The Beauty Diary: Review of Bondi Sands Pure face mist and sleep mask
The supermarket giant has started selling a clear face mask that’s “not comparable” to others on the shelves – and shoppers are loving it.
Australia’s biggest beauty influencers have been raving about a new fake tan that is clear and comes in fully-recyclable packaging.
The Bondi Sands Pure range has been all over social media since it launched last month and while some can definitely be put down to the posts being paid advertising, lots are coming from happy, glowing, shoppers.
Since hitting shelves in Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and Coles supermarkets, the nourishing self-tan has been flying off shelves.
“Since launching in stores, the sales and customer feedback have been very positive, with the Bondi Sands Tanning Face Mist being the most popular from the range and leading sales compared to other comparable products on shelves,” Coles Category Manager for Beauty, Nicole Petracca, told news.com.au’s The Beauty Diary.
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The supermarket giant said it was “excited” to have the skin-loving product, that is made with hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E to hydrate, replenish and repair your skin, in over 400 stores.
“This range has new and innovative products like sleep masks, tanning drops and a tanning face mist which is a unique offer for our customers and responds to the growing demand for a safe, natural-looking tan every day,” Ms Petracca said.
“The range is all about clean, simple and transparent tanning which really resonates with customers’ desire for more natural and sustainable beauty products.
“It’s also Bondi Sands’ first ever sustainable self-tanning range housed in a vegan, cruelty free, 100% recyclable packaging.”
There are six products in the range, including two “foaming waters” you apply to the body and a gradual tanning lotion – but shoppers have been taken by the three facial self-tanners.
Beauty lovers will know a sleep mask and face mist are something you’d usually find in the skincare section, which is why the fake tan meets skincare hybrid has caused a flurry of excitement online.
But amid the hype, I had a lot of questions.
How do you know if you’ve applied the product properly if you can’t see it?
Does it have that awful biscuit smell fake-tans are infamous for?
Will a sleep product stain my sheets and pillows?
So I put the sleep mask and the face mist to the test – and this is how it turned out.
BONDI SANDS PURE SELF-TANNING SLEEP MASK
Available at Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and Coles
Price: $22.95
Regular readers of this column will know that I love a quick beauty fix. Some might call it laziness, but I blame my 5.30am alarm – which is why I am a sucker for anything that works while I’m asleep. I’m no stranger to a sleep mask – but one that delivers a natural glow without ruining my $100 silk pillow case seemed like something impossibly that had been made up.
Before you begin, a normal person would read the instructions on a new product, but not me. I went about my nightly skincare routine as normal and whacked this on after my serum (which had retinol in it, something I later realised Bondi Sands doesn’t recommend) and my moisturiser. Then I read the instructions and realised the error of my ways. Apparently you’re meant to apply to clean skin – but I had used it as I would apply an ordinary sleep mask, by popping a blob on my hand and rubbing it into my face, neck and décolletage. I also made sure to do my ears and the back of my neck, a place I wouldn’t normally apply face cream (side note: should I be?)
Because the formula is completely clear and I’m very familiar with fake tan fails – see the hilarious proof here – I decided to use my trusty Kmart Kabuki brush to blend around my hairline and ears, just in case. About 20 minutes later, I went to bed and fell asleep face down in a white pillow case. Luckily for me and almost unbelievably, when I woke it was still that colour while a glance in my bathroom mirror revealed I had a really golden hue to my skin that looked as if I’d spent my weekend on Hamilton Island and not watching the rain pour down outside from the comfort of a sagging couch. It truly was splendid. There were no streaks or patches and my skin wasn’t dry or clogged (no one likes those mucky pores fake tans can cause when used on your face.) I was honestly delighted with the result – and it didn’t have that dodgy tan smell.
BONDI SANDS PURE SELF-TANNING FACE MIST
Available at Priceline, Chemist Warehouse and Coles
Price: $22.95
Face mists are great for a lot of things, they make absorbing your serums more effective, freshen up make-up throughout the day to make it dewier and also cool you down – but how does it work when there’s tan in there? You definitely can’t give yourself a cheeky refreshing spritz as it would leave splodges of tan on your clothes once it develops. So I decided to use it... UNDERNEATH MY SLEEP MASK. Bold move, I know, but I was so impressed with the glow I had achieved I decided to take it to the next level. After all, go hard or go home right?
Seeing as I’d been able to use my night time serum (I’m trialling Skinceuticals Custom Dose, in case anyone was interested) underneath the mask without it affecting the finish, I decided to use this self-tanning face mist how I would a normal one – under my serum. You have to take a little more care with the mist as I suspect it would leave marks on clothes and carpets, so I went into my bathroom where I have tiled floors and took off my top to apply it once I’d cleansed and removed any make-up. I have to admit, the bottle on this one was a little tricky for me – no product came out for ages and once it did, I found the bottle neck was stiff and hard to push down. It applied evenly though and as directed, I massaged it in to ensure it was even, before applying my serum on top in an act of blatant disregard for the rules (soz). Once that had dried, I whacked on the tanning sleep mask and let the magic happen. Thankfully, I didn’t wake up looking like I’d rolled around in a bag of Shapes pizza flavouring. In fact, I can’t say the tan was much more intense than the sleep mask used alone, which is probably a good thing. The main difference I found was that it lasted a little longer than the sleep mask, adding an extra day for me, taking it to lasting 3 days in total. One thing I will flag is that the next day on my upper arm area, I freaked out as I had what looked like four or five little bruises that I eventually realised were droplets of face mist that had landed further down my body and had developed into dark patches. Oopsie. I really can never escape a fake tan fail – even with the easiest product to use.
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