St. Tropez In Shower Gradual Tan: Hit or Miss?

When this ‘in shower self tanner‘ came out a few months ago, I knew I had to try it out. I love self tanners, but between their unpleasant scents and the time I have to spend waiting for them to dry (while praying they don’t turn out streaky or ending up all over my white sheets), I am always a tiny bit skeptical when a new self tanning product comes out. It can be hard to find that perfect self tanner that gives you that bronze summer glow.

This product is described on Sephora as:

‘The most convenient way to tan—simply apply in shower and rinse in just three minutes. Great for all skintones and types, it delivers a natural-looking, bronze glow and extreme moisture without streaking or transferring onto clothing. It is made with a 100 percent natural DHA and infused with sweet almond oil to nourish the skin for a smooth, soft, hydrated finish. Use daily to gradually build an intense tan.’ (Sephora even has a little video you can watch on how to use the product that I found really helpful)

I couldn’t lie- it sounded too good to be true. I always look at reviews online before purchasing something, and even though this product didn’t have stellar ratings, I couldn’t resist picking it up when I saw it in Boots last week. After trying it for almost a week now, here is my honest opinion:

The Pros:

The #1 pro of this product for me is that it doesn’t have that strong, unpleasant smell that most self tanners tend to have. It honestly doesn’t have much of a scent whatsoever in my opinion, which is awesome! I also really like the whole concept of applying this product on wet skin in the shower. It’s easier to get a more even application. This is a small thing, but I do actually like the packaging. It’s sleek and nice, which is something I appreciate in beauty products. I think there is a good amount of product in the bottle, and I will be able to get tons of use out of it. You really do get your money’s worth. As for the results, I really think this product gives a nice, beautiful glow! It isn’t orange at all, which is great because it can be hard to find a self tanner that gives a natural looking color. I also love that this self tanner is buildable. You can definitely see the gradual build of color with each use. The color also lasts for days, so it’s nice that it doesn’t fade quickly. It also doesn’t come off on my clothes or sheets, and I can’t complain about that! The St. Tropez in-shower self tan is also not ridiculously expensive in comparison to other more high end self tanners. Retailing at $25 for 6.7 oz of product, it’s not as pricey as some of the self tanners I have seen in Sephora before. I also think that St. Tropez tanning products give a more natural color than most of the drugstore self tanners I have tested out in the past.

The Cons:

You are suppose to turn off the shower, apply the self tanner in circular motions, and then wait for 3 minutes before rinsing it off. It is honestly a little bit of an annoying process to turn the shower off, wait, and then hop back in. I get super cold! I use this time though to deep condition my hair and jam to some Katy Perry, but it can be quite irritating to have to wait outside of the shower, and then get back in again just to rinse the self tanner off. I also found it was difficult to apply to my hands/feet without streaking. My legs and arms looked very even, but as you can see in the picture above, my right foot didn’t turn out so great (which might be because I wasn’t applying it correctly- I’ll take the blame!). However, I have never had that specific problem with any self tanners I’ve used in the past. Luckily, I was able to scrub that little splotch off with some warm water and exfoliating scrub. I will definitely exfoliate my hands/feet the next time I use this in-shower self tanner. Another thing I don’t love about this self tanner is that it really isn’t as dark as other self tanners I’ve used before. It doesn’t offer any ranges of colors as it is suppose to be a ‘one size fits all’ kind of product. If you are medium to dark, this self tanner would most likely not give you noticeable results. I would recommend it for paler girls though as it is more of a lighter, sheerer glow.

In conclusion… would I repurchase this product? Most likely! I really love a lot of aspects of it, but I would not consider it a ‘holy grail’ self tanning product for me. If you are also tempted to try it out, I would definitely recommend it! I have no regrets purchasing this unique self tanner, but I don’t know if I would run out and repurchase it again the second this current bottle runs out. However, I am definitely glad I picked it up. Though it has a few flaws, I would still vote it as a hit!

Let me know if you have any favorite self tanning products that I should try out next!