little white truths

I have a lot of products in my draft posts that I'm ready to review, but they're being held up because I need to take photos (they're makeup items that need swatches) and the sun hasn't been out at the right times over the past little while so I haven't been able to shoot them.

What this means is that I'm currently tied to reviewing the products that don't need swatch photos, which would be fine except that I have over seventy draft posts at the moment and that's far too many. I'm drowning in them, and I need to start photographing swatches so I can write more reviews!

Anyhoo. This tanning cream. I've been using it for months now and I really like it, and it's high time I reviewed it so I can safely finish it before moving on to something else.

Indeed, this year has really been a year of trying new tanning products for me, and I do have a couple more waiting in the wings before I return to my HG Bondi Sands (reviewed here), which I also discovered this year.

While I would pick the Bondi Sands over this one - partly because I prefer it and partly because it's cheaper - I still think this one's very good and I recommend it. More on that below.

St Tropez claims/product details:

• For a natural, sunkissed glow
• Gradually builds to create a classic, healthy-looking tan
• Newly formulated to deliver a medium to dark tan
• No self-tan smell, with our new mood-boosting fragrance
• Streak-free and easy to apply
• Quick-drying and non-sticky
• 100% natural tanning actives
• Vegan friendly formula
• RRP $33.99 AUD for 200ml, but do shop around

Verdict

This is a good product and I do recommend it, although it's expensive for what it is and I personally don't think you need to spend this much on a self-tanner - keeping in mind that I bought mine at half-price, in which case I was prepared to pay a little extra for it.

It's a thick, white product with a hybrid gel/cream texture. It has a light and fresh scent, although I can absolutely smell the self-tanner underneath that fragrance so do be aware of this. Note that it's not an overpowering or offensive smell, though, and I'm not aware of it after application.

It spreads and absorbs well, but note that I need to use quite a bit per application - I guess because it's so thick and my dry skin does cling to it so I have to apply wads at a time. Thankfully, though, the tan this creates appears after one application and lasts for a week, so it doesn't matter that I need to use a lot because I don't have to use it very often.

As a body cream the product isn't super hydrating so it's not great for my dry skin and I've used self-tanners before that are more nourishing than this one. Nevertheless, since I'm only applying it once a week, this doesn't really matter. It also dries down very quickly and doesn't leave a tacky finish, so it should suit those who don't like heavier creams.

As a self-tanner, this gives me an excellent tan that looks natural and isn't orange in colour. Yes it's a warm shade, but it's more of a warm golden brown so it suits my yellow-based skin. I also haven't had any issues with streaking, and while it fades evenly enough, it can fade more patchily if I focus subsequent exfoliations on particular areas, so I need to be careful about where I concentrate my body scrub.

Overall I think this is a great self-tanner - it works, it lasts and I don't need to use it very often - but it's not my favourite and it's also expensive for what it is so I would never buy it at full price.

Nice.