Cocoa Brown Gentle Bronze

Howdy folks! Before I get into the wonderful world of tanning I just want to take a sec to apologise for the HUUUUUUGE gap in posts. A mix of personal and family issues meant I just completely lost my blogging mojo, and to be brutally honest.... blogging was the last thing on my mind! Things have finally started to calm down so I'm gonna try ease myself back in!

So with that said, I've recently been mucking around with the newest additions to the fabulous Cocoa Brown family! Each will get their own post, but first on the chopping block is the gradual tanner- Gentle Bronze.

I'm pretty much anti gradual tanners, the smell is just too much for me- even off products that promise to have NO fake tan smell at all. But inevitably I always wake up in the middle of the night to a waft of digestive biscuits....and I'm just not able. I have so much trust in Cocoa Brown that when I was promised a biscuit free healthy glow, I fully expected to get it. And I did!

The lotion itself goes on silky smooth and dries really quickly. My skin was left feeling really soft and moisturoised and I noticed an even, streak free colour developing after just a couple of hours. There's even a very subtle colour guide so you can see if you miss anywhere. Neither myself, or my hyper sensitive mammy, got any smell (other than Cocoa Brown's signature floral scent) from the lotion.

I love Gentle bronze, I find it much handier than a full on tan! I love the fact that it eliminates my Irish blue hue, without me needing to adjust my make up routine to blend everything together! The colour I achieve after 1-2 days is absolutely perfect for every day wear!

It's a lovely addition to my Cocoa Brown collection, and I have a feeling it will be my most regularly used! Gentle Bronze retails at around €5.50 and can be found anywhere that sells the CB range!

Happy (gradual) tanning!

Cocoa Brown Tough stuff

2 things you should keep in mind while reading this review-

Firstly, I am a bit of a Cocoa Brown fangirl. I love the brand. I love the products (and the price). I love the marketing and advertising, and I love how they treat their customers and those who blog about them.

Secondly, I have a bit of a phobia of exfoliators ever since I got some in my eye and nearly blinded myself (derp). But for the love of my favourite tan, I threw down my weary old exfoliating mitt and braved the world of exfoliators once more. No goggles required.

As usual, the packaging for tough stuff is cute, funky and girly, nothing less than you'd expect from Cocoa Brown. It comes in a handy little handbag sized sachet, but there is a larger sized bottle coming our way very soon! There's also instructions and tips on the back (as always) so you get the most of the product.

The product itself is also really cute and girly! It's a pink runny liquid, that can be used on wet or dry skin, depending on how much tan you have to scrub away! It's meant for use on stubborn areas, such as elbows, knees and feet. I used it everywhere, but paid particular attention to these area's. It smells really lovely, fresh and flowery.

So, does it actually do what it claims to do? Is t a 'No nonsense scrub'? Is it actually Tough Stuff? Yes. A thousand times yes. I applied some of the scrub to a cloth and got to work. I could see the tan vanishing before my eyes. I tend to get quite mucky around my wrists and it just works magic taking it all away. I used less than half the packet to scrub away a full body tan, and the sachet itself only cost €2.99. My skin is silky smooth and ready to be tanned again. My dirty elbows (which would have severe tan build up at this stage) are gone, and I smell lovely! AND my eyesight is still intact.

Once again, I just can't find fault! It's a definite winner, something i'd use 2 or 3 times a week, even if I had no tan on or had no intention of tanning, just to keep my skin in good nick. If they could concentrate this into some kind localised tan corrector, like a roll on or something I'd take out shares! I can't recommend this enough!

Cocoa Brown Lovely Lady Lunch- Dublin- Saturday 27th April

About 3 weeks ago I got a message from the creator of my favourite tan Cocoa Brown inviting me to a lunch in a very swanky Dublin hotel. Knowing there was a new tan in the pipe line, I naturally assumed it'd just be an event to fill some bloggers in on the merits of the new tan, and went hoping to maybe nab myself a free sample (and a few nibbles) What was waiting for us lucky few on arrival was an astounding display of generousity from both Marissa and the Cocoa Brown brand. We were treated to a 3 course meal (with wine!) in a beautifully decorated private room. Along the back wall stood a line of goody bags, quite large goody bags at that! Surely that big ole bag couldn't just contain one bottle of tan!? OH NO IT DIDN'T! When I peered into the bag you could have knocked me over with a feather. There was a bottle of the old reliable 1 hour tan, accompanied by a bottle of the new Night and Day tan (which won't even be in the shops for another 2 weeks!) a tanning mitt AND a €50 Penney's voucher.

Now, a lot of brands will invite customers out to events, give them a few itsy bitsy samples and put on some finger food, but never before have I seen a brand go so far to thank and reward their customers. I was genuinely overwhelmed. For me, it makes it a lot easier to part with my money when I know the brand will go to great lengths to prove you are a valued customer. I can't thank Marissa, Sarah and Cocoa Brown for a lovely afternoon and such a generous gift.

Now on to the good stuff! I had planned to rush home and try the new tan as soon as I finished chatting to all the other bloggers at the lunch. Unfortunately  the chances of me leaving town with a €50 Penneys gift card in my back pocket were slim to...... it just wasn't going to happen. Then the pub got involved and lets just say by the time I arrived home tanning was the last thing on my mind!

So, before going market hopping on Sunday I sat myself down, opened my shiney new mitt and got moussey. The tan itself is generally everything you'd expect from Cocoa Brown. It smells divine going on and stays smelling divine! It goes on quite dark, darker than the 1 hour tan, but even at that it STILL wasn't too dark for my ghostly complexion. It's still fool proof, there wasn't a steak in sight and my skin was so soft and silky. I was ready to go literally 5 minutes after applying the tan, which is practically unheard of for an instant tan. It absorbed instantly into my skin so could dress and run out the door without worrying about smudges or blotches.

Cocoa Brown Night and Day really takes the hassle out of tanning. You don't have to plan ahead and think 'well I better not do my hair now because I have to shower my tan off'. Being buffed and bronzed can now be a last minute decision!

The Night and Day tan will be out in shops in about 2 weeks and will retail for the same price as the original. I'll definitely be buying a bottle when mine runs out!