Bronze Goddess - battle of bronzers

Summer has finally unfolded upon us and in a mighty way may I add. As we continue to melt away I’d like to talk to you about a safe way of looking like a Greek Goddess. Bronzers. Whatever floats your boat really. If you’re a Kim K impersonator (nothing wrong with that) or just looking to warm up your complexion I have found products that I love and I’m sure you will too. They will also fit every wallet as we have two that set up off by £2 or £3 or ones that are nearing £30. I will be concentrating on powder products today as I'd like to leave cream contouring and bronzing to another day :) So without a further a’do let’s get on with it.

Firstly let’s start with the cheapest of the bunch - Kobo’s Sahara Sand is the fairest of them all (in more ways than one lol). It’s is a very light, greyish bronze shade, perfect for contouring for pale skinned. It is very light and should only be used to contour, create a shade on your face or body. Kobo is a professional brand from Poland ad can only be bought stationary there I’m afraid. But if you’re in Cracow drinking your body weight next, don’t forget to stop by Drogeria Natura to snatch this gem for as little as £2.50 (around £12 zloty)

You know how much I love Makeup Revolution. I must have mentioned it once or twice (LOL) I use Ultra Bronze daily. It’s a great matte bronzer which isn’t too warm and will fit our completions perfectly. It’s nicely pigmented but not too much so there’s no worry you won’t be able to blend that bad boy out. You can use to it contour and all to bronze up your complexion. Its a double agent in that department at £3 and with a mature of 15g it is the biggest and cheapest of them all. Available stationary and online.

Bahama Mama by The Balm has already risen to the means of the cult buy. As with any other products by The Balm it is in the mid rice range and at £14.99 it’s available online in Superdrug only (ah the UK) or everywhere for your lovely US peeps :) It’s a gorgeous greyish shade and it’s perfect for contouring. It’s an extremely pigmented product as yes, you can make the hell of the mess with it. However, the results are next to none. It’s simply the best bronzer out there. When I added a pic to Instagram recently I got a lot of questions regarding its shade, especially from very pale people. I’m extremely pale. I take white to a new meaning and I use it, daily !! Just start lightly, remember how pigmented it is and swipe away. You will need to know how to blend though so if you’re still little unsure at contouring I would start with something like MUR or Kobo.

As we are nearing the end of the list we will talk luxury now. Lancome’s Star Bronzer Intense is a gorgeous product. Packaging is next to none. It comes beautifully embedded. It’s shade is slightly warmer and not contour like. It has a slight sheen to it. It is a perfect summer must have as you can beautifully warm up your complexion and get that glow you only get from holidays in hot destinations :) It’s honestly the most beautiful product I owned. It’s priced at £34 and available nationwide both stationary and online.

Lastly the newest contestant in a luxury bronzer category. Vita Liberata is fairly new to us in the UK. But if you’re on a lookout for a luxury tan look no further. Crystal Minerals Self Tan Bronzing Minerals in Sunkissed is a mouth full. Do I see any self-tanning elements to it? Maybe a little. But I would not treat it as such. It is, in fact, a gorgeous mineral bronzer. It comes in two colours and at 9g per pot is priced at £35. Is it worth it? It most definitely is. I use it to warm up my complexion and it works beautifully, leaving my skin sun kissed. It coms with luxury kabuki brush and man that brush is soft :) I personally don’t use it with the bronzer and started to use it as a powder brush instead as let me tell you, its a pleasure to work with :)

From the bottom: Ultra Bronze, Sahara Sand, Star Bronzer Intense, Bahama Mama, Crystal Minerals Sunkissed

Having done swatches of all my bronzers together for the first time I came to few conclusions. and I found a true dupe !!! Just have a look at the Lancome and Makeup Revolution bronzers. They’re identical. Whilst MUR is semi-matte and Lancome more on a sheen side, the shades are the same. So if you’re looking for a cheaper version - look no more :) 

As explained above we use bronzers for two reasons. One is to warm up the complexion and in this category, Lancome and MUR are the best ones out there. So whatever your price range you can certainly get one to suit your needs.

When it comes to contour Kobo and The Balm lead away. Their greyish shades are perfect for contouring and your best bet at creating that new cheekbone :)

That’s it for today. Go and get yourself a cocktail or a beer and enjoy the heatwave :) I will be happily melting away too :)

Let me know what your thoughts on bronzers are? Are you a Kim K or just looking for a slight change? No judging here :)

Thank You For Reading,

Love

Let's Be Friends:

Dupe this - the wonder of W7 - Make Up & Glow Bronzing Base and Absolute Lashes.

I’ve only recently discovered W7. Few products have caught my attention and I turned to Amazon to get my hands on them. 

Firstly Make Up & Glow Bronzing base. Does it reminds you of something, maybe it’s Chanel counterpart? Packaging is similar although plastic top just not in line with bit more luxurious Chanel. other that the lid there’s really little difference between those products. It’s a cream bronzing base with a slight warm tone to it. You will not be able to cream contour but it is not made for it. It’s perfect for adding a little natural glow to you complexion. I was able to test the Chanel sister for few weeks (thank you Boots and ability to ask for a little product to test before you buy) and let me tell you, the difference in consistency, and a very slight one at that, does nothing when we compare the two in their price range. 

You can save yourself a whooping £30 and this will last you forever !! It’s a large product and a little goes a long way. I now opened this product to use to my mom too because I will never be able to finish it off. It gives a beautiful glow to the skin and this coming from a totally matte product. It lasts great under or over the foundation granted that you set it with powder. I sometimes leave it on it’s own and it will still last around 5 hours which is incredible for a product that costs £7.99 (watch out for offers as I got mine half price). Huge thumbs up from me and my mom to W7 - job well done. 

I love Benefit mascaras. If you follow me on Instagram or know me in real life, you will know that I’m totally obsessed with They’re Real and hefty price tag does nothing to change my opinion of this product. It will give you false lash effect. It will last all day, no crumbling, no problems whatsoever. It will look as well as after application in 8-10 hours !! It’s amazing !! It will be a total b*** to take off :) It may not be waterproof in the proper sense of the word but man does it last !!!!

So when I've heard of a little dupe called Absolute Lashes from W7, I just had to give it a go. It costs so little you can buy 5 for a standard RPR of it’s Benefit mother :) I try to compare brushes to you and the difference is little to none. Formula… Ah. It is not the same. However does it work? I only wore it a couple times so it’s not a full on review. I hate mascara reviews anyway. What works for some, will not for others. It’s a fact so I won’t dwell too much on it. I think it’s a good mascara.

 It is not Benefit but it works. And if you just hate the idea of spending £20 on one mascara - go for this one. It will not hold the curl as Benefit or even last that well, in my opinion but it is a much cheaper option and it still works better that some more expensive drugstore alternatives. Is it a true dupe? In packaging maybe, but the effects are similar yet not dupe enough for me to truly call it such. I will still give it a thumbs up because for it’s price it is worth definitely more.


You can get W7 bronzing base here and Absolute Lashes mascara here

I wonder what do you think of this duo? Have you tried any of the above or their more expensive mother products? Let me know in the comments below.

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Thanks for reading 

Love,
Dorota xxx

New Brand alert - Freedom Makeup London #2 ‘’In your FACE :)’’

I started my huge makeup beauty haul few days ago with first impressions post about their lip products. Today I would like to introduce you to some more Freedom Makeup deliciousness. Let’s talk face then :)
 

From Left: Pro Glow Purr and Pro Glow Roar

Freedom Makeup Haul

I ordered few face products from Conceal & Correct palette through Pro Glow and blush and highlight.

Pro Conceal and Correct in Light

Freedom’s Pro Conceal & Correct in Light is a perfect dupe for MAC’s correctors palette. It offers 6 super blend-able cream shades to conceal and correct. It costs only £5 and let me tell you - it’s incredible !! It’s creamy at first but the consistency of these concealers is seriously high end. Their pigmentation is great and they seem to be winning my battle with dark circles :) I am very pleased with the colour range as well, as it is sometimes difficult to find great range of shades for a person as pale as I am. 

Top 3 shades have a definite pink undertones and bottom ones will be more fitting for warm/neauteral undertones. Or you can mix them as I do. I use a pink shade (top right) as a colour correct for under the eyes, then a little mix of top and bottom left shades to blend out with a tiny amount of bottom right to highlight. I am super pleased with this little gem and it’s worth every penny !! At this price you will not regret it, as quality will blow your mind !!

I must admit I mainly got Pro Glows because of it’s design. They are looking gorgeous. Packaging isn’t something I would have chosen for these though. Purr will work as a light bronzer for a very pale person or as a nice peachy toned blush. It has a little shimmer in it so I would not necessarily use it for more of a contour job. The formula is quite soft and blends easily. Roar is a little darker. The bronzer bit isn’t too warm so on it’s own you can use it to contour lightly. This is a semi matte shade. if swirled together colour warms up a bit and you can use it to bronze your face for summer. It has slight sheen to it so if you don’t like shimmery shades Pro Glows are probably not for you.

From left: Pro Blush in Rare, Pro Glow in Purr, Pro Glow in Roar

I also got one Blush shade in Rare. This is such a pretty coral pink shade. It is ideal for spring and summer and it has a little (tiny amount) of gold shimmer running through it. Formula is quite soft yet still powdery. Pigmentation is good making it so easy too blend. Gorgeous shade for £1 !! Can’t really go wrong.

Pro Highlighter in Brighten

If you’re looking for a silvery-pink highlighter - then Pro Highlight in Brighten is for you !! I personally prefer more champagne colour shades so this will have to find a loving home with one of my friends. Pigmentation is good, it’s very soft when you swatch it but it also seems to be lasting quite a while. It’s not as creamy as Mary-Lou, it has a definite more of a powder feel that that.

That it for my first impressions of some of the newly launched products from Freedom Makeup. The brand is definitely very affordable and some products are better than others. Today’s winner is a Conceal and Correct palette. It’s really incredible. It does what it’s supposed to do and it’s a great alternative to spending £35 in MAC. I will also be wearing blush in Rare on few occasions. It’s a really cute summer shade and I love the formula. 

So what do you think? Have you tried Freedom Makeup yet? I have few more products to review for you so watch out for parts 3 and 4 in which we will talk eyeshadows :)

Thanks for reading,
Love,

Dorota x

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