The Perfect Tan With St. Tropez

Back in my freshman year of high school, I remember reading an article about skin cancer in Teen Vogue and that’s when I decided that it was time to protect my skin. While girls were off using the tanning beds every weekend, I was using sunscreen religiously. It seems to have paid off since I’m now 21 and still look like I’m 14! In order to combat pale skin while still protecting my skin, I discovered the wonderful world of self-tanner back then and still think it’s the best to this day!

Now that I’m older and able to splurge once in a while on beauty products, I decided to give the holy grail of self-tanners a try: St. Tropez. I always hear about it everywhere from magazines to celebrities, it’s considered to be one of the best self-tanners on the market. It comes in a variety of different formulas and sizes but I decided to give the 4oz. bronzing mousse a try which retails at Sephora for $32. St. Tropez claims that the mousse gives you a streak-free tan that dries in 60 seconds and is formulated without parabens, sulfates, and phthalates.

First I began by exfoliating my skin and then moisturizing with a body lotion. I recommend putting extra lotion on your knees, elbows, neck, and the back of your ankles since these are the areas that self-tanner seems to not blend easily into the skin. Then, I put on my applicator mitt (you can find these at Ulta and Sephora for cheap!) and began applying the self-tanner in a circular motion. The mousse is tinted a deep bronze color so you can see where you applied it. I have to say the smell is much better than most self-tanners I tried, it’s light and doesn’t give you a headache from the artificial smell. This was my first time using mousse self-tanner and it’s far better than using lotion since all you have to do is use the pump. The mousse soaks into your skin in seconds and doesn’t feel greasy. Once I applied it all over my body, I waited 15-20 mins before putting on my clothes. The directions on the bottle says to wait 6-8 hours before getting your skin wet so I recommend using this at night before you go to bed.

I noticed that this isn’t an instant self-tanner but a gradual one that develops it’s full color in about 5-6 hours. In 2-3 hours, I began to notice that I had no streaks on my skin and that my tan was a beautiful, natural bronze color instead of the ugly orange that we all dread. After 6 hours, I was obsessed with the color and when I met up with some friends they all thought it was an actual tan! I decided to go darker so I applied it a second time the next day and
the tan lasted for 5 days without getting patchy. Although it’s pricey, for amazing results like this I say it’s worth it! It lasts much longer than drugstore self-tanners and looks far more natural. Who says you have to go on vacation to get a great tan?

Here’s a picture of the results, to see more pics of this tan check out my Lilly Pulitzer outfit post!

Hope you enjoyed this post!

-Ruya