Fashion News

Review: St. Tropez Everyday line excels at the mission

By April MacIntyre Sep 14, 2009, 4:36 GMT

Spending years buying and trying every self-tanner on the market, my search ended in 2008 when Emmy winning department head makeup artist for “Dancing with the Stars,” Melanie Mills, handed me a bottle of St. Tropez self-tanning mousse to take home as a parting gift after an exhausting day of playing with all of the false eyelashes in the makeup trailer.

Spending years buying and trying every self-tanner on the market, my search ended in 2008 when Emmy winning department head makeup artist for “Dancing with the Stars,” Melanie Mills, handed me a bottle of St. Tropez self-tanning mousse to take home as a parting gift after an exhausting day of playing with all of the false eyelashes in the makeup trailer.

It was an answer to my relentless mission to find “the one.” 

Spending the GNP of a small country buying drug store staples from NO AD, Neutrogena, Jergens Natural Glow to Banana Boat, and department store brands from Clarins. Estee Lauder, Mystic Tan and Clinique, I was convinced the smell factor would never be fully addressed, and that the art of self-tanning required major planning and timing, so not to offend. 

Even trips to tan salons for the sunless air brush tan job delivered by a stranger while you stand there, naked, arms stretched out and legs splayed always left you with an eight hour minimum wait to shower, and the stickiness and odor was a torture to wait through.

Color too, always an issue.  The self-tanners and the daily moisturizers that gradually tanned all left me with a “close, but no cigar” hue of bronzed orange that often gave me the “Lohan needs a scrub down” look.  Not realistic and often glaringly uneven in depth.

So no surprise, my criteria for judging all self-tanners and their auxiliary products centers on two aspects: Smell and color.
 
That gifted mousse by St. Tropez was the first product I had ever used that immediately started turning my skin a correct shade of tan, no orange.  The lack of smell sealed the deal.  I noticed that the mousse had an almost greenish tinge to it, and that tonal quality seemed to keep the Orange Julius at bay.

Since then, St. Tropez has turned out a variety of new products that I was confident to invest in to try, strongly recommending this line to anyone who prefers the sunless tanning option to preserve skin.

The technology St. Tropez utilizes in their formulations is patented; Aromaguard™ is their secret weapon in the fight against the most restrictive issue of self-tanning, the timing of use factor.  Now you can apply self-tan product right before going out for the evening and not stink up the party.

The company claims this Aromaguard banishes the odor associated with self-tanning by reducing the smell by a minimum of 70%, leaving a subtle fragrance described as powdery iris roots, fresh fruits and violets. It’s quite subtle.

Self-tanning process:

How it works:
DHA, the active ingredient in self-tanning products, reacts with proteins on the outer surface of the skin to cause the bronzing effect that develops into a natural looking tan. It is the reaction of protein and DHA which produces the odor that varies in intensity depending on a person’s individual chemistry and increases as the tan develops.

Golden rules for a perfect tan:                                
Exfoliate before using any of the products. Wait for the lotion or mousse to be absorbed before getting dressed.

Dos and don’ts:
Don’t apply to broken, irritated or sensitive skin. Stop using if your skin becomes irritated. Wash your hands thoroughly immediately after application. Self-tanning product can stain, so take care not to get it on furnishings, wool, nylon, paintwork or light hair. Try not to get into your eyes, if you do, simply rinse thoroughly with water. Do not use on your lips. And all self-tanner is for external use only.

Sun safety warning:
Most all self-tanners, including St. Tropez’s line do not contain a sunscreen and do not protect against sunburn. If you are outdoors, you still need to wear SPF.

It was through my lucky connection with Mills and her ‘Dancing with the Stars” makeup team that I learned of St. Tropez to begin with.  The company is a salon-based business, that features and easy-to-use line for at-home tanning, available at beauty supplies and online. 

Previously I had reviewed the latest St. Tropez collection of cosmetic tan enhancers: Bronzing Rocks, Radiance Mousse and Bronzing Powder.

Without a doubt these three items are some of the most useful additions to your makeup repertoire you could invest in.

Personal favorite hands down is the Bronzing Powder, a matte, all-over shader that can be used as eyeshadow, blush, shader and overall color booster / skin tone warmer. Fans of MAC’s “Emote” powder blush (discontinued now) will love it.  Seriously, go get it.

Standout products for keeping skin looking great effortlessly are their Everyday Spray, Everyday Body and Everyday Face, which contain a new specialist skin complex that boosts melanin when it comes in contact with daylight.

Everyday Face has an extract from Palmivera Palmata, a red alga, which according to St. Tropez, improves microcirculation and skin radiance.

Other A+ products include Everyday Perfect Legs (a dual-pump leg tanning and instant bronze product), think a modern twist on leg makeup that hides a multitude of sins and bad DNA; this product is a life saver if you have a last-minute event to attend.

For this review, I used the Gradual Tan/Everyday line that offers two depth of color choices: Light to Medium, and Medium to Dark. 

Because I am fair-skinned, I chose to use the Light to Medium products first, and was extremely happy with the results.

Everyday Face Light/Medium
I was not eager to try this, as every experience I have ever had with self-tanning facial moisturizers rendered me with adult-onset acne and made me look ridiculous and in need of a good facial scrub.  Happy to report, not so with this product.  This light, easily absorbed lotion combines serious skin care benefits with a touch of self-tan.  Infused with soothing aloe Vera and antioxidant Vitamin E, which will help to gradually build a golden color every day.

Results were that I was actually a healthy-looking color and could get away with the most sheer foundation for daytime and evening.  More importantly, it did not break me out, something else I always suffered with other products that were meant to tan facial skin.

Everyday Body Light/Medium
This lightweight body moisturizer combines serious skin care benefits with a healthy touch of bronze. Infused with aloe Vera, this lotion will help give you smoother, skin while building a gradual golden tan, every day.

This is a great daily product for the light-skinned who just want to keep looking healthy and slightly sun-kissed.  For more drama step it up to the Medium to Dark formulation, and it can be used with the other St. Tropez products for layering if more depth is required.  Plus, it is an excellent daily moisturizer.

The company has Tan optimizers, Self-Tanning, Gradual Tan/Everyday and Tan Enhancers to achieve the right look for your skin.

Tan Optimizers
Body Polisher     
Body Moisturizer
Tan Remover Wipes*
Body Butter*
Shower Crème*

Self Tanning
Self Tan Spray
Self Tan Bronzing Lotion
Self Tan Bronzing Mousse
Rapide Face

Gradual Tan/Everyday
Everyday Spray
Everyday Face
Everyday Mousse*
Everyday Perfect Legs*
Everyday Body

Tan Enhancers
Self Tan Intensifier
Bronzing Rocks*
Radiance Mousse*
Bronzing Powder*