Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Towelettes

 In my last posting, I covered the items sent to me by Influenster to review as part of the Sugar n Spice VoxBox. One of the two items I just skimmed over is the one I will be reviewing today.

  In stark contrast to the last cleansing wipes I reviewed, I have to rave about these. Here goes :)

So the full name of this product is Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel oil controlling towelettes. The package says that they are oil free, non-drying, and for all skin types. The  product claims to gently remove dirt, oil and impurities while eliminating shine and touched with aloe. The ingredients include: All Natural Witch Hazel, Aloe leaf juice and Sodium Benzoate.

  Bit O'Info: Anything that says it's all natural Witch Hazel is not the entire truth, but not an out and out lie. Witch Hazel in it's natural form is actually a plant, a shrub to be exact. Witch Hazel extract, is what the products actually contain. The essential oils of the Witch Hazel shrub are extracted by steaming the leaves, twigs and bark of the shrub, However, the extraction process does not yield enough essential oils to be sold in pure form. Therefore, the extract goes through a distillation process and becomes a mixture of witch hazel extract and 14% grain alcohol. ( http://www.wisebread.com/15-wonderful-uses-for-witch-hazel ) Witch Hazel has been used for centuries as an topical astringent and also for its healing properties, such as soothing diaper rash, blemish control, and faster healing of bruises to name a few. The chemical Sodium Benzoate is a preservative found in cosmetics and some foods. It is considered a low hazard to the bodily, mainly as a food preservative and when ingested (in food). There is a limited concern to sense organ toxicity (nerves) but that would most likely be an allergy to either the alcohol or witch hazel extract itself. Sodium Benzoate is not considered to be an environmental toxin. (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=705989 )

  Okay, my science nerd self has gone back into seclusion.

Now, a box of 20 individually wrapped 5"X7" wipes will run you approximately $6.00 at any drugstore. Do check their site for coupons though.

So in my last cleansing towelette review (see LaFresh review), I really had nothing good to say about the product. This time around, it's a different story. I have used witch hazel as an astringent for years, being first introduced to it in cosmetology school. I can attest to topical benefits of witch hazel, i.e; oil control, blemish control and the like. Although the product does contain grain alcohol, 14%, it is very unlike rubbing alcohol, which contains upwards of 70% isopropyl (absolute) alcohol. Some pharmacies or even beauty supply stores carry 90% isopropyl alcohol (for sanitation purposes) and these are usually the bottles of green alcohol you see in the stores. So there is a big difference between the grain (natural) alcohol and isopropyl (absolute) alcohol. Whoa...the science nerd reared her head again..back you!

Basically the alcohol you will find in witch hazel is far less harmful, drying and irritating to the skin. I believe, but do not quote me, that Sea Breeze contains more alcohol than witch hazel. Anywho...

Some of the reasons I love this product:

1. Comes individually wrapped so you can throw a few in your bag.
2. Though I have dry to normal sensitive skin, these are oil controlling, which is excellent for days where you have worn makeup for a long period of time.
3. Cleans and tones the skin at the same time. I have always followed up my facial cleansing by toning with witch hazel. This product allows you to do both in one step..let's give it up for multi-tasking!
4. The added aloe helps to protect and soothe the skin. Great for the days you forgot to put on your SPF and your face is a little burnt. As always, if you have a massive sunburn accompanied by blistering, see your doctor.
5. The spun mesh and fibers penetrate the pores and lock in dirt and oil so you don't keep rubbing it all over your face.
6. The towelettes are a good size, but very moist. Not dripping, mind you; but definitely packed with product.
7. Great for sensitive skin. If you extremely sensitive skin, I would still try these, but if you have ANY signs of an allergic reaction (stinging, swelling, redness or itching) remove immediately with soap and water.

Since receiving this product, I have used it daily and I can say that it has worked better than my straight witch hazel astringent. I believe this is due to the fact that aloe has been added. Obviously not a lot, but enough to make a difference. I have seen less dry patches, more evenness of skin texture and less break outs. I do not normally have a problem with acne, except once a month ( ya know?!) and maybe the odd blemish here and there. Also, I have noticed the healing time for the blemishes is much faster (even if you are a picker or popper). Just that small amount of alcohol dries out the blemish and speeds the healing. I have found, in general, witch hazel is safe to use around the eyes and this product is no exception, in fact, it feels better on the very thin sensitive under eye skin. We all know that this is the most sensitive and easily damaged area on the face, so this is great. Witch hazel is even safe to use in the eyelids. WHAT?? That's right. When I was in cosmetology school, when prepping a client for any kind of facial procedure, i.e; waxing, facial, tweezing, etc., we used cotton rounds moistened with witch hazel and placed them over the client's closed eyes. It was also used to remove makeup from the face before said procedures.

Bottom line: Great product, and Dickinson's carries a line of cleansers, toners and moisturizers, which can be found at your local pharmacy or super store. Letter grade A+


As always, this has been my experience with this product(s). Your experience may vary. If you have used this product and have an opinion to share, I invite you to leave a comment about it.

Links:

dickinsonsusa.com


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*All posts, text and photos are the written and intellectual property of the author. Do not copy or re-post any text or photos; in whole or part as your own. Links to the full posting is allowed.* ~Give credit where credit is due~

Influenster Sugar'n'Spice VoxBox

So I said in one of my earlier posts that if I was sent something to review, I would let y'all know..well here it is.

  I am a member of Influenster, it's a site for people to rate products, write reviews and participate in programs. One of the programs I qualified for was the Sugar'n'Spice VoxBox. In all honesty, I didn't think I would ever qualify for one. I seem to be one of those people that falls in between "target" audiences, so  I was really happy to learn that I qualified for the program.

  Influesnter pretty much keeps the contents of the VoxBoxes quiet until the majority of participants have received their box, so I had no clue what to expect, as the products could have ranged anywhere from food items to makeup. So when the box came this is what I got...

Okay, kind of a big box, let's see what's inside...

Cool! Lotsa stuff! And the best part? Everything was full size. Now, as I mentioned before, I subscribe to the IpsyGlamBag service..and the products in bags are normally sample size, but hey, what do you expect for ten bucks? But this was FREE and full size...NICCCCEE!

  So the things included in this box were:

BelVita Breakfast Biscuits

The flavor of these are cinnamon brown sugar YAY my favorite! I am a big fan of breakfast and meal bars, as I usually forget to eat or don't have time. Each one of these packets contains four biscuits...not bad. I can tell you yet how these taste, as I haven't tried them yet :-/ sorry...

Next is Nectresse sweetener

We use a lot of sweetener in our house, especially Splenda, which happens to be the people that make this product. This is a 5.9oz container, which retails for $6.99 or $3.99 for a box of 40 packets. This is 100% natural and made from Monk Fruit, and molasses. It basically tastes like brown sugar with none of the after taste of sweetener, including Splenda. I would recommend this to anyone looking to cut out sugar but does not like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Believe it or not, this container will last you awhile...1/4tsp = 1 tsp sugar, according to the label. I used 1/2 tsp in my coffee this morning, I like mine sweet, and it was. I give this an A.

The next three items I was surprised to see, but as I am on the lookout for new versions of these things, I was like Yee Haw!

In my opinion, this is a daily teeth whitening/cleaning system. The mouthwash retails for $2.99 for an 8oz. bottle. Now, I am not a fan of mouthwashes. Most of them burn and have alcohol in them, and if you have any kind of sore or something in your mouth (bite your cheek? Anyone?) it stings to high heaven. Also, mouthwashes that claim to be whitening leave a horrible after taste (as do the toothpastes)..so bottom line, I tend to stay away from them. But I tried it anyway, cause that's how I roll..

  This mouthwash was great! VERY minty, but no stinging or burning and no alcohol. Oh, and no yucky after taste. I might be persuaded to buy this product..and for a mouthwash, that's saying a lot for me.

  The toothpaste, also whitening was pretty cool too. It retails for $2.99 for a 4oz. tube. I am very choosy about my toothpastes. I have really sensitive teeth so I usually buy toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Also, whitening toothpastes always seem to contain baking soda and hydrogen peroxide and after brushing, your mouth tastes like, well, baking soda and peroxide. Gross. But I found this toothpaste to not leave that taste behind and left my teeth squeeky clean. Oh and no tooth sensitivity!! Yipee!!

  Last thing in this trio of oral care products was the Colgate Optic White toothbrush. Okay, this is like the Swiss Army knife of toothbrushes. It has whitening cups, which holds more toothpaste to help remove stains, polishing bristles to polish away surface stains and get to the hard to reach places, AND it has a cheek and tongue scrubber. It also retails for $2.99 ( I am guessing that is the MSRP, and may be different in the stores). I am in love with this toothbrush!! First off, the bristles are just right..even though the packaging says it's soft, it's more in between soft and medium. As I was brushing, it felt like when you get a cleaning at the dentist, without that scary sound, now THAT surprised me. After brushing my teeth felt so clean! I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I can scrub the back of my bottom teeth and they still don't feel clean, even if they do look clean. But this time they felt clean. Also, I have never gone for the whole cheek and tongue scrubber thing on a toothbrush...I mean, I can just use the toothbrush to do it. Now, after using the one on this, I see that there is a difference. This brush has little plastic "bristle" like nubs on the back of the brush head that cleans the cheek as you brush and then you can flip it and use it on the tongue. It also makes those areas of the mouth feel cleaner than a regular toothbrush. Who knew? So I will be buying this toothbrush from now on, or at least until a new version arrives.

The last two items I am just going to skim over,, because I will doing a more in-depth review on them in a day or two. But in summation, they are great and I will be purchasing them.

Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes MSRP $5.99 for a 20 count box. These are carried at Wal-mart and most drug stores.

Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer Total Moisture MSRP $7.99 for a 6.5 oz. can. I am supposing you can find this just about anywhere that sells lotions. I LOVE the smell!!

This is the informational card that came in the box..

So as I was writing this, I scarfed down the breakfast biscuits...yum-o! They taste like sweet granola bar cookies

Okay, so that's the box.Yes, I was sent the products for free to review, but I am not being compensated for my reviews. So everything I have said is my opinion, if you have or do try any of these products, you may feel different. If you are interested in becoming an influenster, go to their site www.influenster.com and request an invite or email me. I have 5 invites I can send.

Listed below are my links and the links to the products in this post.

*All posts, text and photos are the written and intellectual property of the author. Do not copy or re-post any text or photos; in whole or part as your own. Links to the full posting is allowed.* ~Give credit where credit is due~

www.belVitabreakfast.com

www.nectresse.com

www.colgateopticwhite.com

www.dickinsonusa.com

Vaseline/Unilever 1-800-457-7084

MY INFO:

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L.A. Fresh Travel-lite Makeup Remover Wipes

  In case I haven't mentioned it, and I am sure I haven't, I am a subscriber to the ipsybag "club".  This isn't going to be a review of the IpsyBag subscription service, but I will say that before I decided which service to subscribe to, i.e; Glossy Box, Birch Box, etc.;I did a lot of research on the different services. I polled my friends, YouTube acquaintances and on Beautylish.com. The overwhelming response was definitely to subscribe to the Ipsy Glam Bag service. Up to this point, I haven't been disappointed. I was not wowed by this month's bag, but you win some and lose some I guess. Overall, I am pleased with my subscription to this service and would recommend it. That being said, two of my reviews this week are on products I received in this months bag.

  We all know that makeup wipes and remover wipes are a makeup bag essential. If the come in little travel sizes, so much the better. There are,of course, so many to choose from. Just about every skin care line has has their own version of makeup remover wipes. But for the most part (in my humble opinion) they are basically repackaged baby wipes that maybe or maybe not, have added ingredients to dissolve makeup.

  So when I got my glam bag this month, I wasn't overexcited to find a travel pack of some new brand (new to me anyway) of makeup remover wipes, but then again, they were travel size and fit in my makeup bag...hey ho.

  This new brand touts on the packaging, " dissolves makeup from eyes, lips and face. Moisturizing formula with vitamin E". Since I have sensitive skin, I always check to see what the first ingredient is, in this case it is water..YAY!! The next was mineral oil followed by nine other ingredients that I cannot pronounce and fragrance. Because of my sensitive skin, I tend to shy away from products that have fragrance. But, really, let's face it, this product was basically (minus subscription charge +S&H) free.

  I'll admit that my curiosity was piqued at the claim that it "melts" makeup from the face, as I have severe hyperpigmentation on my cheeks and jawline and therefore use a basic foundation and Vichy DermaBlend as a concealer over my trouble areas. Mind you, if I am taking my makeup off with wipes, I can easily use 4-6 wipes. If washing my face, I have to wash twice.

Bit O'Info: you may be saying to yourself, "Self, that is a lot of product and just HAS to be bad for the skin!" It does sound like a lot of product because, well, it is. However, I have strict skin care regimen that I follow morning and night so I do not experience clogged pores or breakouts. My breakouts are always hormonal, thank you very much Mother Nature!

 Finally it was time to give this product a go.

  When I first opened the package, it did have an obvious scent, but a clean and fresh one..bonus! The wipes were quite moist, yet not soaked. The product melts makeup alright, along with my face! As soon as swiped across my face the first time, my skin was on fire. And the sensitive, thin under eye are? Fugedaboutit!! I immediately had to go and use my regular face wash just to get the product off of my skin. Yes, it was burning and stinging that bad.

  As I mentioned that I have a skin care regimen that I follow twice a day, some of the products contain Salicylic Acid and my toner has a bit of low percentage alcohol, so I would confidently say that I have built a tolerance to a little stinging. But this was like, what the heck! What melts the makeup? Muratic acid? Sheesh!

  So I went back to the label with the ingredients. Fragrance could have been the culprit, as could the mineral oil have been. Taking a second look at the nine ingredients I could not pronounce, five of them ended with -paraben. Okay, huge oversight on my part. This product is not paraben free.

  Another Bit O'Info: Parabens are a preservative found in many skin, hair and personal care products. Recent studies show that there is a link between parabens and certain types of skin cancer as well as breast cancer, as paraben mimic the hormone estrogen.
http://thegoodhuman.com/2007/06/21/what-are-parabens-and-why-should-you-avoid-them/

  Bottom line: this product contains chemicals that most people are avoiding these days, just to be on the safe side and burns like the dickens. Would I recommend this product..uh, no.

As always, this was MY experience with this product. If you decide to try it, yours may vary. If you have tried this product and have had a different experience I would love hear about it so leave a comment.

Letter grade: Big fat F!!

Product info:

www.LaFreshGroup.com

1-888-5-la-fresh

1-888-552-3737

https://twitter.com/ElizabethGlam77

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethGlam77

https://twitter.com/BRwithElizabeth

http://www.youtube.com/user/ElizabethGlam77

www.youravon.com/clear6676

http://instagram.com/elizabethglam77/

http://www.beautylish.com/GlamourByElizabeth

http://www.beautorial.com/usr/elizabeth-martin-clear

*All posts, text and photos are the written and intellectual property of the author. Do not copy or re-post any text or photos; in whole or part as your own. Links to the full posting is allowed.* ~Give credit where credit is due~

Am I M.I.A?

Am I M.I.A?

 No, I assure you I am not. This week I returned back to Cosmetology school for a 600 hour "Brush up" class before I go to sate board. 600 hours will take me approximately 5 months to finish going 6 hours a day. I go Tuesday through Saturday, and on Sunday...all I want to do is sleep! So I do believe Monday will the day that I write my blogs and record tutorials so I can post them during the week. However, I am not promising anything so you can not hold me to it!!

  I will say that indeed, during, the week, I am thinking of what I want to review, the tutorials I want to record and other things to blog about. Of course I am in class when it happens, so I can't do anything about it.. Murphy's Law I suppose. I have joined Keek, so if you are Keeker? Keekster? come follow me and I will probably be posting Keeks during slow times at school and during breaks....

http://www.keek.com/ELizabethClearMUA

So, yeah! For anyone wondering what was up...now you know.

Love and Beauty by Forever 21 Browns/Naturals 10 Color Palette

  I must admit, I am quite excited about this palette! I purchased it at Forever 21 in Modesto, California for $5.80, but I believe it was on sale. It was located at the impulse buy displays near the registers.

  I have been wanting the Naked 1, Naked 2, and Naked Basics palettes since I first saw them. However, finances being what they are, these palettes are not a purchase I foresee in the near future. That is why I am so excited about this palette. The colors in it seemed to be possible dupes for some of the colors in the Naked palettes, especially the gold and bronze colors. Of course, not owning any of these palettes, I can't tell you if they are dupes or not, but I can tell you they are AMAZING colors. The texture of the metallics is almost like a pressed pigment, very soft. All of the colors blend with no trouble at all and the pigmentation of these shadows are fabulous!

  This palette has 10 colors, 5 matte/satin and 5 metallic. Unfortunately, the shadows themselves do not have individual names.So I numbered them, left to right, top to bottom, with coordinating numbered swatches.

Left to right top; 1 2 3 4 5
Left to right bottom 6 7 8 9 10

Color 1 is a metallic dark gold/brownish color

Color 2 is a matte medium brown

Color 3 is a metallic golden bronze

Color 4 is a bright yellow gold metallic

Color 5 is a matte very light flesh tone

Color 6 is a dark matte brown

Color 7 is a metallic brownish/burgundy/cranberry color

Color 8 is a metallic brown/bronze color

Color 9 is a satin finish pale pink

Color 10 is a satin finish brownish/taupe color

  In all honesty, I can not say for sure if any of these colors are dupes for and of the colors in the Naked palettes or MAC dupes. If you think they are, please comment below to help others out. 

  I created this look yesterday using  colors 1,5,7 and 9; along with a color from another palette soon to be reviewed. 

  Whether or not these colors are dupes for any other brand, this palette is one to definitely purchase. Having a palette that includes mattes, satins and metallics is a wonderful thing. These colors can easily create natural, romantic, smokey and vampy looks. Not to mention if you use it for a natural daytime look, the addition of just one of the metallic colors will turn your look to a going out, smokey look. The palette is not that big so it could easily fit into your purse; probably not your makeup bag unless you carry an extra large one that accommodates brushes. Since these colors are so pigmented, a little goes a long way and building color is quick and easy. Overall, this is a great palette to have  for personal use or as added product to your makeup kit. 

Letter grade: A

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my thoughts on this product. As always, these are my opinions, and yours may very. If you have this product, please leave a comment below telling me what think of it and any looks you created with it. While creating this look, I did film it for a "Get ready with me" "Face of the Day" video which will be uploaded to my YouTube channel soon. Be sure to check my links below and let's get connected!

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*All posts, text and photos are the written and intellectual property of the author. Do not copy or re-post any text or photos; in whole or part as your own. Links to the full posting is allowed.* ~Give credit where credit is due~

About me

  In all honesty, this should have been my first post, but I was overzealous and jumped right in to the reviews. So here is some bits-o-info about me that you might find interesting (or not) and relevant (or not).

  You might be asking yourself, "Self, what makes this chick qualified to review products and then post it to the internet for all the world to see?" Answer: Because I can! Seriously, I am a consumer just like everyone else. I do my research before buying a product to see what opinions and experiences others have had with said product. I read blogs, and watch a lot of YouTube. (TV? What's that?) I don't just do research posted or recorded by people with similarities to me; i.e: Skin color, skin tone, hair color, eye color, skin conditions, weight or interests in general. I watch and read from a wide range of people so that I can have a somewhat educated opinion on how a product might work for people who DO NOT have similarities to me. I research to know what to spend my (limited amount of) money on and what not to. I research so I can answer questions from family, friends, acquaintances and clients.

  Clients you say? Clients I do say! I am a make up artist, through actual cosmetology training, specialized training with different make up companies, The Robert Jones Beauty Academy (Master level thank you very much) and currently through QC Makeup Academy. I am a perpetual student. There is always something new to learn, new trends hitting the runways and media and when people ask me, I want to be able to answer honestly and with as much knowledge as possible. That being said, I DO NOT claim to be a expert in all things beauty. I would like to be, but that is a title bestowed upon oneself by another expert. Yes, I make YouTube tutorials, but don't consider myself a "guru". It has nothing to do with my subscriber number, which is, admittedly, only in the double digits (that's because I do it for fun, and don't hound people to sub me just to have a high number. I want people to subscribe only if they like what I am doing); but because I almost loathe the term "guru". I see so many young and not so young individuals introducing themselves as YouTube Make Up Gurus, and I am like, ummm, okay..what makes you a guru? Okay, back on topic..I do not claim to be an expert and I have absolutely no problem telling anyone that asks me some thing I don't know, "I don't know." That is usually followed by a promise to find out, research it for them, or offer suggestions to someone who might. No shame in my game. If I don't know, I will tell you and have no problem telling you where you might be able to find the info or who might be a good/better person ask.

  I have been a licensed cosmetologist ( all encompassing, hair, nails, skin, make up and more). After my first divorce (my hardest decision EVER) I left that field because I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. I became an EMT and while I loved helping people, being a mother of 4, I was never home and there were many images that haunted me at night when I closed my eyes. Not to mention I became very over protective of my children (worse than I already am) and had no outlet for my creativity. All the while I was still doing the whole cosmo thing for friends and family. Then after my second divorce, (not my choice, but the BEST thing that could ever happen to me) I became a full time cake decorator. It was a wonderful way to getting back to creating things, making them beautiful and helping to bring a smile to the faces of others. One fall, when the children were with their father in another state (pain beyond belief!!), I took an old friend up on an offer to move to Las Vegas, and see what I could do with my life there while I was recovering from the fact that my children all wanted to go live with their father for a year (which, by the way, lasted all of a month and a half :-D) I went to work for a famous cupcake bakery as a shift leader and although I was doing something I loved, it was not what I would consider fulfilling. In the mean time, my "old friend" aka a friend I had a HUGE crush on in high school and I fell in love. We were together for over 2 years before we got married in December of 2012. Turns out I married my best friend! Well,do to circumstances with the school district he worked for and huge budget cuts, we, and the children, moved back to our home town. He went to work for a former employer and I started my dessert business up again. Life was good.

  Life is still good, but I have now realized that my true calling is in the beauty industry. That is where I was the happiest. So, next week (March 16th, 2013; hopefully) I will be returning to cosmetology school for a 600 hour refresher course be fore going to State Board for my exam. Wish me luck y'all, cause beauty school is a Jerseylicious version of high school. I am 35 years old!! I am going to stick out like a beehive hairdo in the 80's! Oh well.

  So there you have it. That's me, that's who I am, that's what makes me qualified (or not) to write this blog. I will say that anything I post here is my honest opinion. For example, I am an AVON rep., but if I do not like a product or do not believe it does what it claims to do, I will tell you, just as I would tell my customers and clients. I am not about selling a certain brand or product, I am about telling it like it is and being true to my customers, clients, and readers (hopefully there will be some soon) and letting y'all know what has worked for me and what hasn't. I ask that you keep in mind that all experiences are mine, and yours may vary. I might hate something, say so, but also recommend it for someone else. (See Banana Boat Summer Color review)

  At the end of the day, I want to know that I gave my honest opinion (READ: OPINION) and what specific facts I do know about a product and share them with you all. If there is a product you would like me to review, let me know..I will do my best to do so. Note: Somethings I won't be able to, just because of monetary restrictions. And I appreciate feedback, if you tried a product I review and have a different opinion or experience, let me know!! All I ask is that you be respectful. No need to try to make yourself look better than others because, honey, there will always be someone better looking and smarter than you and I!!

With all that said, I hope you have a better feeling for who I am and I hope to hear from you!

This would be me! 

Example of my Cake Decorating Skills

My best friend and I on our wedding day (excuse the Larry the Cable Guy Shirt, he was a little over heated)

Nail Artwork

Makeup Artistry (pics are of myself because I have not obtained permission from models to post their pictures. When/if I do, I will post them here.)

All posts and pictures are the sole intellectual and artistic work of the author, unless otherwise stated. Do not  share pictures, portions of text or text in it's entirety without permission of the author. You may share the link to this blog post.

MY LINKS:

https://twitter.com/ElizabethGlam77

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https://twitter.com/BRwithElizabeth

http://www.youtube.com/user/ElizabethGlam77

www.youravon.com/clear6676

http://instagram.com/elizabethglam77/

http://www.beautylish.com/GlamourByElizabeth

http://www.beautorial.com/usr/elizabeth-martin-clear

Banana Boat Summer Color

  On my never ending quest to find THE self tanner or bronzer, I watched a lot or reviews on YouTube and up popped this little "gem". Since it is difficult to sarcasm across without hearing my voice, just letting you know that "gem" = sarcasm.

  Now, mind you, I have fair skin that burns and freckles easily and almost every self tanner I have used in the past has either turned me orange or did nothing. So when this product, for the most part, got pretty good reviews, I decided, what the hell, I'll give it a try.

  So I took my happy, pale little self down to Wal-Mart and there it was, sitting on the shelf next to all of the other tanning and sun care paraphernalia. I had my choice..Deep Dark Color or Light/Medium Color. Naturally I would have gone with the light/medium, but the reviews I watched, especially the ones with people who had the same skin type as I do, said the light/medium did nothing for them. They recommended the Ultra Dark, and the bottle says it's for all skin tones so that's what I grabbed. On my way out of the cosmetics/beauty department, I grabbed a pair of exfoliating gloves, as it had been said in the reviews, repeatedly, exfoliation is the key to prepping the body for a flawless self tanning application. On this, I absolutely agree.

  After paying $6.67 for the tanner and a buck and some change for the gloves, I was on my merry way. I went home, showered, shaved and exfoliated until my skin was nice and pink. (side note: I hadn't exfoliated in a while and I turn pink easily. There ya go.) I was really looking forward to this; perhaps this would be The One. I snaked a pair of my husband's non-latex work gloves (he's a mechanic, and I didn't want to get it one my hands) and set to work. I had decided to do just my legs for the time being, seeing as how I don't wear shorts, if it went awry, no problemo, easily covered.

  Tid bit-o-info: More and more self tanners are incorporated with a color guide or color guard so you can see where you have applied the product, eliminating (mostly) the possibility of streaking, plus it gives you an instant bronze tint to your skin while the self tanner, well, tans. If that sounds kinda scary, no worries; it washes off the next time you hop in the shower. Not the tan, even though it looks like you are washing off your tan, it's really just the color guide.

  With gloved hands, I opened the product and squeezed out a nice size mound of what looked like chocolate colored lotion. It didn't smell like chocolate though. In all fairness, it did not smell any worse or any better than other self tanners. Following the directions on the bottle to apply to clean dry skin, apply sparingly on elbows, knees and ankles; I applied away. The color guide gave a nice shimmering bronze effect to my skin, even my husband admired it. So, settling in for the night, I let the Banana Boat Summer Color work it's magic.

  The next morning I got up, looked at my legs and noticed they were the same color as the previous night, just a little faded. There was no transfer of the product to my night clothes or or any of my bedding. Nice. I got in the shower and as the color guide washed away, I kind of felt that it was an aweful lot washing off, I might be having a situation. I finished showering, dried off and went into the natural light to look at the results...

  Y'all, this went from a situation to a going's on in a heart beat! My legs were just as white as they were before I applied the product, except for one minor (HUGE) detail; the pigment had attached itself to every single freckle I had and some that I didn't even know I had! I kid you not, I looked like I swallowed a hundred dollar bill and broke out in pennies! Seriously, it was so bad that I didn't even take a picture to post showing the results. Back in the shower I went to scrub and exfoliate, only to lighten the color by a miniscule amount. Pants...here I come!

  So, yeah, that was my experience with this product. As always, results may vary from person to person. Would I recommend this? Possibly to someone that already has a nice golden or bronze pigment to their skin and just want to darken up a bit. Anyone else? Most certainly not. Obviously, if you have any hyper pigmentation to the skin, the product is going to attach to it and will darken that first. I can only imagine what it would have looked like had I not exfoliated first...tree bark anyone?

  Again, this was MY experience with this product. I cleaned, exfoliated, dried, applied sparingly, allowed to dry and all that jazz. Straight up, this product not only did not work for me, it enhanced the hyper pigmentation (freckles) I already had. I would think that one would be hard pressed to find a being that has fair skin and doesn't have freckles, or at least get them in the sun. When all is said and done..the quest for THE self tanner continues.

  I am currently testing and reviewing AVON's new summer glow line as well as the Fake Bake Flawless, and based on the results from one of these products, I can defiantly say that my results from the Summer Color product were not caused by user error; it was the product.

  I would love to hear what has and hasn't worked for you! Leave a comment and let me know!

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