As some of my regular visitors to this blog will already know, I also run a spray tan company called Bronzed, a humble little outfit which has rapidly gone from strength to strength via word of mouth and successful results.

I have been tanning myself, friends, family and laterally clients, for over 20 years now. I may be able to finally embrace the Ginger hair, but I don’t think I will ever be confident or self assured enough to wrap my arms round my naturally pale skin. It’s been a long-standing, personal mission to find my ultimate skin shade and replicate it week on week. There really is no lovelier feeling in the beauty stakes, than when you shower off a spray or self tan and glow beautifully for the week ahead.

Over the piece, I must have tried pretty much every option to turn my blue-white hue to a natural golden brown, including wash off, gradual fade, instant, mousse, spray, tinted moisturiser, lotions, gels, rubs, to name but a few. Ultimately, none of these make me truly happy as I still have to exfoliate it off and re-apply (which I do faithfully once a week – yes, I’m that obsessed!) but I’ve found a way which works for me and I’m sticking with it. I thought I’d pass on my hits and pits in the quest for the perfect faux tan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly, and for business, I use this one, Nouvatan. An organic, sugar based solution which sprays like a dream. Pretty much most skin issues or bad prep problems will be browned out by my top brand. Previously, I have tried Sienna X, Fake Bake, St. Tropez and Suntana amongst others as sprays, and head and shoulders above them all, shines Nouvatan.

Key for me, it doesn’t contain any parabens, those nasty chemicals which have preservative qualities but are heavily linked to causing cancer. It’s cruelty free and alcohol free too, it just adds up to the right choice as far as I can fathom. You won’t find it on the high street, it’s a salon only product, but you can buy it from loads of beauty therapists (including me!) and salons up and down the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To spray tan or self tan? Well the main at home problem must be streaks! I don’t know many people who can successfully apply tan at home and achieve a perfect 10. It’s fiddly, messy and definitely not advisable around midnight after a few glasses of wine! Ok, that last bit is my own personal experience, but who among us hasn’t done that? I love the tanning mousse for my use at home, and its virtually streak proof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there are tons of at home holiday glow products on the market and it’s great when you can’t manage to fit in a trip to a salon and you need a colour in a hurry. Brands wise, for self application, I’d highly recommend investing in premium names such as Lancôme, Clarins, James Read etc, as you definitely get what you pay for. With doing your own tan there’s always the added benefit of not having to strip down to your greying Primark tanga briefs and display your wobbly bits to a complete stranger too, but I can get over that any time in my perfect tan crusade.

Vita Liberata is the no.1 chaser company as far as my experience goes, with them snapping at the heels of all the well know, go-to names. Their tan reportedly last up to 3 weeks – that boggles my mind – but what claim! How is this feat possible? Maybe I will review it for you all and let you know if it lives up to the hype.

I do spray tan myself when I have to, if my long-suffering husband is off on his work travels. This does, as one would imagine, involve a high degree of contorting and require extreme Hilaria Baldwin style flexibility. To be honest, my husband is no tan technician and I’ve had mahogany feet on way too many occasions so I tend to opt for the Nouvatan self tan mousse when I can be bothered to spray myself. This makes it virtually impossible to end up streaky, it’s as foolproof as the spray so I’ve never had any complaints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I never spray tan my own face, for one simple reason. It’s too rich for my facial skin and leads to lumps and bumps, which unsurprisingly, are not high on my wish list! I tan from the chin down and apply Skin Deep, cheap-as-chips wipes to blend the colour of my face to the rest of me. I’ve used these for years, and they’ve never let me down, being streak proof too. I often give them to clients who opt out of face-spray, and they end up converted, in fact I think I should be in commission from the brand! In essence, for me, spray is the way, as it’s quick, clean (for the client), and effective. Job done.

What’s your favourite spray or self tanning product? I’d love to hear about yours….