Mateja's Beauty Blog

Self-tan: Xen-Tan Review and a Comparison with St.Tropez

Since I ran out of St.Tropez self-tanning mousse, I decided to try out the next highly praised self-tanner. I got both the Xen-Tan dark lotion and the transform daily self-tan. The original review for St.Tropez mousse can be found here, but in this post I'll also make a comparison of the two.

Xen-Tan dark lotion

The packaging is a plastic bottle with a pump and you get 236 ml of product, so the same amount as St. Tropez (the big version) but for a cheaper price. It looks dark chocolate brown right out of the bottle, so when you apply it, there is a colour guide and you can see where you applied it. However, I do find that the colour guide is a lot fainter than at St. Tropez, which does bother me a bit. It is actually very moisturising and does not dry out my skin like St. Tropez does, but because of that it takes a lot longer to dry and it leaves your skin tacky and sticky for quite a while. Because it takes longer to dry, this gives you more time to apply the tan evenly and really blend it in. I always apply it right before I go to bed, so I put an extra sheet to protect my bedding from getting any of the colour. But it never stained my bedding, still it's good to be a bit careful. The scent is very sweet, it smells like marzipan, although I don't find the scent as strong as at St. Tropez. The typical self-tan scent does appear, however, it is very, very faint. I find it fainter than at St.Tropez. But St.Tropez's scent started to get a bit stronger the older the bottle was, maybe something similar might happen with Xen-Tan. The tan looks very natural, I even got I few compliments about how tan I look and if I was on the seaside. The tan is a bit darker as at St. Tropez and it lasts about a day longer, somewhere around 4-5 days before it starts washing off. Tan disappears faster on my wrists and lower arms, because I wash my hands often.

I like both of the St.Tropez and the Xen-Tan. Both a great self-tanners, the best I've tried so far. But if I had to choose, I'd look at the price tag. I'd decide for the one that is cheaper at the time of purchasing a new bottle. Usually Xen-Tan is a bit cheaper. I buy both from feelunique.com.

St. Tropez self tan bronzing mousse
+ dries a lot faster, doesn't leave a tacky feeling

+ better colour guide

+ stronger floral scent
- more expensive than Xen-Tan

- dries out the skin
- stronger DHA (the typical self-tan) scent
- because it dries so fast there is less time for application

Xen-Tan dark lotion
+ moisturises the skin well
+ more time for an even application before it dries
+ darker than St. Tropez
+ lasts about a day longer than St. Tropez
+ cheaper than St. Tropez
+ marzipan scent
- leaves your skin tacky and sticky, takes a long time to dry
- fainter colour guide than at St. Tropez
- fainter DHA scent than at St. Tropez

The Transform daily self-tan is a gradual self-tan for face and body. It smells very fruity, like lemon candy (like Fru Fru or Softi lemon candy for Slovene readers). It's a very good moisturiser, I use it on my face and it leaves my skin so soft. It has more DHA than regular gradual self-tanners, but it still takes a couple of uses to get a nice tan. I didn't detect any of the typical self-tan scent. As I said I use it on my face (gets me from Healthy Mix 51 or Mac NC 15 to HM 53 or about NC25-30 in about four uses) and on my body to prolong the tan. I'll definitely repurchase and keep using it as a face tanner because it's more moisturising than the Clarins one (I have quite dry skin at the moment).
I also use Clarins Liquid Bronze self tanning for face and decollete which is a very light lotion and doesn't moisturise that well, but it's a great self tanner and you can get a very light tan (by using it every few days) as well as quite a dark one if you use it everyday.

Another self-tan that I currently own is SunDance transparent self-tan in a spray can. They reformulated the old formula that I used to use and I don't like the new one as much as that one. The old one had a nice floral scent, while the new one doesn't have any particular scent at all. But I find that the typical self-tan scent does not develop, so it's even fainter than at Xen-Tan. Tan is quit light, it takes a couple of uses to get a really dark tan as with St. Tropez and Xen-Tan. Also one bottle doesn't last long, but you can get a very even application with the spray. It's probably the nicest tan available in Slovenia for the price (less than 5€).

A couple of tips about self-tanning and how I do it:

- make sure your skin is moisturized . Use a good moisturizer at least the day before if you don't have a habbit of using a moisturizer every day. I use either a body butter or an oil.

- use a scrub before you tan. I like the L'Oreal Exfotonic or I just make one myself with sugar and olive oil. Or I just use an exfoliating glove/mesh bath sponge in the shower. Make sure you don't have any dry patches, because the tan will make those areas a lot darker than the rest of the body.

- use a light moisturizer on your hands, feet, elbows and knees right before applying self-tan. This is to make use you don't end up with darker areas, because skin tends to be drier on the elbow and knees. Also it's important to make a lighter transition on tan on the hands and feet. You can also use a gradual tanner on those areas, but I prefer just using a bit of moisturiser and I blend what's left on the mitt, so the tan there is lighter.

- use a mitt to apply fake tan. It makes such a difference in application. The tan looks even also the application is much faster. I currently use the Xen-Tan one and I prefer it to St.Tropez one, because it's smaller and fits on my hand better.

- use a gradual tanner or a regular moisturizer to prolong your tan. This also helps to make your tan fade more even and it doesn't get so patchy after a while.

- apply tan before you go to bed. Allow the tan to develop over the night rather than applying it in the morning/during the day. Be sure to go over the back of the hands and the area by the wrist after you washed your hands (just use what's left on the mitt). Contact with water or perspiration removes the self-tanner leaving you with streaks (even an hour after application).

Hope this helped and thanks for reading.

sreda, julij 11, 2012
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Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream SPF37 PA++

After being super happy with my Skin79 Pink Label BB cream (which is still going strong, despite being a bit worried that it was running out) I purchased another one. This time I went with Holika Holika Peach Girl for very simple reasons: 1. higher SPF, 2. the cutest little cream blush in the lid, 3. mine was cheaper at the time for 50ml than Skin79 Gold Label (my second choice).

Again I ordered from a Korean seller on eBay called sing-sing-girl and surprisingly it only took 2 weeks to arrive. I paid 10€ for it. Together with the BB cream I also received a couple of samples. I got the shade #2 which is almost identical to Skin79's Pink Label. #1 is lighter and according to other reviewers fits even the palest of the Snowhites (NC10). It has an SPF37 PA++.

The amount you get is a generous 50ml plus a very pigmented cream blush and a mini mirror in the lid. The packaging is a tube with a label sticker, nothing fancy but works just fine. If I compare it to Skin79 Pink Label, Peach Girl has a lot more coverage, I'd say medium and comparable to the original Healthy Mix. Second layer provides almost full coverage, so it covers dark circles and any darker red spots (I have a couple old blemishes on my chin and the second layer covers them just fine. For bigger spots some additional concealing is needed). As at Skin79 BB cream, Peach Girl is also a bit grey upon application. Now that I self tanning and I'm somewhere between Healthy Mix 52-53 (MAC N20-30), the grey cast is a lot more obvious, however, it adapts to your skin tone within a minute and isn't visible any more. Here are swatches on my untanned arm (so NC 15 or Healthy Mix 51) taken indoors. Bourjois Healthy Mix foundations run more yellow, while both BB creams have more pink undertones. Peachy Girl has a touch of peachy tones in it compared to Skin79's BB. I just happened to have a sample of Flower Perfection, so I added it to show the comparison of shades. But keep in mind that BB creams adapt to your skintone. In my experience Skin79 fits me if I'm NC15 (Bourjois 51) or if I'm self tanning.

The finish is dewy and it makes your skin very healthy looking. However, if you have oilier skin you might find the dewyness a bit much, so I suggest using a powder over the top. Personally, I love the dewy finish of a foundation so I normally don't use powder (also my skin is a bit more on the drier side). As at Skin79's BB it looks very natural on the skin and you can't really tell you're wearing anything and this despite a higher coverage than Skin79's. It's definitely the most long-lasting BB/foundation I used, it stays put for the entire day and I tested it in the hottest weather of this year with temperatures reaching as high as 36°C. I even went swimming with it, but it didn't really survive that well (not that I was expecting that anyway).

The blush in the lid is very pigmented and has a nice dewy finish, I don't require the use of highlighter with this one. The shade is a lovely peachy pink that gives a nice flush, probably my favourite colour from my selection of cream blushes. The fact it comes in a lid is even more appealing as it's very convenient and travel friendly. Here is a swatch of the blush and BB cream in direct sunlight. The blush is a touch more pink in RL, my camera just hates taking pictures of coral shades.

Get Peachy Girl if you want a BB that gives more coverage, also the blush is super cute. High SPF is another bonus and the price for the amount is quite reasonable. Overall a lovely product.

Thanks for reading!

sreda, julij 04, 2012
6 Comments

June 2012 Favourites

We are having a heat wave at the moment here (where I live it's been 37°C) , also it' been quite hot for most of June, so I put my Fantasy and Euphoria away for a while and reached for more summer type scents. My favourites this month were:

Essence Like a First Day in Spring - A very refreshing and sweet scent. As the name suggests, it is a more spring/summer type of fragrance. In the first minutes the strongest note is tangerine and orange mixed with a bit of pineapple, so very fruity and an Escadaish type of fragrance. Later I get a bit of rose and musk, but it's still quite fruity. Staying power is quite poor, I on me less than an hour.

Yves Rocher Mango - Passion fruit - Another Escadaish - cocktail type of scent, so very fruity and sweet. Doesn't last long, though.

Yves Rocher Noix de Coco Malaysian Coconut - It's exactly what it says it is, a straight up coconut scent. Great for summer and it lasts very long on the skin.

It's been all about corals for me (for the most time at least). I've already written a post about my selection of lipsticks for this summer, but these four really stood out the most. At the beginning of the month I mostly wore Manhattan Soft Mat lip cream in 53M. Other most worn lippies were Essence Coralize Me!, Shiseido Glowing Matte PK 224 and in the last week Maybelline Popstick in Tropical Pink (btw a really moisturising lippie).

I bought Dove Deeply Nourishing shower gel just because I wanted to try out something new and I really like it. It's thicker than your run-of-the-mill shower gel, also it smells really nice. I'll keep repurchasing.

I love the scent of lavender and Weleda Lavendel Entsoannungsöl has one of the most amazing lavender scents. It just smells like a lavender field. Plus it's great for my dry skin and hair.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Swivel Stick is the best chapstick I've found. It's not exactly a chapstick, the size of it is more comparable to a glue stick, so you do look a bit weird when you're applying it on the lips. It's more of a multi purpose product, so for everywhere you have very dry skin. Highly recommended.

I received quite a few samples of Eucerin Aquaporin Active Light moisturizer and eye cream. While I find the eye cream a bit too rich (it takes a long time to sink, I don't really like it when a product sits on my skin), the moisturiser is fantastic. It leaves your skin really moisturised and feeling great also it takes seconds to sink in. I like it a lot and I might even purchase a full size (similar product is Vichy Aqualia Thermal serum, but Eucerin's is about half the price).

Orofluido has recently added another product to their line and as I adore Orofluido hair oil I had to try it out. It's called Orofluido Sahara and it's a dry oil that protects your hair against sun, wind and dryness. It has UV filters which is great for protecting your hair against the damaging sun. As I said it's a dry oil, so it's very light and doesn't make my hair greasy. If you ever used dry oils you know what it's like, you can spray a lot of product in your hair and it won't be wet like with spray conditioners. It's smells amazing, identical as the oil, so oriental amber and vanilla. I use it daily to protect my hair from drying out because of the strong sun. It leaves my hair very shiny and smelling amazing. Like it a lot.

And lastly, two things I repurchased - Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse and L'Occitane Almond shower oil. Both two of my favourite ever products. I use Nuxe dry oil mostly as a face moisturizer (non-stop for over a year now, I love it!), this time I bought the 100ml bottle that comes with a spray.

I got the eco-refill of L'Occitane's shower oil. I had two bottles of this, but I lost/forgot one in one of the many hotels I stayed at in France (self high five!). Refill version costs 25€ for 500ml.

Thanks for reading!

ponedeljek, julij 02, 2012
3 Comments

Drugstore Mascara Comparison

nedelja, julij 01, 2012
7 Comments

Things I'm Loving Right Now - Summer Brights

četrtek, junij 28, 2012
3 Comments

What I Bought in France and Other Recent Purchases

It's been more than two weeks since I've returned from France, but I wanted to a least try some of the products before I wrote anything. I didn't get much stuff. Strangely I left Sephora empty handed, but I did purchase a couple of things in Yves Roche, Douglas and Carrefour.

I already reviewed the Dream Touch blush here -> click.

I got two things in Douglas: I love... peaches & cream set and Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover.
I love... peaches & cream set includes a shower gel, lotion and a mesh bath sponge in the prettiest light peach colour. Both products have a nice peach-mixed-with-a-bit-of-cream scent, so sweet and fruity. Actually, it reminds me a bit of Britney Spears' Midnight Fantasy, or at least on how it smells on me. I was quite impressed by the lotion, because it's thicker than I thought it would be and it moisturises well.

Bourjois Magic Nail polish remover really cuts the amount of time you spent on removing nail polishes to a mere couple of minutes. I'm sure most of you already heard about this product. I do like it a lot, however, it is way to expensive for what it really is (I paid over 8€), so a bit of sponge with some remover. I'm just waiting for cheaper knock-offs to appear on the market. It does smell nice, like fruit and vanilla, also it leaves your fingers and nails quite moisturised, so it is better than your run-oft-he-mill nail polish remover.

I left Yves Rocher with two items: LE fragrance Mango and Passion Fruit and Monoi de Tahiti oil. I regret purchasing the latter as, if I use the description of my (male) friend, it smells like grandma. Ok, that's a bit harsh, but it is a bit to flowery for me (a lot of people like it a lot, judging by the good reviews on MUA). I expected a nice coconut-beachy fragrance and this is not it. But it does have a nice consistency and sinks into the skin quite fast.
The mango-passion fruit fragrance is lovely. It's a typical summer-coctail-Escada type of scent and I really like it. It doesn't last long though. There was another LE fragrance, which smelled like pina colada, but I restrained myself from purchasing a small bottle of that too.

Last month I suddenly wanted some jasmine scented products and after some well executed Google searches, I found that Lush Flying Fox shower gel and Lust perfume fit my wishes best. Both have a very strong jasmine scent, Flying Fox also has a bit of honey mixed in. It's not the type of scent I'd love to smell every day, but sometimes I do like something different. Flying Fox is very runny and I hate Lush packaging with passion (does anyone else find their plastic bottles so damn hard to squeeze?), so in general I probably won't repurchase it. I much prefer my L'Occitane almond shower oil for pampering.

Lust solid perfume has a very strong jasmine scent that I think a lot of people wouldn't really like (my friend - btw the same as above- pointed out it's nice, but too strong). The scent lasts really long on the skin, also beware that it leaves red stains on clothes.

Ruby Kisses nail polish in Tropical Blend looks amazing in the bottle. It's an amazing bright pinky-coral shade that unfortunately translates into neon orange on my nails. And I don't like that, so it's a miss purchase for me. The quality of the polish itself is quite nice though.

Essence recently released a collection of 6 fragrances that are available in 50 and 10 ml bottles. After testing all, I liked the Like a First Day in Spring the most and I purchased a small bottle. It's again a very Escadaish type of scent, so very sweet and fruity, but also a bit fresh. Top notes: orange, tangerine, pineapple. Middle notes: rose, blackberries, praline. Base notes: musk, sandalwood, vanilla. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long (but so don't Escada fragrances for a much heftier price tag), I don't mind respraying it anyway. The 10 ml bottle is a great purse size and not that expensive, it retails for around 3-4€.

Thanks for reading!

sobota, junij 09, 2012
3 Comments

(Mostly) Drugstore Concealers - Favourites and Really Good Ones

I've tried quite a few of concealers so far, drugstore and high-end, and I found some really good drugstore concealers that perform as well if not better than high-end ones. My main concern is redness under my eyes (I've always had it, even when I was a child), I don't suffer from much breakouts. I've already reviewed most of these concealers and you can find some reviews here ->click.

Maybelline Instant Anti-Age the Eraser Eye Perfect & Cover Concealer

My absolute favourite concealer so far. I think it might be my HG concealer, it's just so good. It offers a lot of coverage, however, it looks very natural on the skin and not at all cakey. Mine is in the shade light (this is the second lightest shade, one even lighter one is called fair), which matches my skin perfectly no matter whether I'm selftanning or not (so it matches me when I'm NC15 or NC20-25). It has a peachy undertone, which really brightens up the under eye area. The sponge applicator works really well, although I still have to blend it a bit with my finger. It even covers some small blemishes. The only problem is that it's not sold in Slovenia (God knows why) and the closest place for me to buy it is Croatia. It is priced 10€. Highly recommended.

ArtDeco Perfect Teint Illuminator

This was one of my first ever concealers and I've repurchased it I think three times so far. Well, it's not as much of a concealer as illuminator, so basically a poor man's Touché Eclat. I never owned the famous YSL version, but this one is pretty good. I use it mostly on my under eye area, but it can also be used anywhere you would apply your highlighter, so on the top of the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, cupids bow, etc. It's not the best at covering, but that's not what it promises to do anyway. It works best in conjunction with some other concealer with heavier coverage and it really brightens up the area. Mine is the the shade 8, which has yellow undertones and there is another shade that is more pink. It is priced somewhere around 10€.

Rimmel Match Perfection concealer

My second favourite concealer so far. It has quite a lot of coverage, it's even good for covering blemishes and looks very nice on the skin, so not cakey. I have the lightest shade called 010 Ivory which is comparable with Healthy Mix 51 or Mac's NC 15. It also has illuminating properties, which is great for under eye area. The applicator is a brush and you have to squeeze the tube for the product to come out. As well as with the Maybelline one, this one is not available in Slovenia (Rimmel in general is not sold here) and I also had difficulties finding it in Croatia (Zagreb), so I got mine in France for around 8€, but you can get it online on feelunique.com. Highly recommended.

Essence Stay All Day concealer

It's a really nice concealer especially given the price (around 3-4€). It is actually quite pigmented for a drugstore concealer. I find the coverage sufficient enough for dark circles and even some small spots, however it's still quite light. It has a doe foot applicator, which honestly I like a lot as it makes the application really easy. But there are two problems: first is that it comes in only two shades (10 Natural Beige and 20 Soft Beige) and both run very light. I own both, 10 is suited for very pale skins (Healty mix 51) and has yellow undertones, while 20 is just a tad darker (Healthy mix 52) and has pinker undertones. So for anyone darker than that unfortunately Essence doesn't offer a good colour match. Second is that it oxidises very fast on the skin. By that I mean that when you apply it, the colour turns a bit darker and orange, however, when you blend in, it looks fine. So it's not such a big problem as more of a bit of a nuisance. It is one of the best drugstore concealers available in Slovenia and one of the easiest to get, since it's sold in almost every drugstore.

theBalm Time Balm concealer

The heavies concealer of the bunch. The texture is very thick, but not that hard to blend. I prefer to apply it with fingers because it just blends better with the skin. Unfortunately, this concealer does not work well on dry skin. It clings to every dry patch so make sure you moisturise before using it. The coverage is full, works well on dark circles and blemishes, but really make sure the area is moisturised. It feels quite thick under the eyes, so I prefer to use other concealer and I use this one on blemishes. The shade I have is Lighter than Light which is comparable to NW15 (pink undertones). Original review can be found here ->click. It the most expensive out of these five and also my least favourite, but you can get it on feelunique.com.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading!

petek, junij 08, 2012
10 Comments

Pages

Self-tan: Xen-Tan Review and a Comparison with St.Tropez

Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream SPF37 PA++

June 2012 Favourites

Drugstore Mascara Comparison

Things I'm Loving Right Now - Summer Brights

What I Bought in France and Other Recent Purchases

(Mostly) Drugstore Concealers - Favourites and Really Good Ones

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