BEAUTY PRODUCTS I'D RATHER NOT LIVE WITHOUT

Lately I have found myself shaking my head at some of the blogs I used to really enjoy. I get that once you become popular in the internet world, you can start capitalising on the interest you've cultivated; you've put a lot of time and effort into producing blog posts so it's probably fair to be rewarded for it. PRs and brands might pay you to write favourable content about their products, or send you free goods with the understanding you'll promote it to your loyal followers who might go out and buy the same thing you got given. I can smell a PR-generated blog post a mile away and I can say this now: when I read those posts, especially when there is non-disclosure, I've mentally demoted that blogger to a lower rung on my barometer of trust. It becomes difficult to take their word for it.

Now, back to me! As you can probably guess, things I feel half-arsed about won't make it to the pages of this blog. Good products deserve a shout out, bad and mediocre ones shouldn't be encouraged, even if I did get them for free, which in this case, I didn't. So let's get to it: products I really like and don't want to live without. I am crazy about reasonably priced, well-formulated products that stand up to their luxury competitors and these four products do just that.

 

Let's begin with Loving Tan 2 HR express self tan. I use 'medium' for winter and the 'dark' in summer and I am going to have the name of this product tattooed inside a heart on my flabby bicep so everybody knows just how much it means to me. In just two hours, this nifty mousse takes me from pasty and self loathing, with every inch covered to "oops my phone has no storage left because I just took 300 mirror selfies in my underwear". This one trumps all the other tans on the market because it is perfectly olive and even if you really screw up the application, doesn't ever look dodgy, even on the hands and feet.

 

ModelCo Gradual Tan is a moisturiser with a hint of self tanner. You can use it to build your perfect tan over a few applications, or to top up your existing tan. It's got a gorgeous fragrance and injects a whole lot of moisture into the skin, which is really helpful as fake tans tend to make the skin a little dry and scaly after a few days. I generally use this product on my face a couple of days after I have self-tanned, because tan tends to wear off more quickly on the face than the rest of the body. Simply apply it at night, hop into bed, and you'll be good by morning.

 

I chanced upon the Rimmel Lasting Finish primer when I was out grocery shopping one day and remembered I had ran out of my usual MAC one. I was hesitant because there are only two primers I have been happy with historically, so I go out of my way to buy them instead of easier-to-come-by versions you find in pharmacies and grocery stores. That day, though, I really could not be bothered walking the 1km to the MAC boutique so chucked the package into the shopping basket and hoped it would be worth it. And it was. This provides a smooth, non-greasy and, importantly, long-lasting base for my foundation. Will I buy it again when this tube goes empty? In a heartbeat. Is it as good as others I have used? Yes, perhaps even better, particularly in the winter months when my skin turns dry and I need a primer to provide adequate moisture as well.

The final item in this review is one I am all over like a rash. As you may know, Real Housewives is my not-so-guilty pleasure. I enjoy playing armchair psychologist and trying to figure out who has which personality disorder. I love when the camera does wide shots in the housewives homes, so I can see who has the best decorating taste. And I love when Yolanda does her pieces to camera where she does a lot of talking with her hands, and I get to see her perfect manicure. These past couple of seasons, she's been wearing a red so deep and dark it verges on black. It's the new french manicure and I hope it doesn't ever get old, because I adore it. In my search for a polish just like Mrs Foster's, I bought a few that were either too red, too black or too purple but my search ended when I bought "Wicked". I recommend two to three coats for the perfect colour.

In unrelated news, I've just had a brilliant weekend. My sister who is also my best friend on god's green earth flew up to Sydney with her fiance to surprise James for his birthday. We love it when they visit because we spend most of our time laughing til we cry and we don't get out of our pyjamas until the late afternoon because we've been too busy talking. We had a great dinner on Saturday (which I'll blog about), plus Rachel and Dan introduced us to the Create Your Taste thing where you build your own burger at McDonalds and they actually come out and serve it to you on a wooden board with your fries in a tiny little chip basket. Hard to believe but it looks and tastes as good as something you'll find at a proper burger joint. Wheat avoidant me didn't have to miss out because it even has a lettuce bun option which you shouldn't knock until you try! I don't have the Sunday night blues because in a couple of hours The Real Housewives of Cheshire is going to premiere and I just know these women will bring narcissism and delusion to a whole new level!