I am as pale as Casper the Ghost so I shy away from full on faux tanners and stick to the gradual ones. I've found two products so far that I swear by but I'm allergic to one and the scent is so strong in the other that I can't bear to use it.
In my quest for the perfect gradual tanner I picked up this pretty bottle from Farmers. It has mixed reviews online but I like to try products anyway because I feel like I'm either going to love it or hate it. This one falls firmly in the hate. Well strong dislike.
First of all it's a white liquid which is perfect, I don't like tinted gradual tanners as they get all over my sheets and clothes which isn't ideal! This has a lovely light scent which isn't at all offensive so that's bonus but it still doesn't make up for the fact that this product is a streaky mess!
My arms are streaky, my legs are streaky and there are even patches that appear whiter that they were before I applied it! I like to think of myself as a pretty great applier of fake tan - I don't miss spots and I have a brilliant prep routine including full body scrubs so my skills are not at all to blame.
I'll be taking this bottle back to Farmers and asking for an exchange so I can try something else. Really disappointed!
ModelCo tanning cream built up an almost natural looking tan over about 3 days of use. I then just maintained the tan by reapplying the moisturiser every second or third day.
The brown cream is fairly runny. It is absorbed well and is non-greasy but is not very nourishing. It has a slight chemical smell to it but is otherwise semi-sweet and pleasant smelling. The cream doesn't build up much residue on the lid of the tube like a lot of other creams do, which I think is a plus when working with self tanning creams where you really don't want to end up with dark streaks or spots.
I believe the price is reasonable and although the colour was near to natural it did appeared more orange the more I built the tan up.
I am always cautious about getting streaky or patchy legs on application. I found the cream easy to apply evenly and that, had I used mits I could have created a perfectly even tan, even over my ankles and knees. When maintaining the tan It was easy to end up with unwanted dark areas as it did not wear off evenly.
I would not use this product again as I am finding gradual tanning moisturisers always feel like they are more hassle than they are worth