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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

My Favorite Sunless Tans

Since my obsession with skincare and make-up started, I've learnt to embrace my pale, freckled skin and now would never fry in the UV rays to get a dark bronzed skin like I used to. Still, each summer I crave just that subtle hint of color which goes so well with satured fruity hues of the season. In order to achieve that, I rely on my trusty sunless tanners, Yves Rocher Tiare Moisturizing Lotion and Xen-Tan Deep Bronze Luxe Weekly Self-Tan in Dark.

Yves Rocher Self-Tanner Moisturizing Lotion Face & Body with Tiare (Tahitian Gardenia) is a great gradual tanner I like to use on my body. It's a quite thin white lotion with a beautiful floral scent with a hint of coconut, perfect for the summer. The product is packed with moisturizing ingredients: glycerin, coconut oil and sesame oil as well as soothing blue agave, anti-aging mangiferin and of course tiare flower extract. It is a bit too sticky to be used on the face, but does a great job of prepping my legs and shoulders for the summer dresses. The shade of the tan is very realistic on me, quite warm but not orangey; as for the DHA smell, yes, it is there after approx. 3 hours, but I've yet to find a self-tanner which doesn't have it at all.

Xen-Tan Deep Bronze Luxe Weekly Self-Tan with Instant Color for Face & Body in Dark (sample tube pictured above) is well-known among beauty fanatics, and for a reason. This deliciously creme brulee scented lotion imparts a wonderful sunny glow without streaks or splotches and is also enriched with glycerin, hazel oil, jojoba oil and peanut oil for hydration as well as aloe vera and vitamins C & E for added skincare benefits. As lazy as I am, I have to say that the vanillary smell is a definite incentive when applying. I use this for my face mixed in with a dollop of a moisturizer to dilute the color a bit on my light complexion (thanks for the tip, Musing on Beauty!). The shade is somewhat more olive-toned than the Yves Rocher, but still works very well with my skin.

So far my only gripe with these two is that with quite intense exfoliation that my skin requires at the moment, the effect these two product gives never lasts more than 2-3 days, which practically means I don't bother with them on a daily basis, though I like having them in my stash for those times when I need them. What are your favorite sunless tanners?

5 comments:

  1. I think that, after everything I've tried, the Xen Tan dark lotion is the best, and the one that has the less biscuity smell.
    Ha, tell me why I keep on trying out new stuff since that one works well enough for me!
    And I'm glad the tip worked well for you :)

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  2. @Mariella: I still favor my gradual tanners, but Xen-Tan is great for when I need my tan now! Oh well, we beauty fanatics are always on the lookout for the next best thing! x

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  3. I never knew Yves Rocher had self-tanners until I saw some at the Clarins warehouse sale. I should have picked it up!

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  4. @GABY: I think they have a whole range of those Tiare self-tanners, but the SA recommended this one as a good value for money since you can use it on your face; I tried and it didn't break me out, just was a bit too sticky. The scent is very nice though! x

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  5. The Yves Rocher one looks like it will smells really good (of course I would much prefer the floral scent than baked sweet), gardenia is my favorite flower (whenever I visit my aunt's place in China, I always pick up those little flower and put them on my hair...my mom usually yells at me because Chinese only wear white flowers on them when they are mourning)I doubt I will ever use any self tanner (God forbid that I, myself, is a self-tanner!)since I am still thinking away to not tan as much...

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