Perfecting that fake tan

I would love to be blessed with Olive Skin, the sort of skintone that looks so fabulous all year around. But, in reality I have a very English skintone, one that is very pale, but prone to redness, especially when I catch the sun. This doesn’t bother me so much in winter when I seem to be virtually covered head to toe, but once the weather starts to improve I want to get my legs out, and reach for my sandals, and that means reaching for the bottle of fake tan.

Fake tans used to have a terrible reputation, with words like Oompa Lumpa and orange applied to them. They also used to be very much associated with a certain sort of celebrity, the sort who would also be opting for the false nails, hair extensions and boob implants. But these days faking it is actually a better option, and certainly a safer one, than baking it. Heightened information about skin cancer has made us more aware of the danger of the sun, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to look sunkissed. And that is why professionals use the  likes of St Tropez gradual tan.

There are definitely ways that you can make your fake tan look great and last longer.

• Exfoliation before hand to get rid of all those dead skin cells will leave your skin soft and ready for the tan.
• Applying your tan with a mitt rather than your hand will spread the tan evenly and will ensure that you don’t end up with very odd looking hands.
• Choose your product carefully, if you want a quick fix, opt for an express mousse, if you want to be tanned all year around, opt for a product that can be part of your everyday moisturisation routine, or an in shower variety.
• Take a look in a natural light, this will show if the colour has developed enough, or whether you have any streaks.

Don’t forget that even if you are opting to fake rather than bake, you still need to apply sunscreen if you happen to be out in the sun, especially if you are venturing abroad this summer. But if you choose to avoid the sun altogether, there is no reason to remain beyond the pale unless you want to.

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