Summertime Skin out of a tin. (Virgin Vie Summertime Skin Self Tan)

Member Name: fergusa

Product:	Virgin Vie Summertime Skin Self Tan
Date:	24/06/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good colour and coverage, does not need daily topping up.

Disadvantages: A bit smelly, not widely available.

In my quest for a natural tan this summer without splurging on my usual Lancome self tan, I have started trying out various moisturisers with tanning agents in them, I have now tried this Virgin Vie product and am pretty pleased with the result.

**Packaging and price
It's in a very nice metal canister with a spray nozzle. It is a gold/bronze colour with a subtle virgin vie logo and the words "summertime skin - for gorgeous, soft, sun kissed skin. The 200ml costs around £10. I bought this in a Virgin Vie store but it's also available on the website (www.virginvieathome.com). It's a mid range product - not as expensive as the premium brands (Lancome, Clarins etc) but more expensive that the brands that traditionally do body moisturisers (Dove, Garnier etc). There is also a spray version for £14 - this is 150ml (not sure why it's more expensive for less product?!!).

**Application of the product.
The product is a lotion consistency and is cream in colour, it is quite luxurious to apply and skin feels smooth and silky immediately after use. It is advised that you use daily to build up a tan and moisturise the skin but I have been using every 2-3 days and it's maintaining a good colour and coverage.

*The good.
The colour and coverage are good, it's easy to apply and I didn't suffer from orange hands, streaks or patchy areas. (But I was careful to apply evenly and washed hands well after finishing).

Something I've noticed with other tanners is that as it fades it can start to rub off leaving you with patchy areas - this definitely does not happen with this one, it fades gradually and consistenly - just like a real tan.

**The bad.
It does contain Limonene and Linalool which if you suffer from reactions to some products are quite likely to be the cause.

It's only available in Virgin Vie stores and online, not in Boots, Superdrug etc. So, it's not the most widely available. There are 8 Virgin Vie stores - I have listed at the end of this review.

**The Ugly
Why oh why is it not possible to find an effective tanner that doesn't smell of stale food. This one isn't the worst I've smelt but it still lingers a bit longer than I'd like.

So overall, good for the money, dropped a star because of the smell (but not the worst I had).

Virgin Vie stores
Brighton, Churchill Shopping Centre 01273 207 778
Bristol, Cribbs Causeway 0117 950 9485
Bromley, The Glades 0208 460 3004
Kent, Bluewater 01322 427 172
Manchester, Trafford Centre 0161 747 0068
Renfrew, Braehead Retail Park 0141 885 9330
Sheffield, Meadowhall 0114 2568 767
Thurrock, Lakeside 01708 680 601

Summary: A good product, worth the extra not to have to use every day.