The Tan Trials: Rockstar
Hello and welcome to the first of The Tan Trials, a series of reviews in which I, the self proclaimed palest girl in Ireland, will try and review every fake tan under the sun.
And now for a bit of background on my tan history. Me and fake tan have never had a very good relationship, my experiences being limited to the occasional spray tan for special occasions, hastily applied rimmel sunshimmer before a night out and an especially horrific run in with a spray bottle of St Tropez when I was 15. Why's this? Because of how pale I am. Tan on me generally tends to look highlighter orange and very patchy and streaky. But as I said, it had been a few years since my last foray into the world of the bronzed, and with winter closing in and my skin looking more translucent than ever, I decided to man up and give it a proper go. First on my list? The much hyped Rockstar.
I tried out "Groupie", which is described on Rockstar's website as a "lightly whipped self-tan mousse" producing a light to medium colour. I did absolutely everything by the letter with this review. I exfoliated and moisturised the day before and made sure my skin was completely clear of any product before I started. Here's a photo of my pasty-as-a-snowman legs before I started. I wasn't lying when I said I was pale. (ps. have you every tried to take a photo of your own legs?? More awkward than you'd imagine)
Pasty arm for bonus points
Using the mitt provided, I set to work. The first thing I noticed about this tan was the smell. It smells SO GOOD. The bottle says it should smell of raspberry and almond but to me it definitely smelled white chocolatey... either way, it smelled seriously nice.
This tan was so, so easy to apply. It literally glides on to the skin, and dries slowly enough to make sure you have it even but fast enough so that you're not walking around like john wayne for hours. It blends very easily and didn't leave a single streak. I was also able to get a very even finish on my back (which I did myself) without breaking my arm in the process. The guide colour is barely there, but is a serious help for making sure you're streak free and even.
Now to answer the question we all want answered, what was the final result? This tan is perfect for me. Literally, perfect. Just the right amount of bronze. Because I'm so white, I was a bit afraid of coming out totally orange but the outcome couldn't have been further from that. I am a lot browner than I was yesterday, but it looks extremely natural, and when a friend of mine was asked what she thought of my tan she replied "if you hadn't have said anything I would have assumed that was your natural colour." This, in my opinion, is the best result someone could hope for from a fake tan! Super natural looking, just the right amount of colour, and completely streak free. Am I pleased with it? I'm delighted with it! I'll be using this product long after the trials are over.
My two tiny nitpicky things that I have to say are that this tan is not cheap, coming in at €24.95. Is that more than you're used to paying in Penneys for your St Moritz? Yes. Is it worth it?? YES. Shtick her down on your Santy lists ladies. The other tiny thing is that the bottle and website say that it is odour free, except for that glorious raspberry and almond essence. Now, while it didn't stink the house up, yes it did smell of tan after a few hours, yes my room smelled of it the next morning and yes my sheets still smell of it. I don't see this as a huge problem though as I have yet to come across a tan that doesn't have that Wezz-like curry smell we all have a special place for in our hearts. You can buy Groupie here.
Overall verdict: Amazing. In love. Will definitely buy again. Stay tuned for my review of Rockstars instant tan "Fame". "Rockstar Tan : Tanning Perfection" - I couldn't agree more!
You can find Rockstar at
www.rockstartan.ie
www.facebook.com/rockstartan
www.twitter.com/@rockstartanme
You can find more from Orla at
www.facebook.com/OrlaByrneMakeUp
www.carpeorla.blogspot.ie
www.carpediemcarpenoctemcarpeomnia.tumblr.com
www.twitter.com/@OrlaByrne3
Instagram : @CarpeLife