Not all of us have been blessed with a healthy looking summer tan. This can happen for many reasons: no time to sunbathe, an all-consuming office job, or perhaps even a sun allergy. Of course, fair skin does have its own advantages, like appearing to look delicate and pure, but sometimes you just can’t help but wish for that sun-kissed summer look.

There are countless self tanning products on the market, and I must confess that I’ve been little traumatised by the sight of unsuccessful attempts by my fellow self-tan devotees. Every manufacturer promises a natural looking effect, completely free from unsightly stripes and smears. Instead, most self tanning experiments result in looking like you’ve fallen in dirt two weeks ago and haven’t washed yourself since then. No thanks, I’ll pass.

After having seen so many failed attempts, I was all the more sceptical when I received Eco by Sonja’s self tanner product for a test run on my own milky white legs. But I read up on the company’s philosophy and I got curious. Sonya Driver, the founder of the brand, is of Australian nationality and developed her products to offer an alternative to sunbathing. The reason: her own sister was diagnosed with skin cancer at the early age of 30. Since there weren’t any other natural self-tanning products on the market at that time, Sonja promptly decided to develop her own products. Thus, Eco Tan was born.
The Eco Tan range offers a few variations on the same product: The Invisible Tan is created for medium skin types with an olive undertone, while Organic Winter Skin is a lighter version for fairer types of skin, ensuring that the tan will last longer. I decided to test the latter, as my skin is more of the Nordic type – very light and fair.

The Organic Winter Skin Care promises to create a honey-colored, delicate tan. The product can be used on the whole body, including the face. I was both excited and a little bit scared before diving head first in the experiment, because who doesn’t remember those sad self tanning victims? We’ve all met one at some point in our lives.
To prevent becoming a member of the aforementioned community, I carefully prepared myself by taking a long bath and exfoliating my legs. This works best by using a really good scrub glove. A thorough exfoliation is the most important step in the whole process, one you should definitely not skip if you wish to get the best results. Eco by Sonja also carries an excellent scrub glove in their range – it’s called the Extreme Exfoliate Glove. 

After all this pampering, your skin should be ready for the Organic Winter Skin and can be smeared on just as you would any body lotion. I tend to apply creams rather quickly, simply because I consider it to be quite a tedious task. However, for self tanning purposes, it’s better to be a bit more careful. Apply the product evenly all over, except on the knees and elbows, to create a more even effect.

The tanning lotion has a pleasant scent, and spreads out easily. I still could not imagine my legs actually getting tanner after just one application. The next day, I had already completely forgotten about the whole thing. I didn’t notice until the evening that my legs had a fine but distinct coloring – I was quite impressed, this stuff really works!

Conclusion:

So in the end, I feel the urge to tell everyone I see sporting unfortunate self tan marks the following two things: use a peeling glove, and try out Eco Tan.
For those who prefer to achieve a healthy looking tan without having to fry in the sun, I can warmly recommend this product. I, for one, am convinced, and the Winter Skin Lotion is now permanently featured in my bathroom cupboard, regardless of the season.

Photo: Flickr@Zane Mulligan