Trying to find the darkest self tan

glowgirl_2

Hi Gunna, how strange I was just comming on to update and you had bumped my post, great minds think alike;), the samples for the 16% havn't arrived yet, the 12% took 2 days to come, me being me I had to try it straight away and slapped it on over my fading patchy orangy tan, within minutes I looked fabulous, the colour guide is nice and dark and the product easy to apply if you take your time, more on this in a sec, I got dressed after about 10 minutes and my god, there was no fake tan on my clothes, no sticky feeling and no dodgy smell - just brilliant:T. The next day I had a shower, the colour guide washed away and I was left with a mediumish nice non orange glow/tan, I have pink toned skin and this worked well with my colouring, however my personal taste is for a darker colour, I might have tanorexia! so next time I order I'm going straight in for the 16%, btw I used the 12% on my face as well and this looked good, although I'm not usually a fan of fake tan on the face this worked really well. Anyway, after my shower I decided to put on another layer, getting a bit cocky I thought I would do a deeper layer and put more on the application mit, big mistake, dropped the bottle all over the floor and OH's jacket:eek: thankfully we have laminate so disaster was avoided as long as it comes out in the wash which I think it will, its only fake tan after all. The good news is it wasnt actually that much that I dropped, it looked worse then it was and I did put more on and now have the super suntan that I was after, thanks to gunna:j, its easy to do your back with one of those long back aplicators with the sticky spongy thing on the end, I have a St Tropez one but they sell them in Boots etc. Without a doubt this is the best tan I have used (I have used all different ones both expensive and cheap) and definitely a great price, oh yeah it dosnt come off on bedcovers either! Anymore self tan stories or reviews would be great, we can all glow together:T

Gunna

AAaahhh Glowgirl :j was worrying that you had a self tan disaster lol but it sounds great(lol apart from the accident) sounds like you have a really nice tan and yes it sound slike you like it very dark hehe, but did you know on ebay you can but pure DHA drops to add to your self tan to make it deeper to your desired colour:D I was going to get some ages ago but thought nah 15 % is strong enough lol.
I always tend to fins with airbrush solutions that when you put on the second coat it looks fantastic and just seems to make your skin glow,then i like to add gold shimmery stuff when i go out and then i look glowy and sparkly lol.

Had to laugh at your accident but don't worry i am the same i get all excited and end up spilling stuff, i should re-name myself clumsy ,i recommened you go to boots or superdrug and buy and empty spray bottle and fill that and spray it on your mitt then if you drop it you won't waste(i would have been thinking sod the floor...my precious tan is spilled:eek:).

I am surprised the 16% hasn't come yet but then he might be slower as it is a sample.

How do you find the smell as? Do you like a packet of digestives(weirdly i actually like the smell reminds me i am tanned hehe).

Perhaps next time it would be better for you to go straight for the strong stuff lol unless you are brave enough to add the drops and make it as dark as your heart desires......i remember reading about a girl that made her 15% solution into 20% i just thought wow DARK lol but the more DHA a tan has in it apparently the stonger the smell.....i don't think that can be correct as soem of the Loreal and Nivea crappy tanners are only about 3-6% DHA and they stink to high heaven, i think it all depends on your skin a bit like how the same perfume smells different on everyone i think the same goes for tan, as with me i think it gives a stronger biscuit smell but bearable and after the initial shower it is minimal lol.....oooh there i go again on and on.

Self tan disaster stories would be good i always love to hear that other people have had the same problems as me.....at the minute i hate doing my armpits as you always end up with a white area oh and the inside of your elbows where the tan can rub off:rotfl:.
I remember putting an avon body lotion on waiting 10 mins(on a damp cold freezing winter night)then applying a nivea spray tan(about 10 years ago now lol) i waited for 4 hours freezing whilst it took its time to dry, i was like a zombie walking about all sticky and horrible:p:p next morning bits of me where white,bits were orange and most of me was streaky and horrible, i smelt like a mouldy biscuit as well yuk was the worst tanner i have used........anyone else(make me feel a bit better that i am not the only one:o).

glowgirl_2

What a great post, I have had many many tanning disasters over the years, I have been using self tan before it was even popular, the first one was called Sudantan from Boots probably about 20 years ago, you had to dig on the bottom of a dusty shelf with all the tanning protection to find it, this was more of a foundation/self tan and it stunk and streaked and went orange - great stuff, then I went on to sunbeds:eek: I actually used to sleep on one for an hour after work every day, go home, get changed and go out for the night, I used sunbeds on and off up until about 8 years ago and now only ever use self tan, I dont even sit out in the real sun, mainly because I get so bored.

I dont seem to have any smell at all from the 12%, my daughter actually really likes the smell of self tan because it reminds her of me! Gone are the days when mums smelt of baking and apple pies:T I have only recently worked out that moisturisers with oils in them ruin your colour, I can be a bit slow sometimes , so would welcome any suggestions for a water based body moisturiser, they have one on celebrity secrets, but I dont think its water based as it has rosehip oil in it, anyway I dont really like the smell of rose. I dont think I would bother with DHA drops I think 16% will be way dark enough, especially if I layer. Just to kill any credibility I might of had, the product I spilt on my bedroom floor was mainly moped up with my tanning mit and put on my legs, I apologise to all you clean freaks out there but I hate waste and my floor was clean - honest:p

Gunna

It certainly is addictive this self tanning lark lol i have spent loads on it and i keep spending loads just to try new product incase they are better:o Seems i am always on the lookout for the "perfect" product and that doesn't really exist as we are all different and it is all down to technique when applying self tan.
I have learned loads form forums(not that there is that many) or just reading in to tanning.
I went through a stage of using sunbeds myself, i got sick of applying tan and as everyone i knew was hopping on a bed i thought i would give it a go:rolleyes: i even bought my own canopy and then spent loads on different lotions that promised a deep dark luxurious tan , that never happened i don't get mega dark on the sunbeds now i do in the sun i tan nice and easily but like you say it is lying there i get so bored myself i need to do something lol.
I sold my sunbed then contemplated getting another this time i wanted a stand up sun shower type bed that takes 6 mins a time as with my canopy you were an hour or 80 mins tanning on both sides now that really bored me lol:rotfl:.
OH seen me on ebay looking at stand up beds and said no way we ain't got the room which fair enough we haven't but i never learn i spend loads on tanner that i never use it is like an addiction lol oh an shimmers to enhance my tan(still trying to find the right one and i think finally i have just got to try it lol), i end up not usuing half my tanners and giving them away on freecycle or trying to sell on ebay lol even though i have airbrush solution in, although i won't buy brands such as Loreal,Nivea,Johnsons,Boots etc as i just don't think they are good enough for the price. I did cintemplate xen tan and fake bake extreme but i think i would use them once then leave em lol, i have tanning periods where maybe 2-3 months i will go tan mad then i stop for like 8 months as i can'tbe bothered especially at winter:T:T

Anyway with regards to body lotion i actually learned about oil based ones myself not long ago being bad for your tan, the same is with soaps dove is one of the worst:eek: i went on a forum that has a list of safe products to use but it is american and a lot of the products are american. I was going to invest in a tan enhancer or extender as these are supposed to be safe for the tan but then again i have used St Tropez moisturiser without any problems.
I never usually moisturise apart form the odd bit of aloe vera in summer or shimmer lotion lol but will have a look about and see what good ones for a tan are out there:Ahas to be some someone can recommened.

Get my thinking cap on lol

glowgirl_2

Thanks gunna, I will hunt about too, I use an oil free facial moisturiser from Boots which is super cheap (under £2) I could slap that on if I feel I need to also your post reminded me I used to use Aloe Vera years ago it was a pure gel, again no oil, from Holland and Barratt, I wonder if they still do it and if that would be any good, I am having a great beauty day today, coloured my hair this morning, did my nails and I am having a good make up day:D I swear my tan has got darker through the day and is looking really really nice, I think the thing I am most impressed with is even the colour guide dosnt come off on clothes, that really is a first for me btw the self tan came out of my OHs jacket no problem, he dosnt even know about it:rotfl:

FelinePrincess

What a great thread!

I have been using xen tan dark lotion for past 8 months or so and getting good results (after about 3 layers! It's certainly not 'dark' after 1 layer!). The only things I don't like about it is the sticky feelings for a couple of hours after applying and the cost, even though I always buy several bottles at a time on ebay it still costs me a fortune.

Anyway I requested a sample of Siennasol Extreme a few months ago after seeing a post on the freebies board but I have always been a bit scared of using it, the label made it look a bit cheap and dodgy! But, after reading this thread I thought I'd give it a try and I applied it a couple of hours ago. I'm impressed by the nice natural looking color and how quickly it dried, also I can't smell it at all. I only put a thin layer on so I think I'll slap a bit more on later! So far so good, only problem was I got a bit carried away pouring it on to my mitt and ended up spilling some on bed, will definitely be investing in a spray bottle to spray on to mitt in future!

Just about to order a some more from ebay! Thanks GlowGirl and Gunna for all the great info!

Feline Princess

glowgirl_2

Just thought I would give a quick update, still using the 12% from Celebrity secrets, I have 3 layers on, having bought myself a spray bottle its now much safer:D and quicker to apply. Next time I will definatley be going for either 14% or 16%, but I love the non greasiness and ease of application with this product and would certainly recommend to others, having read through the site again I see that they do do specialist moisturisers for prolonging your colour, without oils in them as I originally thought, when I reorder again I will probably give the one without any dha in it a go, I will of course report back. I have to say as much as I love a body moisturiser this product dosnt seem to dry the skin and my daughter commented that my skin felt soft even with no other product on then the self tan. Still no samples from Siennasol:rolleyes:.

BelindaBear_2

Do you need to have an airbrush system to apply deep coloured tans or can you just rub it in with a mit or sponge?

glowgirl_2

I have a mit from Boots, its a really good idea to buy a small plastic spray bottle, this will help avoid accidents and give you more control, you can spray the product straight on to your skin or on to the mit and apply, using the spray bottle seems to be especially effective if you are using a back applicator, the long one with the sticky removable sponge at the top, spray directly on to the sponge and away you go, I am sure most tanning salons will say the product works best with an airbrush machine, but dont be fooled, the mit works brilliantly and will save you a fortune, I wouldnt use another type of self tan now - hth - good luck with your tanning:)

Gunna

You can use a mitt or sponge or carpad or even just hands of gloves....just because they say airbrush it is basically a better quality solution than that you can buy in the shops.

Just a quick reply i will a bit more later