I am like the fat, unattractive version of snow white; I have skin as white as snow (except my blotchy red face), lips as red as blood (as long as I'm wearing my Russian Red MAC lipstick, but don't tell anyone I told you that) and hair as black as ebony. I do actually have partly-asian skin, so I can tan naturally - I just choose not to prematurely age my skin now I am reaching towards the end of my twenties, so I remain pale all year round, and have done since I was 18. I can't tell you how depressing being pale in the middle of summer can be, when others are walking around, tanned, golden and healthy-looking. Well, maybe not
this summer in England, because all we've had is rain for months on end, but you get my point...
I came across Xen-Tan completely by mistake. Loads of people said it was totally amazeballs (not their exact words but you know what I mean), so I bought a bottle of the dark lotion from www.feelunique.com (I have VIP status with Xen-Tan on their website so this bottle cost me £16.95), and ever since then I never looked back...
This is what the bottle looks like. The bottle contains 236ml of product. On the front of the bottle it says it:
rich moisturizers, instant color for face and body, natural olive undertone, long wearing, streak free and
with jojoba nut oils & aloe. On the back of the bottle it gives you the directions on how to apply and also a warning about avoiding contact with eyes and not containing UVA/UVB protection.
AAAAGGGGHHHH! Please look away if sqeamish!!! This is me with Xen-Tan applied, and waiting patiently to dry. Yes, I look hideous, oh well, haha! When the dark lotion goes on it smells like a cherry bakewell tart/almonds/marzipan - it's very sweet smelling, and it feels lovely, gliding on to the skin. It is for face and body too, so there's no need to buy a second self tanner for the face - hooray! After the lotion is dry, the yummy scent wears off, leaving the biscuity scent of the DHA as it works its magic to turn you from pale-and-sunless to sun-drenched-golden-goddess.
Now you may have been wondering why my skin looks muddy-ish and dirty. It's because the base colour looks like the above photo. It really is dark, but it glides on and rubs in smoothly, especially if you have a tanning mitt. I use a soltan tanning mitt from boots, and the lotion just rubs in like a dream. If I use latex/latex-free gloves I end up with product rolling up in teeny, yucky, little, dark-brown-dead-skin-like rolls on the skin and it looks really creepy and gross. A tanning mitt stops that problem :)
They claim it has an olive undertone to keep your tan looking natural, and they certainly weren't lying; here is my tanning mitt after I left it to dry with Xen-Tan Dark Lotion on it. Green! You won't turn out orange (which is always a looming disaster just waiting to happen for all us pale girlies) with this beauty of a self-tan!
So these are two pictures I took after I'd waited overnight and showered off the base/instant colour the next day. I'm not super dark, but I'm not white anymore, hooray! I used a foundation that contains SPF 20 in it (to even out my face), so the camera flash reflected some light, making my face appear a little lighter than it should have, but you can tell I'm darker than I normally am.
This is a picture of my hand. You can see my knuckles are a bit darker than the rest of my hand, but other than that you can tell my skin is tanned, and most importantly, not Tango-ed! I forgot to use a moisturiser on my feet beforehand, so my toes went quite dark, which was embarrassing, but they're ok now after a bit of buffing haha!
Pro's of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion:
Natural, olive based tan after base colour is washed away
Dark base colour (easy to see where it's been applied)
Doesn't gather at wrists, ankles, elbows (so no really obvious dark patches)
Smells great right out of the bottle
Face and body (no need to buy separate tanner for face)
Leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised
Can get it for around £17 on www.feelunique.com if you use VIP for Xen-Tan (FREE SHIPPING)
Cons of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion:
Price - can cost up to £29 per bottle (depending on where you buy it from, like Xen-Tan's own website), which is very pricey for fake tan
Smell wears off, leaving DHA biscuity smell after about an hour
Some say that the tan is not dark enough after first application, and they require two applications, which means the tan can run out quickly.
CONTAINS NUT OILS so for people with a nut allergy, this product is a big NO NO :(
CONTAINS PARABENS (I'm going to fork out the extra moolah for Xen-Tan Absolute Luxe when I next order, because that one is paraben free :D)
This is not Xen-Tan - this is My-Tan! I love this fake tan and I can't wait to try the absolute luxe when my dark lotion runs out. If you can get the tan at the price I can get it, if you're not allergic to nuts and you don't have worries about parabens, then you should try this fake tan out. It's the best one I've ever used, and I've used quite a few on my self-tanning journey (St Moriz lotion, L'Oreal sublime bronze gel and the L'Oreal range of spray tanners for face and body including the pro sprays, Soltan gel, lotion and body sprays, St Tropez spray, Fake Bake mousse, spray and lotion, Solait mousse).
Does anyone else have a favourite self-tan? I'd love to know! xx
