The €6 Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream dupe from Aldi you NEED in your life

Ahhh that magical, mysterious aisle in Aldi you venture down "for a look" only to end up leaving with a new toaster, an ironing board and a selection of random gym apparatus you didn't need. Well, a new beauty item has popped up in stores that I've quickly become obsessed with.

While the German discount supermarket giant is known for its less expensive dupes of many well known products, both food and beauty products alike, they’ve really hit the nail on the head with this one.

I’m a massive fan of the very luxurious and tropical scented body butter “Bum Bum Cream” by the Brazilian brand Sol de Janeiro. However, that ish ain’t cheap, it retails for almost €50 for 240ml in Ireland!! Enter....... “Booty Balm” by Aldi’s beauty and skincare range Lacura. On the left in the picture below is the Sol de Janeiro cream and on the right is the Aldi version.

I'm honestly unsure as to how this is even legal but whatever they're doing, it's working! The Aldi cream is €5.99 for 250ml which, if you're an avid fan of the original is a huge saving. I literally bathe in the Sol de Janeiro cream because its so comfortable to wear, but she's a pricey habit. Even the formulas themselves look identical. Both are a thick, creamy moisturizer with a yellow tinge to them and an incredible tropical scent that smells just like holidays.

The ingredients are actually pretty comparable considering the major price gap. Both creams contain Guarana extract, a native Amazonian plant enriched with caffeine - perfect for stimulating circulation and keeping skin smooth. Considering both the creams claim to firm and tone the skin, this seems to be the magic ingredient that gives the formula the ability to do so. Now I'm no scientist and I'm not claiming to be so I can't 100% guarantee whether or not the ingredients in the SDJ cream are better for you or work better perhaps than what's in the Aldi cream ( I mean, there has to be some reason for such a huge price difference between 2 very similar items) but I do still really enjoy both products. Both are non-sticky or greasy and dry very quickly.

So packaging, formula and ingredient wise, the two are definitely closely related - if not long lost cousins, but how do they compare when it comes to performance? What I did notice between the two is that Aldi's Booty Balm doesn't give off the same glow to your skin as what you get from the Sol de Janeiro cream which for some people might actually be a good thing. I personally love the glistening effect Bum Bum Cream gives your skin, especially in the summertime when I have a tan. Also, the Aldi cream's scent isn't as pungent as SDJ's. It is quite strong and delicious but it lacks that caramel punch the Bum Bum Cream packs. Nor does the Booty Balm scent last as long on your skin as Sol de Janeiro. As far as moisturizing abilities go, it's honestly much of a muchness between the two. Sol de Janeiro's body butter has a slightly longer lasting power, but not by a lot.

All in all, would I repurchase Aldi's Booty Balm? Absolutely! In fact I loved it so much, I went back to Aldi about half an hour later and purchased a back-up pot. While I don't usually love or go for many of Aldi's beauty or skincare products, they really outdid themselves on this one in my opinion. But will I ever stop purchasing my Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Cream? Not a chance in hell. I still do love it and I'll definitely be treating myself to another couple of pots but I'll have to wait until I go back to visit the US as it's a little cheaper over there ($45 in Sephora - roughly €40)

Booty Balm is one of Aldi's "Specialbuys" so when it comes in, it doesn't stay for very long. But not to worry, they usually bring back popular items for a limited time again. It's out of stock online on the UK website here but I do know that Booty Balm is currently IN-STORE NOW (definitely in stock in my local ALDI in Glenageary, Dublin) so if you are looking to get your hands on this, I'd move fast.

Michelle 
xx

#beauty #skincare #aldi #lacura #specialbuys

MAC Cosmetics Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage: Review

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to talk about a product I’ve been using ever since I really got into makeup. It’s something that’s never failed me, never made my highly sensitive skin break out and always kept my makeup looking flawless. As I’m sure you can guess by the title it is of course the Skin Base Visage primer by MAC Cosmetics.
                                                       

       

           

I can safely say I have never been without this since the very first time I got my makeup done at MAC in Brown Thomas in Co. Limerick by a woman named Gina (who was incredible might I add). I got my makeup done for my 13th birthday, and, being an adolescent my skin was an absolute nightmare. Gina did an amazing job and made me feel really gorgeous and confident. She started by prepping my skin with “Complete Comfort Creme”, another holy grail product of mine from MAC and then she proceeded to apply this “Skin Base Visage” primer. Now, being 13 and the majority of my exposure to makeup coming from pictures/sample products from “Girl Talk” magazines (DOES ANYONE REMEMBER GIRL TALK???) I had absolutely no idea what a primer was or how to use it. And so began my journey down a road from which I was never going to return from, and that was using primer.  

For those of you who aren’t familiar, a primer acts as a barrier between your skin and your makeup  and helps to make it last longer. It is applied after your moisturiser but before your foundation. It helps to even out the skin tone so that your makeup applies much smoother and makes your skin look more flawless. I like to think of it as creating a veil between your skin and your makeup.

This particular primer suits all skin types. At the time my skin was very irritated and sensitivite and to top it all off I suffered from both excema AND acne (I was a lucky, lucky teenager) and I still struggle with severe dryness and the odd patch of excema to this day. However, this primer never irritates my skin. In fact, it makes my skin feel incredibly soft.    

SCIENCEY BITS:   

MAC’s Prep and Prime Skin Base visage is a smooth, lightweight lotion that perfects the skin’s texture while simultaneously hydrating the skin. It contains silicone which evens out the skin tone and plumps up the skin and it also contains silica which is a natural anti-inflammatory and reduces the appearance of redness caused by excema/psoriasis etc, something I struggle with in particular.

So I was already obsessed with this as a product for myself, a dry-skinned being, but then when I actually started working for MAC I learned of the benefits it has for people of not only my skin type but also those with the complete opposite, oily, and everything in between. The primer contains oil controlling lotion which is perfect for those of you who find your skin gets shiny or starts to look slightly greasy throughout the day but it DOES NOT dry out your skin.

So if you are looking to try out a different primer or even if you’re interested in adding a primer to your makeup routine I would highly recommend this one. Even if you’re unsure about whether or not it will work for you or if it will work well with your skin, try out a sample first! Keep in mind, something you will notice when you apply the product to your hand is that there is a slight glitter off it but DO NOT WORRY, this is just because there are no pores on your hand and so when it is applied to your face, this glittery effect does not show as the product works to fill in your pores.

I don’t think there’ll ever be a day when this isn’t a staple in my makeup collection. I’ve consistently had a back up bottle for the last 10 years and if I’m ever going to an event or out for the entire day you can be sure I have this primer on underneath my makeup.  

MAC Cosmetics “Prep and Prime: Skin Base Visage” retails for €27 and can be found in Arnotts, in-store and online, the duty-free section of Shannon and Dublin Airports and any Brown Thomas or BT2 store and the Brown Thomas website here . 

Any questions, just comment or tweet me at @michelley_mc 

Happy shopping ☺️✨

Michelle 

Xoxo