My Top 3 Favourite Brands

Number one favourite brand…of course, Cocoa Brown. It is the only fake tan I will ever use. It gives the most perfect colour for Irish skin tones, it applies beautifully and basically is fool proof. Also Cocoa Brown have the best tanning prep products and I have been enjoying playing around with the Golden Goddess oil (can't wait to use this in the summer). 

Number two favourite brand is MAC… they just have got it all, haven't they! Their lipsticks are amazing, their eyeshadows are brilliant and I use the foundation and concealer every day. Also love fun products like their glitters and limited edition things (I just love looking at the Cinderella powder pictured - it's so stylised Disney looking!). They are also not the most expensive brand out there I don't think and are really accessible to all. 

My final favourite brand is of course Clarins. You have heard me rave about Clarins on this blog many a time before so I won't bore you with more of that. I just love the elegance of their products. Their bases are amazing (if you haven't tried the concealer yet you must!) and they also make lip products like no other brand. Also for Summer they always bring out the most amazing collections! 

Honorable mention goes to Lancome and Too Faced, I love those brands as well but I just haven't tried enough of their products to say that they are my favourite "brands".

Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze Review

Am I a little late in reviewing this? Gentle Bronze, which is Cocoa Brown's gradual tan, was released last year but truthfully it is only since Winter began that I have gotten the most use out of this! I don't want a full on tan, but I need something to take away the horrid purple/grey of my skin tone.

Back in the day, when I was a complete tanophobe, I would have used Johnsons Holiday Skin for a subtle "glow". Now, from what I remember, Johnsons Holiday Skin was horrible in texture, similar to that of wallpaper paste. It had a horrible smell and it took an age to dry, leaving you with that awful sticky feeling for hours on end. Plus, you would have to apply it every night for about a fortnight to notice any sort of colour at all. Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze is the complete opposite of this!

I had been so accustomed to using Cocoa Brown One Hour Tan, which gives me the perfect tan that I want and has never let me down. It's quite nice actually to try something a little bit lighter, and a little easier (for me) to apply.

It has a beautiful, light texture and has a nice but subtle scent, similar to that of the One Hour Tan. I apply this with my hands, just like a regular moisturiser. Not once have I experienced any difficulties with this application method, no streaks or anything! It absorbs really quickly so you don't have to sit around with that awful sticky feeling. I also like to put a little bit on my face (I love tan on my face!) and have not experienced any breakouts or anything of the kind. This product is very kind to my skin.

Think it's time for some before and after photos!

 Before

After

These pictures show what just ONE application of Gentle Bronze can do! You can continue to build up your colour with further applications if you want, but I am absolutely thrilled with how I look after just one application. This is exactly what I want, when I want to be just a little bit tanned however it looks quite natural in Wintertime. 

I love Gentle Bronze for a perfect bronzed glow, ease of application and best of all it is only £5.99. I am definitely going to be stocking up on this stuff for Spring coming in!

Cocoa Brown - "Tough Stuff" !

Well here we go, another fab product from Cocoa Brown! I was so excited to try this out. You know when you have stubborn tan that you just can't get off? This is what you need!!

..And it is pink! What a nice touch! You can barely see the exfoliating beads here, they are so tiny and yet so "tough"! This exfoliator also features the signature Cocoa Brown scent, Tahitian Gardenia. So nice!

This is by far, the most effective scrub I have ever used. I have used this both in the shower and also when my skin is dry. I find it is more effective for removing tan when your skin is dry. Give yourself a good scrub, and when you shower it off, you can actually see the tan washing off your skin. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! It gives a slightly more gentle exfoliation when your skin is already wet.

After using this product, my skin has never felt in better condition. No rough patches, no lumps or bumps, just super soft skin. This really is a wonder product in my opinion! The sachet is good for maybe 2 full body applications. If you are worried about storing an open sachet, then don't worry, this product will be available in a tube come October. In the mean time you could store the Tough Stuff in those little travel bottles you can get it Primark.

Now because I was already wearing some fake tan (Cocoa Brown 1 Hour of course), I thought I would show you all how good "Tough Stuff" works at removing tan!


At the weekend, I was invited down for afternoon tea, courtesy of the lovely Cocoa Brown team. It was held in the fabulous Radisson Blu St Helens, Blackrock, Dublin. I had an amazing time, I met some lovely bloggers and just really enjoyed myself. Here are a few pics...

 L-R: myself, Danielle from The Imperfect Beauty, Rebecca from Give a Posy and Laura from Life, Laughs and Laura

Myself and the lovely Marissa Carter

Cocoa Brown have done it again for me! Tough Stuff is a great accompaniment for you fake tan wearers. Amazing at removing stubborn patches of tan, whilst leaving you skin super soft, ready for your next application! 

Cocoa Brown Tan!

I had heard about this tan many times, it has exploded onto the Irish market. There are no stockists near me, so I ordered from www.carterbeauty.ie. I cannot believe this tan is only €7.99! It is a real bargain!

I have never used a mousse tan in my life, so I wasn't sure how much to use initially! I was being rather over-cautious with it I think. When you pump just a small amount onto your mitt, it expands out so it is quite deceiving. Next time I am going to use a lot more than I did. 

One thing I did notice about the application of this tan is that it feels very "dry", which is a good thing I guess. No sticky feeling! But when applying, you can feel your mitt start to drag and when that happens, I would recommend another small pump. My tan turned out a little lighter than I would have liked, but that was because I tried to spread each pump over as much of my skin as I possibly could. Also when I use lotion tan, I like to use the excess on the mitt to put a little on my face, but with this tan there was no excess! (Again that is possibly because I did not use enough). I guess it's all about trial and error when you try out new products.

This was after the three hours, which I believe is when the tan is fully developed. You can shower off the excess after one hour if that's what you like, but I decided to leave it. It is probably the most natural looking tan I have ever used. Not a hint of orange in sight! Just a healthy looking, natural glow. Next time I am not going to be afraid and stick plenty on!

BABY B BROWNE Tan review!

A while ago I showed you my favourite tan which is Baby B Browne. I am so ready for spring, that lastnight I couldn't help tanning myself and getting rid of some of my winter clothes! I really think I look much healthier with tan on too. Anyway, here are some before and after photos!

Firstly I am so sorry you have to see my Irish corned beef complexion! The left leg is obviously no tan at all, and my right leg was just after applying the tan. So obviously it hadn't fully developed but I still think even at this stage it makes such a difference.

Now this photo was taken this morning. I absolutely love the natural look of this tan. It smells absolutely amazing, this morning there is a little hint of that typical tan smell, but the formula itself is a lovely vanilla scent!

This tan is about £15.00 a bottle, very reasonable and I would say very comparable to something like St Tropez which I have tried before, however I think that the longevity is much better, I can get a full week out of this tan without it going patchy.

I have just ordered some Cocoa Brown tan, I have heard so much about it and I can't wait to review it when it comes!