Despite being something of a budget brand, St Moriz seems to be highly regarded in the tanning world and I have read countless positive reviews about their products. But would it work for my skin tone? Yes it did and I have to say it's my favourite out of all the tans we have been testing over the last two months!
Easy to apply, smells good and I loved the results (top arm). No streaks at all and this photo was taken almost a week after application and you can still see the lovely bronzed effect it gave my skin. The number one reason I would recommend this over all the other tans is the fact that it costs so little, around £3 a bottle compared to £18-£25 mark that most tanning products seem to sell for.
I didn't know they had a bronzer range but I was also sent their bronzer in dark to review. The powder is smooth and silky to apply but my problem with this is that I don't think this is a bronzer at all. Personally I consider bronzers as being dark brown/golden olive in colour with maybe a hint of shimmer. St Moriz is a full on rose gold shimmer which is absolutely gorgeous as a highlighter on dark skin and this is the only way I would use it.
The St Moriz website isn't very informative about where you can buy their products as you have to ring a number to find out. A quick Google search shows that Fragrance Direct stocks St Moriz and the tanning lotion is £2.99 and the bronzer £2.75. I've also read that Tesco sells St Moriz but I have yet to see any in my local.
Have you read the other reviews by the other ladies?
This brings the TFWOC project to an end and I'd like to thank Annie & LaaLaa for all their hard work! I no longer consider myself to be a tanning novice. I have learnt that there are tanning products suitable for my skin tone and that they will only bronze and enhance my natural colour, not darken which was a common misconception. It doesn't mean that I will be tanning on a regular basis but I know there are options for me out there if I need them :)
Using a special combination of natural nourishing extracts and the unique pHenO2 technology, Vita Liberata has reinvented self tan. pHenomenal contains all the USPs of our other tanning products, but can last up to 4 times longer:* • No streaking & No smells. • 100% free from parabens, perfume and alcohol. • Easy to apply. • Unique Pentavitin moisture lock complex. • 70% organic extracts that are kind to skin and produce a natural fade (eventually!)
This tanning mousse claims to be the world's first 2-3 week tan and I couldn't wait to test it. The pump action nozzle delivered a fine spray of mousse but you have to rub it in quickly or it can stain. I'm sure not everyone has to stop to take a blog photo first so you probably won't have this problem ;). I like gel formulations better but this is a personal preference, it wasn't any trouble to apply at all. It is tinted so you can see where you have applied and I'm not sure if it has a discernible scent as my nose was blocked at the time, but from reading other reviews apparently there is no biscuity smell. The residue remained sticky and I didn't think it dried very quickly at all. You're supposed to leave it on for at least three hours before showering and I left mine on for over a whole day. Out of all the brands we have tested so far I think this was the most informative with lots of instructions on the bottle as well as a little leaflet explaining how to apply on different areas of your body.
This photo was taken a few days later and my results are non existent - it's the arm on the bottom that had the tan applied but you can't see a difference despite two applications. What I did notice the next day after I washed it away was that I had some red/orange tones to my arm but nothing I would call a tan. Would the results have been different if I had used a darker shade? Not sure, however it seems from the other reviews in the TFWOC project that almost everyone had similar results. Do check them out!
Vita Liberata Phenomenal Tanning Mousse (£37.50 for 125ml) is available in 3 shades and can be bought via their website and can also be found in Boots.
I love a good matte bronzer and was glad to see it was one of the products that Make Believe had sent us to review for #TFWOC. At first glance I wasn't bowled over by the packaging which I found big, clunky and not handbag friendly at all. On the other hand I did like the mirror and soft brush although I didn't use it as I prefer firmer bristles. Upon swatching it was clear that this wouldn't work for my skintone, especially since I had been on holiday and my face had naturally tanned darker. It showed up slightly ashy and not flattering at all which is a shame as the formulation was smooth, just the way I like it! Unfortunately this only comes in one shade so if you are NC44+ it's not the one for you but if you are NC42 and under it would be a nice bronzer for contouring.
Make Believe's Sunbeam Bronzer is available to buy from their website (RRP £15)
Check out what the other ladies involved had to say.
Despite living in the British Isles ;) and my ethnic roots being islandic (don't think that's even a word) I was not fully prepared for the natural beauty of Santorini. Breathtakingly beautiful and unlike any other place I have been to before, the Mr and I spent a week here on what should be a beach holiday but we couldn't sit still and were itching to explore. This is going to be long and picture heavy!
We stayed in the beach resort of Perissa which is seen to be the "budget" part of the island and the only attraction is the beach and the restaurants/bars that line the main road. There is nothing else to do there but it has the best beaches with unusual black sand. Impossible to walk on without flip flops without burning the soles of your feet which I found out the hard way. Second photo is of mount Messa Vuono which I climbed but more on that later.
We took the bus to the capital Fira (sometimes spelled Thira or Thera) which was mostly lots of tourist shops and restaurants. It was possible to climb up and down the caldera by foot, cable car or donkey but in the 28 degree heat we passed on these options. I will never agree with donkey rides, they looked tired and forlorn but I don't think many other tourists cared.
The next day we took a quick trip to the northern town of Oia (or Ia) where we planned to watch the sun setting but car journey there with the narrow winding roads climbing higher and higher was petrifying and we didn't want to repeat the journey back down in the dark with no freaking street lights!
The only half way decent photo of me Everything else just shows the "sweaty hair plastered to head state" I was constantly in. I had a full bag of makeup with me but the only thing that would stay on was concealer and waterproof mascara.
So back to Fira we went to watch the famous sunset. In high season it would have been rammed but as we went in the last week of summer there weren't many people around so we got to enjoy the view without having to jostle for a good spot.
Another day and another trip, this time to the Ancient Akrotiri excavation site, a town from the Bronze Age which was buried in volcanic ash when the (still active) volcano erupted. From my many other photos it looks nothing more than piles of rocks as the site hasn't been developed properly for tourists yet and they are still excavating. Most of the good stuff had been sent to the museum in Athens but it was pretty cool to be walking around a place where Minoans lived over 4000 years ago!
The Red Beach nearby was a 10 minute hike over uneven and dusty rocks and a big disappointment. It was small, cramped and the large pebbles were painful to walk on.
Remember mount Messa Vuono? Well I climbed it! On the second day we hiked up halfway to visit a small chapel cut away in the cliff face and on the last day we went all the way up to the Ancient Thera excavation site which was sadly closed for the day and then down the other side to the beach town of Kamari. It took just over two hours and on the way up I was passed by several couples in their 60s (the shame!). I never knew how unfit I was, I really struggled with the incline and the narrow pebble paths but I managed to do it.
Views from the top and the volcano mired in fog.
Kamari was pretty but expensive and the beach was mediocre so we took the water taxi back to Perissa for dinner. The food was beautiful and we ate well - Greek salads, fresh fish, stuffed peppers/tomatoes and many delicious aubergine dishes.
And what kind of crazy cat lady would I be if I didn't share photos of my new feline friends? These adorable kittens lived in our hotel garden and we christened them Jack and Jill (v.original I know).
I'm not sure if I would go back to Santorini as I have so many other places I'd like to see but it's a place I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend everyone to visit. So if you are considering visiting the Cyclades islands in the future, go to Santorini you won't regret it!
