French crush

The hair, the style, the eyeliner and those cheekbones! Francoise Hardy is my newest girl crush. "Tous les garcons" and "Le temps de l'amour" are both songs my parents used to play when we were young and they have been on repeat in our house over the past week. Oh to be chic...

GOSH Instant Tan Gel (Medium) #TFWOC

Forgive me for running a little behind on part two of the TFWOC project but the latest product is GOSH's Instant Tan Gel, the only high street product myself and a few other bloggers have been reviewing over the past week. See here for a list of the other ladies taking part and do look out for reviews on Karamel & Brown which half of the group are reviewing instead.


Gosh Instant Tan Gel gives a beautiful, instant and natural looking tan that washes off with soap and water. Free from DHA. Simple to apply, absorbs easily and provides an even colour. Dries quickly, non-greasy and streak free. Is formulated with DayMoist CLR, a natural based moisturiser containing sugar beet root and corn starch which provides intense and long lasting hydration. Also enriched with Vitamins A,E and F, and organic Gojiberry. Will help protect skin from free radicals and premature ageing.




Mmmmm chocolate? No it's not! This wash off tanning gel is runnier than I expected and despite the dark cocoa like appearance it gave a light wash of colour once blended into the skin. I used my hands to apply and didn't experience any streaks nor staining of my palms but I did wash my hands pretty quickly after. Supposedly takes only 60 seconds to set but I found it took a little longer, especially the inside of my elbow which stayed tacky. It smelled a bit like washing up liquid to me when I first pumped it out but once dried it has a nice but inoffensive smell which I couldn't smell again unless I sniffed my arm closely. It says to try not getting your skin wet or sweating for at least four hours which I don't think I did?? And here is how my arm looked like a couple of hours after application.




I loved the result and actually think my non tanned arm is very pasty in comparison now. I had a fear it would look a bit unnatural but I personally think it looks like my skin does when naturally tanned by the sun. Bronzed and glowy! It did fade after a couple of hours so I wouldn't say it's long lasting at all but it's brilliant for instant colour and washes off easily with soap and water. I don't know about the whole protection from premature ageing thing but I did find that my skin was left soft and moisturised when compared to my other arm. It is suitable to use on your face too but I'm a bit hesitant to because the skin on my face has more natural oils and I think it would end up looking patchy. I really enjoyed using this and I'll be saving this for my arms, legs and feet.

GOSH Instant Tan Gel is available to buy from Superdrug (RRP £7.69 for 150ml) and comes in Light, Medium and Dark.

The great swimsuit search

In just over 10 days I am going on away on a beach holiday for the first time in YEARS and I've been searching for over a month for appropriate swimwear. The last time I was on a beach I was wearing something like this:



via Amazon
I do swim at my local pool but I won't get away with wearing my speedo boyleg suit on a sandy beach! But seriously, I've found it so hard to find something suitable which in my case is supportive, pretty and not too low cut. I don't do bikinis, one shoulder, strapless, cut outs, high legs or plunge front but it seems all that's available right now is a mixture of everything of the above which is so frustrating. Also something under £30 but of course all the ones that I've liked have been well over this. Seafolly have beautiful swimsuits but they're around £90 which I cannot justify spending for something I probably will only wear on this holiday alone.

L-R: Fifties swimsuit & Vintage swimsuit
I bought these two suits from the Boden sale but as gorgeous and well fitting as they are, they show SO much cleavage it's not even funny. My everyday bra has more coverage so back they went and I found this little number from Tesco for around £9 using an online discount code.


I have a thing for florals if you hadn't already noticed and I thought this was really pretty but once again, it is plop if you are a C cup and above. I took it for a test swim in the pool and thankfully I was wearing a cropped tankini top underneath (which made me look like an idiot) because in the water the front drooped down completely. Argh! I still haven't found anything else so looks like I'm going to have to buy an underwired bikini top to wear underneath.

Am I the only one with swimwear problems? :(

Chop

Bye bye long bleached green split ended hair, hello short and healthy locks. I like to go for the chop every so often and love having both short and long hair. I am never faithful to just one hairdresser and went to Splash Salon on Goodge Street after work on Thursday where they only do walk in appointments. Perfect for those like me who like getting their hair cut on a whim. I paid £30 for a wash, cut & blow dry as my hair was quite long but if you have shorter hair it's something like £12. Can someone please tell me how much you are expected to tip? I gave £5 because my stylist was so nice and he cut his finger in the process but he also showed me how to dry my hair so it wouldn't flick up at the ends. Is £5 too much/too little? HELP

Also, if you are a hairdresser, what is your blow drying secret?!! Even though I was shown, I went home and used the exact same technique but my hair wasn't sleek, swishy and shiny just dry and slightly fluffy. In fact my hair looks nothing like the photo now, it's more Dora the Explorer :(

I WILL persevere but do you have any blow drying tips for me? xx