Lavera Self Tanning Lotion - A Review For My Pure*

In the UK, there are 3 ways to get a tan , Number 1 - Go abroad! Number 2 - slather yourself in tan accelerator and sit in the garden on one of the 7 ish sunny days  that we get in a year or there is option Number 3, which is probably the easiest and cheapest - fake it!

I'm not gonna lie we have had a few sunny days this year, and thanks to a combination of using good SPF's and tan accelerators I have managed to get a little bit of colour but in the wider scheme of things my natural tan is probably someone elses pale and pasty look!

I have to be honest and say I really don't mind embracing the pale, I'm not one of those people that slaps on the fake tan all year around, in fact I don't actually use it that often, but sometimes you just feel as though you need a bit of colour in your life and on your legs.

I've been feeling a bit mehh lately and in my weird mind a tan was just what I needed to make myself feel a bit better and look a bit thinner so instead of using up one of the self tans that I already have , I decided to try something new from My Pure.

Traditionally fake tans are crammed full of chemicals, they might have the odd natural ingredient but they aren't always the most eco friendly product on the market. Throw in the fact that they aren't always cruelty free and they can be quite drying on the skin and it makes you wonder why we even bother. Thankfully though there are now a few more natural fake tanning options out there, and over the last month I've been using trying out the Lavera Self Tanning Lotion.

If anyone can make a natural and cruelty free fake tan then it's probably German brand Lavera. Like all of the products in their range, this NaTrue certified self tanning lotion is made from both natural and predominantly organic ingredients.It is suitable for vegans and it is free from parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals, silicone's, and artificial colourings and fragrances.

Packaged in a recyclable plastic, squeezy tube, it contains a wide variety of moisturising ingredients including organic sunflower oil, soybean oil, macadamia oil, and shea butter. It also contains
calendula extract, aloe vera, beta carotene and Vitamin E.

When I first squeezed some of the product out I have to say I wasn't expecting a lot, the majority of fake tans out there have a guide colour but this is just an off white, creamy lotion. To be honest it looks more like a body lotion or a body cream and it certainly smells more like a luxury body cream than a self tan. It has a really pleasant lavender, aromatherapy citrus scent that lingers on the skin.

Application is like most other fake tans out there, it's best to exfoliate first, and then you apply it on to clean, dry skin, avoiding the knees and elbows. It's very, very creamy and a little goes a long way, I definitely used too much at first but if you just keep massaging it in until it's absorbed. Obviously there is no guide colour so you just have to apply it as evenly as possible. You could just use a mitt I guess but because of the cream like texture it's just as easy to use your hands but remember to give them a good wash afterwards.

My skin did feel a tiny bit tacky for a few minutes so I'd avoid getting dressed or sitting on any fabrics for a few minutes. Once it sunk in though my skin just felt really smooth and as though is had been covered in a deliciously scented body cream. Lavera advise that you leave it for around 5 hours to see the full results and as per usual with fake tans I did the one leg challenge so I'm going to let the photographs speak for themselves

Before 

After

Before

After

After - Close Up 

I really can't describe how much this product surprised me, when I first saw the white creamy lotion, I'll admit I wasn't hopeful but despite the lack of guide colour, and more gradual tan appearance, within 5 hours I had a natural looking, golden tan, and super soft skin with only the tiniest hint of digestive biscuit aroma. It is quite a natural colour but you can reapply it every day or so for a deeper colour.

What can I say, I'm a fan! The texture and the scent made it a pleasure to apply, and despite the lack of guide colour I managed achieve a pretty even, natural golden tan, without any of the dryness or nasty smells that you normally associate with self tan. I still don't think I'm ever going to be one of those permanently fake tanned people, but I'm definitely going to be using this regularly and enjoying both the smooth skin and the healthy glow. Lavera Self Tanning Lotion retails at £13.50 for 150ml tube from My Pure. Are you a fake tan fan? or do you embrace the pale? Let me know your thoughts. 

*Sample

Copar (Lovea) La Carotte Oil With Beta Carotene - A Review For My Pure

Looking out the window today you would be hard pressed to realise that it's supposed to be summer, OK it's not cold but it dull, and overcast with the promise of thunder and rain later this afternoon. Yeah a typical British summer day. I have to say I love the sun though hence I'm going on holiday but we do occasionally have nice weather in the UK (although more often in the south I must admit;) and when we do we want to make the most of it. I have to say I am one person that looks so much better with a bit of tan, in the winter I am deathly pale, but in the summer thankfully I do seem to get a bit of colour.

No, your eyes haven't deceived you that is a picture of a carrot, what on earth does a carrot have to do with a blog post on the summer and suntanning, well for one of July's My Pure products, I chose the Copar La Carotte Oil With Beta Carotene.

Part of Lovea stable this oil is basically a tan accelerator, made from just 3 ingredients, Sunflower Oil, Carrot Root, and Vitamin E, this oil is high in Beta Carotene which as well as having anti-oxidant, and anti-aging properties, it can also reduce the damaging effects of UV light (Sunshine!) by enhancing the body's immune response to sunlight by increasing melanin levels

Packed in a glass pump action bottle, the oil needs to be stored away from direct heat and sunlight in order to keep it fresh (it's free from preservative, added fragrance, and parabens). The oil itself is a super bright orange in colour, it does wash out but try and keep it off your clothes if you want to avoid orange patches.

Copar (Lovea) say the best way to use this oil is to apply it all over the body and face preferably onto damp skin, the oil actually absorbed really well leaving the skin soft and with a lovely sheen.

 They advise using it up to a week before your holidays, and then morning and night whilst you are away. Obviously I haven't been away this month so I just used it after my shower or bath as a general body moisturiser, I didn't use it on my face. I have to be honest and say we have only had one day of proper sit outside sun so I'm not sure that I've given this enough of a test, but on that day sitting out in the garden and using my SPF's (this product doesn't contain any SPF so you need to apply a good SPF to stay safe and not burn), I actually came in and I actually had a bit of colour especially on my arms, so maybe it did something.
My one gripe with this product I have to say it the smell, you might like it but I personally didn't, it smells quite strongly of sunflower seeds and oils, mixed in with a bit of boiled carrot - not good. Never the less I do think my skin feels better through using this and I am definitely going to use it in the week at least before my holidays. The Copar (Lovea) La Carotte Oil With Beta Carotene 50ml retails at £8.49 from My Pure

(Copar Lovea La Carotte Oil With Beta Carotene 50ml Was Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

Lovea Bio L'Argan Healing Butter - A Review For My Pure x

The second product I chose to review for My Pure was another product by French brand Lovea Bio. I've done a few reviews from this brand so far and apart from a few quirks I've generally been quite impressed. Lovea as you probably already know are a certified organic brand who respect not only the wider environment but also the people within it, they are a real feel good company.

The product I chose this time was the Lovea Bio L'Argan Healing Butter, as well as containing Argan Oil, it also contains popular, natural moisturising ingredients such as Sunflower Seed Oil and Beeswax

I'll start at the first thing you notice this product and that is the packaging - I have to say I love it, an old fashioned shoe polish style metal tin - so retro and I have to say it looks great on the bathroom shelf.

I selected this sample as a body butter but in reality it has much more of a balm, wax type texture as opposed to the traditional butter feel.

With a waxy balm texture it feels quite thick and greasy initially but it melts quickly on contact with the skin and applies easily to the skin. It does take a while to sink in and it does leave the skin a little tacky but it leaves a lovely sheen to the skin, and leaves it fragranced with the traditional citrus, nutty Lovea fragrance

Recommended for the drier areas on your body such as your feet, elbows and knees, I have to say after my holidays I used this all over my arms and legs to try and keep my tan a bit longer, but before hand I used this as an intensive foot treatment, wearing cotton socks and as an intensive hand and cuticle treatment, putting it on my hands and then wearing some gloves overnight.

I have to say I've used this a fair few times and as you can see there is loads left in the 100ml tin. If you just used it say as a hand and foot treatment it would of course last must longer because you really don't need very much to see results.

The only drawback is a say is that it does leave the skin a little tacky, but Lovea and My Pure do recommend that you apply this after a bath or shower, I am sure putting on a pair of cozy pyjamas after a nice bath would help you to see the maximum benefit of the butter, without worry about the residue on the skin. The Lovea Bio L'Argan Healing Butter retails at £7.99 for 100ml from My Pure Any questions please ask x

(The product was provided for review purposes - this hasn't altered my review in any way)

Blog Sale and Fellow Blogger Haulage and Tan Accelerator Thoughts

I got a few things this week that I bought from my fellow bloggers - you ladies and gents too are my biggest weakness. Always wanting to help a fellow blogger out a bought a few bits from the lovely Computergirl

A brand new MAC eyeshadow in Plum Dressing, some lovely jade stone earrings from Dorothy Perkins, and some cute star studs from George, she was also kind enough to throw in a free apple chapstick :) - thank you xxx

I also noticed a tweet from the lovely Kelly aka Happy 1234 saying that she was selling her new Maui Babe tan accelerator of course I jumped at her offer as I've heard lots about this one.
I love Steve Whatley's Zhuzh and the Elemis one but this sounded like something a bit new - you use the Elemis one for two weeks before you go away as a body lotion, and you use the Zhuzh wipes in a morning and the Zhuzh spray to top up when your actually in the sun. I think I am going to use my Zhuzh wipes in the morning as before and top up with the spray through the day but when I am going to the beach or by the pool I am going to put on a layer of Maui Babe and then top up with Zhuzh spray every time I reapply my SPF. The Zhuzh one is just a pleasant, fresh smelling milky liquid where as the Maui Babe is a brown toned lotion which smells of coffee - that's why I am going to just use it when I am wearing my cossie - I will of course let you know what I think when I come back - huge thanks to Kelly too x

MAC Bronze Body Oil / Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or, Swatches and Comparison

Last month saw the release of MAC big summer collection To The Beach. One of the products released with the collection was the Bronze Body Oil, of course I picked it and then later realised it was pretty similar to something I already owned - Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or (Multi-Usage Dry Oil Golden Shimmer). So I thought I'd do a bit of a comparison post for you.

MAC To The Beach Bronze Body Oil

Released as a limited edition product with the To The Beach Collection - it comes in a 50ml spray / pump action spray dispenser similar to fix + It's has a slightly thick dry oil texture but dispenses easily

I have to say it's quite scary when you initially start to spread it - it looks very dark

as you spread it out though disappointingly it doesn't give much colour just a slight light bronze / gold gleam shimmer which is a little bit more obvious than it appears here



Where it is more obvious is on your fingers sparkly hands anyone




According to MAC this oil contains botanicals to soften smooth and moisturise the skin, it has no real smell to it and it does appear to soften the skin but not in the long term. Like most products like this it would probably look much better with a tan - with a tan it would certainly add a shimmer to tanned limbs, and shoulders but disappointingly it doesn't really add much colour on its own. This is a limited edition item which is available from MAC for £15.50 so get it quick x

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or

This was something me and Mummy LouLou joint purchased a few years ago and I have to admit I'd forgotten about it - eek. Famous with many beauty editors this is another multi use, dry oil. Again a 50ml bottle but this time in glass, it certainly looks a lot more elegant than the MAC one. The product dispenses through a hole in the top

not the most easy of dispensers to use because the oil is a little runnier than the MAC equivalent. The immediate difference to the MAC one is the colour - this one is most definitely gold.

being lighter in texture it spreads more quickly and leaves a light gold sheen / shimmer to the skin - again it's not an obvious colour change but it leaves a nice sheen to the skin (more so irl) and slightly less sparkly fingers :)


Suitable for use on the face, body and hair as well as adding a subtle gold gleam to the skin this pleasant smelling dry oil does seem to leave the skin a lot softer probably due to the Vitamin E content. This oil from French brand Nuxe is available from several major retailers including Space NK for around £26
I hope this was helpful - if you miss out on the MAC one there are several similar items on the market including the Nuxe one and I also believe Illamasqua now do a similar dry oil. These are by no means an essential but they are a lovely holiday product ideal for adding shimmer and depth to a tan. Any questions please ask x