~ THE PRODUCT ~
The product is made by Garnier and it's called Summerbody. The product is a moisturising lotion that gradually builds a natural-looking sun-kissed tan. The product provides your skin with 12 hours moisturisation and has extract of apricot which helps to keep your skin feeling moisturised all day long and leaves it feeling soft and supple. The moisturising lotion moisturises your skin from morning until evening whilst gradually building a natural looking tan in harmony with your skin tone. The product contains a hint of tanning ingredient which helps to build a gradual looking tan. The product comes in 2 different looks which includes a light sun-kissed look and a dark sun-kissed look. Each product comes in the same packaging but on the bottom of each bottle it still states whether it's for a light or deep sun-kissed look so you need to check this before buying the product. I have used Garnier products before and have found most of them to be very good quality. I know there are lots of other brands which have brought out very similar products and claim to give you a gradual natural looking tan. I have tried a few of these products from other brands and haven't had much success which is why I decided to try the Garnier summer body. I have also read other reviews about this product and they all sounded quite good. I purchased this product from my local Boots store for £5.10 which was for a 250ml bottle. You can how-ever purchase 400ml bottles of this product for approximately £7.15, these products are currently in the 3 for 2 offer in boots where you can combine summer products and the cheapest one is free.

~ PACKAGING ~
The shape of the bottle is a bit like an hourglass but has very smoothed curves to it. The bottle is a golden yellow colour which looks a little shimmery and the top of the bottle has a white lid which flips open. On the front of the bottle it states that the product is a moisturising lotion with a sun-kissed look. On this particular bottle it states that this is for a Deep Dun-Kissed look for soft, radiant-looking skin all year round. You can tell the product is made by Garnier due to the large logo at the top of the bottle. On the back of the bottle is tells you information about the product such as is the product is suitable for you, how it works and how to apply the product to your skin. It also gives you a list of ingredients and a Garnier skincare advice line. It states that the product is not suitable for use against UV light. The packaging is nice as it's a bright summer colour which means this product is easy to find amongst the other Garnier skincare products as it stands out a lot more. The feel of the bottle is very smooth, but it's also thin which means the bottle is easy to hold in your hand and is perfect for packing into a suitcase when going away.

~ USING THE PRODUCT ~
Apply evenly to your body every day all year round for a natural sun-kissed glow.

Before using self-tan products I always ensure that I use a good body scrub in order to get rid of any dead, dry skin cells that may cause my tan to look patchy or streaky. As this product contained self-tanning ingredients I also prepared my skin for this product too. I always moisturise 2-3 times a day anyway as I occasionally suffer from eczema, how-ever when I'm in the shower I also use a gentle body scrub to ensure my skin is smooth and soft ready to apply any self-tanning product. The good thing about this product is that it's also a moisturiser so it should keep my skin feeling soft and smooth. After getting out of the bath and ensuring my skin was dry I flipped open the lid of the bottle and squeezed it slightly to dispense a small amount onto my fingers, which was about the size of a 2p. The lotion was white and wasn't too thick, it was very shiny/glossy looking. I applied the lotion over my arm, ensuring that I was rubbing the cream in evenly across my skin. A small amount of this cream goes a long way and I didn't want to plaster it on so I was able to use some of this for my other arm as well. I continued to apply the cream all over my body. The lotion was smooth and silky on my skin and it had a fresh smell to it and only smelt a little of fake tan. After applying the cream I washed my hands and then waited for about 2-3 minutes to ensure the cream had soaked in. I then did my night duties such as facial moisturiser and went to bed.

~ RESULTS ~
I got up in the morning and couldn't help but notice the smell of the product still on my skin, how-ever now the product really did smell like fake tan. The smell wasn't really strong, but I could smell it quite easily. I looked at my skin to see how the lotion worked. There was a very light tint of colour to my skin. Since this was the first time I have used the product I wasn't expecting too much from first use as it's a gradual tanner anyway. The light colour looked quite natural, how-ever I did want it a little darker so was intending on re-applying the product again later. When I touched my skin it felt really soft and smooth and it felt and looked moisturised. In fact the whole appearance of my skin looked better. It looked healthier due to the light colour on my skin and because it felt smooth and soft it also made me feel great too.

~ RE-APPLYING THE PRODUCT ~
I have re-applied the product again all over my body and then waited before getting dressed. I again spread the cream evenly over my body ensuring I don't use too much of it. I washed my hands again and waited until the afternoon/evening to see the results. When looking at the results later in the day my skin did look a little darker than it had done first time using the product. Although the colour of my skin was slightly darker, the cream didn't make me look orange and the colour didn't look un-natural which was fantastic. Of course there was that fake tan smell again; how-ever this didn't bother me too much.

~ OVERALL OPINION ~
After trying many different gradual tanners I didn't have high hopes of this product, how-ever I was pleasantly surprised at how good this product was. As well as making my skin smooth, soft and feel moisturised it gave me a lovely natural colour which wasn't too dark and didn't make me look orange. I didn't feel the need to apply the lotion too many times as I didn't want to end up looking un-natural as I just wanted a light colour on my skin. When you get into the shower/bath the colour does of course fade, how-ever this can be topped up again be re-applying the cream. In terms of value I don't think the product was too expensive and I would pay for this product again as it does everything that it claims to. The only down-side to the product is the fake tan smell which may put some people off; how-ever I don't think it's as strong in this product compared to other products and gradual self-tanners that I have used before. The main thing you have to remember is to wash your hand after applying the product otherwise your hands will end up looking a light orange colour. Although this lotion is for a deep sun-kissed look and I am pale, it didn't make me look un-natural or orange. If I had purchased the lighter lotion I don't think I would have got any results from the first use. You can of course keep re-applying the product for a darker sun-kissed look how-ever I only applied this a few times to get the look I wanted. This product gets a thumbs up from me and is a regular product that I will be using and highly recommend.


(review also on ciao)