Do you want to see my white bits! (St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse)

Member Name: mrshez

Product:	St Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse
Date:	01/10/09 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy and quick to use and great results

Disadvantages: Can be addictive

I have to admit that i have always liked to have a tan and when i was younger I always sunbathed on holiday and even used the dreaded sunbed which i now believe should be banned.

Without wishing to sound old!, there was not a great deal of self tan products on the market and what was available gave quite poor results and then along came St Tropez.

What is St tropez -

St Tropez is a group of self tanning products they were devised and launched ten years ago and while many other brands have tried to take their crown St Tropez is still the number one.

When it was first launched ten years ago it was only available in salons as an in house treatment and the only way it was used outside the salon was by celebs and stars who had their own personal tanners!.
Since it became available in shops to buy it has become one of the most used beauty products in the world.

The range has now increased considerably although for the purposes of this review i am concentrating on the Bronzing Mousse, the mousse comes in a white bottle with the words St Tropez in black, the black applicator is the same as you would find on hair mousse.

It comes in two sizes 120ml and 240ml and costs £20.00 and £30.00 respectively and can be purchased from larger Boots stores, chemists and salons.

How to apply -

Before you apply the mousse for the first time make sure that your skin is clean and well moisturised, i find that its best to use a full scrub and pay particular attention to areas of dryness such as knees, elbows and ankles.

Always wear protective gloves to apply the mousse and while St Tropez themselves recommend that you start from the top and work down i always start at the bottom.

The mousse comes out as a dark brown colour that looks like mud and this is just a guide colour so that you can see where is has been applied and means that you can rectify any mistakes before it dries, although be quick as it dries in 60 seconds!.
It has a very subtle pleasant fragrance and not a strong tanning aroma and the have recently changed this and the fragrance is even nicer.

Legs and feet -

Pump a amount equivalent to half a golf ball size of the mousse into your palms and rub together then with both hands use a sweeping motion from your toes and cover your feet making sure that you cover the toes including the sides,
Pump another golf ball size amount and use a sweeping motion and cover the legs up to the top of your thighs, i also use a little bit of moisturiser mixed with the mousse for my knees.

Upper body -

Use a sweeping motion again cover the upper body, you don't need to rub the mousse in just sweep it over the skin ensuring you have complete coverage.
It is more difficult to apply it to your own back, you can get some one to do it for you or St Tropez make a great applicator for this.

Arms - If you wish it to look natural you can miss the underside of the arms as you do not often tan naturally under there, i however prefer to apply it there so i dont take the chance of looking patchy.
Leave the hands last as you will still have the gloves on at this point.

Face and Neck -

To give a more natural look i find that it is best to mix a little moisturiser with the mousse before applying and also applying a moisturiser to the hairline to stop it staining your hair, you can also apply this to your eyebrows if they are light in colour.
Take the colour up to your ears as white ears and a brown face does not a good look make!.
Using a sweeping motion again take the mousse up from the neck to the hairline and using a finger applying only a tiny amount to the eyelids and under eye area.

Hands -

This is quite often where people can go wrong and gives away the natural look.

Remove one glove and apply a tiny amount with moisturizer over your hand and pull gently through your finger to the tips making sure to cover the sides also, remove the other glove and repeat. make sure that the knuckles are well moisturised as the tan can cling to the knuckles.

Drying time -

The best thing about the mousse is the fact that it dries in 60 seconds and you can then get dressed, however i find that it is best to do it in the evening as although the guide colour is streak free you may still look like you have been in a mud wresting competition.

Its recommended that you do not wash or sweat for four hours to allow the tan to develop which is why i recommended that you leave it on overnight and wash it off in the morning, It does say that it may stain however i always leave mine overnight and have found that it comes out of bedding and towels easily.

Results -

I have used this many times and the results are always great, when you wash the colour off you are left with a very natural looking tan that has no streaks and the colour is very even and will last for about a week.
It is a very subtle colour and if its not deep enough you can apply it again as i find that two applications gives me the colour that suits me best.
To prolong the colour moisturize daily to stop the skin dryer out and this keeps your tan looking fresh.

Points worth noting -

St Tropez recommends that you use their body polisher and moisturiser as they are made to go with their tanning products and while i used them once i have always used a normal body scrub and moisturizer and it worked just as well.

You can purchase their own gloves but again i purchase mine from the supermarket and they are fine.

What i do recommend though is the applicator for applying the mousse to your back.

If this is your first time using self tan then this is a great one to start with as it really is hard to go wrong.

For their full range and application videos vist the website www.sttropeztan.com

Summary: A great self tan that suits every skin tone