How To Fake It: My Holiday Tanning Secrets!!

Helllllloooo my lovely readers, I’m finally back from a very relaxing holiday/break. How have you all been?

My blog post today is all my holiday tanning. While I was away in Marbella for my best friends hen a few days ago, I posted many outfit pictures to my social media pages Fb, IG & Twitter and one topic I was asked a lot about was my tanning regime. I have spoken about tanning before on my YouTube Channel – which you can watch here, but today I am here to update you guys!

Obviously I am naturally very white and so when you guys automatically saw me tanned up to the nines, you were all asking how I maintain my tan and my favourite tan brands etc, so now I am here to fill you in on some of my tanning secrets ;)!

Being Irish and having naturally pale skin, the last thing I want is to be heading away on holidays white as a ghost and for many reasons:

1. I feel ugly when I’m pale (especially because I have dark hair)

2. No one wants to be the pasty paddy lying around the pool

3. I feel crap in all of my outfits & bikinis

4. I don’t looked as toned (little tip ;))

5. On a short break of x3 days, I just wont get a great tan – I need at least 5 days to work on my tan

….. so the answer for me while taking a mini break to the sun is to get a spray tan. A good few people wrote under my pictures lots of tanning Q’s, such as; does my tan go blotchy in the heat, will the chlorine strip it, what tan do I use etc! I will answer those questions for you at the end of this blog post but for now I am going to take you through my step by step tan regime and maybe these reasons are why my tan lasts the few days.

Now granted you wont get the full week out of a spray tan (I’m waiting for that invention), but you should get at least a good x4 days before it starts to go really blotchy – well I do anyway and here are my TOP tips!

1. Stop wearing developing tan for two weeks prior to your holiday

If you are a major tan wearer like me, then you would notice how dehydrated and scaly you skin can get from wearing fake tan. The quickest way to loose your spray tan – is to have it applied to a dry and unpolished skin surface. If you have patches of existing spray tans and dehydrated body areas, your holiday spray tan just isn’t going to go on nicely and this will result in a crap application that jut wont last. The state of your skin prior to application is KEY. So what I always do is stop wearing developing tans for 2-3 weeks prior to my holiday so my skin is a perfect blank canvass. If you need to wear tan, just use the old fashioned instant….. that way you don’t need to worry about scrubbing it off over a few days.

2. Get your skin hydrated

While you are tan free for those two weeks, every day after your shower smear your body with a really rich body moisturiser such as the Body Shop Shea Butter. Try to do this day and night if you have the time, if you don’t once a day will do fine. Focus in on your dehydrated/problem areas that the tan tends to stick/lodge on to – for me these areas would be; the backs of my knees, my elbows, under my arms, in between my boobs and around my feet. By doing this, your skin will absorb the moisture and it will feel amazing too.

3. Exfoliate daily for the two weeks

Exfoliation is SUPER important and one of the best steps there is to take when looking for a flawless tan application. When you exfoliate it removes the dead skin cells and other impurities from the surface of your skin. Using an exfoliator will leave your skin smooth and even. This way any tanning product you use will apply more evenly,  making your tan appear flawless and natural looking. Not exfoliating properly will result in patchy, uneven application and no one wants that! Exfoliation also makes the skin appear fresher and younger; plus it promotes cell renewal. Many exfoliating products contain active anti inflammatory and antioxidant ingredients to hydrate and nourish the skin – this helps to improve its condition so our false tan then lasts longer on the skin surface.

4. Get a good spray tan done 24 hours prior to your flight

When it comes to spray tans, I have literally tried them all and I have my favourites. The colour of the spray tan is so important, some love it dark dark, some love it golden and some love it light. I love mine Golden! Golden in my opinion is the best colour for my skin and most skin tones. It gives off a natural glow and wears off the best. The one I always opt for is Lauren’s Way! LW TAN fake tan is the ultimate tanning lotion for natural golden holiday glow. The tan is designed to give you the perfect-bronzed tone that will illuminate your complexion, leaving you with silky soft skin too. LW TAN self tan comes in three different shades; Medium tan, dark tan, and darker than dark tan, this is so you can pick the perfect shade for your skin tone. Lauren’s way tan is the perfect tone for a subtle, warm glow that won’t streak or go orange! Make sure you also go to a good spray tan technician, I always go to Olivia in Allure Beauty, Drumcondra, She’s the BEST!!

5. Bring away a good instant & body moisturiser with you

Each night before I go out on holidays (if it’s for a short break), I will moisturise my body head to toe with a really good moisturiser. This locks in the tan. Then I apply a small amount of instant over my tan to give that extra glow. I ADORE the Karora instant because it has a natural golden hue off it and it just makes your skin GLOW.

…..and that’s it guys!! They are my tan secrets – easy peasy and the steps to the perfect application. I hope you learnt a tip or two and you can now achieve amazing flawless skin too ahead of your holiday away. I am now gong to answer a few questions you guys had below.

Question 1: Does the chlorine not strip your tan?

A: Hmmmm not really. If you are only in the pool a little bit throughout the week, it wont strip your tan. Obviously if you’re in the pool all day, everyday – then yes, it will eventually wear off.

Question 2: Can you still apply SPF lotions and does this make your tan go blotchy?

A: Well for me no – it actually locks in my tan even more. I always use a spray oil/lotion and that way it just glides onto the skin and you arent rubbing your skin too hard, where you could encouraging it to wear off and go blotchy.

Question 3: Can you tan from the sun while wearing fake tan?

A: Of course! There is no SPF in a spray tan and I actually got a lovely little hint of a colour over mine.

Question 4: What tan do you use?

A: Lauren’s way spray tan and Karora Instant – my fav tans right now!

Question 5: Would you recommend Lauren’s Way for a wedding spray tan?

A: ABSOLUTELY! I will be wearing on my wedding day and that’s a fact 🙂 Make sure if you live in Dublin that you go to Olivia in Allure, she’s AMAZING at spray tans and the application is KEY to a flawless look!!!

I will be back tomorrow with my full Holiday What I Wore Blog post showcasing all of my outfits, so stay tuned for that!!

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Lots of tanned love,

Sue xx