I’ve never done self tan before. I’d always been put off by horror stories of orange stripes, brown marks on the bed sheets and uneven coverage. Plus, I’m far too impatient to sit around waiting for a tan to “stick” (or “develop” or whatever the technical word is for self tan).
But when I was asked to try out the St Tropez Gradual One Minute Tan I thought I’d give it a go. I mean, let’s be honest, self tanning is safer than sunbathing and if it only takes one minute? Well, how hard can it be.
OK, so this is me before I’d even opened the product:
And this is me after using it for three days:
As you can see, there’s not a hint of orange. It’s just a natural, sun-kissed glow. This is the kind of colour I’d be after a couple of days in the sunshine on holiday, and I love how the tan gradually built up over the three days I used it.
The St Tropez Gradual One Minute Tan was really easy to apply, too. This was a definite plus point for me because of those stories I’d heard about streaky marks and stains on the carpets. In fact, the scary directions on lots of self tan products are what’s put me off in the past. I don’t have time to read through long complicated directions, let alone sit around naked for ten minutes waiting for the product to do its thing!
This stuff is a mousse, so it simply squirts out and then you rub it into your skin. There’s no dripping, no smeary marks and it leaves a pretty sheen so you can make sure you haven’t missed any patches. You leave it for one minute before washing off, so it’s really quick to work too. Obviously there were some parts of my body that may have had it on for a few seconds longer, as you can’t put it everywhere at exactly the same time, but this didn’t show. I got a nice even, natural coverage really quickly.
I’ve heard some self tan products have a distinctive smell, which is another thing that’s put me off ever trying one in the past. Not this one though. The St Tropez Gradual One Minute Tan smells like holiday! It’s formulated with Jojoba extract too, so it nourishes the skin and is great for dry areas.
Once you’ve washed off the tan it naturally develops over the next eight hours, which helps to give you that natural, sun-kissed gradual glow and avoid the bright orange effect. This was a big thing for me as I wanted it to look as natural as possible!
So, would I recommend this product? Absolutely. Whether you’re a self tan first-timer like I was or a seasoned tan aficionado, this is an easy, affordable, effective tan option. And like I said before, it’s safer than sunbathing.
(Check out my Instagram Stories to see the tan in action over the past three days.)
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The St Tropez Gradual One Minute Tan is available from all good high street stores including Boots and Superdrug and retails from £9.50. Thanks to St Tropez for working with me on this post. For more information about how I work with brands check out my Work With Me page.
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