Fast forward a few years to this past Christmas. My husband’s cousin was visiting from the University of Missouri, and she walks in showing off a gorgeous, enviable tan that left me wondering, is Missouri a tropical place I’ve been wrong about my whole life? Nope, it was St. Tropez, the self-tanner.
The next thing I knew I was standing at Sephora looking at the pretty white and blue bottles. The brand boasts that is has an Aromaguard technology that eliminates 70 percent of the self-tanner smell, and it claims to leave a light fresh scent. I bought the Self-Tan Express Bronzing Mousse, which instructed me to leave it on for one hour for a light tint, two hours for medium, and three hours for a dark glow. The regular Bronzing Mousse instructs you to leave it on for a minimum of six hours and…ain’t nobody got time for that.
I opted for the one-hour light tan. The directions say once you wash off the mousse the tan will activate and deepen over the next eight hours. To my delight, it did. I woke up the next day with a pretty, healthy glow. I was careful to moisturize my knees, ankles and feet before application, and I was happy to see it was golden, even and not fake. Here’s the only thing: while the scent is light, and I can still smell it faintly. It’s the best I’ve tried, though. Also, be sure to wear long leggings and sleeves to bed if you have light sheets.
Will I use it again? Absolutely. It’s $44. Do it!
