Summer Tanning Favourites

Who needs the sun when you have radiance in a bottle?!…

When it comes to tanning, my opinions on it have entirely changed since I was in my teens. For me, holidays equalled sunshine which equalled laying by the pool and trying my hardest to tan my skin. I would use oils and low SPF suncreams and then wonder why I was burning and literally frying in the heat. I have very pale and dry skin, which leads to dry, burned and red skin after sun exposure. Whilst my dads side of the family have the oily skin and therefore tanned skin gene, my mums side absolutely do not have that trait, and I certainly picked up the fair and pale skin from them. Yet, I would try and try to get a little bit of sun, sometimes succeeding with a small amount of colour, but nothing that could rival the greatest tan in the world. 

In recent years my skincare routine has developed and I put so much effort into cleaning and enhancing the look of my skin for the future. I use anti-ageing products already, because I know that the secret to great skin is starting early – or good genes – one of the other. So I have also found that tanning my face, especially, in the sun, isn’t something I’m keen on anymore. I tend to keep my face covered or coated in very high SPF’s to protect myself from sun spots, sun freckles and wrinkles, and thus, tanning products are a brilliant alternative.

To start with,  I would completely recommend the Dior Self Tanner Natural Glow Bronzing Gel for your face. You can use the body version as all over body tan, but also on your face, so go for the body version when purchasing, rather than the face only bottle. You might as well, as the price is the same for almost twice the amount. This is the only tan I will apply on my face, as it is sensitive enough not to break out my skin, does not smell too strongly and leaves the most radiant tan on the skin. I find that my face looks brighter, cleaner and fresher, helping to blur out bags underneath the eyes and wake up the colour of the skin. Nothing too dark, but just a light wash of colour that you can build up night on night.

For further facial tanning, I wanted to include a few bronzers. Above you can see the Tom Ford Bronzer in Gold Dust, in the stunning white and gold packaging. It is in the large size and perfect as a travel mirror whilst also providing a sunkissed bronze with a slight shimmer. Wonderful for holiday tanning.

And for something a little more matte, the Benefit Hoola bronzer is a brilliant cool toned shade. Great for contouring and adding a more realistic tanning shade to the face. Plus theyve recently brought out a Do the Hoola kit which I thought Id include to show you – great as a gift for any tan lovers as it includes a little mascara, lip and cheek balm and mini hoola products.

But for tanning your body, here are a few more alternatives depending on what youre going for.

For a glitzy body oil, Tom Ford, Estee Lauder and Clarins have all recently launched shimmering body oils. They are applied to the legs, arms or décolletage, preferably before an event or night out on holiday. Whilst also moisturising the legs, they add shine and a touch of glitter onto the skin – well hello Victorias Secret model legs! The Clarins Shimmer Oil also contains hazelnut oil which works to rehydrate the legs after a day in the sun, acting as an after sun treatment whilst adding a bronzed glow and shimmer to the legs. Whilst I was never a huge fan of these before now, I have been packing these for every holiday I’ve been on recently, they’re fantastic! The Tom Ford shimmering body oil especially is so luxurious and smells like holiday in a bottle, yet it is twice the price of the Clarins product and doesnt provide tan, just shimmer. So it depends what you’re going for. 

Or if you’re after a deeper yet moisturising tan, Clarins have recently launched the Golden Glow Radiance Booster for the body. A small tube of product that you mix with body lotion to provide a glowing tan to the skin. You just add a few drops to moisturiser, as little or as much as you want for a custom tan, and work it into the skin, leaving it to work its magic on your skin for a few hours. The tan is very light though in honesty, and much better for someone who likes to build up their natural tan over a few applications. This version is for the body, but they have another that is solely for the face and neck, to be mixed with your usual serums or moisturisers. Such a brilliant idea to be able to build your own tan depending on what you’re going for.

Like I said, I’m totally sold on the bronzers and body oils as they’re just so easy to apply and slap on for a quick all over glow. And in honesty, Im also recently so in love with the St Tropez 1 hr Express Tan. I put off trying St Tropez for so long, I think due to its hype – not sure why. But it has become one of my favourite tanning products, although you do smell like a biscuit all the time its on you.

What are you favourite tanning products at the moment? Which you recommend for a really even and realistic tan?

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