Review: SunBelievable Expert Tan in Medium

I've tried a fair few fake tans in my time and ever since I hooked up with the budget-friendly St. Moriz I haven't really experimented with others as it gives me a perfect bronzed glow which manages to avoid turning Oompa-Loompa coloured on my skin because of its olive undertones.  

Leighton Denny has joined forced with 'tan king' James Harknett and I was recently contacted to try out Sun-Believable (gotta love a pun!) and was sent a dinky little 100ml bottle which was perfect to bring away with me on my work trip last week to the South of France.  I could even have packed it in my cabin bag if I needed to.  For a mousse formula which can't be transferred into another container for travel as you need the special pump to 'jushz' the formula it's great not to have to lug a huge bottle of tan abroad, particularly when you can get so many applications out of a small amount.

I normally use the Boots-own spongey tan mitts which work well for me, but I really loved how soft the Sun-Believable felt before I got started with application.  

It's a little tricky to separate at the start, but it's not a major issue.  What was an issue for me however was the little black fibers it left all over my skin.  Quite often I just need to whack a bit of tan on in a rush and it's not really ideal to be covered in black fur! However, you can always just use another mitt.  However, after a wash the shedding wasn't as bad.

The tan goes on quite dark, with almost an olive tinge - but I like this as it acts as a guide against streaking and the greenish tones I think are what ensures you don't turn orange!  

I'll go through the drawbacks first as overall, I do think this is a really good self tan.  After one use, I found that the bottle could be a bit leaky, but I think this is the nature of these mousse pump bottles as St. Tropez and St. Moriz are the same.  You just need to pack smart - wrap them in a couple of plastic bags and secure the lid area with an elastic band.  Of course if you're not travelling with it this isn't a problem.  Sun-Believable claims to last up to 10 days, but on me it goes to five or six at best before getting a bit patchy around my chest area, but this is still pretty good going in my books and the timings of course depend on how often you shower/bathe.  As I normally find fake tans very drying on my skin I like to moisturise a lot, but one evening I found that after slapping on some Molten Brown moisturiser it went a bit streaky and the cream picked up some of the colour.  The Molten Brown was quite heavily scented, so an oil-based moisturiser like Palmer's might work better - and give you glossier limbs!  I did notice a lot of the colour washed off in the shower, but strangely I remained pretty tanned.  It just left my bath water looking like a swamp - but every fake tan does this.

Now, the two main things I like about tan are the colour and its non-drying qualities.  For anyone who splashes out on St. Tropez I highly recommend that you give Sun-Believable a try as it give a much more natural, believable golden tan - and with a couple of applications you will be sporting this summer's hottest trend, a deep Brazilian tan.  I used the Medium tone and it worked very well on my 'ginger skin' - pale, almost blue, and freckled.  It develops pretty fast, within a couple of hours, which is good if you need to be brown, pronto!

I've always suffered with insanely dry and irritated skin after using fake tans, but I'm happy to suffer through it to avoid looking like a daywalker when I'm in a sunny place in my bright, summer clothes.  Sun-Believable markets itself as kind to skin and it does live up to this claim.  It didn't dry out my skin much at all - there were no manic midnight leg scratching fits and for me this is a total bonus!  Another benefit is that the formula is practically odourless.

At ten times costlier than my current go-to fake tan, I'm not sure I'll be splashing out on bottle after bottle of this to get me through the summer, but if I had special occasions or events where I needed a bit of colour I would definitely save it for these.  All in all, I've really enjoyed using this tan.  Out of a 200ml bottle (£30 plus a free mitt) you get at least 10 applications, so thinking about it that way, £3 a pop isn't bad.

You can purchase Sun-Believable in Medium or Dark at John Lewis, online here or through QVC.  You can pick up a travel-friendly set of the 100ml versions of the tan mousse, body exfoliator and moisturiser for £35.

*PR sample provided for review

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June Favourites

I can't believe June is over already! Only two months of summer left :( This month has been Vampire month for me, with the new True Blood novel release and of course, the Eclipse soundtrack :) But let's get down to the beauty products!

I got this a while ago with one of those Boots £5 off vouchers and started using it properly when the days became sunnier. I absolutely love it! Even though it's SPF 30 it's light and sinks into the skin quickly, acting as a moisturiser, primer and sun block in one. It has a slightly cream/beige colour rather than being the usual stark white that SPF creams can be, but does have a faint sun-block scent. It's my summer essential and I won't leave the house without it on!

i.d bare Minerals SPF 15 Foundation in Fairly Light

This mineral foundation featured in my May favourites too, but I have to mention it again because I have practically used it every day. In the hot weather it's great for setting liquid foundation in place and I've also been using it alone in the day. With the right brush it gives good coverage - I like to use a pore-filling primer underneath for a smoothest finish. This powder really came through for me when I realised to my horror that it was the only foundation I'd packed for my mini cruise last week! (usually I bring a heavy coverage liquid like MAC Studio Fix as it needs to last from 6pm to 4/5am) However I packed on loads with my Inglot kabuki brush and my skin glowed and was almost flawless. One of the best things about mineral foundation is the lack of tide marks around your jawline/neck - a serious issue for me and my pale skin! The shade 'Fairly Light' is one shade darker than their lightest (Fair) which suits me better, but I got this in a set, and in the summer I can make it work for me.

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Light Flush

This MSF was part of the MAC Pinkzapoppin! set released around Christmas time. I use it as a bronzer and it gives a very light and flattering colour. It's very iridescent and has a pinkish undertone, which suits pale skin much better than your typical orangey brown bronzers. I've used it a lot and barely made a dent in it - definitely good value!

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse in 004 Champagne

When I got this foundation for the first time about five years ago I didn't get on with it at all. But after experimenting with different ways of application and the release of an even lighter shade this really works for me when I want to put on a fast, good coverage and oil absorbing foundation on rushed mornings. Of course it's not the greatest for tide marks, but it is easier to blend these away with the mousse formulation than with a thick liquid. Lately I've been applying it with a duo fibre brush and blending any problem areas with a makeup sponge and this method gives a lighter, smoother finish.

Lancome Hypnose Mascara

I've had this mascara longer than is probably hygienic, but it's still going strong and hasn't dried out. The brush looks pretty standard but it is a holy grail mascara. Pure black, separates lashes, lengthens and holds the curl well (although the waterproof version would do this better). I paid about £19.50 for it at the time, but it's worth it as I've bought countless lower end brand mascaras since which could never match up. This mascara makes me excited about my lashes!

St. Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mousse

I started using this last year following Lollipop26's recommendation. St. Tropez always seems too orange and expensive for me to bother, but I paid £2.99 for this rip-off on Amazon Marketplace, and it's been one of my discoveries of the year. I no longer have to look like the living dead with my pale, almost blue skin. I only apply it on special occasions or when I'm feeling particularly fat! I've had it on for the most of June. It's best applied with with a tan mitt for no streaking and non-freaky hands. It barely streaks, the colour is natural on me, and it fades quite evenly. However this bottle is about a year old (I did a massive bulk order when I saw how great it was) and I think it must have gone off a bit as it looks darker than normal - time for a new one! The only drawback is that it is drying, but I've found this an issue with all the fake tans I've tried.

I know it's not beauty related, but it's been a big favourite this month!

I got a bit obsessive and read all the previous novels, along with watching the TV series'.  I'm halfway through the latest book and glad to see that Charlaine's writing skills have become slightly more sophisticated.  Don't get me wrong, I love the fictional world she's created, set in the American South and I've been vampire mad ever since Buffy, but as a writer I find her repetitive.  I wish someone more imaginative had the idea for this series.  (And I want more Eric action!)  I feel the same way about Twilight, again I love this series, but wish a less 'cringey' writer had that famous meadow dream.

I really hoped this would be a new favourite, but I'm just not getting into it :(

Continuing with the vampire theme I picked up this album on Monday and have given it a couple of listens.   It won't be replacing the Twilight or New Moon soundtracks on my iPod any time soon.  Not even one song grabs me.  I really expected to love it at first listen.  However I'm reserving final judgement until I've seen the film...

What's your favourite June product?