Cold, miserable and pale. Three things unfortunately that come hand in hand with winter on this side of the hemisphere.
As the rain relentlessly bashed my window, I remember flicking through the pages of Porter with a hot cup of tea in hand, longingly ogling at the Spring focused ad campaigns wondering how I too could obtain dewy 'just in from the beach' skin.....minus the sun.
Realistically, how do we achieve some level of bronzed beauty without looking glaringly fake? Which probes me to ask; how do we make something so unnatural look natural?
Firstly, I'm a lover and fully fledged user of fake tan. I won't deny it; what's the point? Whilst I do tan deeply and darkly in the heat of the Spanish sun, I unfortunately need to find a replacement for when I seek refuge from the 'chill your bones' miserable kinda climate here in Northern Ireland.
On my body I vary my tans depending on my mood, the month and what I grab bleary eyed before bed. At the moment I use Garnier (half price here) as a base and top it with a little St Moritz which is super cheap (here).
The deal breaker? Your face. Realistically you don't wanna slap any old product on your skin, but especially not on your face when you're throwing other variables into the mix ie. all kind of shades of foundation, bronzer etc.
My lovely friend Lesley whom I've mentioned before recently introduced me to the Clarins Radiance Plus over the Christmas season. I'll admit, I was skeptical. Very skeptical! But, as always, Lesley was right. She has an uncanny ability to whittle the good from the bad and the great from the rubbish plus she's an absolute enabler. Apologies, my dear old Halifax account!
You'll find her on Instagram here, or search luxe_little_corner
How does it work? To apply, add a dollop of your normal moisturizer to the palm of your hand. Turn the Clarins tanner upside down and press it for one drop, add several drops to your dollop of moisturizer and mix. More drops = more tan. When finished mixing, apply your moisturizer as normal (it can be used on the neck too) and wash your hands. Et voila!
Does it work? YES. Honestly, I'm a seriously surprised convert (thank you Lesley!). The product is crazy economical as I use 3 drops per application, turn a lovely glowing shade of bronze and the oil itself actually makes my moisturiser go that 'little bit further' which is awesome when using Creme De La Mer (here) or Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream (here).
Admittedly, I was concerned as I hate oil based products for fear they'll induce some pubescent esque breakout but honestly this product smells lovely, is light and glides beautifully onto the skin. On another FYI note, I have olive/swarthy skin and Lesley has very fair skin. Interestingly the tan works for us both despite our skin colours differing purely because you can adapt how many drops you want to add to your moisturiser.
How much is it? It retails at £19 (here) which is truthfully such a brilliant price. No - I'm not being paid to say this, I genuinely feel you ought need to give it a whirl this winter. Whether you want to add a little summer glow to the skin, or opt for a deeper tan - you can achieve it with this beauty. For a light glow use solely Clarins, for a deeper tan reminiscent of past summer days use the Clarins as a base and darken with another instant product.
So go - get your tan on and get excited for the real summer tans that lie ahead!
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