Nivea Body Sunkissed Skin

...deliberation, I opted for the Nivea body sunless tanner as I am familiar with the brand and I have heard positive feedback for this particular product. The promise of slightly glowing skin throughout the summer was very appealing, but did it work?

What are sunless tanners?

Sunless tanners are body lotions that contain a small amount of self-tan product, giving you a natural-looking tan that gradually increases in intensity. ...
...the bottle features the classic Nivea logo with the product name 'Sunkissed Skin' underneath. It also states that this formula has a new fragrance and you can tell! The back of the bottle gives a detailed product description and directions for use. There is also a colour chart indicating how intense the colour of your tan should be after days1, 3 and 5. The design of the packaging is fairly basic in terms of look, but there's no mistaking this is ... more

It's getting to that time of year when as soon as the temperature hits 15 degrees, people across the country start stripping off their clothes and parading around with next to nothing on. 'Good for them' you may think, but all I think is how pale I look in comparison. I don't know how they do it, keeping so tanned all year round, or at least having some colour all year round. All I do know is that I'm jealous and looking at my near-transparent skin tone, I decided to invest in one of those sunless tanners that you all too often see on the tv.

Looking around my local Boots store one day, I realised how much of a challenge this would be as most well known skin care brands now offer products to enhance the skin with a hint of tan. There are so many similar products for sale; all offering something a little different form the next. After much deliberation, I opted for the Nivea body sunless tanner as I am familiar with the brand and I have heard positive feedback for this particular product. The promise of slightly glowing skin throughout the summer was very appealing, but did it work?

What are sunless tanners?

Sunless tanners are body lotions that contain a small amount of self-tan product, giving you a natural-looking tan that gradually increases in intensity. They are a safer alternative to sunbathing and sun beds and some formulas now offer SPF protection, but this is not a substitute for using sun cream. They cater for all skin types and skin tones, so they allow the user to top up an existing tan or get a light glow for pale skin.

The promises

This new formula includes an added ingredient to help firm the skin whilst moisturising it all day long. As well as that, this product promises to gradually build up a subtle, even-looking tan all year round.

Aroma and texture

One of the most appealing factors of this product is its scent. It reminds of a tropical perfume, with top notes of pineapple and coconut, fading into sweet middle notes. The bottom notes of this aroma are quite light and fresh - no sign of that familiar burnt orange smell here! This makes the product excellent for use in the daytime as you can apply it without having the tell-tail aromas that so many self-tanners have. After one day of wearing this most of the aroma has faded, leaving you with that just-washed freshness.

The actual liquid is quite runny in consistency, making it easy to smooth onto the skin in even movements. I would describe its consistency as similar to that of double cream, a lot thinner than normal body lotions. The product is a very pale yellow colour that has tiny light reflecting particles within it, giving a shimmering glow to the skin before it even tans. When applied to the skin this lotion leaves it feeling extremely smooth and supple, with a slight firming effect.

Packaging

This product is housed in a 250ml bottle of either light orange or yellow colour, depending which variety you purchase. The yellow bottle is for the fair to medium tanner and the light orange bottle is for the medium to dark tanner. I have found that because you only need to use a small amount each time, this sized bottle easily lasts a whole summer. The design of the bottle makes it very easy to use as it is composed of flexible plastic, allowing you to get the right amount of lotion out. A flip lid at the top of the bottle makes it user-friendlier as it makes it more difficult for the lotion to spill out. The front of the bottle features the classic Nivea logo with the product name 'Sunkissed Skin' underneath. It also states that this formula has a new fragrance and you can tell! The back of the bottle gives a detailed product description and directions for use. There is also a colour chart indicating how intense the colour of your tan should be after days1, 3 and 5. The design of the packaging is fairly basic in terms of look, but there's no mistaking this is a Nivea product when looking for it in a shop. The plastic it is made from is also recyclable, which is good from an environmental point of view.

How to use

It's always a good idea with self-tanners to exfoliate the skin before use. This way the skin will have fewer dry patches and the resultant tan should be more even in texture. This can be done in either the bath or shower, but remember not to apply any body lotion after as this product works best on clean skin.

To apply to the skin start by using a small amount of the lotion on your feet and work upwards in circular motions, rather than sweeping motions. The directions for use indicate that you should apply this product liberally, but in my experience this is not a good idea as you tend to get a build up of tan in some areas, leaving you distinctly blotchy. After applying the lotion to your body, you will need to let it fully dry before dressing, as it is liable to stain light coloured clothing. Whilst the product is drying, you can take the time to thoroughly wash your hands as not to end up with unnaturally orange palms!

This process should be repeated each day until you reach your desired skin tone, at which point it may be a good idea to reduce the frequency of application.

My experience

To make describing my experience of this product easier, I have added a section each day after my first use:

After my first use: My skin certainly looks more radiant, probably due to the light-reflecting particles in the lotion. I haven't noticed any change in my skin tone straight away, which is a slight disappointment, but my skin feels a lot softer and smoother after applying this product. There isn't any visible change to the firmness of my skin, but I guess this will improve with constant use.

After 1 day: I noticed that my skin has definitely changed colour to a slightly yellow shade. There are one or two uneven patches on my legs that I'm not happy with. After taking a shower I managed to wash off these patches fairly easily just using soap and water, leaving the rest of the tan intact.

After 3 days: The tone of my skin has improved greatly and now looks like my natural tan colour. The colour is quite intense and has remained uniform, even after taking a bath. I'm very impressed with this shade, so I have decided to reduce how often I apply this product. I have noticed a slight improvement in the firmness of my skin, but nothing spectacular so far.

After 5 days: My even, sunkissed skin remains and I love it! I noticed it starting to fade this morning after taking a bath, so I carefully applied some more tanner to the lighter patches and hoped that it would be successful. I think my skin has now reached its absolute level of darkness, but I wouldn't really want it any more intense than this as it would look very unnatural. I'm a little disappointed by the firmness of my skin as it's still the same as on day 3, but I suppose it's shown a little improvement.

Generally, I have been impressed by this product as it was so easy to use and gave consistent results. I found that the colour lasted very well, even after taking baths and showers. When the colour result was uneven, it was an easy problem to solve as any dark patches could be exfoliated away in the shower using only basic soap and water.

Price and availability

Nivea Sunkissed skin can be purchased from most chemists and supermarkets. As I mentioned, I bought mine from Boots chemist, but I think it's worth shopping around at other chemists like Superdrug to get the best value for money. The price of this product varies greatly between stores and I purchased mine for £6.50. It can often be found as part of a skincare or sun care offer at this time of year. I think this product offers good value for money even at the higher price as the size of the bottle is greater than most and will last a long time. Here is a list of prices from some well-known retailers:

Superdrug - On offer at £3.99 from £7.99
Tesco - £5.99
Boots - £5.99

Did it live up to its promises?

On the whole this product lived up to its promises as it definitely gave me an even, natural-looking tan as was stated on the bottle. The only thing that slightly let me down was the promise of firmer skin, which wasn't really fulfilled. Saying this, my skin did show some improvement in firmness, however it wasn't as good as the tanning effects and certainly not worth advertising on the bottle. This may have only happened with me and other people's skin may react differently if, for example it was more mature than mine.

How does it compare to other sunless tanners?

Compared to other sunless tanner brands, this Nivea version is far greater than others I have tried. The biggest difference between this and other leading brands is that it doesn't leave you looking or smelling rusty, making the tan seem as natural as possible. The results from this tanner were much more even than others I have previously used and even when there were patches present, they were very easy to get rid of. The colour also lasted a lot longer after my final use than other sunless tanners, around one week.

Advantages

- Lives up to its promises and gives a subtle, streak free tan.
- Has a sweet smelling aroma that doesn't leave you smelling burnt.
- With an RRP of £5.99, it shows good value for money and is cheaper than a lot of other sunless tanners.
- The lotion is quite thin, meaning that you only have to use a small amount and the bottle lasts a long while.
- The effects of the tan last about a week after applying the lotion every day for five days, which is perfect if you are going on holiday.

Disadvantages

- Doesn't contain any sun protection so you have to remember to apply sun cream over it.
- Can sometimes give a patchy result, although this is soon remedied.
- It has a best before date, so you need to use it within a certain time.
- Has to be left to dry before dressing as it can stain light coloured materials.

Would I recommend?

I would certainly recommend this product to people with pale skin like mine as the results are very natural-looking and similar to how your skin would tan if the time to do so. It is a simple way of obtaining glowing skin without any of the dangers and annoyances of a real tan, making it one useful product. The fact that it's available in two shades means that it's perfect for use by both pale and dark skinned people, giving them similar results of a subtle, even tan.

Ingredients

Looking at the ingredient list I can't find anything that would irritate any known allergies, which is a bonus. The packaging states that the product has been dermatologically proven so most people should be able to use it without having any side effects.

NOTE: The product I am describing is the new version of Nivea body sunkissed skin and not the one shown in the main image. The image I have added gives you an idea of what to look out for.

www.nivea.com 

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