I’m something of a fake-tan phobe, I’m naturally quite pale skinned, so the potential for turning a shade of Oompa-Loompa is all too real a risk for me. To be honest, I think my fear stems from a girl I vaguely knew at school, who, in preparation for one of the all-important dances, smothered herself in the only tanning formula she could find in the sleepy little village the school is in. The result was her face turned the colour of old fashioned marmalade, and it almost glowed in the sunlight. We didn’t see her for a couple of days after that.
Since then, I’ve always been a little wary of self tanners – at least if the body ones go wrong, the worst case scenario is a few days of leggings and long sleeves. Thankfully Elemis have cured me of my face-fake-tan-phobie (try saying that a few times!) with their Total Glow Bronzing Moisturizer. Rather than changing your skin tone over night, the moisturizer is a gradual tanner which builds up over the course of a few days. To prepare my skin, for a few days before I stepped up my skincare game. I used Elemis’ gorgeous Papaya Enzyme Mask (read about it here) to smooth everything out, then the first time I used it, I mixed a little of the Total Glow in with my regular moisturizer. Rather than looking like one of Willy Wonka’s finest, I just looked healthy – as if I had spent the day outside enjoying some healthy pursuit. Day two, I felt a little braver – I used the moisturizer on its own, and was super happy with the result. Again, my colouring didn’t look dramatically different, but I just looked well rested. After using for nearly a week, I met up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. He was sure I’d been off somewhere warm. This is such a great product for this time of year – I’m wearing a little more colour, and I want a little tan, but nothing overly dramatic. It doesn’t turn some odd, unnatural shade, but rather looks like I’m wearing a dusting of bronzer (but thankfully, this one stays on when I’m at the gym!)
The moisturizer costs £29.50 and is available here.
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