Carmen Bota

I've never been good at self tanning but I always loved to have a tan. My skin is kind of on the fair side and no matter how long I used to lay under the sun, it was always really hard for me to get a real tan. That deep, brown tan, you'll never see it on me, unless I find the perfect self tanner.

I've been experiencing with self-tanning products for quite a long time. I've tried a few self tanners out there, but I wasn't impressed. That is the reason you've never heard me speaking of one before. With Dove Summer Glow, the story is different. I like it. I don't love it, but I'm on that place where I can say that I could use this everyday from now on. That is the best case scenario, until I find the perfect self tanner.

I chose Dove Summer Glow for Medium to Dark Skin, because I wanted a deeper tan. And you know what? I even got a nice tan. It's not the best out there but hey, it's a gradual self tanning lotion, that also moisturizes skin and protects it.

The pictures don't do it justice, in real life the color is deeper. The kind of deep you can see on the picture I took with my Iphone. I can really see a difference in the color of my skin and I love the fact that I feel this tan like it's my own. I can shower, exfoliate and moisturize like I would normally do because it feels like my skin, not like a fake tan at all. It doesn't go off all patchy like normal tanners do, although I did experienced a few spots on my neck after a few weeks of using it. My neck is usually the problem zone when I fake tan, so I was kind of expecting that. It goes off nicely with a little bit of exfoliation under the shower so problem fixed.

On the rest of my body I noticed that it gradually fades until you think "hey, I need to apply it again". I also did notice that it darkens in about 2-3 hours after application which is kinda awesome.

In the pictures above, you can see my tan after 5 days of using the product everyday. It started to develop gradually, more and more each day. After 6-7 days, seems like the color stops developing and I think that I can't go darker than that. And I don't even want to, to be honest. I think this color is perfect for an everyday winter tan, but for the summer I may want something more.

I also think that this product would go nicely with a real fake tan, just for the maintanence part. It has a creamy consistency and a yellowish color, you cannot see where you've applied it so you have to be careful to make sure you'll be equally tanned. It's not hard to get a nice and even tan, honestly, since you can really work well with this product.

All in all, I really like the Dove Summer Glow gradual tanning lotion and I am happy that I ordered it. From Amazon, by the way.

I am happy to report that my dressing table project is finally done. I mean it was for some months now, but choosing the right way to deposit things took me some time. I am obsessed with dressing tables and I had this one done on order after seeing it in someone else's bedroom. 

This is the place you will most definitely catch me on mornings. I like the idea of having a place of my own, where I can lay down my beauty products, light up a candle and put on skincare and makeup. I think every girl should invest into a dressing table. Without exception. I remember how much I hated putting on my makeup by looking into a mirrog hanged out the wall and how I did that by standing up. 

Anyway, I hope you like what you see and please let me know your thoughts!

A few years ago I got a blush from Sleek. The shade was called 'Rose Gold' and it was the most gorgeous blush I've ever had. I still remember how popular this shade was back then and how I immediately ordered it when Sleek products started being sold in my country, because I was so curious about it! Moreover, people say this blush is a dupe for Nars Orgasm, so you can understand my curiosity, right?

The thing is that I felt in love with that blush as soon as I opened the box. It was indeed a gorgeous shade, I'm not even sure how to describe it. Thing is that I needed a new one and that shade was still on my mind but I was also wishing for a new bronzer, so I kinda thought that a palette would be the perfect choice. 

So I started looking for a palette from Sleek and I found this baby! It has the Rose Gold blush in it, a highlighter and also the perfect bronzer. You can imagine the happiness on my face when I got it, because trust me, I really love that blush! 

The formula of all three products is wonderful. They are very pigmented, super easy to blend in and stay on the skin until I take off my makeup at night. I haven't had any problems with breakouts, although the talc is present there and I usually break out from it. I like that the bronzer is matte and it has the most natural color ever. I use it to contour and totally love the sunkissed effect! I confess, I sometimes use a slight dust of bronzer on my entire face because I am dead pale.

Since I got this palette, I've been using it exclusively. I even forgot to use my beloved Mary Lou-Manizer highlighter, because I have everything I need in just one small palette. Check out the pictures and the swatches above to see that I'm right and also these posts to see how they look on me: here and here (blush only).