Elemis Archives - The Luxe List

Lauren 10th June 2014

Elemis Total Glow Bronzing Body Lotion*

I’ve talked before about my fear of fake tan – naturally I’ve got pretty pale skin, and I’ve have a tendency to a little orange when I’ve dabbled in fake tans in the past. Elemis, though tempted me out of my pale-cave, with their brand new Total Glow Bronzing Body Lotion. I’ve reviewed the facial moisturizer here, but when I was getting ready at the gym at the weekend, I took the plunge, and applied a fairly liberal dose of the lotion.

It has a light formula which sinks in super fast, and when applied it had a slight floral fragrance. Unlike other sunless tanners I’ve tried, this didn’t dry out my skin, but as it dried, it dad have quite a strong biscuit-fragrance. As I carried on with my day my arms took on a healthy amount of colour. It wasn’t immediately noticeable, but rather I just looked like I had spent a healthy afternoon outside. The next day I applied another layer, again, the biscuits-y smell was a little strong, but I am obsessed with the amount of colour this lotion gives. It looks completely natural, and it gives me the golden glow I normally have to wait days for, laying out in blistering heat.

The lotion is absolutely perfect if you’re looking to get a little colour, rather than be flat out tan. It costs £34.50 and is available here.

Lauren 20th May 2014

Elemis Total Glow Bronzing Moisturizer*

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.