Susannah Taylor tries a revolutionary new self-tanning lotion that can supposedly be washed on, not off...
When I heard about the new St Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Tanning Lotion this week I simply had to try it. After all, I wasn't nick-named the Florida Granny when I worked at Glamour magazine for nothing. I am very pale naturally and whilst I'm definitely not into looking like an extra from TOWIE, I apply some sort of light, natural-looking self tan every week to stop me looking like an illuminous beacon. The idea of the new St Tropez product sounded intriguing - supposedly you are meant to apply the creamy lotion to clean wet skin, in the shower, before washing it off. Over a few hours a hint of a tan is meant to develop into a golden glow. Sounds too good to be true? I'll be honest, I was quite dubious as to how the hell it would work.
So the application went like this: I washed my body (shaved my legs etc) and turned the shower off before applying the product everywhere to my wet skin. It doesn't say it's for the face, but I reckon if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well, and so I applied it there too. It has a creamy texture (non-foaming), and I applied it liberally. The instructions tell you to leave the shower off for 3 minutes whilst the lotion sets to work.
This was the only bit I found a bit weird - it sounds silly but what was I meant to do for 3 minutes? You can't shave your legs (even though I'd already done it), because you'd shave off the lotion, I didn't want to get out and cover myself in a towel in case it rubbed off any patches of the tan, and I didn't just want to stand shivering in the shower (remember your skin is wet). So, instead, I stood, cold and naked in the bathroom and busied myself brushing my teeth before having a tidy of my clothes which were strewn on the floor! I guess if I'd been more organised with a little mirror etc I could have thought of in-shower things to do such as applying a hair mask, or plucking/dying my eyebrows, but I didn't. I also should have done the backs of my hands because I forgot about those. Anyhow, I got back in the shower and washed it off (skin felt very soft), patted my skin dry and went to bed.
Annnnnd... TA-DAH! It worked. Honestly. I awoke this morning to a pale, golden, soft hint of a tan with no streaks whatsoever, and my face also looked lightly bronzed with no tell-tale patchiness. Don't ask me how it works but it really, seriously does and the 3 minutes of naked coldness was worth it.
Colour-wise it doesn't give a dark, Michelle Keegan type of tan (phew), more a golden glow, so if you want it darker then you need to reapply it again - which I of course did this morning, true to my Florida Granny form.
Available now, £14.50 from Boots.com
Call 0207 845 6330 for your nearest stockist
Follow us @GetTheGloss and Susannah @STaylorGTG