After using Johnson's Holiday Skin with a level of dedication bordering on Obsessive Compulsive, and then having somebody tell me 'God you're even paler than me!', I decided to stop chickening out and try a real fake tan for the first time in my whole life!

(well, ok, the FIRST time was 2 years ago with Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer, which made me smell like a biscuit factory, but let’s just ignore that for now…)

PRICE AND PACKAGING
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze usually costs £10.99, but it was on offer in Boots with 1/3 off. I don't think that this is a bad price - not stupidly expensive like St Tropez, but it is enough to give me confidence in the product.

The packaging is clear, so that you can see the dark orange gel inside, with an orange flip cap. It has orange, gold and white colours on the front. It looks quite nice, although how excited can a girl get about the packaging really?! The downside of the plastic packaging however is that it is slippery when you hold it with product on your hands. The upside is that you can see how much you have used!


CLAIMS...
'Sublime Bronze is a non-greasy self-tanning gel with a smoothing effect, which is easy to apply and dries rapidly. From only one hour it give the skin a golden glow, with an instant velvety touch.'

Well, let's just see about that shall we…


PRE-APPLICATION (read this if you're not a self tan veteran!)

Before using any fake tan, you should cleanse, exfoliate and LIGHTLY moisturise.

I recommend taking a shower rather than a bath, as soaking can make your skin prune and is more likely to open your pores up. Taking a quick bath is ok though.

You can either use any exfoliating body wash (try Sanctuary or Body Shop) or a simple flannel / shower puff (my personal preference). Don't rub your skin raw - you are only doing this to remove the dead skin cells, not the living ones ;-) Pay particular attention to knees, ankles and elbows.

I also recommend that if you want to shave your legs, do this the day after you apply, or you'll get horrible brown dots that you can't get rid of.

Once you are out of the bath/shower, use a light moisturiser all over your body, especially on the knees, elbows and ankles. Wait until the moisturiser is completely absorbed (at least half an hour to an hour), otherwise your tan won't settle and it will either be streaky or not show up at all. I should say that if you don't have particularly dry skin, you would probably be ok missing this step out, and just do your ankles, elbows and knees.


APPLICATION
I sat myself on an old towel and put on my latex gloves. I usually wear an old black thong to do this, as leaving a bit of my natural skin colour helps me to judge how tanned I look! There's a tip!

As it is a gel, it glides on really easily. This makes it better value for money as you don't need to slather it on (if you put too much on it feels VERY slimy and not very nice at all!) It does have a scent to it, but it is not unpleasant.

Around my ankles, knees and feet I used a bit of extra moisturiser after applying the tan, which helps it to blend better.
I also applied a thin film to the top of my hands and feet using a cotton wool ball.

Lastly, I applied it directly to my face without diluting it with moisturiser. I was a bit nervous about this, but thought, what the hell!


AFTER APPLICATION
Although it claims to dry rapidly and be non-greasy, I can tell you that this is a darned lie!

It will take at least an hour to dry. It doesn't feel slimy if you use the right amount, but makes your skin slightly tacky to the touch. After half an hour or so, I cover up with a dressing gown. I wear loose PJs to bed, as I have white sheets, and the tan DOES make them dirty! But it does wash out on a normal wash, so that is good.


RESULTS
I found that I needed to apply it 2 nights in a row before I looked tanned. As yet I haven't applied it 3 times in a row, because I'm too lazy, but I think that this would give me a nice, fairly strong tan.

The colour you get would probably depend on your current skin tone, but on my very fair skin it is a golden brown (instead of a muddy/deep brown). If you want a very deep brown, St Tropez seems to be the way to go, but Sublime Bronze gives a more natural colour.

After using it, I went to visit friends and family who I hadn't seen for four months - and they all believed me when I said it was real!


OVERALL OPINION.
Pros:
Easy to apply
Natural colour
Non-streaky
Light scent
Reasonably priced
Lasts a while - maybe a month of using every 2 days.
Silky skin (that claim is actually true!)

Cons:
A bit tacky - doesn't dry very quickly
Marks bed sheets AND clothes (but all tanners probably do, and it washes out)
Not an 'overnight transformation' tanner… but this is not necessarily a bad thing.