Being both pale (read: translucent) and scared of cancer, I’ve tried my share of self tanners.
L’Oreal is orange. Jergens smells all day. Spray tanning makes me black (People notice if your race changes). Like many other things, when it comes to self tanners, you get what you pay for. A $30 bronzing mousse, for example? So worth it.
St. Tropez makes a wonderful self-tanning line. It includes gradual tanning, instant tanning, wash-off tanning, lotion tanning, mousse tanning and spray tanning. But their most popular product by far it their Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, which offers instant but buildable color.
When you squirt it into your hand, it definitely looks dark. Too dark. But it blends seamlessly into any color skin, and somehow manages to look natural–not orange at all. It doesn’t have a strong or lasting odor either. What a win!
The downsides? It’s definitely expensive. I could buy four bottles of crappy tanner for the price of this St. Tropez version…but I would be orange and smelly. It is also transferable. The bottle says to wait an hour before putting on clothes. Realistically, you should wait longer (probably two hours) if you’re wearing light-colored clothing. You won’t want to get wet either. The color washes right off and makes you look blotchy. Additionally, if you put it on right before you go to bed, it will stain your sheets. Lesson learned.
Final grade? A-
The results are flawless. They’re just a little too easy to mess up. And it is significantly more expensive than its competitors
–Brianna Keefe
