I’ve broken with tradition. I’ve deviated from the norm. I’ve flirted with the enemy. I’ve gone over to the dark side. Well, actually, I haven’t. If anything I’ve left the dark in the past and, if anything, I’m medium.
Regular ‘Our Rach’ readers (hi Mum!) will know I am fake tan obsessed. It’s a way of life for me. My life revolves around my tanning routine. At Christmas, I’ve been known to mock up a spreadsheet so I can plan my fake tanning regime with precision, ensuring I am orange golden brown throughout the festivities.
Don’t laugh.
Over the last few years, I’d say 7 or 8 at least, I have been extremely loyal to one brand of fake tan; St Moriz. It’s cheap. It’s cheerful. It does the job extremely well, without me having to take out a second mortgage to keep my skin looking orange golden brown. However, last week, I decided to do something a bit radical. Instead of picking up by normal bottle of St Moriz Dark Mousse, my hand went left and a bottle of St Tropez Mousse found its way into my basket.
At nearly 7 times the price of St Moriz (I know!), you might see why I used the word radical to describe my decision. Many, many years ago, when I was something of a tanning novice (and man ALIVE, did it show) I used St Tropez. To be fair, there wasn’t that many brands of fake tan around back in the day. Us fake tanners weren’t exactly spoilt for tanning choice. When St Moriz arrived in a blaze of glory, it excited die hard tanners like myself. The reviews were outstanding. The fact we could get a decent tan on the cheap was music to our orange golden brown ears.
So why did I deviate last week? I don’t know. I don’t know why I do half the things I do in my life. As my best friend said the other day “you ain’t half impulsive, Rach”. Often to my detriment mind.
But this impulsive buy in mid July wasn’t that detrimental. Aside to my bank balance. £21 for a small bottle of the stuff? Yeah, it still makes my eyes water some 5 days on. Not good when you’re applying fake tan, I can tell you.
However, what a tan it is. It’s only when you compare it to the much cheaper St Moriz, do you realise how amazing it is. Don’t get me wrong, if I could no longer afford St Tropez or they suddenly stopped making it (please don’t do that), I’d be more than happy to carry on using St Moriz. But let me tell you now, St Tropez really is something special.
As I was applying the mousse to my skin, I instantly loved the colour that was developing. Often when you’re applying fake tan you just look dirty until you wash it off. Not with St Tropez.
It was when I washed it off the following morning, I noticed another positive difference with St Tropez. I can suffer with quite dry skin, however, when I was in the shower washing the tan off, one of the things that struck me was how amazingly soft my skin felt. Everywhere.
It’s been 4 days since I applied the St Tropez, and normally at this stage it would start going patchy and fading in certain areas. But I am VERY pleased to report it’s still looking pretty good. My hands are a tell tale sign with me. The tan sticks to my knuckles and wrists and can look a bit weird. But not this time. The hands are actually looking alright.
Look, let’s be honest here, £21 for a small bottle of fake tan is extortionate. But you are paying for quality. Am I going to be using St Tropez all the time, forever more? Probably not. Unless I win the lottery, which considering I don’t do it, won’t be happening anytime soon. Do I recommend it? Yes. Absolutely. But perhaps for a treat.
