So a little over a week ago, I had my first spray tan is years. My last one was for a family wedding because after a holiday tan fail that summer - desperate times, desperate measures. I always seem to feel the same post-winter too when it's super hot and nice in spring/summer round these parts but my ghostly skin is showing no evidence of that. I don't tan well as it is and I do think things look all the more healthy when you've got a bit of colour, right?
I'm all for faking it till I make it and have been known to layer on the fake stuff myself but when I was invited to try the new St Tropez Express Spray Tan* at my local salon, Harper's Hair and Beauty, well, excited wasn't the word. Id' heard wonderful things about the St Tropez Express Tan in a bottle but a spray tan? Well, if it means less work for me - I'm in. Prepare yourselves for a very in depth review...
I was advised to shave, scrub and moisturise 24 hours before and not apply anything on the day so, after work, I popped along to get bronzed up. The lovely Paige did my tan and she put me at ease instantly. (Side note - isn't it odd how willing we are to get half naked in front of a stranger when it comes to a spray tan?) So the clothes came off, those hilariously unflattering disposable pants went on and we were away. It took around 10-15 minutes to spray my whole body - also I didn't have to take my makeup off as the St Tropez Express Spray Tan was just put over the top, amazing - and Paige then essentially blow dried the skin whilst using a mitt to press in and excess product. I've not had that done before and definitely beats standing around shivering your butt off waiting for it to air dry after!
The beauty of the St Tropez Express Spray Tan is that it can be left for as little as one hour to as long as four depending on the depth of colour you want. I always err on the side of caution with these things and left mine on for 2 1/12 - 3 hours before showering off. The picture above on the left is a shot from my Snapchat from before it was rinsed off. You only need to rinse it off the first time, no scrubbing or using a body lotion, this is to just get the first layer off. I kind of wish I'd left it for the 4 hours though because I could have definitely got away with a little more bronzing. During the developing time, I did start to smell a little biscuity but that went as soon as it was rinsed off. The next morning the biscuity smell had returned a little but again, once showered, it had gone.
The picture above and to the right is from the following day on a night out with the girls. I wouldn't wear white other than when I've got a bit of colour and it really set off the St Tropez Express Tan perfectly. The shade is very natural, no orange tint and it didn't go streaky at all! The top image was taken 3 days in at which point the shade had settled nicely.
So after a week or so how has it lasted? Well there are still remnants of colour left over but I'm starting to try and scrub certain areas to even it out a little - ankles, under my arms and between my boobs need some sorting out - but on the most part, things have faded nicely. Paige told me to exfoliate after around 3 days and then every other day but make sure it was with a light hand and even pressure over the whole body. I also think moisturising twice a day really helped things last well and patting myself dry with a towel after showering instead of rubbing, again advised by Paige. There really wasn't much to it when it came to looking after the tan. The only thing I was a bit gutted by was that that really deep bronzed look only lasted for a couple of days which is why I'd probably leave it on for a bit longer next time.
However, for a quick fix if you've got a last minute event this is fab because there's no sleeping in it overnight or anything, it's done with on the same day. The colour is very natural and it requires little effort to keep it looking nice for around a week.
Have you tried to St Tropez Express Spray Tan?
Ax
No comments:
Post a Comment