In my first blog post linked
here [Click] I mentioned that I would review one of my recent purchases; He-Shi
Face and Body Gel which I purchased from www.feelunique.com
for £14.90. Below are some pictures of this product:
I have been a long time fan
of He-Shi Express Liquid Tan [see picture below] and thought that I would give
their gel formula a go as it would be more moisturising on my skin. I exfoliated
prior to application and applied oil free moisturiser to my hands, elbows,
hairline, knees and feet beforehand. I used my tanning mitt to apply the gel. The
gel looks very dark when squeezed out of the bottle [don’t let this alarm you]
it does however come out quite light on the skin when rubbed in given the darkness
of the actual product. The guide colour is handy to show you any spots you have
missed but isn’t too dark that it would drastically stain your sheets [or onsie
in my case].
The next day I discovered
that the gel had clung to all my extra moisturised areas as mentioned above and
had clung to any dry patches on my skin making them appear more noticeable, as
a result my hands, feet, elbows etc were darker than the rest of me and my legs
were also streaky. I have been applying fake tan products for years and have
not had streaky legs since my early teens. I was shocked to discover that I had
big missing patches on my legs the next day. In hindsight I would say that my
legs streaked because it takes this tan a long time to dry given that it is a
gel and perhaps I had not waited long enough before hoping into bed. Re the
darker patches of skin and hands, feet etc, I do not know what else I could
have done to avoid this situation as I’m not sure how a lotion would mix with
the gel in order to dilute the tan for these areas, perhaps I should try this
next time? Or maybe use a moisturiser with oil in it for these parts?
One plus to this tan was
that it looked lovely on my face, and I have since used it in conjunction with
other tans as a face gel, where I will apply a small layer to my face once or
twice a week. I think this product used as a face tanner along with He-Shi’s
Express Liquid Tan would give a lovely over all tan.
I like most other people
have a love hate relationship with fake tan, I love having a tan [I feel more
confident and feel that I personally look better with one, sadly I do not have
a nice Kirsten Stewart/ Anne Hathaway skin tone] but I hate the upkeep of it [let’s
face it, it’s a lot of work and I’m kind of on the lazy side when it comes to
these things].
For a while I had been
keeping a good tanning routine of exfoliating, moisturising and fake tanning. However
I found that after 4/5 days my tan needed topping up and I have found this to
be the case with whatever tan I used [He-shi, St.Moriz, Vita Liberata]. So in
realistic terms I was fake tanning twice a week whilst ensuring I maintained my
routine for trying to keep my tan. However due to wearing bras with underwire I
found that after a day or two my tan would wear off where my bra had rubbed and
my armpits would show the wear of tear of my tan which left me having to choose
my outfits wisely which proved especially annoying when we would get random
warm days[I wonder if the fact that I was using mousse fake tans would have
anything to do with how the tan rubbed off in certain areas? ]. I found that
the upkeep was just too much on top of a 9-5 job as well as my university work
in the evenings. I found that in my little spare time that I did have I had a
choice of weather I wanted to fake tan or do something else with my time.
When I discovered that one
of my favourite tans were launching a 2-3 week fake tan I was thrilled to say
the least. This tan claims to last up to three weeks. You can see my previous post where this tan was discussed [Here].
Application:
Using a tanning mitt apply as you would a tinted
mousse, blending colour as you apply. Avoid the heel of the hand, and wipe
knuckles, knees and ankles immediately. Any unwanted application should be
removed immediately as the colour will take to the skin in only a few minutes.
Do not moisturise prior to application, except for areas of exceptionally dry
skin. Do not apply with bare hands
as colour will take to the palms of the hands.
To extend the life of your colour apply multiple
layers of pHenomenal, i.e.:
1
application = approx 7 days
2 applications = approx 10+ days
3 applications = approx 2 - 3 weeks
Allow at least one hour
between showering and reapplying, for optimum results leave 3 hours between
each shower for a longer lasting tan.
My thoughts:
I purchased the tan in the
shade medium as I had previously tried their mousse In this shade and liked the
colour it gave. I applied this tan twice; I applied the first application
before bed and rinsed it off after 16 hours and reapplied my second application
which I washed off as normal the second morning.
I had an even tan with
pretty much the same colour results as their normal medium coloured mousse, I think
a third application would have looked too dark and fake on me given my fair
skin tone.
This tan has a colour guide
which washes off the next day in the shower with minimal staining of PJ’s. I usually
wear my onsie for tanning to contain the smell and save my sheets from
staining. This tan doesn’t smell of anything when applying it but an hour later
there is a normal but slightly subtler fake tan smell. This smell washes away
in the shower the next day and doesn’t linger and I would say that the smell isn’t
as offensive as the st.moriz smell.
I was disappointed to learn
that this tan didn’t last long on me at all, it lasted around four days. Their normal
tanning mousse that I had been using had stayed on longer and that was with
only one application. I don’t understand why this product didn’t work on me and
I was very disappointed that it didn’t but thankful that I had bought this tan
whilst on offer for £25 and that I didn’t pay full price for it. One positive
about this fake tan is that it came off very easy when I soaked in the bath and
used my exfoliating mitts to take it off; I wasn’t left with any dry tanned
patches.
Reviews of this product are
very scarce. I have only been able to find a few and I now question the sincerity
of some of these reviews, perhaps they had been sponsored.
I had however spoken with one
blogger/YouTube guru via twitter [Melanie Twiner] about the tan. Melanie had
better results than myself and gave an honest review of the tan on her YouTube
channel which you may find useful [see below for her review].
I would suggest tryingthis tan for yourself if you don’t mind splurging on a fake tan product however
I would recommend looking about to see if this tan is on offer beforehand. Let me
know if you have tried this tan?
I love reading people’s blogs in my spare time and
one thing I’m always looking out for is review posts regarding fake tan. As you
can see from the above picture I am somewhat of a tanorexic. I have tried a
whole heap of fake tans that have left me either not tanned at all, like an
oompa loompa or as I have found more recently a lovely golden bronzed.
My history of fake tanning dates back to my
mid-teens where I am afraid to admit it that I only tanned my legs when wearing
socks to school (this was very on trend and something that I remember most
girls my age doing). I used tanning wipes from the local chemist which were
approx 1-2 quid, who says you can’t do beauty on a budget? These wipes were hit
or miss as you were unable to see where you had wiped thus ensuring that you
were defiantly going to discover nice sexy streaks on your tangoed legs the
next morning. In my late teens I went up market and began using the Garnier Ambre
Solaire No Streaks Bronzer Dry Body Mist. My sister also used this fake tan but
only on special occasions. I remember thinking that this fake tan would be brilliant
if it had a guide colour as sometimes you would miss bits and would thus look
streaky the next day. I am surprised to think that they haven’t yet added a
guide colour to this product especially considering the price. I remember this tan
smelling very sweet on application and feeling very greasy. I would smell of
dried biscuits the next day and come to think of it I actually smellt like biscuits every
other day after that until the tan faded off....hume.
My early university days saw me using the likes
of sun shimmer instant wash off tan. However the matt version was always nearly
impossible to find which resulted in me always buying the shimmery version. As cringe
worthy as it is to admit this, I applied it all over...yes even my face which
left me like a walking glitter ball. But hey, we were only going to the club
and it would be dark...right? My brother was dating a girl at the time that had
an aversion to fake tanning. She flippantly gave me a bottle of fake tan practically
full exclaiming that she had no use for it. Little did she or I for that matter
know she was handing me one of my favourite fake tans that I would say is one
of my three Holy Grail fake tanning products to date. I’m sure your reading
this thinking, just tell me what tan she handed you already....well she gave me
a very large bottle of He-Shi Liquid Express tan. This tan saw me through the rest of my fake
tanning days where my housemate and I would go halfers on a bottle...ensuring that
we each had enough money left over for new clothes, drink and a Chinese on the
way home.
I took a break from He-Shi fake tan mainly
because I moved back home and it wasn’t as readily available to me anymore and I
was finding it quite costly as I would have to buy the tan myself. I have also
tried and still have in my collection today St Moriz fake tan lotion and mousse
which is great value for money at £3 a bottle from my local semi-chem. I was an
avid fan of this fake tan and it was at one stage my Holy Grail fake tan. However
I found this tan to wear off patchy and could have a drying effect on my skin.
I will however still return to this love affair mainly if I am heading out on a
night out and require a darker tan. I have also tried two fake bake products (original
and flawless) but did not rate these products highly. Since discovering however
that www.feelunique.com are selling
He-Shi at a cheaper price I feel I may stock up, I have recently purchased
their face and body gel which I will review for you shortly.
He-Shi fake tan gel for face and body
Blends in lovely and smooth
I bet your wondering what my other Holy Grail
fake tanning products are? Ok I’ll spill. I am naturally pale and have visible veins
on the back of my legs which I detest as a girl at school once made some
horrible comments about them and to this day I have been paranoid about them. Whilst
in my first year at university I discovered Sally Hansen makeup for legs. I’m telling
you now this product is a God send. It is basically foundation for your legs
that will hide the most unsightly veins, giving an airbrushed look to your
legs. It is a wash off tan but I would say it is water resistant and requires a
good scrub the next day in the shower to remove it. I have had many a drink
spilled over my legs to discover that my Sally Hansen had not budged. The only
downside to this product for me is the price, retailing at almost £10 a bottle,
which may not seem like much to some but for a student on a low budget it is a
lot considering the amount I pay for my fake tan. Other products boasting to do a similar job
have since came on the market such as tights in a tin for around £3. This tan
is fine for those on a budget and if I’m feeling strapped for cash ill buy a
can however I don’t feel it has the same naturally tanned colour as Sally’s one
and doesn’t have the same staying power in the drink spillage scenario.
My final Holy Grail fake tanning product is Vita
Liberata fake tanning moose. I love watching Made in Chelsea and discovered
that Binky and Millie use Vita Liberata fake tan. I like many of hundreds of
other girls admired their tan and was delighted to think that I too would be
able to look like them (well as tanned as them). Walking around Debenhams I
discovered that they were selling two shades of Vita Liberata’s silken mousse
and a tanning mitt for £25. This tan had no smell whist applying it and only a
faint normal fake tan smell the next morning which didn’t linger. I received many a compliment from those of
both sexes and differing ages on how nice may tan was and how natural it
looked. I am interested in trying the lotion option offered by Vita Liberata
and I imagine it will be one of my next purchases. The tan I am next to try out
is Vita Liberata’s pHenomenal 2-3 week tanning mousse in shade medium. I discovered
this through reading Sarah’s blog (link to Sarah's blog) and I was so excited to discover that one of
my favourite tanning brands were bringing out a 2-3 week tan. I was so excited
that I instantly went looking for it on the internet to discover that the tan
was retailing at approximately £40 which for me as a slightly broke student couldn’t
quite afford so I decided that I would just save for it. However whilst
procrastinating I discovered that Boots were doing a special offer on Vita
Liberata’s fake tan and discovered that they were selling the pHenomenal 2-3
week tan for £25. I just had to have it. As the local Boots near me didn’t stock
the tan I arranged for it to be delivered to the store. I picked it up today
and am excited to test it. I plan to review the tan online and will give
updates as to how the tan is fairing. I plan to try this tan out over the weekend,
so watch this space.
