Beauty|| Getting our tan on

So apprently Summer is coming and you would have believed it with our mini heat wave but then this week has been wet,dark and a little chilly! 

But I'm optimistic that the sun will return which means showing a little more skin and for me this means getting my tan on. (I'm really very pale and fair so it takes a while for me to tan) 

I have a few favourites to give me a golden glow so here we go. 

The Prep ~ 

First things first it's important to prep the skin before tanning. You want soft supple skin so that you don't get any nasty flaky clumpy bits of tan - rookie error. 

The night before I like to use a scrub to get rid of all the nasty scaly bits, paying special attention to the elbows,knees and feet. 

My personal favourite is Soap & Glory breakfast scrub. 

The maple scent of this scrub is truly delicious that you almost want to eat it . 

I'll then use a thick moisturiser to lock in the moisture and keep it a smooth affair. I love Kiehl's creme de corps or a body shop body butter.

The face ~ 

Personally I like to use a seperate facial tanner because I find that they give better results ,you have a little more control over the product , and your not left with a patchy face as the formula's are face specific.

I'll either use the Clarins Liquid bronze self tanning  which your probably all sick of hearing me talk about. 

I'll pop this on two cotton pads and pop it on my face before bed( take care around the brows and hairline) and I'm left with a subtle healthy glow. 

Another Clarins product is the Instant smooth self tanner this is a great one when you forgot to tan your face or if you just want a quick fix. 

Smooth the light weight texture on and your skins left with a radiant glow - this works as a lovely primer too. 

Another product that is great for when you want a quick fix glow try the Soap & Glory glow job.

Body ~ 

Last but not least the body tanners. 

So I've already mentioned that I am incredibly pale so sometimes instant tan can just be a tad too dark against my colouring and I like to build it up gradually.

I either use the St Tropez Gradual tanner which applies beautifully, moisturises the skin and leaves a lovely natural buildable colour. 

It actually gives a lovely tan after one use . 

Alternatively I'll use the Xen tan transform luxe daily self-tan .

For something a little darker and instant I've been using the Garnier no streaks bronzer-self tanning mousse.  This just does what it says on the tin. The dark mousse is great because you can see where it's been applied. 

I would personally always recommend using a tanning mitt even with gradual tans because nobody wants the tell tale signs of a fake tanning session.