Stay Tan this Winter: Bronzers, Self-Tanners, Sprays

Ah, Winter - the season of beautiful snowfalls, cute scarves, mittens and adornments. It's also a season that leaves some of us cold, sunless, and helplessly pale. If you want some quick color without the major health risks, skip the tanning beds and lather on some self tanners or bronzers instead. Some simple radiation-less tanning methods include bronzer, gradual self tanner, instant self tanner, and tanning spray.

Bronzer, Gradual Self Tanner, Instant Self Tanner

Bronzer
Pros: Instant and immediate color, easy to correct or wipe off.
Cons: Most rub off too easily or are too obviously artificial.
Gradual Self Tanner
Pros: Gradual and usually more natural, easier to maintain through daily use.
Cons: Must use daily or at least very often to maintain color, difficult to see mistakes since the color changes gradually.
Instant Self Tanner
Pros: One application can last several days, many markets for great products.
Cons: Difficult to correct for blotches or mishaps.
Tanning Spray
Pros: A professional can make your tan look natural and can even customize the colors to the contour of your body.
Cons: Salons are costly and it is difficult to spray tan oneself.

Of course, a pro of all of these methods is that there is no risk of skin cancer from radiation like that of the sun or tanning beds. (A con is that most of them smell like chemicals.) If you opt to avoid the sun completely, however, be sure to get your vitamin D supplements.

My thoughts on some sunless tanning products I've used:

St. Moriz Tanning Mousse Review

So I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered myself a St. Moritz tanning mousse a few weeks back. I have used up the entire bottle and would like to sum up my experience with this product. I have mentioned this over at heartmycavies, but figure I should attempt an in depth review on the beauty blog now.

First of all, I would like to clarify that the bottle I bought is labeled "St. Moriz" instead of "St. Moritz" like I thought it should have been labeled. I initially thought that the manufacturer made the typo on a bunch of these bottles, as I saw others with the same problem. After never seeing one St. Moritz bottle, I am just going to assume that they are just spelled that way.

I ordered a 200 ml bottle from Ebay for about $9 including shipping from the UK because they just don't sell them here in the States. St. Tropez, sold at Sephora, costs $40. People say they're comparable, but I have never tried St. Tropez for myself. I believe you can get St. Moriz from Boots or some department stores if you live in the UK. 

Anyway, the application was simple. After getting out of the shower, I pumped the mousse out on my hands and just applied from the bottom up. I washed my hands after each leg application and so on. My hands were a little stained, but since I wish my hands often the stain quickly faded. I like the consistency of the mousse and had virtually no streaks. That may also be because it applies so light that there was not much color. The color that appeared on my skin was a nice light bronze, no orange at all.

It comes out a dark chocolate color, a little runny.

My skin is pretty pale because I constantly avoid the sun. I was expecting a lot of color to show. The initial application of St. Moriz left me dissatisfied and disappointed. I thought to myself, I just will avoid too much washing and apply again really soon. Well, by the next morning, I noticed that the color had intensified. Rather than fade, it continued to grow darker within the next two days of application.

Because I only had one bottle of tanning mousse, I was reluctant to scrub and exfoliate my tan. I wanted the color to last as long as possible. It faded gradually after the second/third day. I had no problems with blotches or streaks despite not exfoliating. The color completely faded after about 6 days.

My hand stained even though I wiped it, took picture and then went to wash it.

Overall, I would say that I am pretty satisfied with the St. Moriz tanning mousse. The smell is not all that bad and goes away in one shower. It is not orange or streaky. It develops well and fades well (for me). I have heard that the fading process was bad for some people. lollipop26 seems to have had a problem with blotches and streaks. I am not sure why it did not happen to me. Maybe it just works with my skin. Anyway, at this price and value, I am sure to repurchase.


So have you tried this? How was your experience with it? Other recommendations?