Nivea Sun Self Tan Spray

...go back to my favourite Nivea products. I started off five years ago with a new addition to the NIVEA range, the NIVEA Sun "Sun touch" all over spray. This is a light spray that absorbs quickly and with a little care can be used on the face as well as long as you don't spray it directly onto your face. It gave good coverage and didn't streak provided you were very careful how you followed the instructions. I still have some of the original ...
...awful I checked out the NIVEA site and found that my old spray had been updated and now you can use it to spray upside down (no I don't mean standing on your head).

So what is different from the old spray? My old one was the usual pinkie- coral coloured bottle that instantly can be recognised as a NIVEA product. Packaging and colours are important to me; I hate struggling to get out my reading glasses to check if I have the right ... more

You know the picture of me on Ciao, well that was taken two years ago in Malta on a one-week holiday. For those of you who may not know Malta it's an island with a great cultural history but very few beaches, so how did I acquire that lovely golden tan?
Before I go away on holiday I usually have a few sessions on a sun-bed if the weather in the UK has not been that good. I have a very fair complexion with a tendency to burn very quickly so a few hours in our weak sun gives me a basis of a tan to start with.
But I still hate to arrive at my destination with that lily-white skin so obvious to show that I've got off the plane, it's not merely vanity as new tourists often get swamped by tour guides and local merchants trying to sell you over-priced souvenirs before you get the chance to look around.
So for many years now I have been using self-tan lotions and sprays with various degrees of success. Gone now are the days when I used to have streaky orange skin, the self-tan market has made great strides in the last ten years and is increasingly improving their products.

I have tried the cheap versions and the very expensive ones but always go back to my favourite Nivea products. I started off five years ago with a new addition to the NIVEA range, the NIVEA Sun "Sun touch" all over spray. This is a light spray that absorbs quickly and with a little care can be used on the face as well as long as you don't spray it directly onto your face. It gave good coverage and didn't streak provided you were very careful how you followed the instructions. I still have some of the original spray left but one thing I did find difficult was spraying awkward parts of the body (no, not those you dirty-minded people).
So this year because I'm not going abroad and the weather has been awful I checked out the NIVEA site and found that my old spray had been updated and now you can use it to spray upside down (no I don't mean standing on your head).

So what is different from the old spray? My old one was the usual pinkie- coral coloured bottle that instantly can be recognised as a NIVEA product. Packaging and colours are important to me; I hate struggling to get out my reading glasses to check if I have the right product and let's be honest there are a few similar but cheaper versions on the market. This new spray looks slightly more golden in colour to me but it has that distinctive NIVEA logo a square with orange then yellow and a navy background with the white NIVEA letters on it.
The bottle is slim with a covered top, very important if you don't want spillage. The words Sun Touch are picked out in Gold with a darker coloured lettering of self-tan spray.
On the back of the bottle are the directions for use and the ingredient list. These include vitamin E and Macadamia oil to care for the skin.

As usual with all self-tan sprays or lotions it's advisable to exfoliate your skin first (preferably after a good long soak in the bath.). My skin is fairly dry so I normally apply a small amount of moisturising lotion on the elbows, knees, heels etc. Some products advise using an all over moisturiser but I found that the results were much paler and more likely to streak so I have taken care to blend the product into the bony parts of the body.
Now for the part that most people find difficult, the actual application of the spray, you've seen the adverts where people wander around in all kinds of awkward positions after applying self-tan products? It may look hilarious but sadly these can be the norm. Well now you are in for a pleasant surprise. Spay the product lightly and quickly over the body, if you want to be able to sit down then start at the bottom first. (Oh you dirty minded people I meant the bottom half of your body!) Quickly rub the fine mist into your skin ensuring that you take special care around the heels and the toes, I find the moisturiser helps here as it can be difficult with any product, no matter how good, to get an even finish.
The beauty of this spray is that you can reach those awkward areas without turning into a contortionist; the fine nozzle really does spray upside down.

Now treat the rest of the body in the same way carefully rubbing in the areas around the elbows. If you don't have someone to help with your back don't worry, I haven't had any problems with this but I'm sparing on the middle of the back where it's hard to reach.
It doesn't take long to dry so after about five minutes I spread an old towel on the sofa, put my feet up and watch the television.
As usual it's advisable to avoid clothing for a while so lying half propped up on the sofa I'm allowing myself a little longer to let the product work. Of course you can always sit on a plastic chair for a while but I find this uncomfortable. Always wash your hands as quickly as possible afterwards to avoid getting light brown palms.
You may have noticed that I haven't called this a lotion or oil; it's so fine it's difficult to classify it as either of these. There is no real smell to it either so "mist" is as close as I can get to a description of the spray.
It does take a while to develop so I've used it before going to bed, if the weather had been better I could have used it in the day while sunbathing but beware this as it doesn't give any protection against the sun.

The result is a very light golden brown and it leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth. It's not supposed to be used on the face but I have sprayed a small amount on my fingers and rubbed it on my face without any undue side effects. The results last about three days maybe a bit longer if you only take a brief shower. In the past I've used the old type spray before and after I've got a light tan, the newer one is very similar to the old one so I'm pretty sure it will perform in the same way after I have a light tan. The performance on my lily white body has proved effective but to build up a deeper tan I prefer to wait until the weather lets up to test the effectiveness of it better.

This spray is very similar to my old one but I do find it easier to use. On holiday I applied some of the spray while lying on a plastic sun bed around the pool. I found it really good on my legs in particular which never quite seem to catch the sun as well as the rest of me. Now I am getting older I'm more careful about sun damage to my skin so in future I'll be using my NIVEA spray a lot more.
Back to that tan on my Ciao photo, any guesses how much is real and how much is fake? About 50% and that was four days into my holiday. So would I recommend it?
Absolutely, I came back home and everyone thought I'd been on holiday for two weeks in a heat wave. In reality the temperature was 22 degrees on average most days.

Cost and availability.

Boots have an offer on at the moment; the quick and easy spray is £6.65 instead of £9.99. Other offers include the self-tan lotion, which comes in two types, one for fair skin and one for normal to dark (or already tanned skin). These are both £5.79 instead of £8.69. Both these sprays are equivalent to the products I have been using for the past four years.
If you want to see the various products then look up the web-site www.NIVEA.com.
Unfortunately Ciao has not uploaded a picture and my bottle refuses to be scanned so you can either look up the website or go to Boots.com.

This product has been shown on the television and looking up the website you get an interactive screen where you can zoom into those problem areas such as the elbows. So what are you waiting for?

Why be white when you can be golden?

Happy Tanning
 

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