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Bali Body Review! Is is any good?

A selection of products from Bali Body

I live in Scotland and it's October so it's safe to say I've been looking ghostly pale recently, actually permanently, even in summer I'm still very fair-toned so I was excited when Bali Body offered to send me some goodies to test out and review. Bali Body was created more than 6 years ago by an Australian couple who made it their mission to empower women to feel confident in their skin with natural, vegan-friendly suncare products. So, let's start by saying that yes Bali Body gifted me the products I'm going to be talking about today but no I'm not being paid for the post and yes all the opinions are my own and I'll be completely honest about my thoughts. Now that we've got that little disclaimer out of the way let's chat about the products.

Bali Body 1 Hour Express Self Tan

1 Hour Express Self Tan (£28.95)

I love an express tan, even though I almost always end up leaving it on overnight anyway I love having the option of quick development for those days that I'm in a rush. Like many other express tanners, you can leave this on for just an hour if you want a natural glow, 2+ hours for a deeper colour and 4+ hours to achieve the darkest results. This express tan has a mousse formula that's super lightweight, soft and easy to apply, I've used other fake tans that come in a mousse but I don't think any of them have ever had quite the same texture, it was really nice to use and the scent was also very individual and pleasant. Now I will say that every fake tan I've ever used eventually ends up with that traditional fake tan 'biscuit' scent and this was no exception but it was definitely more subtle than others I've used. It didn't stain my bedsheets and there was minimal transfer on my pyjamas which was great. Now for the actual results, this tan developed very evenly to a beautiful deep colour, I felt the tan did fade more quickly on my legs but I think that was because my legs are particularly dry at the moment, the colour on the rest of my body faded more slowly and very evenly. Overall I really liked it and would recommend it to others.

Bali Body Gradual Face Tan

Gradual Face Tan (£28.95)

The packaging for this face cream is really petty and simple, the push top to dispense the cream is really nice as it keeps the cream itself away from the air and gives you the perfect amount of product to cover the face and neck area. The tan doubles up as a moisturiser that feels hydrating without being greasy, I was slightly worried that this would either aggravate or cling to my acne but so far I've had no extra breakouts and the colour developed evenly over my existing acne. I like to apply this at night and in the morning I'm left with golden skin, as a pale girl I find that one application provides a deep enough tone for me personally which is great because it does also fade fairly quickly, not due to any issue with the product itself but just with the regular removal or makeup, exfoliation and other skincare products. I will recommend that you apply this product carefully as sometimes I found it stuck around my hairline and the contrast made it pretty obvious I was wearing self-tan, other than that I also really liked this product and it worked perfectly with the 1 Hour Express Self Tan to give an all-over sunkissed glow.

Bali Body BB Cream SPF15

BB Cream SPF15 (£25.95)

This is a lovely BB cream, it feels lightweight and smooths into the skin beautifully leaving you with a more even complexion, obviously, it doesn't provide you with much coverage but it just does something really lovely to the skin and is perfect for those no make-up days. I received the shade Natural which is perfect when I've got the rest of the tanning products on but it would be a little bit dark when I'm tan free. You don't need to apply a lot and it blends easily into the skin with your fingertips leaving you with a soft glow to the skin that doesn't look shiny.

Luxe Tanning Mitt (£12.95)

I think a tanning mitt is essential for getting an even streak-free application of fake tan, there's not too much I can say about this one, it's lovely and soft and works great much like any other luxe fake tan mitt I've tried. I would avoid the really cheap fake tan mitts, they just aren't as good but these thick velour style ones are amazing.

A girl in bed with a cup of tea

My overall thoughts on the brand are that the packaging is really pretty, very Instagramable, the products have more of a luxury price tag but are very comparable to the other big tanning brands and in my opinion worth the money. I really enjoyed using all of the products and would definitely recommend them to others.

Serpent and Dove - Book Review

Serpent and Dove Book

I'm back with another book review and this time it's got a spooky witchy vibe, another great one for autumn reading, I'm talking about Serpent and Dove (the first book in a trilogy), I've yet again fallen victim to 'booktok' recommendations, I've seen this book being talked about loads and I couldn't help but pick it up and see if it was worth the hype.

Serpent and Dove

Author: Shelby Mahurin

Genre: Fantasy 

Rating:3.5/5

No Spoilers

 Summary: Serpent and Dove tells the story of Lou a witch masquerading as a regular girl, on the run and trying to hide her true identity, Lou, crosses paths with witch hunter, Reid and the two find themselves in an awkward situation that pushes them into a marriage of convenience. This enemies to lovers tale follows the unlikely pairing as they fall in love and discover dangerous secrets that threaten to destroy them both.

Serpent and Dove Book

Review: Okay before we get into the story I must say the cover of this book is beautiful, I love the black and gold and the way they included the snake, very pretty and definitely gives off those dark-fantasy, witchy vibes. The story itself was one that I enjoyed but didn't fall in love with, I liked the premise of a witch and a witch hunter falling for each other with the enemies to lovers trope and I really like the magic system that was created, thats' actually one of the elements I'd like to see developed in the following books. In terms of the character's I liked Lou's rebellious nature and the friendship she has with Coco, Reid was okay but if I compare him to other love interests from books I've read recently I would say he's just a bit forgettable. Lets's chat a bit about the romance then, I did enjoy the banter between Reid and Lou, it developed nicely but felt there could have been more tension built up, if you're looking for a spicy book this ain't it which is fine as I think this is more of a young adult book so geared towards a younger audience which is perhaps why I didn't fall in love with it. I don't want to include any spoilers so all I'll say is the action does pick up towards the end of the book and they include a few good twists. I do think I'll continue with the series as I enjoyed the book and want to see how it develops I just won't be rushing out to pick it up immediately.

If you have any other recommendations for a slightly darker witchy book let me know!



My September Book Round Up

 

A Court of Mist and Fury Book

It's officially October (yay spooky season has begun) so that means it's time to round up the books I read in September and let you know my thoughts on each of them. I managed to work my way through five books in total, one psychological thriller, and 4 fantasy books from two different (very popular) series. I'm just going to give a brief review and rating of each book and my overall thoughts on my reads for the month. I won't' be giving a synopsis of the books and I'll avoid giving away any spoilers as I'll save this kind of information for individual reviews.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 4.5/5

After seeing this everywhere and constantly hearing this being talked about I had to give this a read and I wasn't disappointed. Initially, I thought 'fae' really isn't for me, it's just not my thing but this book changed my mind. It had the perfect amount of action, adventure and romance, the story got me hooked and I immediately after finishing started the second book.

A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Mist and Fury

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 5/5

I enjoyed this book even more than the last (thanks to Rhys), we were introduced to more characters and got more insight into our previous characters, I loved the world-building and the differences in all the courts. As with the last book we got plenty of action and a little helping of some spice, this will definitely be a good comfort read. I won't go too in-depth with my thoughts on either of these books as I'll probably either do individual reviews on the books or a review on the series as a whole.

The Silent Patient book and glass of red wine

The Silent Patient

Author: Alex Michaelides

Rating: 3/5

For a long time thrillers were pretty much all I read and I heard good things about this book so couldn't help but pick it up. I enjoyed this book but didn't love it, it was a nice quick easy read and the twist was good but it just fell a little flat and I did have some questions about the twist and how the book ended, some of it just felt a little farfetched and didn't fully make sense to me but I'll not say any more as I don't want to give away any spoilers but overall this wasn't my favourite thriller and it was probably my least favourite book this month.

Zodiac Academy - The Awakening 

Author: Caroline Peckham Susanne Valenti

Rating: 3.5/5

This was another book that I've seen being talked about all over booktok so I decided to give it a read. I found the first half of the book enjoyable but wasn't in love, this book does have a lot of bullying which isn't always particularly pleasant and certainly doesn't leave you loving very many of the characters but the more I read the more I got sucked in and by the time I finished this book I did feel compelled to give the second one a go.

Zodiac Academy book

Zodiac Academy - Ruthless Fae

Author: Caroline Peckham Susanne Valenti

Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed this book more than the first, there was still a fair bit of bullying in this book however we got a little more insight into why our characters (the heirs) act the way they do and our main characters (the vega twins) finally start getting their own back. We also got some more tension and romance which is always good and I'll definitely be continuing with this series soon.

And that's all I have for you today, keep an eye on my blog/Instagram for more monthly round-ups and full reviews.