The best face self tan for a natural-looking glow
Gone are the days of streaks and biscuity smells. These facial self-tanners deliver a natural-looking glow while hydrating and caring for your skin.
Saga
Gone are the days of streaks and biscuity smells. These facial self-tanners deliver a natural-looking glow while hydrating and caring for your skin.
When my parents were leaving for their honeymoon, my mother instructed my father to stop the taxi and return home because she’d forgotten her passport. It took her seven years to confess to him she hadn’t forgotten her passport. What she’d forgotten was her false eyelashes. Apparently, the thought of spending a week abroad without her thick lashes was a fate too horrifying to contemplate.
This story tells me two things. Firstly, every woman has at least one beauty product she’d happily inconvenience an entire airline for. Secondly, I am undoubtedly my mother’s daughter. I regard myself as a relatively well-balanced individual these days (shout out to my therapist, my HRT clinic and whoever wrote the book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff), but there is one beauty product I similarly have a borderline unhealthy attachment to. In fact, the mere possibility of being without it can undo years of personal growth within seconds. Meet me and my co-dependent relationship with facial tan.
As someone not blessed with a natural glow (my complexion is more 22 years confined to a basement), facial tanning has always been less cosmetic choice and more humanitarian intervention.
When I initially embarked on my faux bronzing journey back in the Eighties, facial tans weren’t known for their subtlety, which is probably why I spent most of my youth looking like Donald J Trump. Thankfully, unlike Donald, fake tan has moved on considerably since the 1980s. And facial tan has evolved from something you hope won’t dry out your skin too much and make you smell of biscuits into a sophisticated skincare hybrid packed with a ton of benefits.
In fact, there is now a wealth of tan-meets-skincare products to choose from, and the good news? I’m sharing all my faves with you.
Tan-Luxe pretty much transformed tanning from a stinky business into a premium skincare experience, and that’s what you’ll get with its Super Glow Hyaluronic Self-Tan Serum (1). Enriched with skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and antioxidant rich cocoa seed extract, this multitasking genius not only functions as a powerful serum, it also delivers the most divine sun-kissed glow. Did I mention it’s a primer too?
Tanning expert James Read has worked with everyone from Victoria Beckham to Lady Gaga, so unsurprisingly he’s knocked it out of the park with Self Glow by James Read Sunblush Hydrating Tan Mist (2). A lightweight mist formulated with rosewater to plump skin and improve wrinkles, this stuff gives you the kind of subtle radiance that says, “Just back from the Riviera, darlings”. And the gentle floral scent is officially to die for.
Weleda Sunkissed Bronzing Serum Drops (3) had me on price, but it kept me with impressive results. The consistency is beautifully lightweight, and its light-reflecting minerals give you a lit-from-within shimmer. Formulated with yuzu, an East Asian citrus fruit that brightens skin, this also does the business when it comes to balancing out pigmentation.
If you’re after the dream facial tanner for building colour gradually, head straight for Coco & Eve Bronzing Face Drops (4). Packed with skin-hydrating tropical ingredients, such as coconut water, dragon fruit and fig extract, it’s also fuss-free – just drop it into your daily moisturiser and watch yourself morph into a streak-free bronzed goddess.
Finally, allow me to introduce you to a high-end self-tanner that works overtime at anti-ageing – Gatineau Golden Glow Gradual Tan Face Serum (5). Blended with powerful skin saviours, including sunflower, turmeric, jojoba and vitamin A (winners for retaining moisture and minimising fine lines), this serum glides on like silk to deliver a flawlessly youthful glow.
Enjoy getting golden and remember: the best thing of all about fake tan? Never again having to fight for a hotel sunlounger at 6am.
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