Summer Beauty: My 3 Favourite Self Tanners and Tips

Tried and tested by yours truly.

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I'm super excited to bring to you the second part of the Lion in the Wild Summer Beauty series, featuring three of my favourite tried and tested tans. There's nothing quite like a beautiful summer tan, but there's also probably nothing more unhealthy than lying under the sun for hours on end. One of the absolute best summer beauty trends of all time is fake tanning, providing you with a natural-looking tan minus the premature aging and extreme cancer risks. Of course, self tanning can be tricky, so I've put together a list of the best formulas and why you should use them (or you can watch the video below!).



Bondi Sands


Confession time. I used to use the St. Tropez Self Tan Mousse religiously; that was until I discovered Bondi Sands. With a very similar formula, it seemed ridiculous to pay triple the price for the St. Tropez brand, despite its obvious quality. Now days, Bondi Sands has become one of my go-to tanning ranges, with the Self Tanning Foam in Light to Medium and Dark high on rotation. Applied quite effortlessly with the Self Tanning Mitt, the Bondi Sands formula has a fairly strong coconut scent and provides a dark yet natural streak-free tan. One of the best things about the Foam is, of course, that one 200ml bottle will last you a long, long time.

While some people do prefer to tan every other day, I tend to apply it once a week or sometimes less. While the Tanning Foam colour will last for quite some time, I use the Bondi Sands Gradual Tanning Milk to maintain the colour until my next tanning session. Packed with antioxidants, aloe vera and vitamin E, the Tanning Milk also keeps skin hydrated.


Mine Tan


A brand I only discovered earlier this year, Mine Tan had me totally convinced in just one application of its One Hour Express Tan Black Foam, which I've now used in its Green Base and Dark Ash Be Brazilian Base Tan formula. I was a bit worried that the Dark Ash colour wouldn't suit my colouring, being a redhead with freckles and all, but it was amazing. I haven't yet used the Violet Base Exotic European Tan, but I'm most certainly not afraid of days spent lazing on the Greek Islands, am I right?

What I really love about the Mine Tan Foam is that you can customise it depending on how dark you want to go. Leave it on from one hour for a natural colour to three for a deep dark tan. And if that still isn't quite dark enough for you, Mine Tan have just released the new One Hour Express Tan in a Super Dark Onyx Foam, which comes in all three shades as well. Again, I like to maintain my Mine Tan between tans with the Three in One Gradual Tan, which also acts as an after sun care lotion. 


Eco Tan


If you're looking for a certified organic tan with only natural ingredients, then look no further than Eco Tan. While I'm all about organic products, I was a little apprehensive to use Eco Tan, which doesn't come in my preferred foam formula. The reason I'm impartial to a foam is because it's easy to apply and you don't end up with a horrible build-up of tan all over your hands (yes, I've had plenty of horror experiences with this during younger years). I'll admit though, I'm glad I ended up biting the bullet and trying the Invisible Tan, which is a really natural olive tone (no orange skin here!). Just make sure you scrub your hands after applying the creme on your body. And the best part? The tan won't come off on your white sheets after applying it before bed. Score!

My Top Tanning Tips


1. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate! This is the number one, absolute best tanning advice I could give you. And a general scrub won't do. You're going to need to an exfoliating mitt to really scrub hard all over your body to remove both dead skin cells and unwanted tan to guarantee a smooth self tan, without any build-up. This Mine Tan pack comes with an exfoliator and a tanning mitt.

2. Moisturise. A day before you exfoliate and tan, make sure you nourish your body with a great moisturiser to avoid any dry spots that will result in an uneven colour. It's also imperative to moisturise straight after your warm shower after tanning, which is going to stop cracking on the skin, as well as prolonging tan. Try the Eco by Sonya Coconut Body Milk. 

3. Use a mitt. Self tanning foam is best applied with an applicator mitt for an effortless, streak-free finish. 

4. Don't apply tan directly onto particularly tricky areas, such as hands, feet, knees and elbows. I only use excess tan from my glove after I've spread the tan onto the larger areas such as legs and arms.

Kiara KingBeauty29 Comments