Trying to find the darkest self tan

FelinePrincess

Hi!

I'm still getting on well with my 20%! It's so nice to be really brown and feel confidant enough to put skirts on in this nice weather - last year I felt too pale to wear skirts and little tops alot of the time! I must admit I haven't been putting any sun tan lotion on - I hate the stickyness and for some reason despite my very fair skin I don't seem to catch the sun (apart from on my nose, so I have been applying factor 15 to it). Does anyone else find this? I did wonder if it had anything to do with the fake tan, I know it doesn't contain any spf but I wondered if being brown stops you catching the sun as much? When I went on holiday in jan it was 30 degrees and there was lots of people with sunburn about but I didn't even go a little bit pink despite only wearing factor 4!

Glowgirl you make me laugh preaching to people in boots! Do you tell them about celebrity secrets? I'm sure you are going to be single handedley (sp?!) responsible for drastically increased sales in celeb secrets!

Feline Princess

glowgirl_2

Hi FelinePrincess, I feel like I'm stalking you from my other how fake are you thread:rotfl:did you notice I'm easily the most fake:rotfl:just on my way to pick up my daughter but just thought I'd say I don't seem to tan much naturally now either although I do wear protection even without it nothing much happens, I think this is great:Tcos it puts me in control, I think based on your experiences I will order drops next time, my daughters tan is to die for 2 layers of 6% and she is easily as dark as me, I have a feeling tanorexia is hereditary, must go:D

FelinePrincess

Hi Glowgirl! I did notice how glam you sound, I bet you look gorgeous with your tan, fake eyelashes and hair extensions! I definitely need to give them individual lashes a try!

It's funny, I always used to wish that I could get a nice natural tan but now that I have accepted fake tanning as part of my routine and being able to get a perfect tan using siennasol/celeb secrets I'm not interested in getting a natural tan anymore and when the sun is out I'm more worried about damaging my skin then getting a tan.

Feline Princess

mrs_baggins

dont mean to butt in- hey but I shall! have been following this thread with great interest so much so that I ordered some 10% solution which i applied once at the weekend. Everyone at work today remarked on how nice and tanned i look.

I know for a fact that being fair skinned I have to use factor 30 or so. I could honestly say that even if I lay in the sun naked with properly applied sun lotion and turned over every few minutes that come the evening my skin would be all red in places and not red at all in others!for some reason I just dont tan evenly. At least this way I can spend my holiday doing other stuff and know my tan will be great at the end of it. I am sooo glad I found this thread!

esmecullen

I'm hoping the experienced self tanners can help me!

I've followed this thread with interest, I dont want to go too dark, just need a golden/honey colour. The self tanner that has been recommended sounds brilliant and I have a few questions before I go ahead and buy some-

1. How messy is it, by that, will it rub off on the bed linen or clothes?

2. How easy is it to apply, I live alone and dont have anyone to help with my back, thats the only prob I can see using it at home.

3. Can I apply, wash of guide colour day after and then leave it say a week before re-applying?

4. What strength should I get if I just want as I said before a golden/honey colour, rather than a very dark tan?

I did go to a salon near me and she done a wonderful job with Fake Bake for over 3 yrs, but she closed down 3 months ago. I tried using Fake Bake, but my legs got quite streaky even though I followed the instructions to the letter.

Thanks for any advice anyone can give

glowgirl_2

Hi esmecullen, I'll try to answer your questions

1. How messy is it, by that, will it rub off on the bed linen or clothes?

Yes, the colour guide when you initially apply will come off on clothes and bed linen, it does wash out, when you have rinsed the colour guide off the remaining colour shouldn't come off on clothes, it hasn't on mine but it is a fake tan, I find with the Celeb secrets product even with the colour guide transference is minimal compared to other brands.

2. How easy is it to apply, I live alone and don't have anyone to help with my back, thats the only prob I can see using it at home.

Buy yourself a back applicator from Boots etc, its a long handled plastic thing with a removable sponge on the end, apply product to sponge and use as if it was a loofah make sure there are no white patches, dark streaks wont matter as this is just the colour guide and will wash off, word of warning, don't put too much product on the spongy it as it will make a mess, I strongly advise buying and empty spray bottle and spraying it onto the sponge a couple of times to see how you go, look in the mirror as you apply, you'll soon get the hang of it:)

3. Can I apply, wash of guide colour day after and then leave it say a week before re-applying?

You could try this, I am rather lazy and reapply over the colour guide before washing off sometimes, you will get a better result if you wash it off in between layers, less patchy, how long you leave between layers will depend on your skin type or how the colour takes and the condition of your skin, for example, really well mositurised skin will look good after 5 days dryer skin will appear lighter or patchy after maybe two, a bit of trial and error might be needed here as it really is a personal thing.

4. What strength should I get if I just want as I said before a golden/honey colour, rather than a very dark tan?

This really depends on your skin tone, my daughter is light olive and didn't want to be dark just take the edge off the paleness she put on 2 layers of 6% and was darker then me with 2/3 layers of 16% on, I am very pale pinky/blue so you can see how this varies, my daughter felt she was too dark so had a good shower and exfoliate and is now the honey coloured and looks great, remember you can buy small sizes and layer it to find what suits you as a rough guide it would seem yellow or warm toned skin turns darker pink or cool skin needs a bit of extra dha, try the 6% or 8% first remember you can layer and at the prices they charge if its that wrong (I doubt it will be) its not too costly a mistake.

Flakiness is due to dry skin, exfoliate and moisturise, having said that with the celeb secrets product I find my skin in great condition without any help at all:T Best of luck with your tanning, remember its only fake tan and enjoy it if I can be of any more help let me know:)

esmecullen

Thanks glowgirl & mrs baggins for you help on this

Of to buy some, will try at the 6% and see how I get on, if I dont like the effect will try the 10% as per mrs baggins recommendation

And here's me paying £20 when I could have found out about cheaper ones here, silly me:rotfl:

esmecullen

I've taken the plunge and ordered a bottle of the Celebrity Secrets tanning solution (8%), off to get a spray bottle and back applicator and see how I get on with it.

thanks for the recoomendation on this one

glowgirl_2

I was wondering if you could mix water and dha drops to make a spray tan solution, I know there is other stuff in them but do you actually need them?

FelinePrincess, you have the drops, what do you think? I don't want you to waste them trying just thought you might have an opinion:)

Anyone else knowledgeable in this or know of any interesting links about how the solution is made?

glowgirl_2

I think I've answered my own question having a hunt around online I came across science type sites it would appear that although dha and water would work the colour would be too yellow toned on its own thats where the other bits and pieces come in, also they kill the smell and caramel adds the colour guide, I did find out something interesting, dha is made from glycerin so I wonder if glycerin itself would be a good moisturiser, I'm not sure if you can buy this, I think I'll ask:) Any more info or comments would be great:)