin saviours?

Kerry

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Topshop 'Desert Sun' Cheek Duo!

With my beloved Benefit 'Fine One One' coming to an end, I was on the hunt for something equally as beautiful. I was on the fence about wether to try a cream or a powder but decided powder may be better as my skin has become a bit more oily lately.

I had some Topshop vouchers left over for christmas and originally popped in for a midi skirt. With no luck on the skirt front, I was drifting around the store to see if anything would take my fancy and I spied their make-up range. I have never tried anything from Topshop's make-up line so was eager to find something I liked the look of. 

Topshop's Cheek Duo in 'Desert Rose' definitely stood out to me. I have been loving The Balm 'Fat Boy' blush recently which is a gorgeous pinky peach and this looked like the same kind of shade, with a gorgeous gold highlight on the other side. It looked perfect for what I was after!

I fell in love with it and soon it was on it's way home with me and of course, it had a quick debut on Instagram! The colour is more similar to Frat Boy than I thought so that was good memory skills! 

The highlighter is a bit more gold than I normally go for, but I actually prefer it I think. It blends in a lot more with my blush/bronzer and skin tone than a paler more white based highlight does and together they create a gorgeous bronze highlight. LOVE! I am wearing it in this post if you want to see what it looks like on my face.

 I was a bit worried that the quality wouldn't be great seeing as it is predominantly a clothing store, I'm not usually a fan of the make-up in places like New Look, H&M etc... but I am really impressed. The quality seems great, the colour payoff and pigmentation is good and I think I will get a lot of use out of it. I think this has encouraged me to dip my toes a little further into the Topshop line of cosmetics! 

What's your favourite product from Topshop's make-up range?

Kerry

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Blog love #1

This weekend I have made some new discoveries and so I thought I would share them with you. I am always finding new fashion or beauty blogs that I love so thought I'd do these regularly under the title 'Blog love'. I also have my all time favourites on 'My favs blog' page if you want to check that out. I'm not going to write a blurb about them because it's obvious why I love them; either great style or taste in make-up and generally lovely blogs!

Blogs I'm loving right now!

The Girl In The Tartan Scarf

What blogs are you loving right now?

Kerry

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New winter coat & snood!

In Winter, I think there are 3 essentials you need for staying warm and snug. Boots, Coat and a Snood/Scarf. I have had my Winter boots for a while, my black quilted ones from F&F at Tesco. But as for a coat and snood? Well, I never really got round to it until now! 

This gorgeous coat is from OASAP (sold out but similar HERE) and I am in love with it! I normally go for black coats however, Warren encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and go for the camel and I am so glad I did! I think with the lighter colour you can really see all the lovely detailing; big buttons, big collar, and A-line shape. It will also work really well for the Spring and maybe some chillier summer evenings.

I love the longer A-line shape of it, again, not my usual style but I think it is very elegant, pretty and flattering. I normally go for shorter coats as I am quite short and worry longer coats will swamp me and not help the situation, but I really like how this looks with skinny jeans and heels or flats. The belt means I can really pull it in to give a gorgeous silhouette and emphasise my waist so I don't look bigger than I am. 

The big collar is a great feature of the coat and feels luxurious. The quality of this coat and material adding to the luxury feel so it is a brilliant price, you would pay much more for coats like this on the high street! OASAP currently have 20% at the moment with the code New-year and have some lovely coats in the sale, with up to 50% off! So go and see what you can find :)

My lovely snood is from Britfash.com. Britfash is a new online store which brings the best of British Fashion together in one place. They have a selection of womens and menswear from handpicked British brands which include Stone Union, Risk Couture, QED London, Zuppe and Espace. To see the full range of brands go here. I love how they are supporting emerging british talent in the fashion industry and appeal to both men and women. They have some gorgeous items on their site, I am lusting over this Helene Tank Top in the pink. Perfect colour for Spring and I love the little details of the studs, it just adds something a bit different from all the other tanks you can pick up. It's currently in their sale as well, bargain! 

This snood is from the brand Xcessories and is a gorgeous weave knit snood. It is big and fluffy to keep you warm but also soft and not itchy like some snoods I have had in the past. I chose the black as it will go with everything, day or night, casual or dressy! I have been wearing this everyday and now of course, have my eye on the leopard print one! These can also be machine washed which is great when you have a teething, dribbling toddler in your arms most of the time ;)

What do you think?

Kerry

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FIRST PUBLISHED ON LIVEDWITHLOVE.COM BY MYSELF.

La Roche-Posay Effaclar K Review

We all know how amazing the famous La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is, so when the chance came up to review another of their products, I couldn't contain myself. I don't know if it's a recent change of my cleanser but skin has been horrible lately, oily, bumpy and breaking out a lot. 

The La Roche-Posay Effaclar K  is described as a daily renewal fluid that helps gradually exfoliate the skin to create a smoother texture, smaller pores and regain a clearer complexion. It is a lightweight yet hydrating fluid and sinks into the skin lovely to create the perfect matte finish to the skin, but without being too flat. I find it leaves my skin looking much smoother under my make-up and helps keep the oily at bay amazingly. 

My skin has started clearing up after only using this for a couple of days, I swear by it now! I can feel around my nose and chin, all the congestion has been smoothed and those bumps under the surface are disappearing. Even though I have some scarring left, my skin looks in a much better condition even without make-up. This is another La Roche-Posay that has been added to my holy grail collection, it just seems they can do no wrong when it comes to keeping my skin happy. 

Do you love this? What other La Roche-Posay products do you recommend? 

Kerry

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FIRST PUBLISHED ON LIVEDWITHLOVE.COM BY MYSELF.

Nourish Skincare Review

Nourish natural skincare is fast becoming one of my favourite skincare brands after trying out these products. I have been using these everyday for a while now so I feel I can really give them a great review and have seen the effects myself. Nourish very kindly sent me the Purifying Balance shower gel*, Golden glow illuminating face shimmer* and a sample of the Argan skin renew*. 

Now I must admit, the shower gel is not something I would usually purchase myself as I normally go for any cheap, random shower gel and 90% of the time, they are full with lots of bad ingredients. Using this one has made me see the difference in my skin from using a natural brand. It feels more moisturised and supple and just generally in better condition. This one smells amazing and the apple scent is a nice change from the typical citrus or relaxing scents. It also has smoothing peptides and the apple extracts are elasticity boosting!

The Golden glow illuminating face shimmer is my absolute favourite product right now out of everything I own. I have a pretty oily t-zone so prefer not to use a highlighter or shimmer all over my face. I also like to use as little products as possible so was not sure this would fit in well with my skincare routine. 

Shimmer is definitely the right word for it, the particles are tiny so don't leave you with that glittery face that some people dislike. I love it because it really makes my skin feel great, not oily at all. It also makes my skin look super glowy, nice and plumped and just absolutely amazing! I use it under my foundation to create a base so I don't have too much glow going on for autumn/winter but enough to make me look fresh and awake. 

As well as it being a great make-up product, it also acts as a skincare product and you know how I love my multi purpose products! It is full of goodness to feed and protect your skin throughout winter including aloe vera, tripeptides and hyaluronic acid. Aloe vera stimulates collagen resulting in firmer, smoother skin as well as repairing damaged cells and the tripeptides and hyaluronic acid help reduce wrinkles and fight signs of sun damage. On my oilier days I have replaced my moisturiser with this and it works great.

I have been making this little sample of Argan skin renew last for ages because I really like using it. I have already warned Warren this will have to become a staple in my skincare kit. It's quite a thick cream but it sinks in so well and when I wake in the morning, my skin looks and feels great and is plumped and moisturised, not shiny and greasy. I have definitely seen a result in my hydration levels as my skin was pretty dehydrated before I started using this. This will be down to the advanced cellular enzymes that again help repair skin but also reduce water loss and improve hydration levels.  

I am seriously impressed with these products and the prices are very reasonable too. I highly recommend them.

Have you tried these? Do you like a glow in winter? 

Kerry

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FIRST PUBLISHED ON LIVEDWITHLOVE.COM BY MYSELF.