I honestly cannot believe that I am writing a blog post about this. I was always the girl in the Tridelt house saying ew gross, I will never use that. The smell of the Jergens tanning lotion has been what I've associated sunless tanner with for years. If you've ever gotten a whiff of it, then you know it is NOT a pleasant smell.
However, after learning how much damage the sun does to our skin and doing a good bit of research on self tanners, I have found one that I can stand behind. And if you follow many fashion bloggers, you will not be surprised by what I am sharing today. A great majority of bloggers who use sunless tanner use St. Tropez Classic Bronzing Mousse.
I actually purchased this product in October, but I was too nervous to try it until I bought a skirt and an off the shoulder top in December. My skin is naturally very fair, so goodness knows that I get extremely pale in the winter. I feel better in my clothes when my skin has some color, so this new outfit motivated me to try self tanner for the first time ever!
Before I Applied Sunless Tanner:
- I read every word on the bottle and spent hours reading reviews online. I also stumbled upon this video and watched it several times to make sure I knew the right way to apply it.
- I learned that I needed to shave my legs and exfoliate the day before applying.
- I also put on lotion after shaving and exfoliating.
- I'm using the pictures below as my before pictures because it was the metallic skirt and off the shoulder top that inspired me to try self tanner!
Turtleneck // Metallic Skirt (currently $27.49!)
Ruffle Top (currently $13.99!) // Peplum Velvet Skirt (currently $18.99!)
While Applying Sunless Tanner:
- I used this mitt, so that I wouldn't get streaky orange hands AKA one of my biggest fears (because I could hide a lot of my body since it's winter, but hands aren't as easy to hide).
- I pumped the self tanner onto the mitt and applied it using upward circular motions.
- I read that you don't need a new pump of self tanner when applying to hands and feet, so I just used the excess tanner on the mitt for those two areas (after I had used the majority of it on my legs and arms).
- I struggled to reach my back and prepared myself to have a super splotchy back.
After Applying Sunless Tanner
- The directions said to wait until touch dry before getting dressed. This stuff dries immediately, so I did not have to wait long at all.
- I put on loose fitting clothing.
- The bottle says that there is no self tan smell, but I have a strong sense of smell and was able to smell it.
- I was supposed to wait 4-8 hours before getting wet. I took the picture below after having the tanner on for 4 hours and thought I was looking pretty dark, so I decided to hop in the shower right after snapping this pic.
- Once I got out of the shower, my tan (thankfully) did not look as dark.
- Lots of things I read stressed the importance of moisturizing every day to prolong the tan.
- I moisturized every day, and I'd say my tan lasted about a week. It never got streaky or weird looking. It just disappeared naturally. I'd call that a win!
- The picture below shows what my tan looked like after 2 days (when I could get Parker to take a picture for me :) ).
My Final Thoughts
I really like this stuff! I would never use it without a mitt because I think it would leave my hands streaky. However, the mitt kept my hands protected and allowed me to apply the tanner very evenly!
I don't know how it's even possible because I know I was unable to reach all of my back, but my back was not splotchy. Everything looked evenly applied! Also, I did not use it on my face. I would use this tanning product that is actually made for the face, if I were to put self tanner on my face.
The only negative I can think of is the smell. It was nowhere near as bad as the Jergens smell, but I could still smell a slight self tan smell (even after my shower).
Oh wait, one more negative is the price. It is not cheap, but it is a lot cheaper than going to get spray tans. After 2 uses, I still have about 80% of my bottle left. So I believe it will last a while.
I actually used it again yesterday (for the second time) to make sure none of my thoughts changed before publishing this post this morning. :) None of my opinions changed. I do think it gets easier with time though. The first time I used it, I was so nervous that it took me 25-30 minutes to apply. It took me less than 10 minutes yesterday.
My skirt and ruffle top are SO affordable right now! They are on sale plus an additional 50% off with code SAVENOW. I've never seen an article of clothing for under $15 at J.Crew! Amazing!
Anyway, I can officially say I am a fan of St. Tropez Classic Bronzing Mousse! Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks so much for reading! Have a great day!
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