Being as pale as I am, you best believe I have tried my fair share of self tanners over the years. My first experience with the concept of self tanning was all the way back in 2013 when I was about to graduate from high school. I was an extremely pale 18 year old who had never even heard about self tanners when I was wandering down the Walmart aisles and bam! The Jergens Natural Glow Gradual Self-Tanner caught my eye. For only 10 bucks, it promised flawless, natural-looking colour. And that’s exactly what I achieved! I was a (slightly) glowing, bronzed goddess for my high school education.
Fast forward five years and now I am an expert in the world of self tanning. I just graduated university and this time, instead of using the Jergens self tanner that is a bit more subtle for my graduation, I graduated (haha) to the St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse. And my oh my, what a world of difference it is. The St. Tropex Bronzing Mousse was the first“high end” self tanner I ever tried and still to this day, it’s one of my favorites. Because it’s a mousse, it’s super easy to apply (especially when the using the application mitt). Plus it’s a green tinted base so it creates such a natural tan colour and avoids that orange Oompa Loompa look that so many self tanners have a bad reputation for.
However, St. Tropez has come a long way since their Classic Bronzing Mousse days. They have expanded the line in more ways than I could ever imagine. Included in the expansion is the St. Tropez Bronzing Mist in Dark and the Tinted Moisturizer + Primer. I really wanted to like both of these products as much as the original Bronzing Mousse but to put it simply, I’m just too pale. The Dark Bronzing Mist is meant for someone who either already has a base tan or is just a darker skin tone. Sadly, that is not me. However, this product is super easy to apply. All you have to do is spray it all over your body about 5-10 inches away and then blend it in with either your hands or the applicator mitt!
The Tinted Moisturizer + Primer is a really cool product as well, but once again, I am just way too pale. It’s a dark brown shade that even when you fully rub it in, it leaves some colour behind. Unfortunately that colour is just way too dark for me and leaves my face looking muddy and dirty. However, to combat that, I do apply this on my face only at nighttime in order to still get a little bit of colour on my skin! And the texture of this cream has an almost silicone feel so it really does work great as a primer underneath makeup!
