You wouldn't believe the bargain I found when buying Piz Buin Mousse from Boots.com. I only wanted a starter kit because I knew how expensive self tans can be and I wasn't prepared to spend a lot of money to look like an orange (it has been known!).

• 50ml Piz Buin (Mid) Self Tan Foam (not quite a mousse)
• 150ml Neutrogena Visibly Clear Gentle Exfoliating Wash
• Applicator Gloves
• And it all comes in a nice little cosmetic bag

The bottle doesn't really give any good tips for getting a good tan but I already knew a few handy tips. I spent the day on myself - very therapeutic! - And only did my legs to see what the effects were going to be. I sat on the edge of the bath, soaked my legs in hot water, shaved (so I didn't look like a hairy orange), exfoliated (I had to use the face wash since I didn't have any body scrub but it was still brilliant), and then patted my legs dry with a towel. I moisturised around my knees and ankles because those are the driest areas and more prone to the tan. I put on the applicator gloves and started squirting the foam into my hands. It's quite strange because it still sounds like a liquid in the bottle but comes out as a white foam blob. It came out easily once it got started and I probably put a plum size dollop in my palm then began working in an upward direction (avoiding my ankles) until I got to my knees.

I was only doing my legs but if I had kept going, the dry areas are elbows which again would mean moisturiser. For faces, exfoliate and make sure your face is dry before adding foam. Wipe over eyebrows so there isn't any excess after applying it and make sure you don't brush your teeth for a few hours or you will be left with a white ring around your mouth!!

From watching adverts when Piz Buin came out, it said this was supposed to be streak free but I did have quite a few streaks. This may have been due to over rubbing the foam into my legs or even from the applicator gloves. Because it is foam, it quickly disappears on the body so it was impossible to see which parts had been covered. As the bottle says, the tan is long lasting (7 days) and if you want to top it up, it is a good idea to do it every 4 days. I decided not to wait that long and did it again the next day and got an even better tan which wasn't as streaky. The only place I do have a streak is on both my arms where I must have rubbed against my legs!!

The only place I was happy with the tan was on my thighs. I'm not sure why it worked so well there but it is streak less and has a very even colour and less orange than my legs. I have tried the tan several times and generally seem to get the same result each time and have found that diluting the foam each time with moisturiser is the only way to get the best result because it makes it less orange. Because this is only a starter kit, it only contains 50ml and from a couple of full leg applications I can just see by holding it to a light bulb that there is only half a bottle left. If I had done my full body I am not sure that there would be enough left to top up the tan.