Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan Dark

I'm a huge fan of the original Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan, so when I saw that there was now a Dark shade I was naturally very excited to try. For those that are unfamiliar the original tan, I have a post where I talk about it in more detail here. This product is every bit as good as the original but your left with a really nice, deep tan after you rinse off which I definitely prefer. The colour lasts about 5 days on my skin which as far as tans go on my skin is pretty much as good as it gets! The mousse doesn't dry my skin out at all, and the lovely dark guide colour makes it easy to apply without any streaks. The one problem with the Dark formulation is I have found it not to be as readily available as the original, neither of my local Superdrug stores stocked it. I got mine from Amazon which is a great alternative, they also do two packs which I will definitely be purchasing next time. 100 percent the best budget tanning option out there!

Handbag Heroes

First of all, please excuse the beaten up look of most of these products. As you can see from the title, these trusty essentials spend a lot of time knocking around in the depths of my normally huge handbags. I do usually try to keep what I fill those bags with to a minimum, which doesn't involve bringing my whole make up bag with me so here are the the products that I nearly always have a place for, be it for their multitasking abilities or wearable colour.
Starting with one of my most used lip products ever - a M.A.C Lipstick in the shade Honey Love. I can't remember if this has been mentioned on here before, but its a slightly warm toned, matte nude. Which really doesn't sound all that special, but it is. The thick creaminess of the formula seems to have the ability to make your lips look full and flawless, and the shade has proven wearable with any make up look.
Annoyingly, all my favourite foundations seem to be housed in beautiful, but impractical glass packaging. For this reason I don't often bring them out with me, so this Maybelline The Eraser Concealer fills in when I'm on the go. The medium, radiant coverage is just enough to top up those dark circles throughout the day or to take the edge off a bright red blemish.
The By Terry Cellularose Blush Glacé's are beautiful, glowing gel blushers that I find also work well on the lips. The shade Frozen Petal is the best at perking up tired, dull looking skin when your out and about and creating a moisturised sheen of colour for the lips.
I always carry perfume with me, as I like to smell the fragrance on myself so I do tend to top up through the day. Stella by Stella McCartney is a floral scent with a top note of Rose, but still smells really fresh and light. I love this tiny little 30ml as its perfect to throw in your handbag.

The Repurchase Register

 As much as I love trying new things, there are some products that I just cannot go without. Even if I've got something else on the go at the same time, It seems these trusty long term favourites just keep getting repurchased as I think I would feel a little uneasy if they weren't around.
Starting off with a very quick mention to the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation which I feel like I have already mentioned on here 1000 times. All with good reason though as this has it all, medium but buildable coverage, staying power and that glowy from within thing happens without the need to be dewy. Best night out foundation ever.
Next is the product that changed my eyebrows... the Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade. I've touched on this in a post before, but essentially it is a gel liner type affair but for your brows. No pencil/gel/powder has ever been able to transform my sparse, pathetic little hairs into a naturally full looking set of eyebrows that stay all night but after a bit of practice with this and an angled brush - I promise you will never look back.
Before writing this post, I had never really thought about this mascara as an essential but I've come to realise that I must be on my fourth tube by now. I love long, fluttery lashes but I also love thick dramatic lashes and Benefit's They're Real has the ability to achieve both. The formula is wonderfully long lasting for a non waterproof mascara, and the brush... the brush! I'm not usually a fan of plastic wands but I even find myself cleaning this one down once the product is empty and keeping it on hand as a spoolie.
I'm incredibly picky with lip balms, a slick of Vaseline just will not cut it for me and always seems to dry my lips out more. I'm on my second tub of the Nuxe Réve De Miel, which is protective, nourishing, matte + smells of sherbet lemons (huge bonus).
Lastly, Queen of all balm cleansers and one of the most talked about products ever - is the Emma Hardy Moringa Cleansing Balm. Nothing else takes off my make up quite as easily (even my beloved Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel stings my eyes a little!) or leaves my skin feeling quite as soft, calm and nourished.

March Wish List

March Wish List by laynamariee

1. It seems the world has gone crazy recently for delicate, lacy underwear and I am definitely no different. I'm in love with this gorgeous white lace bra from journelle. 

2. The Burberry Fresh Glow Foundation has been high on my wish list for ages, but it was after seeing some of my favourite bloggers rave about it - throwing around enticing words like dewy, radiant and flawless that it has definitely reached need status. 

3. My love for Silver jewellery has suddenly returned, Its so classic and I love the way it looks with a tan. I'm in the market for a simple, silver watch and I've fallen for this lovely one by Skagen. I really like how simplistic the design is with the numberless white face, and delicate strap.

4. Again with the Silver, I think this Celine Knot Bangle is absolutely gorgeous. A little out of my price bracket, yes... but I can dream. 

5. I love house plants, particularly when displayed in Terrariums but unfortunately where I'm living at the moment just doesn't have the space. When we move into our new flat next year I will 100 percent be making a purchase, I love this beauty from a seller on Etsy. 

6. Occasionally product names just seriously snare me in, which was the case with the REN Vita Mineral Omega 3 Optimum Skin Serum Oil. After reading a glowing review from the skincare genius that is Caroline Hirons, saying that this helps strengthen your skins natural barriers and gives an injection of moisture, I'm more tempted than ever. 

7. Cult Beauty states that 'Caudalies Polyphenol C15 Overnight Detox Oil effectively hits the re-set button', well that sounds like something I need. With benefits such as eliminating impurities, delivering a dose of radiance into tired skin and aiding repair, all I can think is that this could be my hungover skins true saviour. 

8. As strange as it sounds, the smell of ripe, fresh Tomatoes has to be one of my all time favourite scents. Not one you would think would ever be made into a Candle, but the ever amazing Jo Malone has done it. I've been repeatedly smelling this every time I go past my local counter, and its everything I expected it to be - summery, fresh and addictive. 

9. I promise in Summer I will make more effort with my nails, but for now I just love the ease and the polished finish that a nice nude nail varnish gives. Essie's Sand Tropez is a creamy, universally flattering nude that I will surely be purchasing at some point soon. 

Mini Escentual Haul

Escentual.com were offering a 20% off everything code last weekend, which I kindly took advantage of and ordered a few bits that I've been meaning to try. I remember being excited when I heard that La Roche Posay's much raved about Serozinc was coming to the UK, but it then sort of slipped off my radar and I forgot to make a purchase. Now, seeing as my skin has decided to start giving me grief at the age of 19 (why start now!?) ... I was enticed by this supposedly blemish busting toner. Containing Zinc Sulphate + Sodium Chloride to target breakouts, on first impressions I can say that the mist feels refreshing on the skin, and the few pesky blemishes I had hanging around have been greatly reduced.
Also from La Roche Posay is the Cicaplast Levres - a 'Barrier Repairing Balm'. I hate shiny balm so this get a big tick for being lovely and mattefying on the lips, so far so good on the repairing front too!
Lastly, I know I'm hugely late to jump on the bandwagon with this next purchase but I finally got around to picking up one of the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blushes. These liquid blushers create a sheer wash of water resistant colour - I chose the shade So Pretty which is a mid toned, bright pink that once stippled on to the cheeks gives you that gorgeous, natural looking, post workout glow.

February

I know its only February and definitely not spring yet, but the few beautiful days of sun have made me hopeful that some warmer weather will come our way soon! I'm such a Summer person, I love winter for the Christmas/New Year build up and then I'm 100% done. This was a hard month to find favourites for if I'm honest, as I haven't really switched up any Skincare or body products and have been keeping my Make Up pretty simple.
The thing thats definitely new is foundation, I normally love a glowy, dewy finish but I've been using the Make Up For Ever HD Foundation all month long and have been really enjoying using something more matte. I think its because my skin has been feeling quite oily recently, but I love the flawless, medium coverage this gives that is perfect for nights out or photography.
You can really see that I've been loving a matte finish this month as the next product is a Powder by Bobbi Brown. The only area I usually powder is my T Zone and the Sheer Finish Pressed Powder in Pale Yellow is the perfect shade to brighten and subtly highlight the area while helping to keep my make up in place. It does a great job at preventing any concealer creasing under my eyes or on my lid, and keeps any unwanted shine at bay.
The brush I've been using for my powder is the Real Techniques Setting Brush, its small size is great for applying just a light dusting across the nose and forehead.
As I've been keeping my base really matte, obviously I've been amping up the highlighter to get that healthy looking glow. The Soap and Glory Love at First Blush is a gorgeous highlighting blush in a rosy pink shade. I've been dusting this across my apples and up the cheekbones as a blush and highlight all in one, before sweeping a little across my forehead to warm up the whole face.
I've never really been a hand cream addict before, its one of those products for me thats nice to use but usually gets seriously neglected in my routine. I got a little set of miniature L'Occitaine hand creams as a stocking filler at Christmas and have fallen in love with the Delightful Rose scent in particular. I find the hands is the place my tan starts to fade from the fastest, but using this has been helping to prolong the colour so I think a purchase of the full size is on the cards!

Disappointing Products

I'll start this post off by saying that I am definitely not an impulse buyer.  I spend so much time reading blog reviews to make sure that what I'm buying is worth the money/right for me etc etc that it actually really surprises me when I end up not liking something. That said, it is other bloggers 'Disappointing products' or 'Product Regret' posts that have most likely saved me from too many let downs, so I thought that I should share a few of mine. Obviously this is very much down to personal preference and these products aren't necessarily bad products as I most likely purchased them after hearing someone give them a glowing review - I'm just sharing why they haven't worked for me.
If there is one thing I hate, its spending money on expensive tanning products that aren't good quality. I'd heard so many good things about the he-shi Express Liquid Tan, but after application I found the 'Medium' shade to be very, very pale in colour. After one use it looked almost as though I had just used a gradual tanner! I added another coat the next day and was more satisfied with the colour, but for a tan that doesn't wow me this is just far too much hassle. On top of that, I found this product extremely drying on my skin, and noticed that when it started to fade I was left looking very patchy and strange. This might work better for someone who's after a much paler look, or who doesn't have skin that leans towards the dry side.
Normally I love Bourjois as a brand, but I really didn't get on with their Healthy Mix Foundation or Concealer. I had tried the original version of the foundation and I remember really liking it, so I picked it up again recently in the new packaging. I think the product must have been re formulated as although I like the initial finish, the foundation didn't hold up for two seconds on my skin (which is not oily).  I do on the other hand really like their Healthy Mix Serum foundation so would 100 percent recommend that over the original. As far as the concealer goes, I like the light, glowy coverage it gives but it made the skin around my eyes very red and sore. I did enjoy using it before my reaction, but I wouldn't class myself as someone with very sensitive skin and I have never reacted to a product in that way before so I would say if you ever have any sensitivity issues definitely give this one a miss!
Next up is a product I'm not quite ready to write off just yet, partly due to the price and partly because  I just think it could look so, so pretty if I could only make it work for me! I'm speaking about the much internet loved ByTerry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock. When swatched, this sheeny, pinky brown shade looks stunning but once I put it on my lid, something just doesn't work. It seems that when I try to blend it out, the product sheers out a lot and I end up with shimmer everywhere. I'm open to any suggestions about these because as I said, its a beautiful shade so please let me know in the comments if you have any tips!
The last product is another of those sad ones that you really like using but your skin just doesn't get along well with. I've only ever had good experiences with Origins skincare in the past, but every time I try to use their VitaZing, its followed by a breakout. VitaZing is one of those interesting 'adapts to your skin tone' moisturisers, it really is great for giving just a hint of glow on no make up days, or as a morning moisturiser as it contains SPF. This is one I would definitely try for yourself, I wish I could love this but I think after the fourth desperate attempt to use this resulting in a break out its time to give it away.