Beauty Bible Summer Sun Special: The Best Gradual Tanners
What we learned while trialling products for this year's Special was that – except in a tanning emergency (think: pastry legs on a short-skirt day), gradual tanners are absolutely the way to go. (And even in a tanning S.O.S., actually, we'd go for a temporary tint rather than something dramatically shade-changing.) They tend to be more moisturising. The colour's less intense, so mistakes are less obvious. The whole effect is less patchy. We found they still work better on well-moisturised skin, but for us gradual tanners are definitely the way forward. Use them to build up to the level of tan you want, then every three days or so for maintenance.
So that your face and body match as the colour builds, we found it helpful to use products from the same range – and where there's a shade option, be sure to choose the one which matches your natural skintone, rather than the tint you'd like to be.
So here's what impressed us. (Click on any product name to find on-line.)
St Tropez Gradual Tan Classic Face Cream/£14.50 for 50 ml - gives a natural sunkissed glow, fades evenly and the Light/Medium option suits even the palest skins. Also in Medium/Dark.
St Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted Body Lotion/£15 for 200 ml – goes on smoothly with an immediate hint of bronze and gives a wee bit of coverage to blur any blemishes.
James Read Day Tan Face/£22 for 50 ml – colourless and fragrance-free, this really does suit all skin tones. It's also more moisturising than most, due to aloe vera and hyaluronic acid.
James Read Day Tan Body/£30 for 200 ml – an ‘oh wow!’ hit for ease of application and great results with everyone who tried it.
Melvita Prosun Gradual Self-Tanning Moisturizing Gel-Cream for face and body/£22 for 150 ml: blooming brilliant product that is wonderfully easy to apply, truly moisturising, deliciously vanilla-scented and gives a gorgeous glow without DHA which some people are sensitive to.
Vita Liberata Self Tanning Gradual Lotion/£15 for 200 ml
ESPA Naturally Radiant Gradual Tan/£34 for 200 ml – this has most definitely made it in to the summer beauty 'arsenal' for Jo and Sarah: another gel-cream texture offering great 'slip' (which makes it super-easy to get good coverage), delivering a gorgeous light toasty glow.
M&S Autograph Gradual Tan/£7.50 for 200 ml – we were very impressed with a lot of M&S summer sun products, but this particularly wowed us. Again, deliciously moisturising.