Tan Trials '10: St. Tropez Instant Glow Body Lotion

Once best known for a fake tan that turned you a deeeelightful greenish muck brown colour while it developed, St. Tropez has been diversifying in the last few years. Everyday knocked the socks off Johnson & Johnson Holiday Skin and showed us what a gradual, daily tanner should be like, and the company has branched out again recently with a range of wash-off tans.

St. Tropez have dubbed this Instant Glow line "The SOS Tan", and there's a gel-lotion and a mousse on offer, both of which are tinted for ease of application. I've shared my thoughts about the mousse with you here, but what did I make of the Instant Glow body lotion, €20?

Well, it reminded me a lot of Benefit Jiffy Tan on first squeeze: it's a very, very similar texture. For me, that was where the likeness ended. I absolutely could not get the St. Tropez to go on evenly, which was exasperating because it was a great non-orange colour and not much was required to build a decent tan. I tried putting it on with my bare hands, with a glove, with a mitt, on dry skin, on moisturised skin, on hands, legs and torso, but the end result was always patchy on me.

All I can say is it's a good job this stuff is wash off - it just doesn't seem to work with my skin for some reason. If it works for you, you'll probably love it, as the drying time is pretty quick and it's buildable for a deeper colour or contouring, and it does stay put until you tackle it with soap and water.