Self-tanning product recommendations

Anyone out there use self tanners? I've looked at all kinds but would rather hear from real product users. Anyone got any recommendations or tips for products, pref available in Munich? How long does the colour last?

as work is slow today i've deceide to answer this.
way do you need a self tanner???
sun bed or sun but the chemicals in those things are uuurgh

yeh, i'll wade in with my 2c worth aswell...

if you mean 'fake tan in a bottle' when you say self tanner... there must be some serious chemicals in that stuff, my girlfriend used it a few weeks ago for some occassion and the smell made me violently ill, it triggered a migraine and i had to spend the day in bed... nasty stuff...

although i'm not sure how healthy they are, sunbeds and indeed natural sunshine are widely and cheaply available in munich

You might wanna have a look into another tanning thread.

Summer is coming!

Hiya
self-tanners are GRATE and you don't have to end up looking like Posh.
The Rolls-Royce option would be to go to BeautySpy in the Fünf Höfe and have them apply St Tropez.
They also sell the products as does Douglas.
It can be a bit fiddly but they do give a good colour (the application differs from other products in that you slap it on widly and then buff off the excess, do not use near white fabrics esp. sheets).
Another big brand is Fake Bake.
Clarins self-tanners are excellent and less fiddly than the St Tropez. Some salons offer applications of them too but they are pretty easy to use. If they are good enough for Heidi Klum, who uses them too, then they are good enough for me. I like the Sheer Bronze Self-Tanning Gel, it doesn't whiff too much and gives a nice light colour which you can then build as necessary.
SunDash is the brand name for spray-on self-tanning cabins which are located in some Ihr Sonnenstudio branches.
For the cheap and cheerful option, Nivea isn't that bad either.
As all self-tanners contain the same active ingredient (DHA - Dihydroxyacetone), the choice of product really depends on what you personally like.
I like Clarins so I use Clarins.
DHA reacts with the top layer of the skin and turns brown. It is entirely safe and has been used for decades. It does not protect from the sun though.
Now some tips:
Scrub, scrub, scrub! Did I mention exfoliation? No smooth skin means no smooth result. Self-tanning on irritated skin stings so don't "tan" immediately after shaving/waxing.
If you have particularly dry areas of skin, use bodly lotion sparingly on those areas only.
Buy single-use latex gloves to do the application.
Have the radio on in the bathroom, well you have to let it dry before getting dressed...
Apply as directed, St Tropez application is different (streaks are permitted as you buff it off), think about using a tinted product if you are nervous about streaks.
Wash your hands particularly around the nails and palms (you can stroke the back of your hands lightly across another area with product on to slightly dye the backs of your hands though).
Let it dry off a little (read the leaflet!).
Unless you are using something like the ST Tropez moisturiser, avoid using AHA/BHA/Fruit Acid creams over a fake tan as they peel the skin, taking the dye with it.
If something goes wrong: scrubbing the area will help, St Tropez also makes a Self-Tan Remover. Otherwise Clinique toner or even acetone-based nail varnish remover (if you are beyond desperate!) works.
Hope that this helps, I'll be back on the Clarins next week
Katrina
PS Do not kick off the sunbed discussion again please - if you want to know some views about them please use the search function.

woooo

katrina
i guess you use these things alot!
but munich gets tons of sun, why go to the stress.
if you need a tan, go out the door?

If I need a tan, I'll use a can.
I am a pasty Scot - tanning isn't going to happen.
Katrina

so the moto is

tans in the can
not
tons in the sun

but pasty scots are ok be proud and pasty!!
tanned scots allways remind me of rod stewart

@Katrina... that is an amazing reply. Totally speechless and looking forward to baking myself silly

re: nay sayers...ah well, the truth is I have been inspired by anonymous pairs of MENS legs...yes MENS legs. My office overlooks some residential apartments. Because of the angle, I get a good view from the top into several apartments. I occ. see people walking around, cooking etc. but I hardly ever see the whole person. The only exception is the topmost unit which is on level with mine. It has a great balcony and I've seen a nice older gent out there cleaning his plant leaves, but I digress. One guy below him is a kitchen guy...always in the kitchen, sometimes in a bathrobe. Nice looking legs from what I can see. Today I saw another occupant, the guy under the kitchen guy. I will refer to him as panty guy. I'm opening the window and there is panty guy on his balcony wearing you guessed it - panties. Ok probably techically briefs but since I'm a boxer girl it looks more like panties to me. Things that run through my head:

1. I am surprised that panty guy lives in that flat...it has pastel love beads...which just seems like the wrong vibe for panty guy...
2. Panty guy is pasty. Almost bluish, unhealthy pasty. NOT Sexy Scottish Pasty. He is simply just so pasty, I can't register anything else about him...though oddly an old poison song flashed into my head and I suspect he once had a mullett...
3. I realize that I am obsessive about avoiding direct sun exposure, wearing SPF, yes even in the German winters. I am likely as pasty as panty guy - though in a different yellowish pasty tone which is even WORSE than bluish pasty... and nowhere near sexy scottish (or otherwise) natural pasty.
4. Unless I want to be stuck in stockings in my no-ac office, ease up on my spf, put myself in a cancer coffin, I better look into some fake bake alternatives.

Anyway to be clear...I am not saying there is anything wrong with being pasty, (or guys wearing panties for that matter), just sharing the source of inspiration...

Mind you, I used to use a lot of the stuff when I was a teenager, would go to bed without waiting for it to dry. This would mean that my sheets would look like the Turin Shroud...

I'm a freckled, pasty Scot, the fake tan just joins the dots up
Katrina

a dot to dot jock

I can't be having with all that cream, sunbed, fake tanning malarkey. Get yourself out the sunshine and get a natural tan. Granted I'm not basing this on todays offering from the sky gods. Wear a decent sun cream to stop yourself ending up like that bird in "Something About Mary" and you'll be grand. Granted I've been accused of being able to get a tan from a 40w light bulb but just get yourself out there. Play some sport or something in the sun and before you know it you'll have that healthy tan and be feeling great about it.

Just a funny note.. When I first moved here quite white last July, I couldn't speak German at all...what I thought was tanning lotion turned out to be self-tanner. I slogged it on and went to the english garden for a good 4 hours.. I can't even describe how awful it was!!! I was bright orange, splotchy and burnt for a good week..

I dont erally know anything about it but there is one funny thing came up in my mind most people in my country are tanned (Im from Thailand) and what do we have here? WHITTENING CREAM!! and all you guys over there are white and u got "TANNING CREAM" i know its not a good joke but this is something that came up in my mind!

All right so hears the update. I bought a few different kinds based on the nominees from 2004 Cosmetic Women's Executive Award

I tried the Estee Lauder Sunless Tanning Towelettes. As advertised these were incredibly easy to use. No fuss, no muss. I've got medium-dark skin to begin with, but defitnitely two-tone which is so not cool in the summer time...this gave me exactly what I wanted, a bit of an even glow all over. I would recommend these to first time users.

I also tried Origin's Great Pretender . As advertised this tinted formula had a nice scent (relatively speaking), gave instant color and dried to a nice deep colour. The downsides were it didn't dry all that quickly and also left me feeling sticky and smelling a bit like plastic. The colour (for my skin tone) was great. I would recommend this one only for people looking to get a lot of deep colour.

Overall I was pleased with both of them. I'm likely to stick with the estee lauder for pure simplicity and less obvious impact. Or I might just play in the sun, turns out sun exposure may be good for your health afterall.

This thread is very distubing. A voyuer tanner seeks help.

oh whatever, go play with your inflatables this is serious bidness. I forgot to add that I wanted to buy stuff from the locals, i.e. some of the ones mentioned in Katrinas fab post, but the service was so bad that I left.

@ JML just remember whatever brand that you are using, make sure that you use a good body scrub Like origin or clarins due to they are much more skin friendly (during shower)

Scrubbing prior self tanning will give you an even tone. Luckily i don't require self suntanning