Review: Fake Bake At Home | Dolcé Dreams | Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub |

Fake Bake At Home | Dolcé Dreams - Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub - £18 - Available at www.fakebakebeauty.co.uk

Did you know that Fake Bake have diversified and now do beauty products including make up and body care? Neither did I until I went to the Fake Bake Beauty at Home event a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised about the array of products on offer - you can see some pictures from the event on my Instagram. 

One of the products I received to test out was the Coconut Macaroon Body Scrub* from the Dolcé Dreams collection. Everything about the product is great and pleasantly surprised me. I think the packaging is sturdy and cute, and the actual product is packed full of sugar to exfoliate, which means a little goes a long way. There is also enough slip due to the addition of coconut and shea oils, which leaves your skin soft, moisturised and smooth but it doesn't leave any oily residue which is a massive plus for me. The scent is also so good - it is sweet and reminiscent of holidays, but isn't sickly or over powering.

This would be a great scrub for exfoliating skin before tanning, which shouldn't be a surprise considering its manufactured by a tanning brand. I would definitely repurchase once this runs out and its become one of the favourite scrubs I've ever tried.

Have you tried anything from the Beauty at Home range? What is your favourite Fake Bake product? xxx

October Favourites

Once again the lighting is horrendous and I'm struggling to take any decent photos for upcoming posts! On the plus side the festive season is creeping up on us and I bloody love it! I love everything about Autumn and Winter and am so excited to get ready for Christmas. The only downside is the ridiculous amount of work and deadlines I have for Uni around this time of year :( Now lets get on with this month's favourites...

Rimmel Scandal Eyes Kohl in 'Nude': A budget dupe for Mac's Chromographic pencil, this perks up my eyes when applied to the waterline. I've used it nearly every single day and it helps to make me look more awake on cold mornings.

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes in 'Extra Black': This makes my lashes look so nice with just one coat and gives a really natural looking definition and volume. I like to use it by itself when I'm having a 'no makeup' makeup day.

Lip butter in 'Raspberry Pie' and Topshop's 'Brighton Rock': Both these colours have been on my lips pretty much all month as I love bright lips at the moment and think that 'Raspberry pie' especially is a lovely colour for Autumn. You can see reviews for both here and here.

Christmas candles: I have quite a few more than the one pictured to represent them all. I love the smell of Autumn/Christmas candles and they have really got me into the festive spirit :)

Aussie Dual Personality Curl and Shine mousse: This is a new purchase of mine and I love it. My hair has a natural wave and this mousse boosts and holds this wave for longer. Unlike other curling mousses it doesn't leave your hair crunchy but instead leaves it lovely and soft. Expect a full review of this soon.

St Moriz Fake Tan Mousse: A different type of mousse now, this time for my body! I don't tend to fake tan on a daily basis but this is great for nights out. I prefer this type of formulation as it is easy to blend and the product leaves a lovely natural tan - I've never looked streaky or orange when I've used this.

Glitter nail varnishes: This is just a few from my collection that I've been wearing recently and loving. I like to layer them on top of other base colours to inject some sparkle into the darker days. Plus I just love glitter!

What do you think of my favourites? What are your favourites this month? xxx

Review: Palmer's Natural Bronze

Palmer's Natural Bronze RRP £5.35 - currently on offer at Superdrug £3.35

Body care products are one of my favourite sections of beauty and I'm always on the look out to find the next best moisturiser/scrub/shower treat. I have relatively normal skin on my body although my legs, especially my shins, tend to get quite dry so normally look for products that have long lasting moisture.

I've tried a few gradual tanners including a Garnier one which I really liked and Johnson's Holiday Skin, but this was a fair few years ago. As it was summer I thought I would try out another formula and  Palmer's is a brand whose products I enjoy. Plus as it is cheap as chips I figured if I wasn't the biggest fan it wouldn't be a massive waste of money.

I really like the pump packaging as it saves on waste of product and mess as well as making it really easy to apply. I also think that you get a lot of product for your money, however as you can't lock the pump it isn't the best for travel. The formula is really creamy and moisturising yet sinks in really easily meaning no waiting around for it to sink in before you get dressed. The smell is pretty strong and sticks around all day so if you aren't a fan of scent then you probably won't like this. Saying that, I personally love the scent as it smells heavily of chocolate, much more so than the other Palmer's products I think, and Matt likes it too which is always a plus :)

Obviously as it is a moisturiser it is a white lotion but you should definitley wash your hands after applying as the colour develops rather rapidly. You can apply this every day for a deeper colour, or as often as you want depending on your preference for colour intensity. I usually apply this every other day to maintain a natural looking colour. I was really impressed with how much colour this product carries as normally you have to use a lot of product for a few days with gradual tanners to see any kind of glow but after one application you can tell a real difference. I think the colour that develops from this is really natural and not at all orange, but if you are very fair it may be a bit too dark to look natural.

You do need a good exfoliator to get rid of all residue of tan as it won't just wash off like other gradual tanners I've tried. In my opinion this is very much more of a tanning product than a moisturiser - I would describe it as a moisturising fake tan if that makes sense!

Overall, I think this is a great product to maintain a natural or fake tan or for every other day use to build up a natural looking colour. As well as giving a great colour pay off it also nourishes my skin, which is the best of both worlds as nourished skin helps to maintain tan. If you are very fair this may not be the best product for you as it isn't the gradual of tanners but for fair through to darker skin tones I think it would be fine.

Have you tried this product? What do you think? xxx

Drugstore Haul

For a while now I have been wanting to invest in some Soap and Glory products, ever since seeing Miss Budget Beauty rave about them. As they were 3 for 2 in Boots (like I think they are a lot of the time) I decided I would try out my most urgent lust after products. Instead of the Flake Away scrub I was keen to try the Peaches and Clean cleanser and/or Kick Ass concelar but they didn't have any in stock :( I also got a shampoo and mitt that I needed too as I often forget toiletries I need at Uni when I go home, so prefer to have a spare at home.

Tanning Mitt

I bought this from Superdrug for around £3 rather than from Boots, mainly because I prefer that its pink :) It is just a standard mitt to be honest, but they do last a long time and I way prefer applying fake tan with a mitt to avoid orange hands and streaks. Not a very interesting purchase but I bought it at the same time as the other stuff so thought it should be included.

Elvive Colour Protect Caring Shampoo

I bought this at Superdrug too for such a good price at less than £2, which was cheaper than the smaller bottle... bit strange but I wasn't complaning! I have recently used this up at Uni so I can start using a new Tigi Bed Head shampoo I bought (upcoming review), so this will also be featuring on an upcoming empties post. I bought this for home use though as it was such a great price and also because I really did like it. I get highlights but only about twice a year, maybe 3 times at a push so always look for hair products specifically for coloured/blonde hair that will help maintain the condition and vibrancy of my hair. I used this with the matching conditioner which I am still using up at the moment and I think it keeps my hair in good condition (in conjunction with hair masks and serums), has maintained the 'salon fresh' colour for a longer time than other shampoos I have used in the past and I also really like that it has UV protection in it. If I'm not impressed by the Tigi one I will seriously consider re-purchasing this.

Soap and Glory: Hocus Focus

First of all I have to say, I loooove all the Soap and Glory packaging!! It's pink and girly (obviously a plus point for me) and reminisent of Benefit products by using old style glamour and wording. This was a complete lust must have for me as I feel like my skin can get a bit dull, so thought it would be able to perk me up a bit! To be honest though, for £13 I was a little dissapointed. I'm not sure if that is because I hyped it up too much for myself but it just didn't live up to it's expectations for me. You can mix it into your foundation, with your daily moisuriser or use it on it's own as a highlighter. I was expecting a real 'wow' effect but when used with my foundation you couldn't really see it's full effect. On a day to day basis I use Maybelline's Dream Matte Mousse as I've found it's the best wearing for my oily skin and has a really light coverage. Even so, this light coverage still masked the effect of the product, which was annoying as I normally wear foundation rather than just a BB cream as it gives me more confidence, so for £13 I wouldn't get a lot of use out of it. However, when I did try it with a BB cream and as a highlighter for my cheeks, I really liked the dewy finish it gave, even with a light dusting of powder and the smell was really nice too. Therefore, I'd recommend it for holidays and for those who aren't a big fan of the matte finish look or who don't wear foundation regularly.

Soap and Glory: Fab Pore Facial Peel

This was another product that was reviewed highly so was another of my must haves and I must say this did live up to my expectations. It says to use 2-3 times a week, but I have been using it every other day, leaving it on for around 15 minutes, although you can use it for 5 mins for a quick freshen up. The consistency is quite thick and when you rub it in you have to burst all the blue beads in the formula. It is meant to reduce the appearance of pores so I put it on my 'problem' areas where I get most oily - forehead, nose, cheeks and chin. A little goes a long way and for £8 I think it is good value. I think it cleans the pores rather than diminishes them but I am a fan of that because there is no point closing them up if there is a load of gunk in them! I will continue to use this as I do feel like it's doing something. The smell is quite nice and smells of 'clean' although it isn't the best scent I've ever smelt so personally I think other products in the range are better for that.

Soap and Glory: Flake Away Sugar Scrub

I hadn't even thought of buying this product before I picked it up to complete my 3 for 2 as my other 'must haves' weren't in stock.... however, I think this may be my favourite out of the 3!! I have been looking for a sugar scrub which is affordable for a while now as standard exfoliators don't seem to cut it for me at the moment at giving me the clean feeling I want, especially when trying to get off stubborn fake tan! This was £7 and so the one I got free on my 3 for 2 but I would be happy to pay full price for this. The smell is amazing and lingers on your skin after using it, which I really liked. Because it is a sugar scrub it is quite harsh, therefore I only use it once a week at the moment but I do use it all over my body, not just my legs. For those who would like something a bit more gentle I would suggest the Sanctuary's Daily Body Scrub (I have the travel size for holidays etc) which I am a fan of too. Again a little goes a long way with this product and I felt like it was properly exfoliating me. It also left me feeling moisturised afterwards which was nice as I was worried it could dry my skin out a lot as I already get fairly dry legs and need to moisturise them daily. I used this in conjunction with my new Garnier 7 days moisturiser (mango oil for dry skin) and really like them together. I would really recommend this for its scent and price as it should last me a long time.

What other Soap and Glory products would you recommend for me to try? xxx