Fake Tans - Speed Reviews

Summer is definitely on the wane now, so before it's too late, a few quick reviews of products I have been sent to try...

The Overnight Tan... Celebrity Secrets

This tanning mousse claims to be a bit different to other mousses on the market - its packed with antioxidant and skin kind ingredients - "Celebrity Secrets is a new tanning brand which uses 100% natural ingredients and all the ingredients are sourced and manufactured in the UK. Celebrity Secrets smoothes your skin to give you a healthy glow and also gives an airbrushed effect. As it only uses natural ingredients there isn't the usual tan smell with is associated with other brands and its also better for your skin."

I was sent a 50ml travel sized mousse to try, and approached it with much trepidation... I get very nervous about fake tanning and associate it with a fear of turning into an orange ankled buffoon... Also, as I'd never heard of the brand before I was a little sceptical.

So, naturally, I decided to test this out to the limits, by slapping it on one night. I was very pleasantly surprised the next day when I showered. The deep colour that had developed didn't wash off and disappear down the drain, and looked naturally but deeply tanned (for me anyway... I have the sort of skin tone which starts gray and turns white after two weeks in the sun. I also have to wear high SPF as I am a burner...). Amazingly, no patchy orange bits around my ankles or knees either, which was a massive relief having thrown caution to the wind. I wouldn't say this tanner is totally scent free - it definitely has that fake tan scent - but it definitely not the most offensive one I have ever used. After showering the scent totally disappeared, and my skin didn't feel dry.

The other big surprise with this was how well it lasted on me - I usually find fake tan disappears after a couple of days but I got a decent 4-5 days of wear before I felt this needed either scrubbing off and re-doing or topping up with a second application. I'd use and purchase this again without any hesitation.

Celebrity Secrets tan is available HERE.

The Gradual Tanner... Xen Tan Transform

This one comes from the famous Xen tan line, and their dark lotion has been getting rave reviews all over the blogosphere and you-tube recently. Xen Tan are known for the olive tone to their lotions, which they claim gives a more believable golden rather than orange based tan.

The gradual tanner is also rich in shea butter and contains vitamin-E to boost its moisturising abilities as well as giving a tan.

I was sent a tube of this along with a tanning mit and the Xen Tan scrub to try. Personally I wasn't a huge fan of the scrub - I get very dry skin on my legs, and the scrub just didn't seem robust enough to deal with it. It also smells very minty, which I didn't like - it was a little bit toothpaste-y for my taste, but thats a personal thing. I also found that the pump clogged up after a couple of uses - although I'm not sure if that might just be a one off fault, as I haven't read about any other bloggers having similar issues.

The actual tanner itself though is pleasant to use and works well. Its a light textured white lotion - quite runny, so take care dispensing it, unless you want to end up with a nicely bronzed bath matt after dropping it on the floor like I did after a rather enthusiastic first attempt at dispensing it! The lotion is designed to appear white on the skin until it is rubbed in properly, which makes it easier to apply evenly. Scent wise this has a bit of a tropical feel to it initially, which later on get a bit of an almondy vibe about it. It develops a decent level of colour in one to two applications, but obviously can be built up a lot more. The colour that results is very olive/yellow based, so looks great if you have that tone to your skin already.

One thing I did notice with this one is that it's quite important to stay on top of exfoliation and if you have dry heels product can build up a little there. Would I repurchase? I'd definitely repurchase from the Xen Tan line again - I've used it before and liked it, and I'm keen on trying some of the "dark" line they produce now I'm getting a bit more adventurous. I'm going to try and track down their new Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe as soon as possible to try...

Xen Tan is available in Selfridges, House of Fraser and various online retailers - the range can be viewed HERE.

The Instant Tint - He Shi Express Liquid Tan.

These sort of wash off tans were my first ever foray into tanning way back when I was a teenager experimenting with various flavoured alcopops in various "nitespots" of Liverpool. But hey we all make mistakes. Often mine would result on a rain streaked tango-ed walk home in the rain. Ahh the joy of a mis-spent youth.

Things have gotten a lot better since then thankfully. This is a great solution for those last minute occasions when nothing but a dress will do, and you haven't had three days notice to exfoliate and build up a good colour using self tanners. The whole He-Shi range is unisex, too, which is a bonus, and also adds to the believable quality of the brand too... This is a very nice product - applied with a mitt, this blends into the skin really well, and gives a believable level of tan, which is not at all tangoed. I actually bought a bottle of the stuff I used to use when I was a teenager (sunshimmer instant tan) to compare with this. And well, lets just say I won't be bothering with the cheap varsion again. Obviously don't wear this if rain is forecast though - it's still a wash of formulation so it will streak if you get caught in a shower... Another good one, and I'd be very likely to consider purchasing further products from this line.

He Shi also produce a range of gradual and self tanners, available from various online retailers including HERE.