Body Bling Original

In my never-ending search for the perfect slightly imperfect (but imparting nice color and some water-resistance) bronzer, I bought Body Bling Original by Scott Barnes. I purchased it from skinterra.com for $38 plus $6.95 shipping. I did have a 15% off code, bringing the price of the product from $38 to $32.30.

(On a side note, skinterra.com has super-fast shipping!)

Nice packaging, but to be honest, the mirrored tube just annoyed me because it showed every fingerprint! I wanted to keep buffing it to keep it shiny. Annoying.

When I first saw the bronzer, I had less-than-favorable reaction. It looked extremely metallic with fairly large pieces of sparkly glitter. I briefly wondered if the Twilight vampires use this stuff to make themselves sparkly in the sun.

As you can see, other than there being a lot of sparkle on my legs (click on the pics to enlarge them and see the sparkle), there really wasn't much of a change in color. Which is odd, because during application, the bronzer appears to have a lot of color. But once it's applied - it was just all sparkle. I used my bare hands to apply the product to my legs. The bronzer was easily removed from my palms with soap and water.

I was a little surprised to see how the water beaded on the back of my hand - indicating that there was at least some water-resistance. When I patted my hand dry with a paper towel, there was virtually no rub-off of the product. However, when I rubbed my hand dry with a paper towel, there was visible rub-off.

I tried to capture the sparkly glitter so you could see just how sparkly it is (click on the pic to enlarge it) - but it was difficult to make it all shimmer at once. When Gus & I were riding in the car, he looked over at me and said, "You're really sparkly" - not what I really wanted to hear. It really reminded me of an eye shadow that has large particles of glitter in it.

And as you can see in this picture, in the bright sun, there is no visible bronzer on my hand. It's totally pale. The sparkles don't show in this picture, but trust me, they were there.

To summarize:
PROS

• some water-resistance
• easy to apply
• absorbs/dries fairly quickly

CONS

• no color pay-off
• way too much large-particle glitter
• doesn't show up in bright sun
• high price

REPURCHASE? 
Absolutely not. And I'm returning this one.

I believe that this product is being misrepresented (not intentionally) by a lot of people. They refer to it as a bronzer, but that isn't what the product description says...

"Essentially, it's a tinted body lotion that gives skin golden tan-like glistening highlights that last all day." (copied from the product description on skinterra.com)

I would agree with that description. It's a lightly-tinted shimmer lotion with glistening highlights. Even the product packaging says "Body Bling Original - Moisturizing Shimmering Body Lotion". It's not a bronzer.

The search continues...

Stila Sun Gel Body Gel Bronzant

Another quick bronzer review - this one is Stila Sun Gel body Gel Bronzant - and I believe this one has also been discontinued. I bought mine from www.beautyticket.com for $10.79 - the original price was $24 - and now I see they are offering it for $11.99. I've also seen this product on eBay.

It's a 4.2 oz. tube of a gel-like bronzer. The color of the product right out of the tube is very bright reddish-orange-copper with a lot of what I consider fairly large pieces of glitter - kind of scary! In my opinion, there is a fairly strong floral scent while applying, but it does seem to dissipate after awhile.

I attempted to apply this product with vinyl gloves because of the color - I just knew it was going to stain my hands! But the gloves kept getting "stuck" in the gel and made it very gummy and difficult to spread. When I removed the gloves, I didn't have any problems applying the product - but you can see what my hands looked like!

One coat of the product didn't really show up, so I decided to apply a second coat. That gave a little more color, but it also made it look more "orange". There was a little more sparkle than I like, too. The gel seemed to dry fairly quickly, although with the humidity, I felt really sticky all day long.

One coat on my hand wasn't enough color, but it was way too sparkly to apply another coat. I ended up applying some MAC Skinsheen to my hands over the Stila gel.

The day I wore this, it was very humid, and the temperature was in the high 80's. However, I was indoors all day, with the central air set at 75. I did a few loads of laundry, vacuumed the carpet, and just did "normal" things around the house. I ended up sweating off most of the bronzer so that I had big splotches of white. Not pretty! And it has absolutely no water-resistance at all - none - nada - nein.

Honestly, I don't see how anyone could ever make this product work! If you can't even keep it on doing normal activities in air-conditioning, then something is wrong. No wonder it's been discontinued (although I believe it was available for 3-4 years).

To summarize:
PROS:

• none

CONS:

• color
• too much sparkle
• scent
• stains hands during application
• absolutely no water/sweat resistance

REPURCHASE?
Um, do you even have to ask???

Sephora's Best in Bronze 2010

I've been playing around with my latest Sephora goodies - the Best in Bronze Deluxe Sampler - and thought I'd share my thoughts (and pictures and swatches!). I love these sampler kits that Sephora puts together. I've been able to try a lot of products that I otherwise would pass on - and in the process, have found some new favorites.

This sampler contained 10 products, valued at $113, for just $39.

• 0.39 oz Korres Monoi Oil Bronzing Powder in Sunglow Light
• 0.02 oz Bare Escentuals bareMinerals All Over Face Color in Faux Tan
• 0.08 oz Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder
• 0.09 oz Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow Liner in Bronze
• 0.04 oz Lorac Tantalizer Baked Bronzer in Golden Bronze
• 0.2 oz Smashbox Artificial Light Illuminating Lotion in Glow
• 0.09 oz Benefit High Beam
• 0.17 oz Josie Maran Bronzing Argan Oil
• 0.16 oz Sephora Collection Nail Polish in Bright Red
• 0.08 oz Temptu Retouch Highlighter in Gold

0.39 oz Korres Monoi Oil Bronzing Powder in Sunglow Light - this is a full-size product ($28); it has a nice consistency - very creamy, but it's a powder. I like the color, too - it's a believable bronze; not orange, and not shimmery.

0.02 oz Bare Escentuals bareMinerals All Over Face Color in Faux Tan - this is just a sample size (a full-size jar is 0.07 oz. for $18); I'm not a fan of BE products, so other than swatching this on my arm, I haven't used it yet.

0.08 oz Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzing Powder - I'm pretty sure that this is the mini-size (which is out of stock at Sephora - $12.50); there is also a full-size product available for $28. This is something I've been wanting to try since last summer and I'm so glad it was in this kit! I love it! The color is simply gorgeous. It definitely has shimmer to it, so you have to use it sparingly, but it is soooo pretty!

0.09 oz Tarte EmphasEYES Waterproof Clay Shadow Liner in Bronze - I hadn't heard of this product, but I love it!! I believe it's a full-size product, with the only difference being that this one didn't come with a brush and the regular product does ($22). I love the color, the consistency, and the way it lasts all day.

0.04 oz Lorac Tantalizer Baked Bronzer in Golden Bronze - this is a sample-sized product; the full-sized product is available from Sephora for $32. I didn't expect to like this product because it appears to be very shimmery. However, it's really quite wearable. I just use a soft, fluffy brush to apply, and hit the spots the sun would hit.

0.2 oz Smashbox Artificial Light Illuminating Lotion in Glow - this is a sample-sized product; the full-sized product is available from Sephora for $24. It's super shimmery on it's own, but as I understand it, you're supposed to add a bit of this to your foundation. I haven't tried that yet, but I think it could work well.

0.09 oz Benefit High Beam - this is another sample-sized product; the full-sized product is available from Sephora for $24. I think this is one sample that will last a long time - it just takes a bit of this product to add a really pretty shimmer. I don't like a lot of shimmer on my cheeks, so I'm using this as a highlighter under my brows, and also on the inside corners of my eyes.

0.17 oz Josie Maran Bronzing Argan Oil - another sample-sized product; the full-size product is available from Sephora for $52. I know everyone is hot over argan oil right now (and I use it in my hair), but I'm not so sure I like this product. I don't like a greasy/oily feeling on my skin - especially in the summer. So I haven't quite decided how I'm going to use this product.

0.16 oz Sephora Collection Nail Polish in Bright Red - I haven't used this yet, but it's a really wearable shade of red. It appears to be the same size as the other Sephora polishes, but I can't find this color on the site. I don't think I've used Sephora polish before, so I'm not sure how well it applies, dries, or wears.

0.08 oz Temptu Retouch Highlighter in Gold - definitely a sample-size; the regular size is 0.63 oz. for $40. Really sparkly/shimmery gold - not sure what I will use this for - but definitely not on my face, LOL!

You can see all of the swatches here.

$39 was a great deal for all of these products - especially because I will use most of them! So if you're looking for some fun summer products to try - check this kit out!

Laura Mercier Body Bronzing Makeup

Another bronzer review! I read the reviews for Laura Mercier's Body Bronzing Makeup on Sephora and they were all pretty positive - people loving the scent, the color, and saying that it was water-resistant. The water-resistant part is what prompted me to order it - even though it was a little pricey at $38 for 5 oz.

I was anxious to try it as soon as it arrived, so I rubbed a bit on the back of one hand. My initial reaction was that it had a lot of pearlescent sheen - and the scent was not pleasant as so many people had said. It reminded me of a heavily perfumed soap - not "lightly scented with almond coconut milk" as the description stated.

But I wanted to give it a fair shot, so the next day, I applied it to my arms, legs, hands, & feet. The consistency was very nice - it was easy to apply and it absorbed/dried quickly. I still felt it was heavily scented - and that the scent didn't resemble anything almond or coconut or milk. Strike one.

The color was okay - it really didn't add a lot of color to my existing light tan - but it did boost it a little. There definitely is a good amount of pearlescent sheen to the product - almost too much so, in my opinion. I like a little glow, but I don't want to look like I'm literally glowing, LOL. Strike two.

The third test was for water-resistance. I was excited about this part because it's so difficult to find a bronzer that has water-resistance. I ran water over my hands (no soap, no rubbing), and a drop splashed on my upper arm. I blotted the spot with a paper towel and saw that there was a white spot where the water had been. Grrrr!

You can't see it very well in the picture, but the white spot was really obvious!

Then I blotted my hands dry - only to find that all of the bronzer was off them, too. I really don't know how anyone could say that the product was even remotely water-resistant. Strike three.

I really wanted to like it, but I can't justify paying $38 for a product that has no staying power.

To summarize:
PROS:

• nice color, even though it's light
• easy to apply
• absorbs/dries quickly

CONS:

• heavy, unpleasant fragrance
• too much golden sheen
• absolutely no water-resistance

REPURCHASE?
NO! I'm not even keeping this bottle - it's going back to Sephora.

Glow Getter bronzer

Yes, it's another bronzer review! This time, I'm reviewing Soap & Glory's Glow Getter Face & Body Sun Powder Spray. I purchased this at my local Target - a 3.3 oz. can is $14.95. This product was brought to my attention by a friend (thanks, Chelly!) who read about it in the June 2010 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine.

I photographed the ingredient list, which you can see below. Even though fragrance is found around the middle of the list, I really didn't notice too much scent. However, I only applied the product to a buffing brush and then to my hands. I'm sure if you sprayed it enough to cover your legs, you'd notice more of a scent.

More pictures of the product box - the first shows the instructions, and the second was amusing, so I thought I'd include it, LOL!

In the picture below, I'm wearing 3-day-old self-tanner. My hand looks pretty pale - until you see the really white skin where my watch band has rubbed off the self-tanner! Now that's pale!

I used the brush pictured below to apply the bronzer to my hand. I shook the can, then sprayed a small amount on the brush, then immediately started buffing it onto my hand and wrist. The product dried quickly, so I had to work quickly to apply it evenly.

And here is the "after" picture! I was very impressed with this product's ability to make the color on my hand and wrist look both natural and even.

My impressions:
I think this product could end up looking like makeup if you applied it too heavily. I think you would have to spray it on pretty evenly before blending in order for it to look good. I think the color matched my tan well, but I'm not sure how well it would work on completely pale skin.

I didn't notice any rub-off from this product at all. I also found it to have good water-resistance. I ran water over the back of my hand for 30 seconds, (the water beaded) then patted my hand dry with a paper towel. There was no bronzer residue on the towel. I then ran water over my hand for another 30 seconds, (the water still beaded) and dried my hand normally with a paper towel (I didn't rub hard, but I didn't just pat it either). Again, there was no bronzer residue on the towel. Impressive! After several hours, and several hand washings (with soap), I did notice that my fingers were now lighter than the rest of my hand.

To summarize:
PROS

• water-resistant
• color is natural
• dries quickly
• no rub-off
• not too shimmery nor too matte

CONS

• could be difficult to apply evenly
• may look like makeup if applied too heavily
• out of stock online & may be difficult to find locally

REPURCHASE?
Yes. I still don't like it as well as MAC Skinsheen, but it's one of the top contenders for a replacement. I'm going back to Target to see if the last can is still there!