Whew, that is the longest name I’ve ever seen for a self tanner. Ever year, I buy a bottle of self tanner and plan to have a tanning routine. You all know how pale I am, and occasionally I like to have a little glow on my skin. The problem is, I don’t like self tanner. I’ve never really had a great self tanner routine, because I don’t like the way it smells or the way it rubs off on my clothing and sheets.
When I was planning my purchases for the Sephora VIB sale, I came across this new self tanner from St. Tropez. As you’ve already seen, it has a very long name. And if you look below, it is also clear. That means no color rubbing off on your clothes. If you could smell things through the internet, you would also know that the scent when you apply is so much better than any other self tanner out there.
Everything about it sounded so nice, but the thing that really tempted me was one review that said it was not a dark tanner. Since I’m so pale, that’s exactly what I need. I’ve been using this for about three weeks, and I could not be happier with it. I’ve tried a lot of self tanner over the years, and this has been the best yet.
HOW TO APPLY
In case you’ve never applied self tanner before, you basically use a tanning mitt to apply it in long sweeping motions all over your body. I don’t really need my entire body to be tan, so I don’t apply any tanner from my torso to my bottom. It literally looks like I have a tan line from the beach. It doesn’t bother me, and it saves some product that otherwise be wasted on skin that never sees the light of day.
The tanning mitt I used is from Tarte, and I really like it. Tarte is a cruelty free brand owned by a non-cruelty free parent company, so I don’t typically support Tarte. However, their tanning mitt is the best I’ve used. It’s very soft and applies the tanner smoothly.
It’s very, very important to keep your body exfoliated and moisturized before and during your tanner is on your skin. Self tanner clings very heavily to dry skin, which will result in a patchy tan. Concentrate on hydrating your driest areas, such as your elbows, knees, and feet. My tan looks the best on my skin that’s highly moisturized, like my legs and arms. It’s bit patchier on my hands, elbows, and feet. It’s not bad, but it could definitely look better.
The instructions say to let it develop for four hours for a glow or eight hours for a dark tan. I actually sleep in this, so it’s on my skin for about 9 hours. I don’t get dark with this, but I’m also starting out really pale. I haven’t had any problem with color or scent rubbing off on my clothes and sheets.
I don’t know if you can use this tanner on your face and, honestly, I haven’t looked into it. The skin on my face can be quite sensitive and reactive, so I’ve been using a self tanner specifically made for the face from Coola. I’ll do a review in a week or so on that, because it is so good.
That being said, I didn’t think to take before and after pictures when I started using the St. Tropez self tanner, but I have a pretty hilarious picture to share with you. When I was applying the tanner to my hands, I debated about taking off my wedding rings. In an impulsive decision, I kept them on because it looked more ‘natural.’ So this is a before and after in one picture!
MY REVIEW
This tanner is great for anyone who wants a little glow. With one application, I have a glow. If I apply it again the following day, I’m starting to darken up pretty good. Two applications in one week is perfect for me. A very dark tan color would not look good on me. If I apply this once each on a Friday and Saturday night, it will last all week.
The scent of this tanner is different than any other tanner I’ve ever used. You might already know what that tanner smell is like. I had seen so many reviews saying that it doesn’t smell like a tanner, and that’s true at first. It has a distinctly tropical scent to it during the application. However, as it develops it does smell like tanner. My skin smells like it for the next two days as well, but it’s nowhere near as strong as ‘traditional’ tanners.
That aside, I really like this self tanner. It doesn’t transfer to my clothes and sheets, so I can easily sleep in this and wash it off in the morning.
I’ve linked the products I used down below, in case you want to try them too!
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Rebecca has been writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle topics since 2011. Thank you so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I love hearing from you!
