Faux Holiday Skin

Every now and again I use up the cheap bottle of St.Moritz tanning mouse and treat myself to the real mccoy. As a lover of fake tan St.Tropez is the cat's pyjamas, the bee's knees, the dog's bollocks of fake tanning - mind my French. It has heritage and expertise that no other tanning brand can rifle. Now that itsn't to say there aren't any other great tanning products out there by different names, there is. But the feeling of wearing St.Tropez is very different indeed. It is like wearing a pair of Jimmy Choos, sure you could go to Kurt Geiger and get some similar looking courts or even head to Ebay for some look-a-like red bottoms but you won't feel quite as glamorous as you would in the slippers that started it all. For St.Tropez is the original breakthrough brand for at home tanning and they know faux bronzing like astronauts know space. 

I don't know what it is about rubbing on a golden coat but you instantly feel sexier, slimmer and more confident. Clothes look better, skin looks better and your facial features are more pronounce and pretty. Is it all an illusion? Frankly, even if it is all in my head I still feel at my best with a glow. Lucky for me I snapped up this St.Tropez Top-Toe Collection from Feelunique in the sale for £14.99. A steal at the original retail price of £56. But there are still gift sets aplenty to take advantage of here. My set came with:

St.Tropez Tanning Mousse 150ml bottle

For me it is mousse all the way over the lotions, gels and sprays. It is the easiest and cleanest way to tan from experience. Sprays although great leave residue all over your room and the fallen mist rests on the floor to reveal a build up of product on the soles of your feet. Gels can feel tacky and lotions can take a while to dry and develop. But the mousse applies evenly and quickly using a trusty mitt and soaks up to leave  behind smooth and dry skin. You get an instant tan but the colour intensifies after 3-4 hours. In the morning you are free to shower (which I would recommend over bathing for tanning). This shower isn't about exfloliating or washing the skin with products. Just let the water remove any excess product sat on top of the skin. You can use your hands to help remove this product but no other harsh tools that could remove too much! The colour with the product is very natural and even but the downside is there is a lingering aroma of biscuits in the air! And for those which aren't aware, once you have showered if you get water on your skin again (aka it rains) your fake tan won't melt off or leave spots of natural skin. It will remain brown and come off gradually.

St.Tropez Self Tan Perfect Legs Spray 75ml

It may say for legs but this spray works on the entire body. I wouldn't only tan certain parts of my body and leave the rest a pale disaster - I am all about the full monty when it comes to tanning. This spray is a little lighter than the mousse and comes out a fine mist. The product is hard to detect on the skin as there isn't an instant glow. But the bottle can be help upside down from hard to reach areas and the size makes it ideal for travelling. I think I will use this spray as a top up product in-between full of tanning marathons. And I must say the fake tan smell isn't as strong with this one.

St.Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion for Face 50ml

Last up is this beautiful tanning moisturiser. I have had the gradual version of this in the past but although a nice consistency I saw no real change in the colour to my face. However, this baby is another story. For starters it is a velvety dark colour unlike the white hue of the gradual. It comes in a pump dispenser which I much prefer to the original squeeze method. It leaves the face immediately tinted and supple. You can build the depth of colour by applying more throughout the day or as the days progress but for me a couple of uses and my face matched the colour of the rest of my body. The best thing, no clogged pores and a moisturiser I actually like using.  

In the images above it shows my left arm ( you see as my right) the mousse once first applied against my natural right arm colour (again your left visually). In the last photograph it shows my skin once the product has developed and body has been been showered. Have you tried St.Tropez? Are you a tanning devotee or a faux holiday skin virgin?