Now we’ve all heard of moisturiser, fake tan, bronzer, and sunscreen. Generally they come in 4 different bottles and we lug them all on holiday with us. Palmer’s Cocoa butter though, has kindly whacked them all in one bottle for us, which explains the unfeasibly long name for this product.
At first I thought the combination of SPF and fake tan was a brilliant idea. But after reading the instructions I wasn’t so sure. Anyone who has dabbled in fake tan will know that applying fake tan couldn’t differ more from applying sunscreen, and the directions are a jumbled mismatch of both...
The first comes from the sunscreen camp ‘apply liberally as often as needed and before sun exposure’, then it says ‘use sparingly on elbows, knees and ankles’, followed by, 'reapply as often as needed after towel drying, swimming or perspiring’. It's all to easy to imagine the disaster of a fake tan that would follow these instructions, not to mention the burnt knees and ankles if you were using it as a sunscreen.
Despite the slightly schzophrenic identity of this product, it’s actually rather good. At first it’s a little difficult to smoothe out the tinted colour, but once rubbed in it looks completely natural and not at all streaky. The colour developed over several hours and it was one of the least streaky I’d ever had, probably in part due to the fact that the tinted colour helps you to apply it evenly and prevent streaks.
Colour:The colour looked natural on my previously lily white skin and only looked a tiny bit orange in bright sunlight.
Ease-of-application: The bronzer helped enormously with the application as you could see clearly where the product was and you didn’t have to wait for it to develop to look tan.
Appearance: Good even colour, little to no streaking.
Lasting Power: It lasted just under a week and faded gracefully away without drama.
Overall: Used as a self tan rather than a sunscreen this creates an easy-peasy tan. I wouldn’t rely on it for sun protection though, or apply liberally throughout the day. The smell is pleasant as fake tans go too! 4/5 stars
