Cocoa Brown lovely lady lunch

Anyone who reads my blog will know how much of a fan of Cocoa Brown I am. And days like today prove why.

I was lucky enough to be invited along to Cocoa Brown's lovely lady afternoon tea this afternoon in the wonderfully lavish surroundings of the Radisson Blyu hotel in Blackrock. The hotel itself is stunning,  but nothing compared to the adorable spread put on by Marissa, Sarah and sales manager Aisling. We were greeted with platters of bitesize cakes, which were to die for,  and more sandwiches than you could shake a stick at.

Lovely little treats

This post is about to get very gushy, as I feel like it's very deserved, so feel free to stop reading!

I have always said that one of my favourite things about Cocoa Brown is how they interact with bloggers and anyone who uses their products. As far as I'm concerned they are by far one of the most personable, friendly and approachable brands out there today. Everyone behind the brand goes out of their way to reply to any correspondence, not only that but they are all so friendly in person too. On both occasions I have met Marissa and Sarah they have been lovely and chatty, and just a pleasure to be around. 

Marissa gave a little speach thanking us Bloggers for supporting Cocoa Brown. You could tell she was completely genuine in her sentiment,  that she actually takes the time to sit down and read all the feedback she gets and appreciates it all. Marissa is going to build herself a little army of dedicated Brownettes purely by being so gracious and humble in her success. 

Now, that's the soppy part over! I had an absolutely lovely day, stuffed my face with delicious cakes and got to meet and chat to lots of other Bloggers. Once again Cocoa Brown went above and beyond with extremely generous No7 goody bags (to celebrate the tan now being available in Boots). There was also spot prizes for a lucky few, I managed to bag myself one, including a whopping €80 voucher for Saba Dublin.

Marissa herself will say that the feedback from bloggers has been crucial to the success of Cocoa Brown, and I think I speak for everyone when I say I felt very valued today. There are huge things in store for Cocoa Brown,  and they are well and truly deserved. 

The very generous goody bag

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!

He-Shi gradual day to day tan

I want to preface this post by saying that I have little faith in gradual tanners. I have neither the skin, nor the patience for it to ever work out well. I have tried many, many gradual tanners (Dove,  Johnson's etc) and have always found fault, be it the smell, consistency or overall colour development.

Before heading along to a Slattery's communications blogger event yesterday I had only heard of the He-shi brand in passing, I knew little to nothing about it, other than it being an award winning irish brand, and had never used it. I used the gradual day to day tan today and my first experiences have me very curious to find out more.

I used the tan after showering, on dry skin. Initially, I was wary as there is no colour guide. You just have to trust your instincts when applying. I applied it as I would a moisturiser, and honestly it kicks my regular moisturiser in the ass. It has a lovely, creamy texture. It spreads very easily and dries very quickly on the skin. My skin is still,  hours later, silky smooth and moisturised. The paraben free formulation also has a gorgeous smell that lasts on your skin for hours after applying.

As for the colour, it's hard to judge after just one application. I'm not a bronzed goddess yet, but my skin has lost that ghostly pale blue tinge it usually has. I'm going to apply again before bed,  and again tomorrow so I will update this post with how my colour develops.

Another thing I love is that you get a grand big chunky tube, there is lot's and lot's of the product to play around with. It retails for approximately €16.50, honestly a little bit more than I'd be willing to pay for a gradual fake tan. However, if over the next few days im as pleased with the results as I am right now, I could be persuaded.

All in all, I am very intrigued by this tan, and am almost raging I didn't opt for the instant tan to see the immediate results.

Wow Brown Ready To Glow Tanning liquid

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry I couldn't keep up with the JuneBBC challenge, there was a lot of personal stuff going on over the last few weeks, and I just didn't have the time to devote to it. Rather than bombard you with half assed posts, I thought it would be better to just bow out. I still read what I could, and you guys did an amazing job!

I've been meaning  to do a review on Ready to glo for quite a while, since I first tried it about a month ago. Honestly, I had heard very little about it before winning a bottle in a Facebook competition. I had been religiously using Cocoa Brown, and you can read what I thought of it here but who doesn't like a change from time to time. I won't lie, the bottle did sit on a shelf untouched for a few weeks while I plucked up the courage to look past the fact that it said DARK tanning liquid on the bottle, but don't let that put you off!

So I applied it as per my usual tanning routine and I was so, so impressed. The colour was beautiful. I was genuinely afraid that it would be far too dark for me, but even as it was developing it never made me look like I was wearing tan. I just had a very healthy glow. You're supposed to leave it on for 5 hours (or longer for a deeper colour) then shower, but on multiple occasions I've completely forgotten to wash it off because there's just no smell off it at all! It doesn't have the pretty floral scent that Cocoa Brown has, but we can make up for tat with a quick spritz of perfume.

My favourite things about Ready To Glo are

1. It's very difficult to mess up. It's a paraben free liquid formula that dries very quickly, but is still extremely blendable. It goes on with a lovely golden colour straight away, so you can be sure that you got absolutely everywhere.
2. There's no smell of it at all!
3. The bottle is small enough to carry around with you should you need to, and the packaging is simple but very pretty
4. It's very long lasting! I'm on my 4th full body application and I'd say my bottle is still just under 3/4's full.
5. I have found, and this almost beggars belief, that even in areas with dry skin the tan doesn't cake nearly as bad as a lot of other tans. I have often ended up with filthy looking elbows, even after moisturoising regularly, but Ready To Glo really minimizes that!
6. There's a little logo on the bottle letting you know that it's plane friendly, and I just think that's the cutest thing ever!
7. Fran and Don are very interactive on Twitter. Any time I've mentioned Wow Brown I've gotten feedback from them. For me, good customer service like that really endears me to a brand or product.

While I didn't pay for my first bottle of Ready To Glo, more came across it by accident, I'll definitely be a repeat customer. My current bottle is getting packed away to jet off to Tenerife in 2 weeks and I'll be depending on it heavily so my pasty white skin doesn't stick out too much. I'll certainly be raising a cocktail to Fran, Don and Ready To Glow on my holidays :)

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!

The Irish Beauty Show- RDS Dublin

I popped out the Beauty Show today on a free ticket that was gifted to me by a very lovely friend. I have to say, it wasn't really what I expected! In some area's it excelled, in others it kinda fell flat. Granted, I went on the second day, and didn't get there till about half 3, so a lot of stalls weren't long about winding down.

There was more fake tan there than you could shake a stick at. Every kind, spray tans for salon and home use, mousse, creams, you name it, it had a stand. The sheer amount was actually a little overwhelming, if you didn't go in with a clear idea of what you wanted it could have been quite difficult to chose. On the plus side they were all really reasonably priced. Cocoa Brown had a great offer of 4 cans for €20, which is great value. I settled on a bottle of Bbold in light/medium. I was very cheeky and asked for the sample bottle since they were packing up. Got it for €5, as opposed to €10, and the bottle was almost full. The girls at the Bbold stand also really knew their stuff, and were really, really nice and approachable. I applied the tan tonight and am so far really impressed. Like Cocoa Brown, there is no smell at all, and it's developing into a nice natural glow! Here's a link to their Facebook page, I would highly recommend giving them a visit!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BBoldtan/174403839327677

If you're a nail polish fan, you would have been in heaven. There was mountains of nail polish, loads of stands doing Shellac, nail art, gel nails, or selling products for salon and home. The OPI stand was particularly impressive, like a rainbow! And they were only €6 a bottle, €3.50 for some of the older sets.

I was slightly disappointed in the selection of hair care/ hair dressing/ extensions on display. I was very excited about seeing the Great Lengths stand, but when I finally found them, there was nothing happening at their stand! No one even approached me to give me any information. The same thing happened at the House Of Colour stand. There was only 1 guy there, myself and my friend were looking at one of the TWO products on display, we weren't approached, even though we were the only ones there. There was a pretty limited selection of hair care, but what was there was pretty good value.

There was bundles of make up, from very well known brands, to brands I had never even heard of. Some of it was fantastic, and there was great offers to be had, but some were blatantly samples that people were trying to fob off. I bought a lovely little semi permanent eyebrow kit from Cresty Cosmetics. I got the eyebrow powder, brush, 3 stencils for €20. The girl I was dealing with also threw in 3 free mascara's and 2 lip tattoo's! Can't complain about that! Dermalogica's stand was absolutely fantastic. They were offering free face mapping, and gave you free samples of everything that your skin needed. The staff at the stands were also incredibly friendly and helpful! There was about a 5 minute wait, but it was well worth it when you were handed your envelope full of samples at the end.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable day out. I would have loved to have gone with a couple of hundred euro in my back pocket, as there was so much on offer on the spot, like teeth whitening for just €69! There was lot's to see, a lot of demonstrations, but not a lot of samples to be brutally honest. It would have been nice to try a lot of the products before parting with your hard earned cash. I would recommend going, even if just to pick up some tips and tricks from experienced practioners. I'll definitely head along to the next one, but I'll be saving up this time!

Cocoa Brown 1 hour Tan

Let me start by saying that I was cursed with skin so pale it's almost translucent. It also doesn't take to tan very well, so no matter what tan i used, i ended up blotchy, streaky and porous  Not a good look! I had essentially given up on a golden glow and was settling into my pasty life, but my Twitter feed was clogged up with rave reviews for Cocoa Brown. For €7.99 what had I to lose?

Cocoa Brown, €7.99 in pharmacies nationwide 

I didn't go in to this experiment with very high expectations. I've been told to try so many different tans that were meant to be FANTASTIC, but left me looking like a half painted oompa loompa. I followed the instructions on the bottle, even the handy little tanning tips! The tan comes out as a mousse, and couldn't be easier to apply. There's a slight colour when you first put it on, so you can see exactly where you got and missed, but rest assured that you will get darker! 1 point to Cocoa Brown!

 As for the smell... WHAT SMELL???? It's fantastic! A developing tan that doesn't leave you smelling like a soggy digestive biscuit! There's actually quite a pleasant, mildly fruity smell off it. So you can apply it and go about your business without being self conscious about any smells! Point number 2!

The only down side to this tan is that in my opinion it shouldn't be advertised as a 1 hour tan. Yes, after 1 hour you definitely have a colour, but it's quite light, even for the palest of the pale. I found leaving it on for 2-3 hours gives you gorgeous, natural golden tan. As far as downsides go, it's pretty minor!

This took to my skin like a dream. My tan was even, streak free, natural looking and faded evenly. It's essentially fool proof. From my experience you would have to go out of your way to botch this up.Also, im going in to my 4th all over body tan from the same bottle, so it's unbelievable value!

Cocoa brown has definitely converted me. It's one of the best, most affordable tans on the market. It's just €7.99 from pharmacies nationwide, and is heaps better than some of the more expensive tans on the market. I would, and definitely will, buy this tan again. It's a pale girls new best friend!