Ready for a mash up of beauty loot I’m currently love, love, loving? Let’s jump right in and talk about Xen-Tan Ins-Tan-Taneous daily tan (R480, selected salons and spas).

As my natural hue is a delicious shade of corpse, I pretty much live and die in self-tan. I also insist on a life in which white linen is a feature which is probably why I’m so stressed out all the time but hey, the heart wants what the heart wants. But ja, to get to my point; I don’t always have time to marinate in Famous Dave’s bronzing mousse so sometimes I need a tan STAT. For this, I’ve been relying on a squirt of Rimmel’s bronzing fluid mixed with a bit of body lotion which I then blend into my bod with a self-tanning mitt. Thing is, Rimmel’s bronzing fluid is a discontinued product and my massive doomsday-esque stock pile is dwindling fast which is exactly why I’m so chuffed to discover Xen-Tan’s Ins-Tan-Taneous daily tan.

A bronze-coloured gel with a realistic-looking olive undertone, Ins-Tan-Taneous delivers an instant ‘tan’ that simply washes off with soap and water. There’s no DHA in the mix at all, just good ole’ non-committal colour and a host of skin-lovin’ ingredients like aloe leaf juice, argan oil and a zillion other herbal extracts. Still, it doesn’t smell herbaceous in the least; if anything it’s got a delish coconutty, Iced Zoo biscuit-type scent, but don’t worry, its super subtle and won’t clash with your perfume.

I like that, if used with the mitt, Ins-Tan-Taneous is ‘spready’ enough that you don’t need to mix it with a body lotion to get it all over your limbs. It also doesn’t come off on your clothes. Yayness all round, y’all! Oh! And for the record, I’ve been using Xen-Tan Luminous Gold Gel weekly self-tan in medium on my face and am love, love, loving it.

Mac Factor CC cream (R145,95, exclusive to Clicks).

When I first tried this on my hand I wasn’t impressed. It just looked a bit matte and one dimensional, especially since I’ve been using foundations that have a bit of a luminous, line-blurring finish to them to assist in hiding the fact that I’m haggard and old. ‘This isn’t going to work for me…’ I thought.

After trying it on my face, however, I changed my mind. It does a great job of unifying my complexion and offers fab medium level coverage that’s almost comparable to Estee Lauder’s Doublewear Light. When used on top of a moisturiser, it doesn’t look ‘flat’ in the least. Another plus? It’s fabulously long-wearing and does a good job of keeping my oily T-panel in check. I definitely need to reach for my beloved MAC Blot powder a lot less throughout the day when this baby’s on my face. It also made for a great canvas in that my eye shadow and blush totally went the extra mile.

As far as treatment/colour-correcting benefits go, Max Factor’s CC cream offers an SP of 10 and makes use of hydrating glycerine and cucumber water to ensure you simply look matte as opposed to dry. Still, I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with a very dry skin type.

Another interesting ingredient in the mix is sea buckthorn extract. I don’t know too much about it but a quick google revealed that it’s also hydrating and soothing. Also, lab tests have shown that it helped speed up the healing of a burn wounds.

In short, if you’re looking for a nice matte foundation, Max Factor’s CC Cream’s a goodie.

Uriage Hyseac K 18 (R169,95, Clicks, Dis-Chem and selected pharmacies).

When it comes to skin care, I’m always looking out for products containing what I (and most dermatologists) consider the anti-aging big guns; retinol (not piss willy retinyl) and AHAs. This is why I was impressed with Uriage Hyseac K 18% AHA. It’s geared for those with acne prone skin, which isn’t exactly me, but I’ll be sure to use this tube to the bitter end thanks to its super high AHA concentration (lactic and glycolic acid, if you were wondering.) Why are AHAs the shizzness? They exfoliate like a bomb to reveal fresher, more radiant skin while encouraging the production of skin firming collagen.

There’s also another li’l acid in the mix; salicylic acid, also known as BHA. BHA is found in most skin care products aimed at anyone with spot-prone skin as it exfoliates deep inside the pore as opposed to just the surface like AHA making it the gold standard for blackhead busting.

So, to get back to Hyseac K18; if you have oily, blackhead prone skin, this is must-have as it kicks the ass of 99% of the drugstore ‘for spot prone skin’ offerings as most have a drying texture and contain a mere smattering of BHA. However, if, like me, you’re a  combination skin type and just love the brightening/firming benefits of a good AHA cream, this is still a total gem. I like its lovely light crème-gel texture and that it plays nicely with any foundation I use on top of it. I’m currently using it every second or third day, alternating it with a RoC retinol serum. Very, very nice.

Now tell me, did you see anything you think you’d like? Let’s yak it up in the comments section below.

Love, love

Leigh