Product Review: Loreal Sublime Bronze One Day Tinted Gel

I kind of glazed over the magazine ads for this product because I thought the tag line ended with ”…in just one day,” and I thought, don’t all faux tanners work in just one day?  And in my case all self tanners make me smell like a bacon-flavored dog treat in just one day.  No matter how ok they smell coming out of the tube the chemical reaction that causes the tan just HATES me.  It is really gross.  But the tag line is actually ”For just one day,” meaning this isn’t a self tanner but a body bronzer that washes off with soap.  So I ran out to try it, because I thought this could be good for those parts of me that never see the light of day until memorial day, and here is… memorial day. 

So, I love this product.  It comes out of the bottle looking really dark and goopy and really pigments your skin in a noticeable but not crazy way.  I just rubbed it in like a lotion on my legs and no streaks.  But the best thing (and the thing I was most concerned about) is that it really stayed looking non-atrocious all day and did not stain anything.  First I took a long car ride in my in-laws’ very clean car, no staining(whew).  Then I sat on the beach and got pretty sandy and sweaty, and splashy (although not full-on wet) and other than a few coffee-colored sweat drops on my skin, no color loss or streaks.  Feeling cocky I then took a nap with my 3 year old son on my mother’s very clean white coverlet, and am happy to report there was no bronze replica of my legs on said coverlet when we awoke!  So I was pretty pleased.  My bottle was 11$, and a little went a long way.

I Thought You Knew…

So tonite Country Mouse and I got together with a friend from school who was at one point a loyal reader and it turns out that there are certain things we just assumed were givens that you might now know about.  Most importantly is Tarte Cheek Stain.  We never mentioned it because frankly we thought its awesomeoness was old nes but apparently there are still people in the world who don’t use it.  Fools!  It is the best.  It blends so amazingly and works with all skin types.  Also it smell so good you’ll want to eat it.  If you don’t own it run, don’t walk, to your nearest Sephora and get it.  Your cheeks will thanks us! 

 P.S.- We know that budget conscious girls might be turned off by the idea of paying $30 for rouge but trust us it is worth it and onetube will last a zillion years.

CVS Sweep

L’Oreal lipstick advert by Irving Penn

I once had to give up CVS for lent during my high school years becauseI can’t resist cheap toiletries, although they aren’t so cheap when you don’t need them and buy a half dozen at a time.  I have 4-5 tubes of rejected drug store lipstick in my purse right now.  Sometimes though I find real gems at the drugstore, I highly recommend anything made by queen helene, especially the little tubes of cocoa butter.  Here are some other good things I have picked up recently:

These Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks are THE BEST, and I say that as a person who has struck out with dozens and dozens of cheap lipsticks.  They really do have more pigment, and yet are kind of sheer.  I have the Red Revival which is a good not too garish red (really), and the plum perfect, which is a good daytime officey color. 

EverStrong by L’oreal is like the sister line to the super popular (with me at least) Everpure line of salt free, sulfate free shampoos and conditioners.  This one is for dry hair as opposed to color treated, but really these hair types need the same thing, moisture and more moisture.  My hair has a natural consistency of steel wool so I try to kill it with conditioner.  The everstrong  line has the same yummy lavender scent as everpure, and is not too expensive so I can use big handfuls of it.  There is a “bodify” formula as wll as a “hydrate” formula, which appear to be exactly the same, based on the ingredients.

I am a sucker for scrubby face cleansers, witness my love of the neutrogena wave.  This Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew The Brusher Gel Cleanser(whew) has a built in rubber scrubber that I love, I just leave it in the shower and scrub the life out of my nose while my conditioner settles in.  This product seems new, so new in fact that it’s manufacturer does not seem to have a picture of it on its site. Fortunately this blog has a picture, thanks Citrine!

After several ladies at my office turned up with impressive purple and/or grey manicures lately I finally got one last weekend, super short and purpley gray.  I ruined my nails about 6 hours in by caulking my shower, oh how I miss it. So I picked up a bottle of this grey “commander in chic” sally hansen nail polish this evening, and I feel much better. 

Give Me Something Good

Oh how I love free samples.  I already consider Sephora to be a wonderful magic land of free samples, but now you can get a nice bag of goodies online, without having to ask for extras at the counter (I do this in the store, it’s a little embarrassing but good for hours of fun, they have a LOT of samples in there).  And you can pick your own samples, with any order, and they come in an airline approved travel bag. oooo. May I suggest as your purchase:  more samples?  I can’t resist all these little bottles!

A Kissable Honeymoon Lip

Hi, Mrs. CityMouse here!  I’m back for a short stint before we leave for our honeymoon.  I’ve been shopping for that perfect honeymoon lipgloss that makes me gorgeous but in a natural not trying too hard way.  Something that on a safari will say “what?  i didn’t wake up at 4:15am to put my makeup on.  that would be crazy!”  Today I found the perfect lip color.  Its like a modern day black honey.  Its MAC Slimshine Lipstick in Prudeaux for $14.50.  It looks a bit purpley on the website but its actually a really nice reddish brown and its just a hint of sheer color and shine in a natural glamour sort of way.

Hair Product Cocktail

I have what I’ll call troubled hair, and I have tried a LOT of hair products.  Recently I have come up with a good drug store product mix thatI thought I would share, because it is cheap, it works for straightening my curly hair as well as wearing it curly, it smells like old fashioned sun tan lotion (mmmm) and a little goes a long way, which is good for me because my super dry hair normally soaks up gallons of product.  

So if you have dry curly hair you surely know that the less you touch it when it is wet the better, so arrange your hair as best as you can while still in the shower, then get out and gently squeeze the excess water out.  Then mix two parts ellin lavar liquid motion styling lotion to one part organix coconut milk antibreakage serum and gently smooth it over. Air dry, then flat iron  (I never blow dry).  Or feel free to do the patented CityMouse double bun maneuver, this stuff is great for that.

Get In Shape Girl

So, you may be wondering why I’ve recently becoming incapable of posting in a timely manner.  Its because I’ve developed a freakish obsession with exercising.  Your only a bride once (or so you hope) and you need to be in the best shape possible.  I’m trying to get the waistline of our silhouette logo girl (that is what CountryMouse’s waist looks like, not mine, for the record).  I’ve been taking Core Fusion classes at Exhale Mind/Body Spa three times a week and running for miles on my off days.  Occasionally I even do the classes AND run, all in one day.  Now all the fun of core fusion can be yours to enjoy at home for only $14.99.  As a devoted follower I can assure you that this does work.  However, I can also tell you that it hurts.  Bad.  So I highly recommend recruiting a workout buddy to do these with.  If you do it on your own you may be inclined to stop.  Its a good idea to have a friend there who can shame you into conitnuing on.  Gte in shape girl, you’ll love the feeling!

This Cracker Loves Crackers

When I was little I wanted to be an actress.  At my first audition (age 5) the director asked me my ethnicity I told him I was a cracker.  The director thought I was hilarious but I was just answering honestly.  But back to today’s post about, what else, crackers.  I firmly believe that the key to weight loss is fiber.  Fiber both fills you up and helps things work there way thru you.  These new cheese crackers from the geniuses at Fiber Gourmet have 80 calories and 12 grams of fiber (take that yogurt that makes you poop)!  A case of 6 boxes is just $24, that’s 36 individual serving size packets.

Zit Zapper

My new fitness (excuse me, I mean mind/body) routine is going well with one tee tiny exception.  After my core fusion class we all get tea and hang out in the zen lounge for a bit.  Then I have a leisurely walk home and run a bath.  Nice right? Well, my back does not agree.  My back feels very strongly that I should be hopping in the shower as soon as class ends.  Apparently no one has bothered to tell my back about my horrific fear of public showers.  Luckily, there’s a solution that should appease both my back and my need for a relaxing cup of tea, its Clinique’s Acne Solutions Body Treatment Spray.  I can just throw this in my gym bag and give myself a quick squirt post-class and should be able to make it home for my bath without doing any damage to my skin! 

Fancy Pants

Tomorrow I’m starting a new pilates class at my fancy new gym mind/body studio.  I personally am not fancy, but the membership came for free with the new condo and I’m not one to say no to free.  When I went for my tour last weekend I noticed that most of the women there looked weirdly super modely.  Great, there’s nothing that I love more than looking like a complete fool in front of super models.  I’m starting to think that my Target gym wear may not be appropriate for my new class.  I could upgrade to Lululemon, but please see above statement about me not being fancy.  Instead I’ve decided on the happy medium workoutwear at the Gap.  I’m going to start with this orange sporty cami for $24.50 and the essential slim active pants for $34.50.  My bird legs are going to look prticularly birdlike in those!