Hi lovelies! Recently, I was offered an opportunity by Salon Services to review their 'Tan Truth' home use products and do a review of them from the perspective of a beauty therapist (which many of you already know is what I do for a living!). I'd not actually used Tan Truth before and as a brand it's not one I've ever used on my clients either, so really this is a first impressions review, but I've given everything they have sent me a good go and I feel I can give you guys a fair review on each product.
First up and first in the routine, I tried the exfoliator, this is a gorgeous pink colour (always a winner) and is a very coarse scrub, making it fab for getting rid of old tan or smoothing over any dry patches - essential if you want an even tan! This does a fab job as a scrub and doesn't leave you feeling greasy as I find some scrubs do. As a therapist, I'd always advise using a scrub that's specifically made for use with tanning products, as other body scrubs can sometimes be too greasy and leave behind an oily residue that makes for a very patchy tan - not a good look!
Next up and the hero product for me is their tan primer, believe it or not, I've actually never used a tanning primer before so I was intrigued to see if this was actually a useful item or just a bit of a gimmick. I tend to get quite dry on the back of the tops of my arms as well as the usual suspects, on the elbows, knees and feet, so I spritzed this in those areas and left it for a few minutes before applying the tan and I woke up the next morning, showered the tan off and no super dark patches in sight. I know there are lotions and things out there that are supposed to do the same job, but what stood out to me about this is the formula, it's a spray bottle and the product comes out as a very fine mist, making it super easy to use and very quick to sink in, so no waiting around before you apply tan. Perfect if like me you often apply your tan shortly before going to bed.
Similarly, the range did include a Barrier Cream, which works pretty much the same as most tanning barrier creams, I apply this all over around an hour before I tan, just to make sure my skin is well moisturised. I follow up with the primer in the areas mentioned above. I like this one more than certain other lotions I've used as it's very light and sinks in very quickly. As I said, I do leave this an hour to be 100% sure it's completely soaked in, but honestly you could probably do this 10 minutes before tanning - provided you rub it in fully - and you'd have no problem at all.
Similarly, the range did include a Barrier Cream, which works pretty much the same as most tanning barrier creams, I apply this all over around an hour before I tan, just to make sure my skin is well moisturised. I follow up with the primer in the areas mentioned above. I like this one more than certain other lotions I've used as it's very light and sinks in very quickly. As I said, I do leave this an hour to be 100% sure it's completely soaked in, but honestly you could probably do this 10 minutes before tanning - provided you rub it in fully - and you'd have no problem at all.
Another product that was quite different was the facial bronzer. I went to use this before putting my makeup on on the day I received these products and was surprised and slightly confused when it came out of the bottle as a clear gel, as opposed to the dark brown liquids or foams of other facial bronzers I've used. So, being slightly skeptical, I assumed this was going to be nothing more than a glorified basic serum, but I was wrong, by the end of the day, I noticed my skin did actually develop a light colour under my foundation. I love that this develops gradually as it means it doesn't wash off with your makeup and doesn't give an instant super tan like other facial tanners. It's very light on the skin and is perfect for use under makeup as it dried almost instantly if used correctly. I use this daily now as like most girls, the tan on my face never lasts as long as the rest of my body. If you tan regularly and find your face stays paler, this is absolute godsend. It'd also be fab if you just fancy a hint of colour on your face instead of an all over tan.
The two actual body tans I received are the instant tan lotion and foam. I've used similar formulas before and knew to apply both with a tanning mitt (and make sure you do, your hands will thank you!). Both have a great guide colour so you know what you're working with, but the guide colour can and will transfer onto clothes, sheets etc, so your best bet (and what j usually do) is to apply an hour or two before bed after showering, then use dark sheets and rinse in the morning. Putting this on before school or work then getting caught in the rain would be nothing short of a disaster! Both tans give a very similar effect when rinsed off, I'd say the foam is just slightly darker and slightly easier to work with. The lotion is quite thick and while I have had some practice, I do think it's slightly more difficult to spread evenly than the foam is. The colour from both lasts a few days before it needs topping up and they both faded very evenly. I applied the mousse as the lotion had faded and still no patches! To be honest, you're going to get a lovely, natural looking colour with either of these so I'd put it down to personal preference when it comes to formula. I would say the lotion is just probably slightly better if you had particularly dry skin. Also, both the tanning products lasted a really great amount of time before fading, most tans I've used tend to need reapplying after the first or second shower at a push, but both of these lasted about 5 showers. I'm not sure how well this would do in a bath, as I recently got a thigh tattoo and haven't been allowed to sit in a bath recently, so I can't comment on that!!
Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend tan truth for an affordable tanning brand and think it's definitely worth a tan for tan-o-holics like me! If I were to recommend just one product from the range though, I'd have to say the primer is the winner for me. While I genuinely loved all the products, this is something I've never seen before and I've never used any lotion or cream that's worked so well to keep the stubborn dry patches from turning mega dark!
