SOLEIL TAN DE CHANEL

This is sort of a case of YouTube made me buy it. For years this has been floating around the beauty community and I've always wondered whether this was worth the hype so to speak. Temptation finally got the best of me and I bit the bullet and purchased this little beauty. Can we just admire how perfect the packaging is. Classic black and gold screams sophistication, it is the perfect vanity piece. A lovely little item to glam up your dresser without a very hefty price tag. That being said I would never tell you to purchase an item solely based upon the pretty packaging so lets get into the good stuff.

SO, Chanel describe the product as a cream gel bronzer that glides on to the skin to leave a velvety finish, leaving you with a sun kissed matte but natural look. The product can be worn under foundation or over the top. I have not used this under my foundation as I think that's a bit heavy for my personal taste but I have been using it as a bronzer over the top of my foundation. Pictured below the product looks very warm, which it is but not near as orange as the photo is making it out to be. If you are very fair I don't think that the colouring would be great on your skin tone. I have a medium neutral skin tone and even then its potentially on the dark/warm side. It's supposed to be a universal shade but I think that's bollocks to be honest.  No way is this catering for very light or very dark girls.

As you can see from the photo above I have tried and tested the product a food few times, its not looking that hot now.  I've tried applying this in different ways and I've found that the best technique is to dab the product on and then lightly buff. When I first tried this product I applied far too much product to my brush and tried to buff it in and my goodness it was a hot mess. Only a little bit of product is needed on a tapered buffing brush, it is so pigmented that the smallest amount goes a long way. I'm not going to lie this is not a fool proof product to work with, but then again I find cream   face product always are. I often find it can be more difficult to deposit the product in the right place with a cream product and this is no exception. There are times when I have applied this and it has been patchy as hell and other times it has been a seamless glow. Mastering the application is key, once you have that down you're life of sun kissed skin awaits you. With this knowledge in hand if you are prepared to put in the extra time then you'll will learn to love this product, because the finished result is great. If you're a slap it on the face and go kinda girl, this really isn't for you.

I find that upon application the product is tacky but it does eventually dry down. I wouldn't say its a light product I could feel it on my face, which although I don't mind I know its not for everyone. I purchased this at Boots, at the price point of £36.00. Value wise for the amount of product that you will use I think its very reasonably priced, its not a product that you will get through very easy.  Other stockist include: John Lewis House of Fraser Debenhams.

For me this product is worth the hype, because I am willing to put the effort in. However I can see how it won't be for everyone, it can be a pain to apply, its pricey and the colour is not favourable for everyone. I will be continuing to use this for the foreseeable as I love the glowy natural finish it gives my skin. All I can say is take away any points that apply to you in this review and weigh up if this is the right product for you and hopefully you'll like it as much as I do too.

IS THERE A FEMALE VERSION OF THE WORD MANCHILD?

I learnt a few things about myself today. I am not nearly as grown up as I believe myself to be and that I would certainly die in a zombie Apocalypse. The fact that my mind would even link those two totally unrelated events together, is a testament to how un-grown-up I am. (fairly confident that's not a word) I had a pretty crappy morning, which started with me falling back to sleep after I had switched off my alarm, waking frantically to the realisation that I had fifteen minuets to get ready. Disaster number two took place whilst doing my makeup, when I squirted foundation down my work skirt. It wasn't the lack organisation that left me feeling like a less than adequate adult but more the fact that I had no idea what to remove a foundation stain with. I feel like rescuing clothes from life long stains is the true mark of adulthood. Clearly something I have not accomplished as I went to work with not only a foundation smear on the bottom of my skirt, but also an oily residue around the stain because I tried to get rid of it with makeup remover... Amateur.

Work is usually a constant reminder that I look twelve years old, as people scan my face and my work badge trying to work out whether I'm qualified to advise them, or if someone just let the work experience girl loose in the pharmacy. There is no bigger sign that you are defiantly not an adult than being referred to as 'sweetheart' or 'darling' 100x a day. Today was no different. I had a frantic forty minuets at the end of the day filled with confusing prescription issues that resulted in me leaving around fifteen minuets late. The cherry on top of the shitty little cupcake that was my day, was returning to my car to find a very flat tyre. The terrible thing is that it was not even a surprise event. I knew I had a slow puncture and I just ignored it. I'm not quite sure whether this makes me a child or just a fucking idiot. So now I could no longer ignore the tyre problem. I had to fix it and it was at this point I realised I have absolutely no idea how to do that, that I'm a hopeless adult and if there was a zombie invasion right now I'd be on the menu. I always thought I was quite a pragmatic and sensible person, ideal for a zombie attack. That brains over brawn would be my weapon of choice. Until I realised that I clearly panic in situations that I am not comfortable with and well I'm not actually that useful. To put a long story short I need to learn how to change a fucking tyre. I managed to call pretty much everyone in my contact list who had reasonable knowledge of cars and ask for advice. This lead me to purchase an air machine thingy... and blow the tyre up enough till I could get it home and someone else with more experience could change the tyre for me. This took me roughly about two hours. How I'm not sure, but it did.

 Over the last year there have been multiple occasions where I have just been way in over my head in adult situations, but non as much as this one. In the two hours it took me to blow up a tyre I verged on tears about six times. When I finally got home I felt a little bit deflated and a whole lot of useless so I dealt with the emotions the only adult way I knew how. I fought back the tears, ran myself a bath and poured a big glass of rose´.  It's easy to get hung up on the crappy things, the fact I'm clearly not qualified to set my own bedtime, that I leave my laundry to do last minuet and that I know nothing about cars. But I also have learnt so much, how to cook home cooked meals, holding down a steady job, budgeting my money, saving a percentage of my wage and just navigating a world outside of university. The truth is I'm an adult in progress, and I think that's okay.

TOO FACED BORN THIS WAY REVIEW

I'm going to start by saying that this isn't really a foundation suitable for my skin type and I knew this prior to purchase, that being said I'm super impressed how things turned out. So just a heads up I'm an oily girl and foundation is a real struggle for us greasy folk. If you also have oily skin, this review may come in handy. If you have dry skin I'm afraid it probably won't be much use, my skin has never had a dry patch and therefore I have no experience on the plight of dry skin. What I do know however is how much it sucks to have oily skin and how hard it is to make your makeup last. If your curious how this foundation works on a greasy gal like me, keep on reading.

First I'm gonna talk about the packaging, because honestly first impressions count. I really like the frosted glass bottle, it has a nice weight to it and I love the gold writing on the glass. I'm not a complete fan of the lid, I think the plastic looks and feels pretty cheap, but I'm not mad at it over a lid.  Hallelujah it comes with a pump attached, I think this should be a basic right when it comes to foundation (little dig at mac there). I purchased this in Debenhams for £29.00. Price range is pretty average for a popular 'high end' makeup brand, it's pretty consistent price wise with other brands across the board. Links to UK retailers here: Debenhams Selfridges

On to the actual product, I picked up the shade light beige. So I have a neutral completion its not yellow toned and its not pink, I'm a mixture. This means that I can choose which undertone I want, but it also means that I never truly get a good foundation match. I really toyed on what shade to pick but I eventually settled on this one that is a bit dark for my face but has a lovely mixed undertone. It looks very yellow swatched but it is definitely more warm when blended into the face. I would say the consistency of the product is average not watery but not thick either, it blends out pretty easy and you don't need a lot of product. I'd say that the foundation is a semi matte finish. It is matte but it's almost luminous at the same time. The coverage is medium to full, I actually think this foundation has great coverage without looking cakey.

Too Faced claim that this foundation masterfully diffuses the line between makeup and skin leaving you with natural radiant skin. And in many ways I agree, it's reasonably lightweight considering the coverage you get and it really does leave your skin radiant. But I do feel like you can tell I'm wearing foundation, so I wouldn't go as far as to say it blurs the lines between makeup and skin. You will see from the before and after photo below that it clearly covers my very minor break out and midgie bites and hides a lot of discolouration under my eyes. It seems to cover everything that needs coverage but also lets your skin come through. I am also in love with the undertone of this foundation, although the colour is a little dark it's something I can work with.

Now I'm gonna chat about longevity and I'd like you to bare in mind that his foundation is not tailor made for oily skin, its in fact for combination dry skin. Since it was an oil free foundation I thought I'd take a punt on it. It has a lot of hydrating properties which can also benefit oily skin as dehydration causes the over production of oil. Plus I love the finish, just because I'm oily it doesn't mean I want to be matte, flat and lifeless. I want shine just not an oil slick. I'd say this foundation lasted around 5 hours without horrendous production of oil on the t-zone. For a foundation not created for oil control I consider that pretty good. I tested this without a primer or setting powder, so with the right combination I really think it could last 8hours plus. I just need to find the right combination! Blotting is worth while when your skin looks this healthy and glowy. It isn't the best for oily skin I'm not gonna lie, and if you can't stand touch ups and blotting your going to hate this. For me however I am prepared to put in the hard work to look like I have good skin!

It's not a perfect foundation and this isn't a glowing review but I know that I have problem skin and considering all the factors I do like the foundation. In fact I love it at first application I just wish it looked like that all day. The quest to find a glowy foundation that controls oil is still on but this is a good substitute for the time being.