As you may remember, I was sent a load of SunLabs tanning products to try out and review. I tried the self tanning spray in Dark last night. I always get a bit scared when I stray from St Tropez as you never know whether the product will go horribly wrong and make you look like you've been tangoed! I applied the spray tanner last night after exfoliating thoroughly and then applying moisturiser all over. Once this had completely dried, I sprayed on the lotion which is a watery consistency and very dark in pigment. The spray was a bit harder to apply than the mousse formulation I am used to as you had to work very quickly to blend it before it dried. I like tanning products that dry quickly but this one was super fast! As long as you make sure you are applying it evenly, it will be fine. It has a guide colour so you can see if you've missed any bits. I will say that it looks darker than St Tropez once you have applied it and I did look in the mirror and panic a bit. But you have to remember that, like St Tropez, the dark pigment on your skin is just a guide colour and not how the product turns out in the morning. I got up this morning and washed the guide colour off and I was really pleased with the result. It gave me a gorgeous tan that is slightly darker than St Tropez would give in one application. I would recommend this product to anyone who finds that St Tropez isn't dark enough for them or people who are looking to get a rich tan. I personally don't like being too dark as it can be ageing if you go over the top with it. You can see in the pic below that it just gave me a nice colour:
I would definitely use this product again but I would possibly prefer a mousse formulation as that's what works best for me and in general it's less messy. I used the tanning mitt provided by SunLabs to apply the product and then latex gloves to apply it to my face for more fiddly areas. I had to be very careful not to cover my bathroom in tanner spray! I don't think my fiance would appreciate having the soles of his feet tanned unknowingly!ha ha.
The smell of the product was actually ok and when I applied it, I didn't notice too much of the normal biscuit smell you get from these kind of products. Chris actually said I smelt like pancakes and syrup...not sure if that's a good or a bad thing!? (that was before I washed the guide colour off) He assured me it didn't smell bad so I'll take his word for it.
My overall impression of this product was that I would definitely use it before a night out to get a really nice colour. I tend not to use these darker tanner until I have a night out or special occassion as I prefer to use gradual tanners like the Dove one during the week. I will try out the self tanning lotion next and let you know my thoughts on it soon.
Now, I'm off to try on wedding dresses with my best mate Pamela! Catch you later girlies! xx