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The best fake tans
The following is an extract from a chapter on self-tan products from Beauty Scoop: The indispensable guide to the best beauty products on the market by Julia Carling and Kate Shapland
The mission: to find you the most effective and user-friendly self-tans on the market. The criteria: our testers judged the self-tanners they tried on their ability to give skin the most realistic fake tan, the speed which the colour developed and the smell - whether it was bearable or telltale (important, because most of our testers said they thought self-tans still smelt awful). They also judged self-tans and wash-off tints on their ability to moisturise skin, ease of application, and lifespan.
L'Oréal Sublime Bronze Self Tanning Gel £9.99 for 150ml
Annalise (25) said this was 'one of the best self tans', and although Bridget (38) wasn't convinced by the smell, she felt it 'lasted better than any other I have tried, and I really loved the way it made my skin feel so soft'. As well as smell, lasting qualities were really important to our testers. Lily (41) commented: 'I used this on my arms first of all and it lasted for at least five days before looking a bit tired - even then only I noticed this. It faded gradually rather than in patches. I then did my face and legs and got the same results. Really great stuff.' Our testers agreed that the tan was very realistic, and that it was a joy to apply because it is tinted so you can see where you are putting it.
The science bit: as well as the active tanning ingredient, it includes AHAs, the chemical skin-smoothers which L'Oréal say helps to prevent streakiness.
Clarins Tinted Self Tanning Face Cream £13.50 for 50ml
Eve (37) is very fussy about self-tan; she says she has never found one she is 100 per cent convinced by, and even though she wasn't mad about the smell of this product she still gave it a high rating because 'it gave me a really good, healthy looking tan, and although I'm fussy about self-tan, I was impressed and would definitely buy it despite its smell'. Vicki (40) doesn't really use self-tan on her fair skin but was convinced by this one, saying 'it was really good and a great natural colour - I didn't look at all orange as I feared I would'. The added bonuses with this self-tan is that it has an SPF15 and it is tinted so it gives your skin an instant glow and you can see where you are applying it.
The science bit: as well as DHA, it contains skin conditioning and tanning ingredients ayapana, birch bark and olive leaf extracts.
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Created: 10/05/2004 Updated: 10/05/2004
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