St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse

Now sadly some of us ladies remain pale 24/7, i mean i could sit in the sun for a year and still never get a tan and no i dont burn and then tan either, which i dont understand why people would want to do anyway! All i do is go red or burn. So i tend to keep out of the sun as i would prefer to be white then red but of course all in all i want to be brown or golden. Now im not saying i want to be crazily tanned like a certain chloe victoria/mafia from x factor, but yes i would like to look fairly dark. Often when i use tan it comes out really lightly on me, even if i use lots of coats, so i recently got a spray tan gun which is pretty good. But when i dont have much money or i dont have enough time to order online and wait for delivery then i go and buy my st moriz. Now st moriz is pretty hard to get hold off, i buy it from a store called savers which is in wood green in london for the lovely price of £2.49. Now i no your probably thinking £2.49 its going to be aload of rubbish well no actually is fairly good and believe me i have tried tans ranging from 99p to £39!! Those prices were all for do it yourself tans and not for spray tans. I know many women feel better with a tan and im one of them, its instant confidence in a bottle and makes you look slimmer and more healthy. Im not being funny but when you look as pale as me you look a bit ill.

I orginally wasent going to try it because its meant to be a st tropez dupe and i actually really dont like st tropez. But i thought aw you may aswell for this price. So i paid my money and i was on my way. Now fake tanning can be a tricky buisness as many things can go wrong, so ill tell you a few little tricks to help you :

1. Too dark - Now some people actually go out with the colour guide as they dont have time to wait for it to develop etc. Sometimes you slap on some much it just looks ridiculous and because the guide is darker than the after tan, you sometimes just forget that your not going to be washing it off until after you have been out. So all you need to do is get an old towel and start gently buffing your skin or get a buffing mitt, this will get rid of excess tan and make sure that your good to go
Now if your after tan is too dark, then you can either exfoliate, get a pair of gloves from superdrug there only like £2 and put lots of shower wash on them so you get a lather when your exfoliating. Not only will this help lighten your tan but it will also get your circulation going and help get rid of old skin cells. You can also bathe in some milk, yes i no it sounds crazy but it really works or also salt. If your tan is super dark then go swimming the chlorine really gets rid of it, plus its brilliant exercise.

2. Streaky - Now im sure everyone has had the dreaded streaky tan and yes it does look pretty bad but you can help it. You can either do the above to get rid of it, or exfoliate really well on the streaky bits to even it out. Or you can apply a new layer straight away if your not going out, just make sure you apply it as evenly as you can. Or if you have to go out and dont have to time to get rid of it buy some instant tan like rimmel. I had old tan on my legs and i didint have any gloves so i slapped some rimmel on and it completed covered all the streaks! You can also just apply another coat of normal tan but i dont actually really like going out until ive washed it off, i always sleep in it and wash off in the morning, as i dont like the smell and yes i can always smell the colour guide sadly.

3. Uneven application - With uneven application its basically the same as when it straky, just apply another coat to balance it out. Make sure before you tan to exfoliate very well as this will make sure that the application is as smooth as possible as noone wants to go out looking like they have a botched tan.

4. Too light - If its too light then simply reapply more layers. With st moriz i have to do about 8 layers to get a fairly dark colour. I do about 5 coats one after another and then 3 more the next night. Im sure your thinking thats alot, but one coat comes out extremely light, when you use it you will see what i mean. As it is so light its good for novice tanners or people who just want a touch of colour. But yes if like me you like to look reasonably dark then i would recommened atleast 4 coats.

5. Stained palms and feet - Stained palms, hands and feet is my pet hate. It looks absolutely awful and really cheap and tacky, so i always avoid it. When i apply my tan i always use a tanning mit, there only about £2 to buy and they make application alot easier and also stop your palms going orange, as palms and feet absorb alot of colour. If you dont have a mitt ( please buy one ) use a very thick sock. If you really dont have anything to use, then a trick to get it off is too use lemon juice. Rub it on your palms and feet and it will really help lighten it because of the acid. Rub for a few minutes rinse and repeat, as these are only small areas its very quick and easy to do. When i need to apply tan to my hands, i pump some of the tan onto the back of my hand and then rub them together backwards so the backs of your hands rub together, then none of then tan goes on your palms. Remember that having stained palms and hands really gives away that the tan isent your own.

6. Dark elbows, knees and feet - Now all these areas suck up tan like there sponges so you need to apply a layer of thick moisturiser to these areas, this will make sure that then tan dosent come out dark on these areas, as pale looking legs and dark looking knees is never a good look.

So on to the tan st moriz is a mousse, i personally like mousse tan the best as its so quick and easy to apply and it dries nice and quickly. St moriz is a quicky drying tan which is great, as i hate tan that seems to just sit on your skin for hours and not sink in. It comes out a brown colour, this is what is known as a colour guide which prevents you missing bits as you can see any white areas. I find this especialy usefull on the back, as when i turn around to look in the mirror at my back i can always see white bits and if it wasent tinted then i would always miss them. Now the guide also means that you can wear it out straight away but i never do this, as i dont like the smell. St moriz dosent actually smell to bad, but i find as it develops it does get a slight smell which i dont like, so i wouldent feel comfortable hitting the tan smelling like it, also if it rains it will run which is never a good look. I always leave the tan in overnight i apply it around 9 or 10 at night and then wash off at around 10 the next day. I advise to always leave it on for atleast 8 hours, so it fully absorbs into the skin. If you wash it off too early then it wont of started developing and it will go straight down the drain which is a waste of time, money and effort. So yes make sure you leave for atleast 8 hours. Then simply jump in the bath or shower and wash it off. You will notice alot of brown colouring going down the plughole, but do not be alarmed as this is prefectly normal, its just the guide washing off. With st moriz you will notice than when the guide has come off you will look a it lighter asthe initial guide is darker than the after tan, so to achieve a darker tan you will have to apply it a fair few times. Now i dont find that this tan lats very lonf before speckling and wearing off, it lasts about 3 days, so i make sure i apply it every 3 days and i also exfoliate every 2 - 3 days to stop it going patchy. Also make sure you moistuise as this will help to stop it from wearing off unevenly and will keep it looking good. When you bathe or shower make sure you pat yourself dry as if you rub when you dry it will make it wear off faster. Also like all tans it fades of the face alot quicker, so you have to apply it more often. I actually dont use it on my face though as it brings me out in spots, i think the formulation is slightly too strong for the face, it also makes my face feel dry. So i would recommend using a fake tan espcially for the face, st moriz currently does not have one or just use makeup like i do. Make sure you get a slightly darker foundation than usual though or your face will be a different colour too your body or use a good bronzer to help balance it out. Now its currently fairly hard to get hold off and you cant buy it in normal shops like superdrug or boots, i buy it from savers and this is the only place that ive seen it or you can get it online for around the same price, but obviously p and p will make it a bit more pricey. I find that it does dry very quickly and i can get dressed like straight away, but it can and does go on your clothes, so wear darker colours, it does wash off though. Also it will go on your sheets and i hate it when my sheets smell of fake tan, so you will either have to make sure you wear pyjamas or just wash your sheets, its a small price to pay for a good tan. When i apply i start at my feet and work my way up yo my neck, i use quick brushing strokes , making sure that it is applied evenly and no bits are missed out. As this is a mousse it is alot easier to get an even application with. It is best to apply it near when you go to bed, as if you keep using the taps or drinking then it can splash your skin and then tan wont look as good.

Application for perfect results :
1. Get a pair of fairly rough exfoliating gloves and give your body a good old scrub, so that all the dead and old skin goes away. If you tan new skin then the tan lasts alot longer becuase old skin will be wearing away quicker.

2. Apply a generous amount of moisturiser on to feet, elbows and knees to prevent them from going to dark. I dont recommend moisturising the whole body as this will make the end tan alot lighter because it dilutes it.

3. Make sure that toyour fully dry and apply mousse to a tanning mitt.

4. Apply in long sweeping movements startinf from the feet upwards, making sure not to miss any areas.

5. Apply tan to body parts in this order, feet, legs, bottom, stomach and hips, chest, neck and arms, back, arms. Its best to leave the arms until last as obviously you are using your arms when you applt it, so if you apply it too your arms when your applying then it will rub off onto other areas before it has the chance to dry. Then apply with a sponge to your face if you are doing your face.

6. Look for any patches or white bits and apply the tan too these areas.

7. Wait for the tan to dry and then reapply to any areas you wish to be darker, i do another full body application straight after ( well 4 ).

8. Look in a mirror to check that ou have done your whole body, let dry and then get dressed.

9. Have a good sleep and then wash off in the morning. Dont use strong shower gels of citrus products as this will strip the tan quicker. Pat dry dont rub!

10. Reapply every 3 days to keep your tan looking good. On the bottle its says apply every 5 - 7 days for a lighter tan but by then the tan has started wearing away and dosent look as good, so ignore the bottle. Moisturise every day to keep the tan looking as good a possible.

So do i recommend? Yes and no, for me then tan is too light even after numerous applications which i find very annoying as doing alot of applications is very tiring, but for the price i cant really complain. I find this tan the best for paler people as it is light, if your looking for a dark tan then i dont recommend. The smell isent very nice but its bareable compared to many others that ive smelt. It also dries quick and it never streaks on me, which is great. For £2.49 definetly give it a try, i do find it is better than st tropez but then again i dont like st tropez. So yes its a decent cheap tan thats does what it says, if it was darker it would be perfect, also as it is a mousse its super easy to apply.

Have fun xx