Facial Self Tanners With Anti-Ageing Benefits

I’ve been using self tan for as long as I can remember and more so a facial tanner. I’d much rather sit in the shade now when on holiday than directly in the sun and so self tanner is the perfect solution. I am super pale and so I just like to have a little colour so I don’t look too ghost like. Back in the day face tan was never that advanced and I remember there only being a few on the market – I could be wrong but I found it hard to find any. I’ve always looked to use a different self tan for my face from my body one and now there are so many options, plus they have anti-ageing and skincare benefits thrown in. I wanted to test out some of the very best to see how they fared and see what benefits they could offer skincare wise.

James Read Overnight Tan Sleep Mask Face £25 – Buy Me

The idea behind this face tanner is it’s like a mask for your face overnight. Let the tan develop whilst you sleep and don’t end up with a dirty marked pillow. It has a gel formula which I really liked, it felt lovely and moisturising. It’s infused with aloe water, hyaluronic acid and algae extract for hydration and the more hydrated the longer the tan should last in theory. I really loved the colour of this tan, it was so golden and made my skin look really good. I’d definitely recommend not going to heavy-handed if your quite pale like me as it can come out pretty dark which in turn can look a tad patchier, but the lighter the colour the better it really looks. It was hard to work out how this would fit into my routine as I use an oil at night a lot and I’m not sure I’d want to swap it out or for my night moisturiser and risk losing those benefits.

Tan Luxe Illuminating Self-Tan Serum/Drops £35 – Buy Me

Tan Luxe’s self tan serum comes in two colours Light/Medium and Medium/Dark and I tried out the Light/Medium. It comes in a 30ml dropper bottle and it’s a made to measure self tan serum. I like the idea of these as you control how dark you want to go, I had used a Clarins one before but it didn’t seem to be my skins friend, anyways once you’ve used it once you get a good idea for the colour, so the first time I used it I probably played it a little safe. It’s said to develop a tan in 60 mins that will last a week. You mix 2-3 drops with your usual moisturiser and adding more drops will increase the depth.

I normally do three drops and am pretty happy with the colour, it’s a gorgeous golden glow that really does illuminate the face as it suggests. I’m not sure if it lasted a whole week but it definitely lasted long and I didn’t need to top it up that much. Considering this a dropper bottle with only a few drops needed each time, this will last you. Now to the benefits; it’s packed with Aloe Vera, Raspberry Seed Oil, Vitamin E and Hydrolyzed Silk and won’t dry out your skin either. I really loved this one and will definitely continue to use it for the gorgeous glow.

Vita Liberata Self Tanning Anti-Ageing Serum £29.95 – Buy Me

Similar to the Tan Luxe, this is also a dropper bottle and you add a few drops to your moisturiser or you can apply straight to your face for a deeper colour. When added to my moisturiser it made my face feel so soft, but the colour wasn’t all that strong when I woke up the next day. I think it’s definitely more of a gradual colour with the idea I guess to use it everyday. When I applied it straight on the colour was much deeper, but I preferred the look of it with the moisturiser, so i think after a few days it will be the right colour and used each day would just keep a lovely golden glow to the face.

When I did apply it straight it was darker but didn’t seem to last so I think the idea of the everyday build up would be best for this. I love however the anti-ageing benefits of this serum and the ingredients, which include rose and cucumber extract which rejuvenate the skin and it is also fortified with Matrixyl 3000 to stimulate collagen production and help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Most self tans can really dry out the face, so with these key ingredients it will keep it hydrated and less wrinkles, hurrah!

Vita Liberata Self Tanning Night Moisture Mask £29.95 – Buy Me

I really liked this mask from Vita Liberata, the colour was lovely when I woke up the next day and it didn’t look streaky, orange or patchy at all. It came up slightly darker than the serum drops after one application and again felt moisturizing. Ingredients include Organic Sunflower Seed which delivers a boost of Vitamin A, C and D, whilst Tocopherol protects against free radical damage and apple softens fine lines and wrinkles. As well as the HyH2O technology which offers the most hydrating treatment for a self tan. I don’t like to miss out my moisturiser step at night, but for once a week I’d definitely opt in for this.

Leighton Denny Sun Believable Hydrating Facial Tan £35 – Buy Me

I never knew Leighton Denny did lip products never mind tan. The tan range is under the name Sun Believable and the face tan comes in two shades, medium and dark. I tested out the medium shade and it comes out without any colour and feels really nice on the skin, very moisturising. It should do as it’s got plenty Hyaluronic Acid and unique blend of Organic Black Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil and Virgin Plum Oil to help reduce the appearance of fine lines.

It can be used in place of your daily moisturiser and the colour developed into a really lovely golden bronze. Definitely again recommend not going too heavy as a light application is more than enough. This was the tan that lasted the longest out of all of these, I could do one application and it would last a week. The only thing that put me off was the not very attractive packaging, I feel for £35 that is something that could definitely be improved. It has no parabens, alcohol or synthetic fragrances and I really enjoyed and liked this one.

Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads Face £10 pack of 5 – Buy Me

I picked these up on my American beauty haul a few weeks ago from Sephora as I’m not sure you can get these here in the UK. I know Feel Unique have the body ones but face I’m not sure. Anyways I love Dr Dennis Gross Alpha Beta pads and so I figured I’d try the glow pads, which are kind of like a tan towelette if you ever used to use them? I got a pack of 5 which I guess won’t last long as you need one per application, so it’s pretty expensive.

However these are full of Vitamin D, vitamins and antioxidants whilst Microencapsulated DHA and soy proteins are supposed to deliver an odorless, streak-free color. Alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids penetrate the skin to exfoliate, tighten pores, eliminate blackheads, and help fade existing sunspots for an even glow. There are so many skincare benefits in these, coming from a skincare brand which is fab. I’ve only used them once so far but I wasn’t sure, the colour didn’t look too natural, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t my favourite either and looked a little patchy. I will give them another go though and see how it fares second time around.

Have you got any favourite self face tanners you like to use?

Shop The Post