I may be a big fan of neon this summer. Yes, it’s true. I cannot get enough of a splash of neon orange on my toes or neon yellow in a pair of shoes.
But there’s one kind of neon, I’ll never warm to.
The neon of the post-winter leg kind.
Now, if you’re a regular here, you’re very familiar with my lazy-girl beauty kind of ways. We’ve already touched on the subject of awakening our legs from their winter hibernation.
But when it comes to turning down the neon on my legs, I often turn to the salon spray tan. Particularly if I have an event to attend and I do not want my legs upstaging and outshining any guests of honour.
In between salon spray tans, I’m a fan of the gradual tan. Basically because you can slap it on and there’s rarely any danger of stuffing it up.
Read on for my thoughts on the gradual tan currently taking pole position in my summer 2012 beauty cabinet … plus I sent out five different self-tan products to five Styling You readers to trial.
And then I want to hear from you. Tell me all about the self-tan that works for your skin.
1. Trilogy Instant Bronzing Gel $27.95. (Reviewed by Lyndi Gepp). The first thing I noticed about the trilogy was the smell. It smelt just like summer when I was a child … coconut oil (very incorrect as far as sun safe goes but ahhh the memories). The second thing I noticed as I squeezed out some of the gel onto my lily white skin was the sparkles. I love a sparkly product – definitely an instant lift to not only the body but the mind. The gel was super easy to apply and was very light feeling on my skin and didn’t feel at all greasy. If anything it felt slightly dry although I am prone to dry skin so it may just be me. I used the product for three consecutive days and at the end of this time I felt like I should be swaying my hips and saying aloha, as I most definitely had that healthy looking summer glow that so many of us seem to crave.
2. Kerstin Florian Sunless Tan $85 (Reviewed by Moira Marturia). I found the smell not unpleasant, a bit self-tanner-mixed-with-cucumber. My husband described it first as a rancid yoghurt smell when he walked in during application but decided it was more like tzatziki, so I believe the cucumber smell is not just in my imagination. The tanner goes on clear, which made application trickier than with those that have a tint. The first time I made quite a mess of the usual suspects: my knees, ankles and feet. The colour was perfect for my skin tone (I am quite fair-skinned, with that dark haired Irish complexion) and looked great apart from one small streak on my shin, again due to there being no tint to see where I was going. I found it quite moisturising, which was excellent for my terribly dry skin. The tan also fades quite naturally which is perfect in a busy week not to have to worry about the bad end to a good tan.
3. Eco Tan Winter Skin $29.95 (Reviewed by me). Ecotan products are organic and chemical free. I opted for this one because I’m a fan of the gradual tan – the winter tag is a bit of a misnomer. This product is actually designed to suit my skin all year round as it generates a lighter tan. I love that this looks, feels and smells like a body moisturiser (rose flower) so is an easy add-on after my morning shower. After two days, I could notice a difference. The neon factor had been turned down a notch or two. There was no hint of orange. Very happy indeed.
4. Vani-T Velocity Rapid $36.95 (Reviewed by Kim Abbate). As a person who has NEVER tried self tanning (other than the moisturisers with summer glow) I was a little scared. It came with an applicator glove which mean no orange palms 
The pump didn’t work which made it difficult to apply. Putting it on was otherwise easy and the coverage was even. I washed it off after an hour (the recommendation for light skin) and the result was fabulous. It did darken a little overnight and the result has been a lovely glow on my lilly white legs. It has faded over the last few days evenly and there is no distinct line where the tan meets my feet/heels/toes as it blends really well thanks to the applicator glove.
5. St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse $39.95. (Reviewed by Jane Frosh). I am a spray/self tan addict. I am almost ‘slapper on snog, marry or avoid’ worthy. And let me tell you, the St Tropez self tan is the BOMB! It smells amazing, has a lovely even consistency, glides on beautifully and dries super fast. I have applied it twice within a two-week period, both to glam up for events. Both times I applied the night before, after exfoliating and de-fuzzing (yes, I de-fuzz my arms too!). St Tropez provide a mitt with the bottle. Brilliant. There is nothing worse than fake tan on the back of your hands.The end result is deep golden brown with NO SMELL! I love it. One of the best self tanners I have tried to date.
6. Xen-Tan Perfect Blend $57 (Reviewed by Vicki Wallis). This is amazing. It did take me a few pumps as well as a good read of the instructions to work out how to use the lotion properly. It has several settings on how to choose the shade you would like from a very light shade to dark. I chose the mid range colour. You do have to blend it in your hands before applying but the colour is just so natural. I have to say that this probably one of the best self tanners I have ever used with the most natural colouring. (BTW … Pippa Middleton and Lady Gaga use this one).
Now, it’s over to you. Do you fake a tan?
What’s your favourite self-tan product? Give us your product recommendation and review below. Don’t forget to tell us what your skin colour/type is so that other readers of the same type can relate.
* The above products were sent to me for editorial consideration, in accordance with my disclosure policy.
