After lusting for so long over this products Instagram I can't explain how excited I was to receive this package! The brand is Australian but they do ship worldwide. When I opened the box the tan was wrapped in the most cute packaging and had some Australian chocolates in with it also, such a lovely treat! I wanted to put it on my skin straight away and I have to say, it was well worth the wait! Below are my honest thoughts on it and how I used it, I would highly recommend this tan to anyone who wants a natural looking tan.
I chose the shade ultra dark for my tanning needs. Living in England all we seem to have is cold miserable weather with no chance of catching a tan so I swear by fake tan to give me a nice healthy glow in the cold months, we have been quite lucky this summer though so you could use it to enrich your golden glow. Usually in any tan I have purchased in the past have chosen either medium or dark shades but from the posts I had seen of Loving Tans Ultra Dark mousse on Instagram I couldn't not go for the darkest as I thought the colour pay off looked amazing, and I wasn't wrong. The packaging is simple yet girly and by far stands out from any other plain white bottles I have seen before! Their mousses hold a maximum professional strength of tan and contain Aloe Vera and Walnut Extracts. They contain no parabens or alcohol as it is all natural. The scent of this tan is so lovely and fresh compared to smelling like a biscuit which I usually find with other tans and it is the only fake tan I have ever used that moisturises your skin at the same time, when I was applying it to my skin it just went on so softly and smooth it was like a dream in a bottle. I would only recommend the Ultra Dark shade I got for experienced tanners, not first timers as it is very dark but is easy when you have had practice with tanning before but all of the other shades I would highly recommend to experienced AND first time tanners as they give an easy streak free application!
The application mitt I received with it is my new holy grail! I have never in all my years had a fake tanning mitt this good and I keep making people feel how soft it is! Usually when I had had fake tanning mitts they are kind of a foam material and get really shabby really quickly and if you don't wear a glove inside of them the tan will leak through onto your hand, and nobody likes a tanned palm, however this mitt is totally different. It has a soft sort of fluffy material to it and the inside is thick enough that you will never have to worry about the tan leaking through onto your palm. It is so easy to take care of also just simply give it a wash after you've used it and its back to the freshness of when you first opened it ready for the next time you apply the tan! This mitt is one I would recommend to any tanners to own as it gives a perfect application and will last you a hell of a long time! In Loving Tans accessories collection which the mitt is part of they also do an easy to reach back applicator which I think is a genius idea and I'm always having to bend my arm into crazy positions to get my back tanned but with this life would be a lot easier! They also do a tan removing glove which saves a lot of time as the worst part of fake tanning is having to rub your skin raw with exfoliators trying to get the last bits of tan off ready for a fresh application!
BEAUTY TRICK ALERT:
A friend of mine taught me this little trick, apply fake tan on your face with a brush. It can be any big fluffy brush this is just a little one from boots you don't have to spend a lot at all and keep this aside for each time you tan. Your face will look extremely dark when you first put it on as you're getting a thicker layer than applying it with a mitt but this just means it will be even all over your face and you won't miss a section of your face either. I do this by squirting a small amount onto my brush then use it in circular motions around my face really working the tan into the skin. After you have tried this I promise you will never look back but I do HIGHLY recommend using a mitt for the rest of your body.
My fake tanning routine tips:
DO NOT apply straight after shaving and exfoliating, the tan will not sit well on your legs at all and may streak. Give around 24 hours after then apply the tan for a smooth application this allows the skin to calm down and for any cuts to heal
Make sure you are prepared, when it comes to tanning make sure you have everything you need around you so you can do it all in one go.
Moisturise before but not straight before, it needs to have time to soak into your skin. I would say moisturise then leave it a few hours before tanning. I will usually do this in the morning then apply the tan at night.
Try to avoid deodorant before use so your under arms are smooth with no product on for a streak free tan.
DO NOT apply straight after a bath or shower. Again wait an hour or so after so your skin is dry to apply the tan. I'd also recommend after a hot shower or bath you blast your body with cold water, it might not feel that nice but your tan will benefit as it will shrink your pores.
Make sure you do it in front of a mirror so you can see where you're applying it too at all angles.
DO NOT do it in a dark room. You will not see patches you have missed, make sure its in good lighting so you can see the tan going onto your skin.
Take your time! Don't rush it, give yourself enough time to do it for the best results. Id say you'd only need a maximum of 20 minutes for new tanners and less time for experienced tanners!
If you have an even DO NOT tan that morning or the day before. Do it 2 days before so that the colour will be sitting nicely for the event and if you wanted to go darker you have enough time to apply a second coat.
Start at the ankles and work your way up! Do it over the body in sweeping motions but I would recommend doing it in circular motions on the face with a brush.
MOISTURISE! The most important places to focus on moisturising prier to tanning are any areas that get dry such ash elbows, knees and ankles and the face, I suffer from little dry patches on my face at times so I make sure these are well moisturised to prevent the tan clogging on them. I'd say moisturise all over a few hours before but just before application apply a small amount on these areas to make sure the tan doesn't go darker in these areas, no one likes super brown knees that stand out, you want it too look as natural as possible!
CHECK! Make sure when you think you have finished applying it all over the body you check in a mirror for any missed spots. Lift up your arms and make sure its all around them as its easy to miss patches on the back of the arms if not careful.
Make sure you don't put clothes on straight away. Air it for as long as possible, with Loving Tan it dried quickly so you won't have to wait around for ages and make sure the clothing you put on is dark and loose fitting!
Try not to get water on your skin while you're waiting for it to develop! This will leave little white blotches and thats not a good look! Thats why I recommend doing it before you sleep then theres no risk of having to wash your hands during the night or getting caught in the rain. You'll be asleep and the tan will work itself!
Sleeping with tan tip- Make sure you're not too warm! Now I know everyone likes a cosy night sleep but for the nights when tanning I make sure I know I won't get too warm in the night as if you're roasting in your sleep, you will sweat (it's normal, everyone sweats) and your tan might run. Don't sleep with the heating on for that night or an electric blanket if you have one.
When tanning make sure theres nothing around you that can get damaged. So many times when I've been happily tanning singing along to music having a little dance some mousse will fly off my mitt and fall onto something, and it will stain. So learn from my mistake and make sure you're doing it in a space with no damage risk and be more careful than I have been in the past!
When you rinse your tan off after it has developed DO NOT scrub it. Simply let the water run the tan excess tan off and when you get out the shower pat yourself dry to make sure the tan stays even all over.
The days after you have your beautiful glowing tan moisturise daily to keep your tan even and prolong the colour!
If you don't want it to stain your hair...especially light colours apply some vaseline to these areas! If you have blonde eyebrows or hair it can easily be stained when applying fake tan if you aren't careful so applying a little bit of vaseline to these areas before tanning will prevent that from happening.
DO NOT apply a fresh coat of fake tan a few days after applying the first one if the tan is patchy. This will just clog and make your skin look patchy. Make sure you exfoliate it ALL off and start a fresh when it's patchy. I find the best way to do this is to soak in the bath then do it.
If you put in the effort with your tanning routine including preparation of the skin and looking after it once the tan is on it will really be worth while.
Here is a before and after of me using the Loving Tan Ultra Dark Mousse. I was beyond impressed with the results and I am writing this a few days after as I wanted to see how it lasted days after it. My tan is still intact and even and I have such a lovely healthy colour I feel like I've been in the Caribbean for two weeks as it is really natural looking. It was an easy tan to apply and with the amazing mitt it created the best even colour pay off. I don't ever see myself going back to my old fake tans now as this is by far the best I have used and it is well worth the money you will pay for it. Below is a comparison of my arm one ay after compared to my boyfriends, you can really see how lovely the colour looks here! In real life it is the perfect tone of bronzed colour, some tans give you a reddish brown colour pay off and some an orange toned but Loving Tan has given me golden bronzed skin and if I wore this regularly never properly revealing my natural skin tone I believe people would think it was a natural tan.
You can buy Loving Tan here in a various range of colours and remember they ship worldwide!
If you have any of your own fake tanning tips I would love to hear about them and add them to my routine, just leave a comment below
Thankyou for reading and I hope you have a nice day!
