Beauty Review: St Moriz Instant Self Tan Mousse

Last weekend, I wrote about my take on Instant vs Gradual vs Full-on fake tans. This week, I'm reviewing St Moriz's Instant Self Tan Mousse which brings all three together.

Now, until I tried this mousse, my new favourite tan had been St Tropez's Wash Off Instant Self Tan Mousse (you can read my review here). Until I tried this mousse. 



St Moriz's Instant Self Tan Mousse works like St Tropez's mousse, in that it instantly gives some sun-kissed colour to my legs when I apply it. But, unlike the St Tropez mousse, when it washes off when I shower, it leaves me with a lovely sun-kissed shade rather than the usual bare white colour. Granted, the colour is not perhaps as deep as some might like but being so completely scared by fake tans in general, this is a good things for me. It also allows for a build-up of colour, so you can apply again the next day, or leave it a day or two, depending on the depth of colour you desire. There is also now the St Moriz Instant Self Tan Dark Mousse which the lovely people at St Moriz kindly sent to me when they heard I had been converted. The Dark Mousse gives a deeper colour with just one application.

The brilliant thing about this tan is that you can apply in the morning, wait for it to dry, dress and look sun-kissed instantly. It smells like a lovely and light moisturiser when first applied and smells no different throughout the day.

St Moriz Instant Self Tan Dark Mousse: right leg (on the left!) with tan and left leg (on the right) without

Again, I would highly recommend using a tanning application mitt. For more tips on how to achieve a great self tan, check out my How to... fake tan post.

The lovely people at St Moriz also sent me their self tan lotion and bronzing powder to try out. I haven't managed to try either yet but will report back soon. Watch this space!

Best of all, the St Moriz Instant Self Tan Mousse is dirt CHEAP! I found mine in my local Savers store for £2.99 and on Amazon for just over £3 for a bottle.

Have you tried St Moriz's Instant Self Tan Mousse? Which fake tan do you swear by?

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BEAUTY REVIEW: Instant vs gradual vs full-on fake tan

Who doesn’t love a tan? Now, living in the UK it is difficult to get a tan without a little help from a bottle. I’ve tried a fair few fake tans in my time, my legs in particular refuse to change to anything from the bright white they naturally are. (I’ve reviewed a fair few on the blog, here, here, here, here and here.)

So I thought it was about time I did a little analysis on which works better, or worse:

Instant fake tan	Gradual fake tan	Full-on fake tan
Washes off	Fades gradually and evenly	Lasts up to a week
No missing ANYWHERE	Can build up which gives better coverage	I’m prone to missing bit – like the back of my ankle
Not so much choice of colour	Can build up or lay off – depending on desired depth of color	Different colour depths available
No smell	Standard fake tan smell	Strong fake tan smell
Instant	Develops gradually	Develops gradually

For me, I think I have come to realise that instant fake tans work best as I’m not really organised enough to apply my tan the night before and when I do, I often find I’ve missed the back of my ankle or something and have a glaring white mark! The weather is also so unpredictable that for 99% of the time, I don’t really need to have fake tan on because I’m all covered up, so it is nice to have the flexibility to just apply it on those days or nights when I want to expose a little flesh and want it to have a little golden glow!


Update: Which tans do I recommend? Well, personally I'm currently addicted to St Tropez's Wash Off Instant Mousse.

Which tanning method do you favour?


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Beauty Review: St Tropez Wash Off Instant Glow Mousse

Last summer I reviewed St Tropez's Wash Off Instant Body Lotion. I've been using the lotion a lot on my legs this summer as they never seem to take on any colour and I nearly always end up with streaks when I fake tan - nothing to do with the tan itself but my application of it. But the lotion is quite thick and not only takes a while to rub in properly but also feels quite heavy on my legs for the rest of the day. This is fine my legs when I'm wearing a skirt but for my arms and decolletage, it is a little less appealing. So I decided to try St Tropez's Wash Off Instant Glow Mousse. And let's just say, I'm bought!

The mousse is light and rubs in almost instantly and feels light as a feather - or better, as I really can't tell I'm wearing it, apart from the change in colour. For most the colour will be too subtle - although it can be layered up to create a darker colour but this obviously detracts from the ease and speed appeal of the product. If you want to see the colour difference, here are my hands, the right hand (on the left of the photo) has the tan on and the other doesn't:

It definitely takes the white sheen off my skin and adds a healthy glow which will be great for all year round.

Tip: Just be careful when applying as it will turn your hand quite a muddy brown colour, so either make sure you have industrial strength soap on hand or use a mitt or latex glove to apply.

The best thing about instant fake tans? The don't smell!!

Next week I'm planning to do a fake tan special with an instant vs gradual vs all-out fake tan - let me have your thoughts below, or email me.

Have you tried an instant wash off fake tan? This one or another?

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(A rave) Beauty Review: inside my bathroom cabinet

This week, I'll confess, I had thought I'd written and scheduled a beauty review post and so this morning I got up, dyed my hair, did my chores and headed out into the sunshine to the library. And then I came home and logged on and realised... there was no lovely new post this morning. So apologies to anyone who came here earlier looking for some beauty review action. Here it is. Better late than never and better still, it is about more than just one great beauty secret this week:

I am a hoarder of all things beauty (as well as being an advertisers dream and buying into every new beauty trend!). So today, I thought I'd share with you my absolute favourites from all of the many products I have collected over the years and the ones that have turned out to be keepers:

Let's start at the top:

• Hair care:

Aussie Take The Heat shampoo and 3-Minute Miracle conditioner: this is the only shampoo and conditioner combination that I have found that doesn't end up leaving my hair heavy and lank after continued use. It also tames my frizzy and unruly hair, leaving it almost straight when blow-dried.

Trevor Sorbie's Dry Shampoo is the lazy girl's best friend. I've tried others but this is my favourite for price, size and results. And it smells pretty neutral too.

Trevor Sorbie's Beach Hair Spray is a salt spray that does to your hair what the sea does when you're on holiday. Want your hair to retain those loose curls and waves from the beach when you're back home? Use this!

• Body care:

To keep my skin soft, I like to use Garnier's Intensive 7-Day Lotion with Shea Butter which is so moisturising. And smells pretty indulgent too.

To keep my legs soft and hair-free for longer, I've started using Veet's Hair Minimising Moisturer, which does seem to work as I usually have to shave every day but this seems to allow me to wait another day or two.

I don't tend to fake tan my whole body but I do like to tan my legs a little during the summer months as they never seem to take any colour at all.

When I have time I use Garnier's Summer Body Lotion for a Deep Sun-kissed Look. It smells lovely and is deeply moisturising whilst also building a good even colour over a couple of applications.

When I've forgotten to tan my legs (or have been lazy!) and still want to wear a skirt, I use St Tropez's Wash Off Instant Body Glow Lotion. I either use it alone or with a little of my moisturiser to tone the colour down a bit. Gives the most natural colour of all of the fake tans I have used. Ever.

The Body Shop's Shea Body Scrub is my number one for the shower as it has the large gritty bits in that I like to feel like I've been exfoliated properly.

• Face care:

I don't like putting a thick cream on my face on the morning, so I swear by Boots' No 7 Essential Mositure Day Fluid which is light and yet moisturising. Only annoying thing - no SPF. (But I do use a Tinted Moisturiser instead of foundation each day which does contain an SPF.)


At night I do like a thick cream to slather on and do its best as I sleep and so I use Boots' No 7 Essential Mositure Night Cream.

• Hair removal:

I've mentioned the Nair Silky Sensations Hair Removal Cream before and I love this for keeping me hair free without any pain.

• In my handbag:

I always carry a red nail polish in my handbag as it seems to suit any mood and outfit when I'm caught without polish on. At the moment, my red of choice is this Boots' 17 Supreme Shine in Risky Red. It's long lasting and has a great shine - even after one coat.

Boots' No 7 Summer Collection Lipgloss in Sultry has found a home in my handbag as I love the colour. I'm not usually one for bright lip colour but this I do like. The colour is rich too - not too translucent like some lipglosses.

My final beauty must have is Boots' No 7 Nail Polish in Sing the Blues - the colour is strong and sophisticated.

What are your beauty essentials?

BARGAIN OF THE DAY: St Tropez Wash Off Body Lotion

I absolutely swear by this fake tan for bright sunny mornings when I want to wear a skirt and have forgotten to fake tan the night before. I prefer to add a little to my normal moisturiser which stops it looking too unnatural and makes it easier to wash off my hands. Even better, St Tropez Wash Off Body Lotion is on offer on asos.com at the moment for only £6.36!!

Do you fake tan? Which brand do you use?