A Bit of Bronze

I'm one of those people who's never burned a day in my life.  I'm waiting for the pain-free hours of lying out in the sun to catch up with me, but until that day, I've always been able to tan easily and not worry about burning, peeling or maintaining.  If anything, my skin tone is one of those that won't let the colour go -- I never go back to the level of paleness that I was.  I joke regularly with my friends that my skin colour is an amalgamation of a lifetime of sun exposure.

That said, when I heard about Caudalie's Divine Legs Body Moisturizer*, I had to see what it was all about.  Since I'm no longer privileged enough to have summers off, I'm much paler than I've ever been.  I didn't realize how pale my legs start off!

My other issue with self-tanner is that they're often a weird colour.  Even extremely famous versions that are famed for leaving you properly bronzed go a little wonky on me.  My skin is quite olive so I tan a strange taupe-y gray colour, and Caudalie's Divine Legs is the perfect marriage between the colour I would like to be and a colour I can pull off naturally.

The product takes your legs down a few shades, but you can definitely control the depth of your tan by putting more on.  I've also used this on my stomach whenever I wear a crop top -- instant abs.  It's marketed as a body moisturizer so it leaves your skin feeling soft and hydrated.

I enlisted Tod's help for this post -- she's much lighter than me so she's tried a number of self-tanners.  Here's what she had to say:

"It's a pleasant consistency.  I find a lot of them gross -- like, greasy.  At least the ones I've used in the past.  It's one of the more natural-looking fake tans I've had in a while.  It's kind of nice that it's not permanent, that it washes off in the shower.  It's less of a commitment; in case you make a mistake or something.  The other ones that are more permanent that last a few days, if you forget to avoid your knees, then you're stuck with dark knees for four days.  At least if you mess this one up, it's only one day."

For the swatch below, I took one single pump of the product and rubbed it into my thigh -- please bear in mind that I'm 5'10 and my thighs are longer than most people's.

Left: One pump of Caudalie Divine Bronze, Right: bare skin

*PR Sample

Current Rotation

In the very beginnings of Into The Gloss's blogging career, she showed us her own daily makeup.  Since that very moment, I've lusted that Container Store organizer, fruitlessly searching for that exact model in Container-Store-less Toronto.  You can actually find it at Neat, but it's twice as expensive.  Je refuse!

Even with the purchase of a Clear Cube, I found my desk littered with my daily makeup paraphernalia.  I've found that corralling it in one place has really helped me use up products and switch them out more regularly.  That's right. Prepare yourselves for an epic empties post at the end of the season *fingers crossed*.

After washing my face, I'll apply a serum -- either Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, or my new-found Caudalie Radiance Serum.  Immediately after I'll use my equally beloved Caudalie Vinoperfect Day Fluid, which leaves me with glowing, hydrated skin with a kick of SPF without any sort of white cast.  Huzzah.

Next I'll mix myself a base -- a combination of Kanebo Sensai Fluid Finish Velvet Foundation in 203 and 204.5, with the tiniest dot of MUFE Aquarelle in #6 Apple Green.  It makes any foundation match my skin perfectly, and it doesn't make me break out.  I'm weirdly diligent about switching out my favourite concealers, but lately I've been loving a combination of Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach and Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage #3.

After my base is done, I'll start playing with various cheek products.  Usually a dot of Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector (I don't ever think I'll get tired of this product) on the tops of the cheek bones, and a dusting of Guerlain Meteorites all over to set everything.  Then I'll contour with NYC Sunny Bronzer (sent by the lovely Roses and Rouge), and a light wash of Chanel Joues Contraste Rose Petale to tie it all together.

For lips I'll use any number of lip products -- I've purchased a Muji 3-drawer to contain it all (video? Would you be interested?), and on my eyes, I've gone fairly neutral with Le Metier de Beaute Tamarack, or the Cle de Peau Eye Color Quad #9.  Lately my lashes have been loving Benefit They're Real or Max Factor Masterpiece Max.  For extra-long, Bambi lashes, I layer them.

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that this is way more makeup than I've ever worn in my life.  Thing is, ever since I started working my grown-up job, taking 10 minutes to really work on my skin and detail my face is possibly the most relaxing part of my day.  I'm not giving it up any time soon.

Can I help you develop a regular makeup routine?  Comment below and we'll get together on Lorious.com!

Ode to the Clarins Lip Perfector

It was inevitable that I would write about this.

After mentioning this product here, here, here and here, it was time for a real review.  Never mind that, I have one of these in my bag, on my vanity, and at the office.  If I drove, I'm sure I'd keep one in my car.

This lip product is -- hands down -- my most used lip product of 2013 so far.  I first purchased 01 Rose and 02 Apricot in a duty-free shop, and happily went about glossing my lips with what felt like cake frosting.  I can't even decide which part of this product I love the most: its hydrating ability, the scent or the texture.  The last product I felt so strongly about was the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint.  This is exactly like that, but a thousand times more hydrating.  Worth. Every. Penny.

The only thing that I felt was a little lacking was the colour.  No more!  Earlier this year, Clarins released a few more shades to suit a greater variety of skin tones.  I received 04 Petal* and 06 Rosewood* and instantly set to swatching.  While 04 is far too light for me (it's an extremely pale nude on Tod -- great for blanking out lips for a dramatic eye looks), 06 is my perfect nude.  The colour is close to my skin tone without looking like, ...skin.  There's enough pink to bring a little life back into my face while containing enough brown to nude out my lip.  The natural colour makes application almost painfully forgiving -- no mirror required!

The texture is that of a traditional gloss, but instead of sitting on top of your lips, it sinks in and leaves them comfortably hydrated.  It smells beautifully of caramel and all I want to do is reapply.  I've never finished a lip product this quickly, and given the 10 ml of product you get, that's especially impressive.  Note: a MAC Lip Glass is only 5 ml.  I've only finished a couple of those in the 10 years I've been using MAC.  I only discovered Clarins a year ago, and I'm almost done with my second one.  

At $20 a pop, these aren't the cheapest lip colour or lip balm.  But for both?  Think of it as two products that are $10 each.

*PR Sample