Carolyn Braden's Review of St. Tropez: A Great Self-Tanner

Looking for a great self tanner that will cure your winter, pasty, pale skin?  I love St. Tropez Self-Tan Bronzing Lotion!  

  

I am not going to lie.....it does smell like self-tanner.  I've read other reviews of the product and I saw everything from "It smells nothing like self-tanner!" to "It stinks!".  I will honestly say, it smells good coming out of the bottle, but like most self-tanners, when it starts working (reacting with your body chemistry to tan the skin), it smells like self-tanner.  However, it does work.  Here are my tips on using it to do what it was meant to do:  give you natural looking color.

When you get out of the shower, dry off completely.  Then apply a light layer of lotion on your feet (don't forget between the toes!), elbows, knees, and face.  

Begin to use the lotion on your feet and work your way up your body.  Don't rub the lotion in; just lightly apply it, smoothing it until it is even.  Rubbing it will only make it start to ball up and come off (trust me on this).  When you've gotten it on your body, put some on your face.  I have sensitive skin and I was still able to use it on my face.  

When you are finished, use soap and a nail scrub brush to scrub the palms of your hands.  I do this a few times so I can get it all off.  To be on the safe side, rub a little of the plain lotion over your knees, hands, elbows, and feet to make sure these areas get evenly tanned.  Those are usually the areas where you end up seeing darker areas the next day.  If you use the plain lotion to "even it out" you are less likely to end up with streaks and dark spots.

A tip to make sure the tops of your hands aren't pale white compared to your body:  put some plain lotion on them and rub it in.  While that lotion soaks in, use a tiny amount of self tanner and rub (use finger tips only!) it over the tops of your hands and between the fingers.  Rub a little on your wrists too.  Use the wet scrub brush to gently scrub your finger tips clear of any of the tanner.  Dry hands completely. 

I like this lotion because it gives me a very natural looking color.  I am a red-head with freckles, and fairly pale skin.  I don't tan easily in the sun and I don't like wrinkles.  St. Tropez Self-Tanning Lotion is the answer to my pasty problems.  The 8 oz. bottle I purchased in September still has enough to tan me for another month and I use it about 2 times a week.