Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer Spray

I have mixed feelings after trialing this Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer Spray.

So I'll start with the all the best bits…. 

I absolutely LOVE the colour it gives me. I would even go as far as saying that I prefer it to my usual St Tropez. It's not as noticeable as other tans I've used, but I actually really like that it's much more of a subtle glow. It's what I would describe as a 'winter tan'. It just gives my skin a lovely colour that doesn't look like I've tried to fake it.

The applicator is great, it sprays out an even mist, and is pretty much mess free, as long as you keep it a good 30cms away from your body. I actually found this method much less messy than using mousse, especially for tanning my back myself, it was perfect. The instructions say you don’t need a mitt but I used one anyway just to try and make it even and blend it in while it was wet still.

It dries quickly and I had no problem with colour transfer onto my bed sheets or clothes.

Now, the only problem with this product is that when you spray the tan on, it actually comes out clear, so you can't really see which areas of your body you've covered and which you might have missed.

The first time I used this tan, I managed to get the top half of my body even, but I'll be honest, my legs were pretty patchy.

You know me by now and I'm certainly no stranger to fake tan, so I definitely wouldn't recommend this to a tanning newbie. It took me a couple of attempts to get the hang of it, and as I said before, I've been using a mitt to help me out!

Over all though, I did really like this tan, once I got used to the application. I will definitely be buying it again during the winter.

Have you tried DIY spray tans before? Do you change your tanning routine in the winter?

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Gel

I know in my last YouTube video about how I self tan, I said that I didn’t really see the point in face tan products. I've always just used my regular St Tropez Mousse. That was before I discovered this little beaut, completely by accident.

My boyfriend came to bed with this on his face one night, and I was all like 'ooooh your faaaace smells nice'. Turns out, it was Sublime Bronze. (Check him out, sneakily tanning before bed!)
Crazy because as we all know, normally tans don’t smell great. I'm so funny about the scents of things too, I hate using products that smell too strong and perfumed, particularly on my face.
So, believe it or not, I actually pinched this one night from my boyfriends’ side of the bathroom sink, and kinda fell for it!

I really like the colour this developes into, it's so natural and not orange in the slightest. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous constitancy, a gel formula so feels really cool and refreshing to apply. It's really moisturizing too, if you wanted to use it before you apply your make-up in the morning it would totally work. I've been applying it before bed, and I have to say, it's impossible to get streaks or look patchy. Fool-proof.
This would be perfect to try if you are quite pale, or scared about trying out fake tan for the first time, because it's not too dramatic, but still noticable. I think it's definitely worth checking out.

It's really good if you can’t be bothered to tan your whole body and just want a bit of colour of your face, and it really perked me up. It's so strange, it's such a small change, but a couple of the girls I work with noticed the difference it made to how my skin looked. One thing I really liked about this tan, was the fact that you can apply it with your hands. The gel washes straight off, so no need to use a mitt, and nor orange hands, wooo! I also really like the fact that it's in a squeezy tube, and you can see exactly how much tan you have left, which most of the time, is not the case with pump bottles.

I'm not sure how many 'body' applications you would get out of this, as I have just started using it on my face, but I will say, a little goes a long way on my face, so if I just used it for my face, it would last a long time. It's pretty purse friendly too, at about £13 a bottle.I would reccomend applying once every 4(ish) days, I did apply for a couple of days running, but I turned out to be a little darker than I wanted.

Have you ever tried L'Oreal Sublime Bronze face and body? What fake tan would you reccomend to use on your face?

Youtube#4 How to Apply Fake Tan Tutorial | St Tropez

Hey guys,

just thought I'd post up my next video for you incase you miss it on Youtube.

I know it's coming up for Winter now, but personally I still like to be bronzed. I know hardly anyone will notice in the Autumn and Winter, but I just feel better with a bit of tan on. Is it just me or do any of you do that too?!

A few beauty bloggers have recommended Xen Tan, I've actually never tried it, and my St Tropez is about to run out, so I think I'll go for that next. Have you ever used St Tropez Products? What kind of fake tan would you recommend to me?

I'm meeting and filming with the gorgeous Milly Mackintosh tomorrow night, one of my girl crushes, woo! So let me know if there's anything you'd like me to ask her in my video.

How To: Put Best Legs Forward

In winter the first part of my body that gets neglected are my legs, this of course is not appreciated when they're on full show throughout the other half of the year. When it does become time to get my pasty pins out they do need a bit of sorting, especially as they are the part of me that takes the longest to tan. I rely on a couple of products to help me achieve semi-decent looking legs, nothing too masking just to naturally enhance.

Firstly, I'll apply some fake tan, my all time favourite being Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe (post here) but if, like in the picture above, I hadn't previously fake tanned then instant one is what I reach for. My lovely friend Johnny at Body Sun Tanning gave me Fake Bake Faux Glow, which is practically like foundation for legs. It's a wash off spray that provides a lovely matt colour, making my legs appear three shades darker. I do have a couple of scars on my legs that it's managed to cover too. It's a really miracle product that just makes my skin looks so airbrushed and flawless! I just wish it came in different colours as the shade is a little too red based for my yellow toned skin.

If I do have a tan that just needs a little enhancing I'll reach for This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle (post here), which is more like a tinted cream that makes skin look a little more alive. It provides a glow so I tend to keep all the product focused down the centre of my legs to help catch the light.

The last step is where my limited knowledge of contouring and highlighting comes in, if I want something to appear thinner, I'll sweep a highlighter down the centre, making the light catch it causing my legs to look thinner. A handy little trick eh? For this a big fluffy brush is handy, I used the Real Technquies Powder Brush as it's absolutely huge, and it's synthetic bristles pick up quite a bit of product. The highlighting product I'm referring to is The Body Shop Puff On Radiance (post here), which provides some serious shimmer. If you were looking for something a little more subtle, Gueralain Meterories (post here) would be my recommendation for you as it's more illuminating than shimmery.

This routine only gets pulled when my pasty limbs are in need of some serious leg SOS, especially for an important event - like weddings and birthdays. Do you have a little routine to get your legs summer ready?

Budget Buy: Dermalogica Buffing Cloth

Getting legs out in the sun means one routine, tanning. I'm not talking sitting oiled up with factor 6 in the sun, that was last years routine! Being much more aware of sun damage and protection, this year it's all about fake for me. Let's see how long that lasts but for now I've been using my Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe like no other. (which I reviewed here if you're interested in some meaty fake tan reading)

Scrubbing off that last layer of fake tan can be such a hassle, especially around dry areas like knees where it refuses to come off! That's where I rely on Dermalogica Buffing Cloth to do all my work. It's basically a long cloth that I either scrunch up into a ball or holding each end in each hand and pulling it back and forth (great for reaching my back!) 

When scrubbing off fake tan I usually use it in the shower in conjunction with a body scrub by Soap & Glory. Apply some scrub all over my legs and continue to buff round in circular motions making sure the scrub lathers up. 

I've had my cloth for a good 6 months so it's a little worn away but do make sure to be careful as on first use they are quite rough! I do make sure to moisturise after exfoliating too for really soft skin      

Dermalogica Buffing Cloth is £12 - What do you scrub with?

Tonight you can find me...

...blogging about St Tropez Perfect Legs Spray Tan over on Kathy Kins Style Diary. She has a great little blog, take a look!

The 3 Week Fake Tan?

When I first heard about Vita Liberata 2/3 week fake tan I was very intrigued yet sceptical at the same time. My ultimate fake tan, Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe (link to post here) is absolutely amazing, but only lasts around 6 days. Vita Liberata claims to use pentavitin which is a special technology that locks in the tan so lasts much longer. Needless to say I was dying to try this out! The tan is named Phenomenal and is a tinted mousse which is easy to apply, gets absorbed easily into the skin, dries quickly and doesn't leave you feeling sticky.

Vita Liberata mention one application will last you seven days, two will last 10+ and three will last 2-3 weeks. They also suggest waiting an hour before reapplying and leaving the tan on for three hours so from what I understand heres the process you have to go through to make it last three weeks. 1. Apply fake tan with a mit 2. Wait three hours 4. Shower 5. Wait one hour and then reapply fake tan 6. Wait three hours and then shower 7. After an hour apply another layer of fake tan 8. Wait three hours and shower to wash the final layer off. Making the whole process a whopping 11 hours not including the time it takes to shower and apply fake tan. One thought about all of this - who has the time?!

After this long process I was so happy with the colour I decided the results were well worth the long process it took to get there. A lovely golden colour perfect for my skin tone and streak free. Now the test to see how long it lasted, especially at the time London was going through a heatwave. After four days the tan had gone patchy on my chest and around my arms but legs were still going strong. One week later my legs were horribly patchy and due to the patchiness on my arms I had scrubbed it off. Like I previously mentioned this lack of endurance could be due to the massive heat wave in London so I will be persevering and keep you updated but if it can't last in the heat I guess it's a winter tan for me. 

Have you tried Vita Liberata?

Vita Liberata pHenomenal is £37.50 and available from cult beauty here

Summer Legs In A Tube

When the sun comes out and I tend to show a little more skin than usual, for adding some colour into my skin I'm addicted to Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe. However it gets to that 6 day mark where my tan needs a little top up or even if I haven't had time to tan at all and thats where I turn to This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle. It was such a summer staple for me last year I ended up finishing the whole tube after searching for an alternative this year and having no luck I decided it was time to repurchase! 

I'll let the picture above speak for itself! Applies like a creamy gel, takes about five minutes to sink into the skin and once dry won't transfer onto clothes. Wonderful at evening out the skin tone and adding some warmth back into my legs when they are looking a bit lifeless! Don't expect to go three shades darker, just a pop of bronzy colour with a lovely glow that won't make you look like a walking shimmer brick      

I usually apply a couple of pumps into the palms of my hands and work into the skin, no need for a mit as it washes off really easily! Definietly one to check out if you're scared of taking the fake tan plunge but want a bit of foolproof colour. What I love even more is This Works is a totally natural brand so I know I'm not putting any nasties on my skin - Perfect Legs Skin Miracle contains vitamin C, E and arnica to help heal bruises too!

This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle is £36 and available from Boots here, Asos here & Harvey Nichols