Review: Bourjois Chocolate Bar Bronzer

I finally found it, kids.  The mythical Bourjois chocolate bar bronzer.  I say mythical because I couldn't find it in the US or at any of the Boots stores in Heathrow (unless you want to buy it online) but I found it in a Spanish version of CVS!  Great success.  Even though I paid astronomically more for it than I should have--thanks for that, Euro exchange rate.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (price ranges from about $10 to $20 depending on the country as far as I know):

So, the skinny on this bronzer is that it looks like a chocolate bar (and sorta smells like one too, hence the hype).  The packaging is carboard, and it opens like a little book, with a heavily magnetized closure, to reveal the chocolate bar-shaped bronzer inside.  For cardboard packaging, it's pretty decent.  I'd say it feels on-par with Benefit's packaging, and it's much less expensive. 

The bronzer itself smells like chocolate with a hint of citrus--overall rather delicious without being too sweet or foody.  The scent won't linger on your skin, however.  I got the Medium shade (#51) which was the lightest shade offered (curse those tanned Spaniards).  Seeing as I am a NW15 at MAC and the real life equivalent of Snow White, I was a little scared by that Medium description.  The bronzer swatches as a medium-light yellow-based brown that's 90% matte with the tiniest amount of sparse gold shimmer.  I saw complaints on Makeupalley about this not being very pigmented.  I had the exact opposite experience.  This stuff is so ridiculously pigmented that I need to be very careful with how much I get on my brush.  


The pressed powder feels very finely milled and goes on smoothly, blending with little effort.  I'd say this would be 100% fool-proof if you were naturally a bit darker than me.  For fairer-skinned gals, you do need to be careful not to overload that brush and end up looking like Snooki.  Given that, though, this Bourjois bronzer lasts a very long time, especially on my oily skin and in this heat.  If I apply it in the morning and I want to go out 12 hours later, I'd do a touch-up, but it really does stick around for most of the day.


Now if only my ridiculous sun burn would fade and I could get an even tan all over...


Awkward Chic rating: A+.  If you can get this online for less than $15-$20, it's a great value.  Makes me wish Bourjois was more widely available in the US.

Image via boots.com, superfabme.com.

Spain Style

I'm still alive!  Sorry for the lack of updates (yes, mom, I am still alive), but crazy schedule + spotty internet does not lend itself to lots of blog updates.  But I am trying to get on top of it, I swear.

In terms of life updates, I am still getting mocked all around for speaking Spanish like a Mexican (apparently it's a problem in my grammar class) and I'm traveling all over!  So far I have trips planned to Cadiz, Granada, Ireland, London, Paris, Bologna, Germany, Portugal and Austria.  Busy busy busy but excited to get to go to some new places.  I start class next week, so that should be pretty interesting.

So, clothes.  I'm noticing that the trends in Spain (right now at least) are less colorful/floral and more neutral.  There are seems to be less structure/clean lines and more draping--which could be related to the fact that it's a million degrees here.  Today I wore an outfit just like this.  The tank was the same but a burnt pinkish-red instead of purple (the picture is evading me) and it was that exact skirt.  I saw 'Friends with Benefits' before I left and something about Mila Kunis' pencil/mini skirt-based daytime outfits stuck with me.  I'm running out of clean clothes so I decided to recreate one using a skirt I normally wear out at night (yay, repurposing).  So I had the black shirt and then the reddish tank on top and loose, but I tucked a tiny bit of the hem of the tank into the waist of the skirt (in just one spot).  It's hard to describe, but it highlights the high waist of the skirt and creates this pretty draping effect because the rest of the hem of the shirt hangs down.

Then I wore these Frye boots and a leather jacket I have that's pretty similar to the Veda one pictured here.  The leather jacket adds a little structure and some edge (you can never have too much edge!  Jk, you totally can, but I still love it).  I like the boots with this outfit because they make it a little more casual since they're basically gussied up cowboy boots, but the little heel keeps it all sassy.  I throw on some antique necklaces on top and overall was very happy with the look.  I'd do a photo for y'all, but I actually have no full length--or even remotely full-length--mirrors here.  Boo.

On a makeup related note, I've been dying to pick up some Spanish makeup here, but there don't seem to be any Spanish makeup brands, at least that I can find??  All I've seen here is marked up makeup from the UK and the States, like $16 CoverGirl mascara (that must be a joke).  So I've been loving my Coastal Scents Metal Mania palette.  It was about $20 on the Coastal Scents website, and has 88 metallic shadows, mostly neutrals.  I love it because the shadows are pretty high quality for the price and since there are so many it's keeping my cravings for new shadows at bay--for now.  Also, I've been living off Nutella.  Unrelated, I know, but I'm struggling with not eating in my dorm dining hall and not wanting to spend a lot of money on groceries to cook for myself.  It's been lots of cheese and bread and apples with Nutella (which I'm eating right now.  Shocker).  Someone force me to feed myself nutrients.

That's all for now.  Besos de Espana!

Images via stylehive.com, loveinpink88blogspot.com.

Hello from Spain!

I know it's been a while since I blogged, and I want to apologize for that.  I got so caught up in packing and getting ready to go abroad that I forgot to schedule some posts in advance, and then I had to travel and get to Spain and bounce around with no internet and move into my apartment and basically be all over the place.

But now I'm all moved in and starting classes tomorrow and so hopefully I should be back to blogging on a (semi) regular basis.  In the meantime, I thought I'd do a post on my experiences in Spain so far, with a little note on Spanish fashion tucked in too.


So, thoughts on Spain:


First off, this eating thing.  SO DIFFERENT.  Getting over jet lag was easy, getting used to the Spanish eating schedule was HARD.  As far as I've gathered the Spanish daily meal system goes something like this: a tiny piece of toasted baguette with jam/olive oil and coffee at 9 am.  A mini sandwich/pick-me-up snack at 11 am.  A big lunch with soup, meat, rice dishes (etc), coffee, and desert at 3 pm.  Another pick me up snack at about 7pm (more carbs) and then tapas for dinner at 10 (featuring, shocker, MORE CARBS and fried foods).


I do not understand how Spain isn't obese.  I haven't seen a fresh vegetable at a single meal here, let alone a meal that doesn't heavily feature carbs or starches.  And forget about vegetarian food--so not culturally understood in Spain.


Just for comparison, my daily diet at home is something along the lines of: breakfast of oatmeal cooked in almond milk with a dash of cinnamon.  Snack of fruit or cheese or some little protein a few hours later, then a big salad for lunch (love me some greek salad), another snack, and then a big bowl of sauteed spinach for dinner.  


Don't get me wrong, though, Spanish food isn't bad.  The baked goods and pastries--I die.  And the coffee!  So good!  Aside from the stubborn aversion to all forms of iced coffee (sob, it's 90 degrees here).


But even given all the baked goods and carbs, Spain seems to have less of a problem with obesity than the US.  I'm not saying everyone here is 100 pounds and in perfect shape--in fact, they seem to be more healthy/average across the board.  And the same goes for clothes.  Spaniards do not wear sweats or sweatshirts or gross college tees, etc, in public.  I don't think well-dressed Spaniards are any more fashionable or numerous than well-dressed Americans, but Spaniards in generally seem to be a little less casual than Americans.  It's refreshing.


Also, Spain is SO PRETTY.  My dorm is in the old center of Sevilla, and not in a particularly historical bit, but the little windy streets everywhere are the most adorable things.  I want to do a photoshoot all over this neighborhood.  Possibly in the new Spanish clothing I plan on acquiring.


Well, that's all for now!  I'd add some pictures butttt I haven't gotten a converter to charge my camera with so I actually have none.  Boo.


Besos de Espana!