• 2018 Mid-Year Makeup Inventory | Bronzers

    July 5, 2018

    Hi Everyone!

    Check out my other makeup inventory posts:

    Primers & Foundations | Bronzers | Blushes | Mascaras | Highlighters

    I have a handful of bronzers that are all fairly popular, so I thought I would swatch them all side-by-side to compare them and give a mini review about what I think about them. However, some are matte and some radiant and several are a bit darker than what I should be using on my skin tone, but it’s nothing a good blending can’t fix. The Bobbi Brown one is from an eyes and cheek palette, the Too Faced one was part of a rewards kit from Sephora and the Physicians Formula one was what was left at my Shoppers when it was on sale and I really wanted to try it.

    Current bronzer inventory: 6

    • 2 Matte- Bobbi Brown, Too Faced
    • 1 Natural- Jennifer Lopez Inglot (in the description, it doesn’t say whether this is matte or not, but I would describe this as natural because it’s between matte and radiant)
    • 3 Radiant- Milani, Physicians Formula, Tarte (Park Ave Princess is also available in matte)

    Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder in Medium

    Golden Light would probably be better suited to my skin tone, but it’s what comes in this palette.

    A lightweight powder bronzer with a soft, matte finish—your secret to achieving a sun-kissed look year-round (or just when you want to warm up sallow skin).

    Formulated with the perfect balance of red and brown tones (the colors that exist in a true tan), this lightweight, mica-free formula creates the most natural look.

    Inglot x Jennifer Lopez Boogie Down Bronze Bronzing Powder in J217 Safari (read my review)

    This is kind of light, I could probably go up a shade.

    Feel fabulous with a natural-looking tan and a sun-kissed glow with Boogie Down Bronze. This sheer, pressed powder leaves your complexion feeling instantly warmer and radiant. The formula allows seamless blending with a powdery, velvet finish that doesn’t smudge. Define your cheekbones by brushing across them lightly to enjoy all-over warmth day and night.

    Milani Bronzer XL in 01 Bronze Glow

    At first, I thought this was too orange, but it blends out nicely with a fluffy brush. Go in with a very light hand and build it up.

    UPDATE (July 29): I’ve mostly been using this bronzer because it’s my least fave of my collection. I think the fragrance in this has caused my cheeks to break out a bit. So, I decided to declutter it.

    Bronzer XL is an instant, healthy looking kiss of summer color in one no-fuss powder compact. The matte half acts as a base and contour for the face, neck and body, and the shimmery highlighter side will take you anywhere you want to glow. With a silky finish and oil-free formula, this bronzer stays where you want it to and lasts as long as you do.

    Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Butter Bronzer in Deep Bronzer

    I chose Deep Bronzer because it was on sale at the time and it was the only one in stock. I don’t think it’s too dark for me, but I could probably get the Bronzer shade next time.

    Ultra-luxurious bronzer, infused with Murumuru Butter, delivers a radiant Brazilian goddess glow! Incredibly creamy and soft texture combines the best features of a powder and cream bronzer, to deliver a lit-from-within tropical glow unlike any other.

    Packed with essential fatty acids and pro-vitamins that soften, condition and moisturize skin, leaving it silky soft. Ultra-rich bronzer formula instantly melts into skin, sealing-in moisture to deliver instant and lasting hydration. Features ultra-refined pearl and soft-focus pigments that smooth skin texture, brighten skin tone and deliver a gorgeous bronze finish.

    Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Bronzer in Park Ave Princess

    If I were to pick this up in the store again, I would choose the matte one.

    An ultralight, mineral-based bronzing powder.

    Tarte Mineral Powder Bronzer is an oil-free bronzer that fuses earthly minerals with naturally-derived ingredients for a natural-looking finish. It contains Skinvigorating™ ingredients like vitamins A and E, which act as antioxidants to fight free radical damage, and it’s infused with mineral pigments that are known for their soothing and softening properties.

    Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer in Chocolate Soleil

    If I were to get this, I would need Milk Chocolate, but it was in a Rewards Bonus Kit. I just have to be light-handed with this bronzer and maybe use it as an eyeshadow to help use it up.

    A long-wearing, rich, matte bronzer infused with 100 percent real cocoa powder.

    Bronzing has never been so delicious. Create all-over warmth and dimension while achieving a rich, matte, buildable tan. The formula is infused with 100 percent real cocoa powder for skin-loving benefits and a long-wear bronze that smells as good as it looks.

    For the Milani bronzer, I swirled my finger into both the bronzer and highlight to get the swatch above.

    Inglot, Tarte and Bobbi Brown’s bronzers aren’t scented, while the Physicians Formula, Milani and Too Faced are scented. Physicians Formula smells like coconut, Too Faced smells like chocolate (because of the cocoa powder) and Milani smells like perfume.

    Even though the Bobbi Brown one is the most expensive, I had the most trouble swatching it. It was going on patchy while most of the others went on smoothly.

    As you can see from the swatches, the Bobbi Brown and Too Faced ones are the darkest because both of those are for medium skin tones. I would consider purchasing Too Faced in the correct shade, but i don’t think i will be picking up a Bobbi Brown Bronzer. The Milani Bronzer is the most orange of all of them. A little goes a long way, but once you blend it out, it looks really nice. I wanted to try it because it was such a good deal for such a big pan.

    I think my favourite has to be the Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Butter Bronzer. It’s buttery, blends easily and I love the price. Normally I don’t like scented things, especially if it’s very strong, but I’m okay with the coconut scent from this bronzer. I’m also still figuring out how to apply bronzer properly and spending more than $25 for a bronzer seems like a bit much since I’m still learning. I’d rather spend the money on a good primer or foundation.

    What are your favourite bronzers?

    Love,

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  • Recipe | Mars Bar Rice Krispie Treats

    October 29, 2016

    Hi Everyone!

    For my sister’s wedding shower, I made rice krispie treats with mars bars melted on top and they were to die for. I cut them into small bites and they were the perfect mix of marshmallow, caramel and chocolate-y goodness. If you are a child, please make sure you are supervised by an adult while making these, you need to use the stove and sharp knives.

    20161021_185132 (2).jpg

    What you’ll need:

    • rice krispie cereal
    • marshmallows
    • butter
    • vanilla extract
    • mars bars
    • milk (optional)
    • parchment paper

    I didn’t use a recipe to make the rice krispie squares…you can use your own recipe or find one online. Here’s the recipe from the rice krispies website. I like my rice krispie squares on the marshmallow-y /softer side and this recipe probably tastes better when the squares are softer because then it melts in your mouth. I put parchment paper into a 9×9 square cake pan to line the bottom and sides of the pan- like this. If you don’t want to waste too much paper, just use the one long sheet of parchment paper which will allow you to pull the rice krispie treats from two sides. I spooned out the rice krispies and marshmallow mixture into the pan and pressed the rice krispies down with my spoon. Then I covered the rice krispies with another piece of parchment paper and used another 9×9 cake pan to press down the rice krispies (not too hard because you don’t want to flatten your treats too much or they will be too crunchy). Make sure that the top of your rice krispie surface is even (you don’t want uneven chocolate) and make sure there are no spots between the rice krispies and the cake pan or else the chocolate will seep through the gaps.

    As that cooled down, I started to make the mars bar topping. I used about 35 mini mars bars for my topping. You can use more or less depending on how thick you want your chocolate/caramel. With 35 mars bars and a 9×9 cake pan, the chocolate/caramel part was about 1/4″ thick. I cut the mars bars into pieces so it would melt faster. In a pot on medium heat, pour your mars bars in and make sure you are constantly stirring so the bars don’t burn. You could also do a double boiler method (where you put a bowl on top of boiled water if you don’t want to risk burning the mars bars). The chocolate and caramel will melt fairly quickly, but the nougat takes a while to melt down. Make sure to use your spoon to get rid of the bumps of nougat. The mixture was fairly thick so I added a splash or two of milk to thin it out. Once everything has melted and you have no more lumps, pour your mars bars over your rice krispie treats and let it cool down. Once the chocolate has hardened, use a knife to go around the edges of your caramel/chocolate topping to unstick it from the pan/paper. Pull the parchment paper out and now you can cut your rice krispie treats however you want them. I used a large kitchen knife to cut the treats into strips and then switched to a serrrated knife to cut them into bite size pieces. To help you cut, you can run the knife under hot water to warm it up (and wipe off the water), the heat will help slice through the caramel/chocolate and prevent the marshmallow from sticking too. Make sure your knife is clean, if chocolate, caramel, marshmallow and/or rice krispies start to stick to your knife, wipe it off or clean your knife. Or else you start to get rice krispies on the chocolate part (as you can see above, my knife wasn’t completely clean and some of the rice krispies got onto the chocolate). Small bite size pieces are the perfect size because you don’t have to bite into the caramel which might stick to your teeth. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

    Enjoy!

    Love,

    jen

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