Hello everyone,
Today is a very highly requested blog post as I get so many questions on Insta all about my tan. Now I absolutely love being bronzed, however, currently I have no holidays booked, which means only two things, fake tan and hope that the sun will come out in the Uk. This time last year it was absolutely roast beef and I had already started to get a little bit of a natural tan, However this year has been a little bit of a different story, so its back to the fake tan until the sun comes out to stay. I also just wanted to say that tanning is not for everyone and in no way am I saying you should all use fake tan, but I love to be a little bit bronzed and I knew a lot of you guys were after this post, so here we go.
I am going to start off with a little background about my skin so to give you some context about my natural tone, in the sun I tend to go quite tanned, however my skin has orange undertones. In the first photo below you can see my tan here is actually real, however when I fake tan or use a gradual moisteriser, I tend to get quite a similar look to my natural tan. My grandad was in fact Italian so I do tend to get quite tanned relatively quickly when I get in the sun. So I thought I would share with you my tips on fake tanning and gradual tanning.
(Below is my skin with no fake tan or sun tan)
(These photos below are my natural sun tan)
(Below is my skin with no fake tan or sun tan)
(These photos below are my natural sun tan)
1. Where should you start? Mouse or Gradual Tan...
For me, the first time I fake tanned was for my year 11 prom, so almost five years ago. I used the St Moriz medium tanning mouse and I remember being incredibly cautious about how much I used because I was so scared I was going to go orange. I started off with a mousse as a lot of my friends were getting spray tans done, however, I had never used tan before and was pretty sceptical about going orange or a spray tan going wrong. So I started at mouse tans. For me, full on fake tan is something I tend to do in the winter months. Some people think its probably a bit ridiculous to tan in the winter, however I always feel more confident in myself with a bronze glow. So in Instagram photos from around October- May you will see that in these photos I use fake tans mouse.
My favourite is the St Moriz fast tanning mousse. This costs only £4.99 and is one of the best self tanners I have ever used. I absolutely love the colour this tan makes you, it has a guide on the front as to how long you should leave the tan on for, so one hour for a lighter tan and three for a darker tan. However, I wont lie, I find the best results come from leaving it on over night or for at least 8-12 hours.
(Below is mousse tan)
(Below is mousse tan)
However, I would highly recommend starting off with a gradual moisteriser self tan. These are great because you can fully control how bronzed you would like your tan to be. These are also fab for the summer as you can use them to help get your natural tan from the sun, of course still using SPF to stay safe. My favourites are the Dove Derma Spa tan in Medium to dark. This one is probably one of the best gradual tanners I have used so far. This has lovely golden undertones and do not make you look orange at all, and you can see results after just two days. This one is also great as it does not feel sticky and dries pretty quickly. I like to use this as well as topping up my natural tan, as it really helps enhance the natural tan.
The gradual tan I am using at the moment is the Cocoa butter bronze gradual moisteriser. This one is great as it smells amazing and has all the qualities the Cocoa Butter has, just with the added tan. This is also great as it works pretty quickly and build up to a nice bronze glow. I will say that this one is a little more orange than the Dove one, however still looks great and would definitely even out when in the sun.
(Below is gradual tan)
2. Exfoliate before applying tan...
Before I apply any fake tan to my skin, I make sure my skin is as soft as it can be and also exfoliated. My favourite way to exfoliate is either with a sugar scrub or exfoliating mitt. My favourite is to use a couple of table spoons of sugar and melted coconut oil. This is such a cheap way to make a scrub and it works so so well. The sugar of course makes the skin smooth whilst the coconut oil really penetrates and moisturises the skin before applying the tan, meaning hopefully the tan will not cling to any dry patches.
If you prefer to use a mitt or do not have any scrub, another fab way to exfoliate is to use a mitt. You can get these in almost every beauty store and even Primark do an amazing pack of four for just £1. I also have one from Skinny Tan which is also great. You do not need to scrub every inch of your body when you are prepping, just dry areas where tan could cling to, including knees, elbows and knuckles.
3. Moisturise Dry areas...
After exfoliating with a scrub or mitt, I like to make sure my skin is as moisturised as possible. I usually use the bio oil gel which is great for making your skin feel super soft. I will also make sure I let the moisteriser sink into my skin before applying the fake tan.
4. Invest in a good quality mitt
I would highly recommend a really good quality mitt for applying tan, especially mouse tan. I love using the velvet mitts as they really make the tan look even when you apply it to the skin. You can get these in Primark for just £3 and I have also tried more expensive ones such as Sienna X and Skinny Tan, but the Primark one works just as well. The cheaper mitts work well however I would definitely suggest using the velvet ones as they just create a seamless, streak free glow.
5. Don't be afraid to use a lot of tan...
By this I mean dont be afraid to be heavy handed. The more tan you use, the less likely you will look streaky and patchy. I tend to put around one and a half pumps of mouse onto my mitt for each arm, so you can really cover the whole thing in one layer. If you use too little, this is when streaks will start to appear and you will find it hard to get rid of the patches. Even when I use gradual tan, I will make sure I use enough to cover my entire arm in one go.
6. What should you do about your face?
I always see a lot of people not tanning their face after tanning their body. This is completely up to you of course but I do like to tan my face just to make it look more of a natural look and to make it look like I have taken a holiday to the Maldives for a week. I would not recommend using mouse on your face as it can often look patchy and cling to the dry areas or if you have any pimples and dryness. I love to use the Garnier Ambre Soliare No streaks Bronzer for the face. This is possibly one of the best face tans I have come across. It basically makes your face look like you have spent a week in the sun and means your face can match perfectly to your body.
7. How should you maintain your tan?
I think the key thing to keeping your tan for as long as possible is to moisturise. This will usually prevent any cracking on the skin and the tan drying out. Make sure to moisturise with a moisteriser that is not too oily as you don't want to melt away the tan. You could even use a gradual tanner to maintain your first layer of mouse tan. This is a great way to even everything out and to carry on getting bronzed after you apply the first layer. If you begin to go a little patchy, just take your exfoliating mitt and gently use circular motions to get rid of it.
8. How should you remove your tan?
Of course a fake tan can't last forever and it comes to a point when it begins to look a little bit crusty and patchy on the skin. So unfortunately you will have to remove it and start the process again. The best way I have found to remove tan is to firstly soak yourself in the bath. Pop in some bubbles and also some baby oil and soak in the bath for a good half an hour. This makes your skin super soft and the tan will start to become easier to remove. I then take the exfoliating mitt and some more baby oil and use circular motions to remove the tan. You do have to scrub quite hard but make sure to not injure yourself. You may have to do this a couple of time before all the tan is removed but you could even go over this with a scrub to make sure everything is removed.
You then can repeat the process again and again and again.
I really hope you enjoyed this post and I do hope it helped you or answered some of your questions!
See you next Time...
Cristy N
x x x
The gradual tan I am using at the moment is the Cocoa butter bronze gradual moisteriser. This one is great as it smells amazing and has all the qualities the Cocoa Butter has, just with the added tan. This is also great as it works pretty quickly and build up to a nice bronze glow. I will say that this one is a little more orange than the Dove one, however still looks great and would definitely even out when in the sun.
(Below is gradual tan)
2. Exfoliate before applying tan...
Before I apply any fake tan to my skin, I make sure my skin is as soft as it can be and also exfoliated. My favourite way to exfoliate is either with a sugar scrub or exfoliating mitt. My favourite is to use a couple of table spoons of sugar and melted coconut oil. This is such a cheap way to make a scrub and it works so so well. The sugar of course makes the skin smooth whilst the coconut oil really penetrates and moisturises the skin before applying the tan, meaning hopefully the tan will not cling to any dry patches.
If you prefer to use a mitt or do not have any scrub, another fab way to exfoliate is to use a mitt. You can get these in almost every beauty store and even Primark do an amazing pack of four for just £1. I also have one from Skinny Tan which is also great. You do not need to scrub every inch of your body when you are prepping, just dry areas where tan could cling to, including knees, elbows and knuckles.
3. Moisturise Dry areas...
After exfoliating with a scrub or mitt, I like to make sure my skin is as moisturised as possible. I usually use the bio oil gel which is great for making your skin feel super soft. I will also make sure I let the moisteriser sink into my skin before applying the fake tan.
4. Invest in a good quality mitt
I would highly recommend a really good quality mitt for applying tan, especially mouse tan. I love using the velvet mitts as they really make the tan look even when you apply it to the skin. You can get these in Primark for just £3 and I have also tried more expensive ones such as Sienna X and Skinny Tan, but the Primark one works just as well. The cheaper mitts work well however I would definitely suggest using the velvet ones as they just create a seamless, streak free glow.
5. Don't be afraid to use a lot of tan...
By this I mean dont be afraid to be heavy handed. The more tan you use, the less likely you will look streaky and patchy. I tend to put around one and a half pumps of mouse onto my mitt for each arm, so you can really cover the whole thing in one layer. If you use too little, this is when streaks will start to appear and you will find it hard to get rid of the patches. Even when I use gradual tan, I will make sure I use enough to cover my entire arm in one go.
6. What should you do about your face?
I always see a lot of people not tanning their face after tanning their body. This is completely up to you of course but I do like to tan my face just to make it look more of a natural look and to make it look like I have taken a holiday to the Maldives for a week. I would not recommend using mouse on your face as it can often look patchy and cling to the dry areas or if you have any pimples and dryness. I love to use the Garnier Ambre Soliare No streaks Bronzer for the face. This is possibly one of the best face tans I have come across. It basically makes your face look like you have spent a week in the sun and means your face can match perfectly to your body.
7. How should you maintain your tan?
I think the key thing to keeping your tan for as long as possible is to moisturise. This will usually prevent any cracking on the skin and the tan drying out. Make sure to moisturise with a moisteriser that is not too oily as you don't want to melt away the tan. You could even use a gradual tanner to maintain your first layer of mouse tan. This is a great way to even everything out and to carry on getting bronzed after you apply the first layer. If you begin to go a little patchy, just take your exfoliating mitt and gently use circular motions to get rid of it.
8. How should you remove your tan?
Of course a fake tan can't last forever and it comes to a point when it begins to look a little bit crusty and patchy on the skin. So unfortunately you will have to remove it and start the process again. The best way I have found to remove tan is to firstly soak yourself in the bath. Pop in some bubbles and also some baby oil and soak in the bath for a good half an hour. This makes your skin super soft and the tan will start to become easier to remove. I then take the exfoliating mitt and some more baby oil and use circular motions to remove the tan. You do have to scrub quite hard but make sure to not injure yourself. You may have to do this a couple of time before all the tan is removed but you could even go over this with a scrub to make sure everything is removed.
You then can repeat the process again and again and again.
I really hope you enjoyed this post and I do hope it helped you or answered some of your questions!
See you next Time...
Cristy N
x x x
Such a useful post if you're a fake tan novice or expert. I guess product wise, it is dependant on personal preference, but I do love a good tinted moisturiser! I have just come back from Italy and will be for sure, prolonging my tan with the help of a mousse and tinted moisturiser! Fingers crossed the sun does come out here in the UK x
ReplyDeleteAmber | www.amberatlanta.blogspot.co.uk
Girl you look beautiful!
ReplyDeletex Lisa | lisaautumn.com