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Sat Apr 21, 2007 11:42 am  |
Vita Liberata Silken Self-Tanning Gel
Summer is on its way, so I'm in the process of trialling a few new fake tan products in the neverending quest to find my HG product. Also on my to-try list are Palmer's Natural Bronze and Make Believe. But here's what I thought of the Vita Liberata version - a self-tanner I've heard great things about and have wanted to try for some time.
Ingredients: Ingredients:azulene,carrot oil/carotenoids,coral seaweed,ginkgo biloba,grape,jojoba,kiwi,liquorice,lychee,melon,papaya,raspberry,silk proteins,vitamin a,vitamin c,vitamin e,yam,ylang ylang
The Promises:
Vita Liberata's blurb states that they believe this to be "the world's greatest self-tan" (blimey!), that it's "deeply hydrating, nourishing and protective. It has a pleasant fragrance, and gives a sweet smelling, truly natural, long lasting, believable tan that is very clean and incredibly easy to apply." "Its pleasant smell comes from using lots of antioxidants to nourish the skin, silk proteins to firm and hydrate, and coral seaweed to nourish and protect. This self tan also has hyaluronic acid to support collagen, gentle fruity acids to remove dead skin cells, jojoba for deep moisture, ylang ylang for balance and even gingko biloba to give anti ageing properties."
My verdict - does it deliver?:
There's a handy little leaflet included in the packaging, which gives tips on applying this self-tan. The product itself comes in a tube.
I made sure to follow the directions exactly, exfoliating well beforehand (my Dermalogica Ultimate Buffing Cloth smooths my skin to within an inch of its life) and applying moisturiser to particularly dry areas like ankles, knees and elbows, leaving to dry before using the tanner.
The product is quite thick, with a creamy-gel consistency. Not as easy to spread as my current Piz Buin favourite spray tan, but not difficult either. An approximately grape-sized portion is recommended for each half limb. Despite all of the gorgeous ingredients, I thought it smelt most surprisingly of nothing much.
I made sure to smooth and work the self-tan well into my body. (On this occasion, I only used it on upper body - including chest and halfway down back, and lower legs - including knees.)
As per the instructions, I used a slightly damp cloth to wipe over my knuckles, feet, ankle bones, elbows and knees. Because I hate using gloves to apply fake tanner, I also made sure to thoroughly wash my hands regularly throughout the application process.
The gel dried surprisingly quickly, within about 10 to 15 minutes. However, I waited 30 minutes before dressing for bed, just in case.
Next morning, the first thing I noticed was a complete and utter lack of the dreaded biscuity smell that usually accompanies a fake tan. This is the ONLY product I've ever used which doesn't have that telltale scent. You could have knocked me down with a feather. Very impressive.
On examination, my tan was a very natural colour, reasonably light, but definitely noticeable. Even my lower legs, which usually take 3 coats of fake tan to change colour were slightly tanned - I reckon 2 coats would have done the trick with this one.
My upper body was almost perfectly self-tanned, with the exception of the elbows. Although I had moisturised them beforehand and wiped them with a slightly damp cloth, they were still darker. Next time, I shall wipe more vigorously. However, a few sweeps with my trusty old Ultimate Buffing Cloth helped to tone down the embarrassment level.
Surprisingly, my knees, which always, always go darker and rather orangey, were absolutely fine. My lower legs were good too. The only problem was my feet. They could have done with more of a wipe with the damp cloth than I'd given them. Still, my feet are a definite problem area with all fake tans, and they really didn't look as bad as they usually do with other self-tanners.
As for deeply hydrating, I'd dispute that. My skin is very dry, mind you. It most certainly required body lotion next morning. I think the tanner had slightly dried out my skin, albeit not horribly so.
In the name of research, I wore a light-coloured jacket today and couldn't see any colour transference, so that's another plus.
In summary:
Yes - it gives a believable tan - so long as you heed the directions carefully.
Yes - there is no horrible fake tan smell.
Yes - it's easy to use.
No - it doesn't deeply hydrate.
To be updated:
I shall let you know how long the tan lasts, how nicely/horribly it fades and whether a more thorough wiping with a damp cloth solves the dark patches problem in an further update when I find out. |
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Sun Apr 22, 2007 4:43 am |
I just wanted to update the ingredients list. I copied it from the Vita Liberata website, but have checked the actual packaging and this is the full list, rather than the much abbreviated one the company gives on the Internet:
Ingredients:aqua,dihydroxyacetone,glyceryl polyacrylate,c13-t4 isoparaffin,cetearylisononanonate,cocoglycerides,phenoxyethanol,laureth-7,2-bromo-2nitropropane-1.3 diol,hydrolozed silk,coralina officinalis, cucumis melo fruit extract,glycrhizza glabra root extract,vitis vinefera leaf extract,gingko biloba leaf extract,cucumis melo seed extract,ribes nigrum fruit extract,dioscorea vilosa (wild yam) oil,tocopherol acetate,ascorbyl palmitate,retinul palmitate,litchi chinesis fruit extract,propylene glycol,sodium hyaluronate,sodium benzoate,methylparaben,sorbic acid
Okay, so some of those long-winded names are actually gorgeous natural ingredients, but there's a lot of other stuff in there. Just wanted to let you have the full picture. |
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Wed May 02, 2007 5:27 am |
UPDATE:
This fake tan stayed looking good for only around 2 days, before starting to become patchy. After 3 days, I could bear it no longer and used my trusty buffing cloth to get rid of the remnants.
In conclusion:
This would be ideal if you desperately want a fake tanner which doesn't have any nasty giveaway biscuity scent whatsoever, and are happy for short-term results. I would advise, however, that you ensure careful application, paying major attention to those troublesome areas - and DO use the damp cloth method of wiping over knuckles, feet, knees and elbows.
For me, the duration was disappointingly short, and I wouldn't re-purchase. |
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