My Tanning Routine

All products c/o M&S

The title of this post is a little misleading because as regular readers will attest, I'm not a tanner. I really don't self tan. Ever. I used to back in my twenties, but would always end up smelling like biscuits and with that tide mark of shame around my wrists. Tanner was not my friend, I'd never manage to make it look natural and it usually always ended up going patchy after a day or so.

When I attended the M&S afterparty for Bristol Fashion Week, I was very kindly given an amazing goodie bag after the event which contained loads of fabulous beauty products. Featuring heavily among these were some tan preparations from St Tropez, and since I have some tan cloths that I got in a Glossybox (I think!) in my bathroom cabinet, I thought I'd give sunless tanning a go once again.

I'm all for maintaining a healthy colour, I was looking at some photos of Alexa Chung recently and it suddenly struck me that part of the reason she looks so great all the time is that she's quite tanned! I hadn't noticed it before, but she isn't averse to a bronzed pin-although she probably has a fleet of cherubic looking beauty angels to spray her from every angle so as to achieve the most seamless of tanning application, which I definitely don't have! I'm going to have to try my best with the tools I have at my disposal!

So apparently, it's not done to slap it on and hope for the best-strategic planning is involved in generating and maintaining the perfect tan. Exfoliation is a must, as is moisturising, to avoid any patchiness caused by tan clinging to dry skin (ugh!) I have in my armoury a St Tropez Tan Enhancing Moisturiser which I look forward to using-almost like a primer for your tan, this should help it to last longer and fade without patches.

Ah, the fade! Instead of battling patchy horrendousness, I am hoping that the St Tropez Tan Enhancing Polish will help. It claims to extend the life of the tan and help it to fade more evenly, which is definitely something I would like to achieve when I self tan. I am still not sure I'll be any good at the application, but I am going to try tanning wipes, this time, over foam, gel or cream, in the hopes that the application will be a little smoother and less messy, with a more controlled end result. Here's hoping!

XO Amie