I have never much liked the sun when it gets hot, and have always hated ‘sunbathing’, which seems to me to be one of the few truly boring activities in life. But I do like a light tan. It makes you look slimmer, and it makes you feel healthier and better.
I must be the queen of the failed fake tans. Before I tried St. Tropez I really had tried just about all of them over the years, with results ranging from slightly patchy to absolutely disastrous. Mostly, I followed the instructions carefully, but it did not seem to help at all. At one time, you could buy some gunge from Boots which got rid of the fake tan, but for some reason it’s not around any more. St. Tropez now do a product, but you must use it fairly soon after applying the tanning product, which defeats the object a bit since you don’t know for some hours where the mistakes will show up.
Last summer I bought St. Tropez Whipped Bronzeself-tanning mousse, made in California. There’s enough left for this summer, too. I had, I have, the perfect tan. If you’ll try the method I’ve evolved, I see
no reason why you too shouldn’t have total success. I paid £16 last year, and bought from a cut-price cosmetics website which is no longer around. In Lloyds the Chemist today it was £20. This is one hell of a price for a tanning product if it’s useless, but as I’m having two seasons’ use from it I think it’s fair enough. Note : I do only my arms, legs, shoulders and chest, and I do these in two sessions. I’ll explain why later.
When you first squirt out the mouuse, don’t be put off by its appearance. It doesn’t look nice. The mousse is thin, and a horrid colour, like the underside of a mushroom, a sort of grey-brown-black; fine on mushrooms, but you wouldn’t your skin to be that colour. Don’t worry. It won’t be anything like that. It just means that if you are fair-skinned you can see where the stuff is going.
I begin the evening before. But you can do it at any time, as long as you space the process out. If my legs need shaving, I do that. I’m not sure how well the product would work on hairy legs, especially very hairy male legs. I have a shower, and exfoliate my body thoroughly. I use a very nice scrub from Boots Mediterranean range, which smells like marzipan, but any gentle yet effective one would do. I apply body cream very generously, massaging it well in. I ‘m currently using Boots Mediterranean, but Dove or Nivea Soft are good. Just before bedtime I rub a bit extra into knees, elbows, feet and ankles where, in my experience, you’ll get overcolouring if you’re not careful. I sleep in an old pair of baggy cotton pyjamas, just in case of any mess from the cream,but it isn’t really a problem.
The next morning I strip off, don’t shower, and colour my legs. You shake the can, and give two full squirts on the front shin of your left leg. Now, work fast, fast, fast. Scoop it into your hands, slap it on your feet, and draw it up your legs, front and back, in long, firm, sweeping strokes. Use your hands almost like brushes, and make sure you rub up any pools or damp patches. Don’t worry about dyeing your palms. It’s not going to happen. Now do the other leg. Wash your hands. The strangely coloured gunge comes off easily. Scrub palms and nails with a nailbrush. No stains, honestly. There would be, though, if you did too much at once. You legs will already be dry, and I’ve never had marks on clothing.
A bit later, do your arms. One full squirt, one mini squirt on each. Speed again, and remember the undersides of the arms. Chest : a mini squirt on a palm, rub hands together, rub palms quickly and lightly over chest, ‘tailing off’ over neck and shoulders. That’s it. Scrub hands well again. You can shower a few hours later.
The tan itself takes about 24 hours to appear fully. It’s a lightly grilled toast colour rather than deep bronze, and I prefer that. But if you want it deeper, just repeat the process. I do a top up every five days or so. The method I use sounds a real fiddle, but it truly is not. The results have always been absolutely perfect, and very convincing. There’s none of that awful orange tint which you get with some fake tanning preparations, no smearing, no darker patches.
The products I’ve used with it are the following. I’m not saying you need to buy these: far from it. You probably have your favourites. I just know they work very well for me, so they may be of interest : Boots Mediterranean Melon, Sugar and Mint Scrub Cream, £4.50. Mediterranean Olive, Bergamot, OrangeBody Cream, £5.50. These both last ages, and are often on offer. You’ll still need sun protection. I use Nivea Sunspray, factor 20, £12.85 which is easy to apply and gives the St. Tropez tan a subtle sheen. This, too, lasts a long time, and would suit the whole family. I’m sure there are both cheaper and more expensive products which work just as well. What is for sure is that you really do need such extra items to guarantee success.
The tanning mousse is very economical in use. I’ve not tried it on my face, because I prefer to use a bronze tinted moisturiser which cleans off easily; but I see that on the can it says it’s fine for your face as long as you keep it away from the eyes. Buying it, and the other bits and pieces, seems an expensive business. But when you see how long they all last, and compare the cost with professional salon tanning treatments, you realise that it works out quite cheaply.
Why is this product so much better than the others ? The list of contents doesn’t help much. It contains aloe vera, but that doesn’t explain a lot. The website, www.sttropeztan.com is not much use, as it’s slow to load, tricky to navigate, and has very small print. The print on the can is irritatingly small, too, and the can itself, blue and white, is unremarkable and a bit old-fashioned for this luxury product.
And luxury it is. That’s not a word I apply to many things, but this product deserves it for ease of use and fantastic results. I really can’t recommend it highly enough.
(Postscript. A tanning story. The effects of too much sunbathing were brought home to me on my recent holiday. I’d noticed a passenger whose skin looked like that of a lizard. I’ve never seen such horrifying sun damage. She was not fat, but the skin on her face and arms hung in a thousand tiny pleated wrinkles, like crumpled crepe paper, and was blotched in places with sinister dark, almost black, patches. One day she sat near me, and we got talking. She was from Miami, and in the course of conversation asked me how old I thought she was. That’s a question I always dislike, and I said so. She insisted, and finally I said, "About sixty", thinking she was more probably seventy plus. She was very offended, and replied, "I am forty nine." I apologised for upsetting her, though of course it was no use. But if she makes a habit of asking people to guess, surely it must have happened before ? I wish the young people who lie turning themselves into boiled lobsters on the beaches of southern Europe could have seen this poor American woman).
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I used the gel just quickly on my legs, once. I had no streaks and only a slight colour, not a dramatic fake change! I would certainately consider purchasing this in the gel formulation but when the price is right. (Or maybe I should just bite the bullet?) Gem x
northern_lights 25.07.2003 22:20
That woman must have been mortified - but it's her own fault for sun worshipping. Janet
Pozza 21.07.2003 19:46
Everyone would know I was wearing fake tan... I've never tanned in my life! Your tips sound great though. Paul.
Spend over £25 and get a free £25 cosmetics pack and free delivery. When you want a tan ... more
and you want it now, St. Tropez Self-Tanning Mousse is what you need. Streakless, instant colour, which dries in just 60 seconds allowing you to whip it on anytime,...
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Jul 12th, 2003
very helpful by (100%):
