Beauty - MeMeMe Shimmer Stack

MeMeMe Shimmer Stack in Bronze, £9.99, from Superdrug

MeMeMe isn't a brand that I've tried before, they've always seemed a bit tacky when I've glanced at their products in Superdrug, but, as I do every summer, I went out to buy a new bronzer a couple of weeks ago and the MeMeMe Shimmer Stack in 'Bronze' ticked every box.  It comes in a good quality plastic compact, with a mirror.  There are five shades which swirl together to give a good, naturel looking bronzer colour that I sweep over my nose and cheeks.  Each colour can also be used separately as cheek colour, highlighters or as eye shadows. I've found that this has been a great multi-tasking product that I will use all summer.

Have you ever tried a MeMeMe product? What do you think?

Beauty - Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation, SunBeam & The Porefessional

hello flawless oxygen wow! brightening makeup, SPF 25 PA+++, £24.50; sun beam golden bronze complexion highlighter, £18.50; the porefessional, free sample, full size £23.50

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow! Foundation is a really nice, lightweight foundation that really does feel like it's adding moisture to your skin, rather than drying it out, which really helps if like me your foundation can sometimes cling to little dry patches. It also contains SPF which is a good bonus for an everyday foundation. It is definitely what I would call a light-coverage foundation, and more suitable as an everyday foundation rather than for evenings and events when you might want a bit more coverage.The added moisture also means it leaves a dewy, natural finish, which I find means you can't go without powder across the nose/chin.

Sunbeam is Benefit's most recent addition to their highlighters, along with cult-favourites like Highbeam (which I've used religiously on my cheek and brow bones for ages now). Sunbeam is a perfect summer update for highlighting brow and cheek bones and for mixing with foundation for a brighter, glowy finish. I've been using this every day since I bought it, and as with most Benefit products the size is more than enough to last over 6 months.

I also got a little sample of The Porefessional which I've been using as an everyday primer. It is a great product and does dramatically reduce the appearance of pores, although mine have never been too prominent/too much of an issue so I can't say how well this would work if your pores are a major skin-problem for you. But for me, it works well as an everyday primer, sinks into the skin and provides a great base. I haven't quite been converted enough to use it for evenings, as I'm still in love with my Mac primer which just seems to give the best flawless finish. This is also included in Glamour's annual Benefit free gift giveaway this month, so I've been able to stock up on samples that will keep me going for a while!

How you tried any of Benefit’s newest products? What do you think?

Beauty - St Tropez Bronzing Lotion, L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Gel & Rimmel Sun Shimmer

 

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-tanning Gel tinted and shimmering for face & body, £13.47; St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion £20.43; Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan Make Up Medium Matte, £5.99

I've been trying out quite a few tanning products recently, and as I am the palest person ever (think Nicola Roberts!) I thought I'd post my thoughts on some of them from a pale person's perspective!

The most reasonably priced of the three, Rimmel's Sun Shimmer wash-off instant tan, has proved to be the cheapest for a reason. I'd heard mixed reviews about it so was kind of expecting to possibly hate it or end up orange, but it doesn't seem to do anything at all other than leave my skin incredibly glittery like a teenager off to a disco. I bought the 'fair shimmer' and there are two other shades (light and dark) available so it may just be that I'm not as pale as I thought, but considering my natural skin-tone is as white as white can be I was pretty surprised that this made no difference at all. I'll use it up by mixing it with my moisturiser to give a bit of a 'sheen' later in the summer, but other than that I wouldn't say it's a good tanning product at all.

L'Oreal's Sublime Bronze Tanning Gel is a product I've been using for a few years now as part of my night-out routine. I find that sometimes it gives a perfect result (I should probably add that I always use a tanning mitt and exfoliate before using any tanning product) - but sometimes despite doing all the same preparation I'll end up with bright orange knees, elbows and dodgy tan marks on my arms. It's a good product for the price but not something to use all summer and for in the day, as it does have quite a lot of glitter in it.

St Tropez's Bronzing Lotion is something I only bought last weekend after my hairdresser recommended it. I'd always steered clear of St Tropez as they don't seem to have any range of colours (apart from in the gradual tanners) and I always thought a 'one colour suits all' would definitely turn my fair skin muddy orange. But I've been pleasantly surprised and completely converted.

The product itself doesn't give much direction about application, other than leaving on for at least 4 hours, without rubbing in, then washing it off to reveal a lovely tan - but there are countless tutorials online which I found really helpful (such as this one). It is a little daunting the first time, as it does look and smell a bit like hair dye, but I've found that just going for it, waiting 10-15 minutes then going to bed and showering in the morning works perfectly and gives a genuinely natural colour. While it is the most expensive of the three, and compared to many others on the market, I really don’t think anything else can compare. Its consistency compared to the others is much less watery and is probably why it works so well and the results definitely make it worth paying a little more for.

Have you tried any of these products?