Favourite Self Tanner - SMH #3

Hello lovelies,

You may have noticed by the title of this post it is my Spring must have #3


Gradual Self Tanner

We all have been hiding under layers through out the Winter months and the sun itself has not been enough to give us any colour, so naturally if you're at all like me you are pasty. Everyone has their holy grail tanning product and I wanted to share with you all my new favourite gradual tanner. I was recently sent the new Jergens Natural Glow collection to review by Jergens and  Vervegirl and I am in love!!!

The collection offers five different moisturizers including one for the face which is amazing as well as a quick drying foam moisturizer. The collection is supposed to give a natural glow without streaks and minus the sunless tanner odour. I did try out all of these products and I am really pleased. They do not streak at all and they are so easy to apply, because they are moisturizers I find you don't need someone to help you. As for smell, the sunless tanner smell is not 100% gone. The odour is not strong though and I think I was the only one who could smell it, because when I asked my boyfriend he couldn't smell anything.

My two favourite items in the collection are the face moisturizer (which has a 20 SPF and it is not too thick so it wont clog your pores) and the Natural Glow + Firming Daily Moisturizer. The firming moisturizer is great because it helps to tone and firm your skin and who doesn't want to be toned and firm.

The one thing I absolutely love about this collection(other than the prices) is that I noticed a difference in my complexion much quicker than with other products. I shower at night, so when I use any of these products it is always at night after I shower and I can notice a difference when I wake up in the morning and even more so through out the day after the first application.

*Tip when using any self tanner is to make sure you always exfoliate and keep moisturized through out the day. Doing both of these things will ensure that your tan lasts and always looks stunning!!!
Also when looking for a self tanner make sure you find on for your complexion. You don't want something too dark and you also don't want to look orange. That is why I like gradual tanners, because they usually look the most natural in my opinion.


What is your favourite self tanner? Please share below I would love to try out some of your favourites!!!

I wish you all an amazing start to your week and to all of my fellow Canadian's Happy Victoria Day!!!!

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xoxo
annpaige

Skin Care for Oily Skin ft. Nivea

Hello lovelies,

I recently got some new products to review from Vervegirl and Nivea and in this post I am going to share my experience with this new product line.

To start my skin type for the most part of my life has been normal. I don't get random break outs and my skin is pretty smooth. Recently however I have started to get a little oily on my chin and under my nose. When I say oily I don't mean that my makeup is slipping off or you can see the oil on my skin, it is very minimal that only I being me notice it.

The products that I got to try are all from Nivea's new Aqua Effect line for oily skin and the great thing is that you can find all of these products each under $15 at your local drug store. Yay!!!

Here are the products that I got to try out....



Aqua Effect Refreshing Cleansing Gel
Enriched with Vitamin E and Hydra IQ, this wash gel invigorates while respecting the skin's natural moisture balance leaving skin feeling refreshed.

Product Claims:
-Deeply cleanses while respecting the skin's natural moisture balance
-Invigorates the skin thanks to its refreshing formula
-Leaves skin looking healthy and beautiful

At first I really liked this cleanser a lot. It has little micro beads that get deep into your skin and clean away any and all dirt. The only reason I didn't love this product after trying it is because the gel does not work well with my skin, after consistent use it caused me to break out a bit. I started to get little (acne) bumps on my face (that took 2 weeks to clear up)and that has only ever happened to me when I have used gel cleansers in the past. I should have known better, but I still wanted to test it out for you gals. With that being said, I do think that this product would be great for anyone with dry or oily skin, because the gel helps to keep and look in moisture. This still is a great product for maybe once a week, just not every day (at least not for me).
Overall rating: 4/10 (for my skin type)

Aqua Effect Purifying Toner
Enriched with Ocean Algae and Hydra IQ. Tones and refines pores. For purified and shine-reduced skin

Product Claims:
-Tones and purifies skin to remove oil and prevent the buildup of impurities
-Reduces excess sebum to prevent shine
-Hydrates skin to support its natural moisture balance
-Leaves skin looking healthy and beautiful

Personally I was not a huge fan of this toner, only because I am used to using toners that really suck up everything and this one did not. It is however very light and refreshing just as it claims to be which is perfect for some people. I did stop using this and have since gone back to my home made toner that I love and have been using for months (recipe here). I did however give this toner to a friend of mine who has oily skin and she loves it. She says that it works really well for her.
Overall rating: 4/10 (for my skin type)

Aqua Effect Mattifying Day Cream
Moisturizes and controls shine. With Ocean Algae & Hydra IQ

Product Claims:
- Provides intensive moisture without clogging pores
- Reduces shine and mattifies the look of skin thanks to its oil-free, non-greasy formula
- Leaves skin looking healthy and beautiful

The first thing I noticed about this cream is the consistency, it is quite thick for a day cream. So I immediately decided to use it as a night cream instead. Having pretty normal skin, I don't need nor do I like thick creams for my face. The cream definitely is mattifying, however I did notice that through out the night and even when I woke up in the morning I could still feel the moisturizer on my face. This is something that I do not like. A few hours after I apply my moisturizer I shouldn't feel it on my face anymore and especially not when I wake up in the morning, for that reason I did not like this as an overall face moisturizer. I now use this as an under eye cream for when I go to bed, instead. I do however think that this moisturizer would be perfect for any one with dry or combination skin. With that being said if you like to feel your moisturizer on your skin you would also like this product.
Overall rating: 6/10 (for my skin type)

To summarize:

Would I recommend any of these products?
Yes. I don't however recommend that you use these products if you have a normal skin type, but I do recommend any of these three products for those who have dry-combination/oily skin types.

Would I purchase any of these products?
No, only because they did not work for MY skin.


I hope that this review was helpful for you all and please leave any and all comments below!!!


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P.P.S
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xoxo
annpaige

Christmas Nails

Hello lovelies,


(First off I just want to say I now I am super late with my next Holiday makeup look, but I have not been able to take the pictures of my looks. At the moment I have only had my IPod and the picture quality is not good at all. I will have the next look up this week end for sure!!!)

I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by, it is so crazy!!! Being December the 10th already that means there are only 15 days left until Christmas!!!! Speaking of Christmas and all, I have been getting super excited lately and I have this really cute nail tutorial to share with you all.


I recently got some new products to try from avon's pro nail wear and nail art enamel line and so far I am loving them (except some of my nail art brushes are not thin enough to do a lot of designs :( )With all these new nail polishes, why not do a new Christmas nail tutorial?! You don't have to do the designs in the same order that I did, have fun and do whatever you like with this tutorial.


What you will need:

Base coat, red polish, silver polish, white nail art polish, clear top coat, toothpick /wooden cuticle pusher

Step1: I applied avon's gel strength base coat (my new fav base coat)

Step2: paint all nails (except for your ring finger) with 2 coats of avon's real red

Step3: paint ring finger with two coats of your fav silver nail polish

Step4: to create the snowflake on our thumb start with putting a white dot in the top left corner.

Step5: using a toothpick draw 3 white lines stemming from the dot.

Step6: using the same toothpick draw 2 lines on the side of each of your snowflake lines like a leaf stem.

Step7: to create the snowflake design draw 4 white diagonal lines using your white nail art polish (or a toothpick)

Step8: to create the snowy french tip nail - using your white nail art polish make a white french tip over you red polish.

Step9: draw white dots all over your nail using your white nail art polish (or a toothpick) in no particular order.

Step10: create the same design on your pinky nail as on your thumb.

Step11: put on your top coat (avons uv gloss top coat)and let nail dry.

Step12: do the same thing on your other hand.

Step13: you are done!!!

I hope you all enjoyed this post, please let me know if you try this design at home, I would love to see your renditions.



*this post is sponsored by vervegirl. For more beauty tutorials and awesome Christmas contests check out www.vervegirl.com*



xoxo

annpaige