Garnier Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer

I like to take care of my appearance and I am usually very careful about the products that I choose, generally as a result of suffering from allergies for years and intolerances to certain ingredients contained within some beauty products. I tend to research the items which I fancy trying out quite thoroughly and will normally get samples and testers before I commit to purchasing a full-sized product. I am not a mean Scot I just don't like to waste money needlessly!! Unfortunately I was going out one evening and I did not take my own advice. I had bought a lovely dress to wear as the venue was a very fancy restaurant however I had not been well with that horrible flu-virus which had been going around pre Christmas last year and had decided that I looked quite "peely-wally" (for those of you not used to Scots urban dialect off, colour, pale and ill-looking). In a mad dash I raced around my local boots looking for a spray tan. Yes can you believe it a tan in a can. My husband thought that this was hilarious as I tend to shy away from products like this (since my disasterous experience of tanning in Florida- that however is another story which will never be told). I have to say I had no clue what to buy however the power of advertising got the better of me and I opted for Garnier Ambre Solaire Light No Streaks Bronzer Self-Tanning Spray. It said that it would give me a natural light-looking tan from the first application. That was enough for me so I popped it in my basket. In addition i also purchased rubber gloves the latex variety the reason for which will be revealed later.

This item cost £8.99 for a 125ml can. I remember thinking at the time that this was rather expensive however, Garnier is a good make and I had successfully purchased and used products of theirs in the past and didn't really mind paying the money as I associate the company with manufacturing great quality products. In addition all I could think about was my dress and that I wanted to have a healthy glow while wearing it. Other products similar seemed to be around this figure too so I presumed perhaps naively that this was what you would reasonably have to pay for an item like this. I purchased latex gloves as well these however were boots own and cost 99p for two pairs.

The product itself comes in a tin that is relatively plain which is a bit disappointing. It has a moveable plastic spray nozzle, and a clear plastic cap which I have to say doesn't stay on very well. The tin is bright orange in colour so stands out quite prominently on the shelf. The wording on the front tells you the name of the product and sports the Garnier logo. It also states that this is the lighter tan version. The back of the can gives you all the relevant information about how to use, how it works, product ingredients, storage instructions and product warnings.

Although I have only ever had a professional spray tan before I had no real knowledge of how to apply this product so decided that I would administer it the day before my big night out. I was told prior to this from an educated friend who is also a bit of a fake tan freak that I would benefit from being well exfoliated prior to application so I duly carried out her instructions before using my spray tan. I was also further informed that I should apply copious amounts of body lotion prior to use. (I have to point out however that there is no information regarding this on the actual can of product). I took my friends advice though as she was quite the professional. I would also recommend at this point that you read the application instructions on the back of the can prior to administration as with hindsight it is a complicated procedure to spray and read at the same time.

According to the back of the can this product contains natural extracts of apricot and vitamin E. It provides a light, streak free natural tan even behind the legs! It states that it works at any angle so can get to hard to reach places. It has furthermore been formulated to deliver a light result. Drying instantly it develops into an even uniform and radiant tan after an hour.

Before application the product must be shaken very thoroughly. It should then be sprayed evenly onto the skin from a distance of about 20 cm and then spread with your hands in circular motions. It is recommended that the hands be washed after each application. The tan should be used once for a natural looking light tan and repeated the following day if a deeper tanning result is required. It can be used all over the body however it is not recommended for use on the face.

There are warnings issued with this product to include safe storage. It is a pressurised container so must be stored out with sunlight and away from heat sources over 50 degrees, it is important that there is no smoking while using this item. Furthermore it should not be pierced or burned and not to be sprayed on naked flames. The product is not to be sprayed into the eyes or onto damaged skin, and should not be applied in a confined space and to be used only as intended by the manufacturer? I cant actually imagine any other use for this product and to be honest all the warnings are common sense so overall I would imagine safe to be used by most.

The results of using this product were the subject of much amusement in my household particularly from my husband!! During application I had to scream for him to come and help me put it on. So much for being able to reach hard places, unless you are a contortionist I would recommend having a second person nearby to help as reaching the top of the back was very tricky. Apart from this it was really quite straight forward. I did not think that it was particularly quick drying and seemed to spend quite a while being stationery adopting various kung-fu poses along the way waiting for it to dry before moving on to the next body part. You also have to be ambidextrous to ensure even application. Thank god for the gloves or I would hate to think of the state of my palms the next day. The whole application must have taken about twenty minutes all in all. Probably due to the fact that I was a complete self-tan novice. I am also glad that I have a large bedroom and had opened the windows for ventilation as it is rather potent. The fragrance. No that's not the correct term when describing the smell of this product. The stink emanating from me was really quite horrendous. At the time I put it down to fresh application and convinced myself that it would die down by the next day.

The can states that your tan will develop in about an hour, two hours later I was still waiting for my miracle results so gave up and went off to bed. I woke up the next morning and had actually quite forgotten that I had applied this the night before, that was until the revolting smell hit me. I hadn't even managed to get to the mirror before good old hubby started laughing. I couldn't believe it I was yellow orange!!! I looked like I had severe jaundice and yes it was obvious.Very very obvious. If I didn't have a sense of humour I think I would probably have cried on the spot. Not only was I orange I was uneven streaky orange. Not one part of my body had developed the sun-kissed even tan that the product had promised. Very disappointing. I put this one down to experience and unfortunately cannot recommend this item as a result. I'm sure it works for some people however alas not me. Probably would have been wiser to have patch tested it first like I would normally do. On the Bright side. My laughing hubby had lovely yellow hands for about a week as he had not washed his hands thoroughly enough after helping me so that pleased me somewhat. About the same time it took the product to fade from my skin. As for the dress it is still waiting to be taken out. I had to cover up big time for my big night out. Thank god it tells you not to put it on your face!!!!! Sorry Garnier don't rate your product at all. One star for the comedy value though.

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