I love self-tan. I’m that person that at least once a fortnight has put too much tan on and has brown ingrained between their fingers and doesn’t even care, mainly because I’m too lazy to get up straight away and wash my hands, but still I apply it religiously. Being so loyal to being tanned means I have tried many different kinds from Garnier to L’Oreal to St. Tropez, but I always always always come back to the same one everytime.. St. Moritz.

My favourite product from the brand is the mousse instant tan in Dark (£4 from Boots). The product doesn’t have a strong scent to it when first applied and instantly leaves a gorgeous glow to the skin that builds up over the hours. I tend to apply before bed to allow the product plenty of time to develop and wash it off in the shower come morning. Over time the typical tan scent does start to appear which is why I prefer to apply the tan at nighttime as it means I can go about my day without smelling like  biscuits. The instant colour does also transfer slightly, so be wary of your bed sheets, or if wearing throughout the day, lighter coloured clothes. The product can also look a bit patchy once it has developed, but once washed off it leaves a natural looking olive based tan to the skin.

  
The tan stays looking glowy and natural for around 4-5 days if not reapplied and as long as you regularly exfoliate and moisturise daily the tan doesn’t become patchy as it’s fading, which is great.
Personally I tend to reapply the tan every 5-6 days and to keep it glowing inbetween uses I apply a gradual tanner, my personal favourite is Palmers Cocoa Butter, see ‘upkeeping my tan’ below. I use the Palmers lotion every 2-3 days to keep the colour from fading too much aswell as to keep the skin moisturised and glowing. By doing this I can keep an all year round tan. However once a month I will let the tan completely fade off to ensure that it doesn’t start to become patchy or dirty looking.

How do I apply and keep up my tanning routine?
Preperation
The morning before I intend to apply my self tanner I will exfoliate in the shower using Soap & Glory’s Smoothie Star Breakfast Scrub (£8 from Boots) and after the shower follow up with body butter, I don’t have preference on this but currrently I am using The Body Shop’s in Strawberry (£14 from The Body Shop).
Straight before I apply my tan I will then remoisturise the drier areas of my body using the same body butter.

Application
Using a self-tanning mitt (£3.99 from Boots) I begin to apply the tan. Now personally I apply the tan all over my body, so you may apply differently if you only wish to tan your legs and arms for example. I tend to use 4 pumps per leg, I would apply 2 pumps directly to the mitt and start mid shin and work around the bottom part of the leg before using the last bit of tan to do my foot as you don’t want too much product around your ankle or toes. I then repeat that process starting mid thigh, finishing with the knee for the same reasons. I use 2 pumps per arm, this includes the shoulder area. 2 pumps for the stomach followed by 1 pump for the chest. I use 1 pump to cover the bottom of my back and 2 pumps for the top of my back. However, I only apply 1 to the mitt at a time as you can only cover a certain amount of area of your back if applying the tan alone, so it makes it easier to cover and blend. I finally use 1 pump to cover my neck front and back upto my face – but don’t apply to my face.
Once applied I would suggest not wearing anything tight fitting that could cause the tan to leave lines on the skin, such as a bra or tight waisted bottoms.

Washing off
The morning after I will shower as normal allowing the excess colour to run off until the water is clear before applying any type of product in the shower to my skin. I tend to use moisturising shower gels to ensure I don’t dry out the skin, such as the Original Source Coconut and Shea Butter (£2 from Boots). After my shower I will then ensure to pat dry to ensure I don’t disturb any of the product. I then follow up with body butter as before.

Upkeeping the tan
I tend to apply the St. Moritz tan every 5-6 days using the same process I have just gone through with you. However between I ensure to moisturise after showering daily using my body butter. And every 2-3 days I will exfoliate in the shower before apply the Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze Gradual Tan (£5.69 from Boots) before bed. This gradual tan I find has a very strong scent, which stays on the skin even after showering so be sure to only put what you need on. I apply this using my hands so I make sure to wash them thoroughly after applying and following up with a hand cream to ensure the tan blends naturally from the wrist, my current favourite hand cream is Garnier 7 Days Mango Hand Milk (£3.29 from Boots).

Overall St. Moritz is my favourite self tanner. Yes I’ll agree it’s not as moisturising as some others such as St. Tropez or Fake Bake. However when a self tanner has an olive base which creates a natural glowing tan, leaves no noticeable scent after washing off, fades off without going patchy and costs less than a fiver, well you can’t call it anything else.

What’s your favourite self tanner?

Becca-x