It's that time of year again. The sun is shining, legs are out, everyone's heading to the beach to relax and catch a tan - if you don't live in Scotland, that is. We're lucky to get some lovely warm weather for the whole weekend, let alone the full season of Summer. That doesn't mean we can't pretend though. Right?
I know that when warmer weather comes around, I like to look a little more alive and I like my skin to be a bit more glowy than usual and for this, I've been using the Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan Mousse (Sit tight, this is a long one).
Product Claims
This product aims to give tanned skin in just 1 hour, while being non-sticky and quick drying. The deeper the colour you desire, the longer you leave this on for. On the bottle, it states that the tan continues to develop after rinsing and is to last between 5 and 7 days. It contains no parabens, and uses a vegetable derived tanning agent, so is gentle enough for those of us with sensitive skin. Best of all, it claims to never ever come out orange!
My Views
I have been using this for a couple of months now, and I have found myself having a bit of a love/hate relationship with it. The first couple of times using this, I left it on for three hours each time and I wasn't really impressed with the results. I'm naturally very pale, so I thought that I would get a natural looking deep tan from leaving it on that long. I was wrong. I hardly noticed any difference from using this, but that's alright because it'll just get deeper as the day goes on.. right? Wrong. Yes, my skin was left with a golden tinge to it, but I wouldn't call it a 'tan' but I didn't see any difference by the end of the day. Needless to say I was disappointed. I did eventually get that deep tan I desired though, and I'll tell you how I did this.
I know that you're not supposed to, but I exfoliate and shave in the morning, and self tan later on that same night. I use around a full pump of the mousse per limb (so you do have to use a lot) and then sleep in it overnight. I don't think this is quick drying or non-sticky as it takes a couple of hours for certain places (mainly my back) to get touch dry, and while doing so, it's a bit tacky. In the morning, I have a lovely deep bronze tan, that's never ever orange, around three or four shades darker than my natural skin colour. Just don't use this when your favourite bed sheets are on as it will stain. The tan can last anywhere between 3 and 5 days before it starts to fade, but of course the lasting power will be different for everyone. Sometimes, this just refuses to take to some parts of my body, like the back of my thighs and a little patch around my wrist but that could just be my fault? I also find that this clings to dry patches as it fades, but a bit of exfoliation can fix that. Another thing to keep in mind is the smell, it's described as a "Tahitian Gardenia scent" so no, it's not your typical biscuit stink but I think it still smells bloody awful.
I do like the Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan, because it does give a lovely tan, without leaving any streaks or being at all orange. For those who want a subtle warmth to their skin, then by all means keep it on for an hour or three but that colour just wasn't for me. It's cheap, and accessible via Superdrug and Primark (!). However, it doesn't smell great, it is a bit sticky when it dries and it can cling to dry patches as it fades but I'm sure it could be a lot worse because it is pretty difficult to go wrong with it. Perhaps it's downfall for me was that it was too beginner friendly? I'm not sure. I know I'll continue to use it though, and I hope this ranty review somewhat helped you.
I didn't really intend to rant so much in this post, I just can't make my mind up on it. It's not the best, but it's certainly not the worst. What's your favourite self tanning product? I'd love to try some more! -x
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