You’d think that, because it’s England, everyone would be pale here, right? WRONG. Well, at least partly wrong. I feel like tanning is a prerequisite of living here for a lot of people! Especially in Essex. So needless to say, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon. I go to the tanning salon 1-2 times a week tops, which is more than enough for my skin. I don’t want to overdo it! Also, if you’re in the Essex area, I HIGHLY recommend Strawberry Glow in Loughton – great salon with excellent customer service. The girls in there are SO nice!
Like many others, I like to top up by using self-tanning lotions. That way, I get even more of a natural looking tan without having to use the tanning booth. That being said, I can’t tell you how many different lotions/sprays I’ve had to try until I found ones that I liked. My bathroom shelf looks like an ad for Boots (not that I’m complaining).
Here are the tanning lotions that I’ve used so far.
Part of me picked this because of the packaging – I’m a sucker for some pastels and a cute font. But this works really well, and smells great.
GARNIER SUMMER BODY GRADUAL TAN MOISTURIZER
I’ll be the first to say that I love pretty much every Garnier product I’ve ever come in contact with. This cult classic is no exception. This seems to be the go-to for a lot of people, and I’m not surprised. It works well, no streaks, and the smell isn’t too intense.
This lotion is okay. I was a little disappointed by this one. It worked okay – gave a bit of a tan; but it made my skin feel really dry afterwards, and smelled not so nice. Also, if you use this, make sure you wash your hands REALLY WELL when you’re done.
GARNIER AMBRE SOLAIRE NO STREAKS BRONZER MIST
Word to the wise – don’t use this unless your a self-tan EXPERT. Which, I am not. It leaves SO MANY streaks if you don’t apply it properly. Be careful with this one!
L’OREAL SUBLIME BRONZE OVERNIGHT ELIXIR
I loveeee this one! The label doesn’t lie – it really does work overnight! It’s been my favorite product so far because of how well it works. And you don’t need a lot, which is great. I use the overnight elixir – I couldn’t find it on the Boots website, but they do carry this one (I’m sure they have both in-store though!).
Not pictured here (because I ran out) are the most AMAZING face tanning wipes EVER. I only found them once, in Home Bargain for like 99p, – I think they’re called Santa Monica. I found them on Amazon, but it seemed like a shady seller, and I wasn’t shelling out £8.99. If anyone has heard of them and can find them cheaper let me know! These wipes are gold dust, I swear.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve used any of these, and what your experience was like! Also, if you have any other recommendations, please feel free to hook a girl up.
xx Lauren
As a fellow pale girl I truly needed this post!
I’ve been blindly using the same tan for the past year or so, can’t wait to try out some new options and avoid those more difficult ones haha (I am definitely not a tanning expert).
I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I’m definitely no expert either – it has been A LOT of trial and error haha.
Im not very pale in my own thought xD Or im pale during winter but i get extremly brown during summer ^^ I just have to look at the sun and poof black xD
Haha, I’m so jealous! It’s taken a while for me to get a *hint* of a tan!