Tanning 101

Self-tanning is a weekly occurrence for me and something I almost do now out of habit. Don’t get me wrong, I still have weeks where I don’t put any on but I often get the “are you sick?” questions or just people stating the obvious “you look very pale”. Add in the fact that most of my foundation is a shade or two darker than my natural colour, tan gives me more options with my makeup and I feel better with a bit more colour.

I really started getting into tan that was darker than gradual when I was at university and would usually apply St Moriz Dark lotion on a Saturday night, Sunday night and Monday morning in preparation for Monday nights out – it didn’t look quite as mad as its sounds because half of it washed off before I got out! I thought today I would go through what I do in terms of prepping my skin for tan, how I apply it and what products I use and how best to maintain it!

To start with, whether I’ve got week old tan on I need to get off or I’m starting from scratch, I always like to exfoliate and moisturise my skin. So, if I’m planning on applying tan on a Friday night, I will make sure I exfoliate and moisturise the night before.

Soap and Glory Pulp Friction Body Scrub is my favourite body exfoliator. It lathers up a lot more than other exfoliators which really helps spread it over my body and get patches of tan off as well as soften any rough patches! I always spend a little extra time on my elbows, heels and knees too.

If I’m using an exfoliator that hasn’t got all the tan off I will go back over my body with exfoliating gloves (mine are from Poundland) and a shower gel with oil like the one I talked about last week as oil helps to break tan down and makes it easier to remove.

After showering, I will then generously moisturise my body and at the minute I’m using Soap and Glory Righteous Butter which is a really thick and rich moisturiser perfect for prepping the night before you tan. Self-tan applies best on clean skin so don’t moisturise right before you plan on tanning and do make sure your body is completely dry!

Since I started using Bondi Sands last year, it’s quickly become my favourite tanning brand. If you’re looking for a natural, even, long lasting tan look no further! I switch between the Liquid Gold Self-Tanning Dry Oil and the Self-Tanning Lotion (Dark) at the minute.

The one negative I will say about the oil is that it’s messy so do lay a towel down in the bathroom when you apply as it can skite over the tiles etc.! It’s totally worth it thought because it leaves you with such a beautiful shade of tan the next day and wears off so evenly over the week! I generally prefer lotions or sprays to foams as I find they can dry out my skin quicker. Both tans have a light coconut scent and to be honest I never really get the whole biscuit scent thing with tan anyway.

At the minute I’m also using White to Brown lotion – love the colour but it wears off patchy – and St Tropez self-tanning mist – very light colour so I usually apply a few layers and sometimes have to reapply the next day too. I definitely always go for the dark version of tans so I don’t usually have this problem but I got the St Tropez in a beauty box!

To apply my tan, I either spray the tan onto my body and rub in with my Bellamianta luxury tanning mitt or apply the lotion directly to the mitt. This is completely worth the extra few pounds compared to a standard mitt as it’s lasted so much longer, feels softer and doesn’t fall apart and let tan seep in like I’ve had some tan mitts do in the past!

For tricky areas like elbows and heels I apply a light moisturiser like Oil of Olay onto the area, apply tan as normal than I take a square of toilet roll and dampen it then lightly wipe away the excess where it could gather. For my hands, I apply about a pea size amount of moisturiser onto the back of my hand then another pea size amount of tan and rub the back of my hands together not forgetting the sides and where my thumb and fingers meet. Again, I take the damp square and lightly dab my knuckles and joints as these can have some build-up of tan. I’ve also seen people do this half and half tan/moisturiser then use a makeup brush to apply but I haven’t tried that yet!

To maintain my tan I make sure I follow up with moisturiser every day so my skin is as hydrated as possible and I find especially with Bondi Sands that it looks good all week.

Do you tan regularly? What is your favourite fake tan?

Danielle xx

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