He Shi Express Liquid Tan

I dipped into the world of self-tanning earlier in the year and when the sun started shining I wanted my skin to have a little more colour as I dusted off my summer dresses.

I received He-Shi Express Liquid Tan after attending a blogger event and was advised that from the range of products this was the best for me since I’m a bit paranoid about streaky application.

The Express Liquid Tan is a self tanning bronzer, which can be used on the body and the face. The tan should be applied with the He-Shi Self Tanning Mitt, pouring the solution into the mitt and applying by wiping over the skin in circular motions.

Because it has a tinted formula, you can see exactly where you have applied and it prevents any streaks or patches from developing. It also means that you have a tan immediately, which then develops into a deeper colour over the next few hours — and I’m happy to say, no streaks! It is also worth noting that I didn’t exfoliate before applying the tan and I didn’t have any problems with too much colour building up at my knees, ankles etc as you might expect.

The colour that develops is very natural looking. You can build it up by applying a second layer immediately after the first or do it more slowly by reapplying the next day.

On the right you can see where the tan has been applied, leaving a light tint of colour

Apart from the easy application the drying time is very fast, two-minutes fast. I usually apply at night and I haven’t had any transfer of colour onto my clothes or my sheets.

The colour has lasted over 5 days and I plan on reapplying once a week just to maintain it and I will definitely be repurchasing when I do run out. It is hard to say how long a bottle will last, at the moment I am using it all over but in the winter I may only do my face and neck. I would advise that you only pour out a small amount of liquid at a time to avoid waste — it is quite easy for the liquid to pour straight off the mitt and onto the floor, so it’s best to do this over the sink.

The He-Shi Express Liquid Tan costs £20.00 for 150ml, but there are also smaller and larger bottle sizes too and all can be found on the He-Shi website.

Glotan Tan in a Can

I'm not the greatest user of fake tan, mini disasters in the past had put me off, despite my love of the sun-kissed look. So when Tan in a Can offered me the chance to trial their product, I was nervous but excited too.

I have always used cream based fake tan and never had a spray tan. Tan in a can is, as the name suggests, an aerosol can, which you spray as a light mist over the skin.

The Glotan tanning solution was developed by Julie Allen, who has worked in the beauty industry for over 20 years. Julie was fed up with the quality of salon tans and wanted to created a solution that was ‘as organic as possible,’ alcohol and fragrance free and contained natural moisturisers and vitamin E.

To apply Tan in a Can recommend the following:

• Wax or shave 24 hours before application to avoid irritation
• Use on dry skin
• Stand in a shower cubicle or in the bath as the tan creates a mist (which easily washed away)
• Leave 12 inches between your skin and the can to create a mist (if the tan starts to drip you are spraying too close)
• Apply in a light circular motion and allow the mist to settle
• Do not point at specific areas
• Do not spray the same area twice (it is better to build up the colour over a few applications)
• Allow to dry for about 10 minutes before dressing
• Do not bathe or shower for at least and hour

The application takes practice, my best bit of advice would be to get as far away as possible when spraying to avoid drips, and once you have applied be careful about wetting where ever it is that you have applied the tan, other wise you risk water marks on your skin — yes that was my lesson learnt the hard way! Of course applying to the back of your legs and your back is going to be very tricky on your own so it is best to get a friend/partner to help.

I did get drips of the product where I had applied to closely or not moved the can around when spraying, but I was able to lightly dab with a tissue to get rid of the excess and this didn’t affect the finish result.

The best bit about this tanning application is that once you have sprayed on the tan, that’s it. No rubbing it in and no long drying time. The light mist of product means that your skin doesn’t feel wet or sticky and I was able to get dressed soon after applying and carry on with my day. Another bonus is that the product didn’t leave that fake tan scent on the skin.

‘One coat’ of tan against untanned skin

I applied the colour over two nights to get an idea of how well it builds, the first coat gave a really natural looking colour and is the best I have achieved from any tanning product. On the second night the tan was deeper and the colour can be built up to as dark as you desire.

I did have some areas where the colour built up more than others, particularly near the wrists, but I believe this was down to my application. However, it was easy enough to even out by washing my hands with soap and gently rubbing with a muslin cloth.

The tan lasted for about a week and I was pleased that it faded evenly and that is wasn’t obvious that I had used a tanning product.

For a return to fake tanning, I was impressed with the results and I’m looking forward to using this in the summer when I’m not wrapped in multiple layers! 

Tan in a Can can be bought online and is priced at £21.99 for 200ml.