Recently I recieved the Campus Voxbox from Influenster filled with cool new products for me to try and review for free and provide my honest opinions. One of the products in the box was Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun Sunless Tanning Mousse.
(Photo: Mine)
To be honest I was a little nervous about trying this product. I went through a fake tan phase (or 2) back around middle school and I had some AWFUL fake tan experiences, but I was actually pleasantly suprised with how this product worked.
I ended up applying it on a Wednesday night, I jumped in the shower and used a body brush I had to get any dead skin off (They have a special primer scrub you can buy but I think any scrubs or brushes you have at home work just as well). I took my shower as normal but instead of putting on my lotion when I got out I grabbed my Jergens Instant Sun. I didn't have gloves the first night I tried it so I just used my bare hands.
The Mousse reminds me a little of foaming hand soap (like the bath and body works kind) more then a soft mousse like I was thinking it would be. It's still nice and airy and smoothes well over the skin. You imediatly notice a little color when you apply it so it isnt too difficult to tell where you have already placed it on your skin. I took extra care to make sure I rubbed it in well and was careful around knuckles, fingers, elbows, knees, etc. I took my time and went section by section. You dont want to rub it in too much because it does dry fairly quickly and if you keep rubbing youll start feeling like your rubbing it off. Just start on a small area, apply some mousse and gently rub it in until it starts to feel dry.
After I applied it all over I made sure to immediatly wash my palms really well. Since the color dried pretty fast through my palms seemed stuck super bronze. Thank goodness for Pinterest! I found a pin that showed taking some baking soda, adding a little water and making it into a paste of sorts then rubbing it really well between your plams helps get the bronze off. Thank you Cara and Rachel for going through all the trouble of trying everything and then sharing your secret! You saved me from some embaressment!
You can check out the super helpful Pin
Here
I waited about 10 mins before getting dressed just to make sure that I truly gave the product enough time to dry. The bottle says dries in 60 secounds but I just have a hard time believing anything can really dry that fast. I put on my PJ's and got to bed.
When I woke up the next morning I looked at my arms and saw they were much much darker then the day before and shot out of bed fearing that with my luck something had to go wrong with my tan. To my suprise, when I looked in the mirror everything looked pretty good. I had a slight triangle on one hand where I must of just not rubbed well or pressed against something in my sleep. I also had white arm creases (opposite the elbow, not sure what you would call that?) I think from how I slept (I was curling up in a tight little ball for whatever reason near the end of this winter in my sleep). I also got a little lazy around my toes so they didnt look completly natural, and a little uneven.
I got ready for school and during my hour drive I got more and more nervous about walking into class. I started thinking everything looked way worse and thinking I looked orange, by the time I got to school I wanted to unroll my jeans that I rolled into capri's, swap out my flip flops for closed toed shoes and hid the rest of my skin any way I could. But I decided to just suck it up and walk in the way I came, we had an aquatics lab later that day where we had to get into a pool so I knew I would have to wear t-shirt and shorts later anyway.
To my suprise my classmates commented on my tan, asking how I got so tan and saying it looked really good. They were actually suprised to find out it was a fake tan.
Like I said we had an aquatics lab and had to get into the pool later that day so it was a great time to see how well the tan held up in a pool in case you were thinking about using it on your next vacation. I didnt have any problems in the pool, my tan came out looking the same as before I got in. I think I read on their website that you want to wait so many hours after applying before you go swimming or work out (anything involving water). I always use the tanner before bed and wash my face in the morning and dont have any problems so I recommend doing it at night if possible, it's just easier that way.
Now about your face. I put this tanner on my face, I've done it many times. But the morning after I first applied it I noticed on the bottle, under the warning it tells you not to apply it to your face.
(Photos: Mine)
I havent had any issues with it. I think their more worried about people getting into their eyes, I make sure I'm really careful around my eyes and dont get it too close so I dont get it in my eye. Also it is scented so it could cause you to break out. I dont think I had any breakouts from it. I break out a little normally but my acne didnt seem to get any worse.
I decided to put it on again Thursday night just to try to even my little mistakes out (you only have to put this on once to get a great looking tan but you can put it on again if you want more color). My friend was kind enough to give me a pair of gloves (she works as an STNA and had just come to school from work on Wednesday so she had a few pairs on her) so I didnt have to deal with bronze hands this time. I applied it all over my body then left the glove on my right hand it took the other off my left, applied the mousse all over my left arm and hand then let it dry about 5-10 mins just to be safe and put my glove on my left hand and did the right arm/hand. Friday morning I woke up and my tan really looked great. I seriously looked like I just spent a week or two on the beach.
Overall I was really immpressed with this product and continued using it and enjoying it until about 2 or 3 weeks ago when it got a lot warmer out and I had developed a real tan from being outside so much. I definitly plan on using this product in the future when I want a tan in the colder months.
I really liked the scent, it was pleasant and didnt have that fake tan scent. After it had been on my skin for hours (like when I woke up the day after putting it on) it did have a little bit of that fake tanner scent but it wasnt as bad as some fake tanners.
I had a slight tan when I first tried this product so I was curious to see if it would help cover up tan lines, it does not. If you just had very faint tan lines it might help even them out a little bit but if you have fairly noticable ones it wont.
You can buy a lotion to use on days you arent using the tanner to help it last longer but I just used my regular lotion (St. Ives) every day after my showers and my tan stayed a full week and continued to look great. I personally like to reapply the tanner about every 5 to 6 days just to keep the darker look.
I didnt have any problems when I stopped using the tanner. Some tanner will come off weird and leave you patchy looking and this didnt do that at all. It faded almost like a real tan.
This was before and after my first application (just one application)
Wednesday Before Thursday After
(Photos: Mine)
Here are just some regular photos I had from before my first use and after
The first picture (I'm on the left in the green) was taken the weekend before I got my fake tanner and first tried it out. The 2nd picture (I'm obviously the short girl) was on a Sunday, 3 days after I applied it for the 2nd time (Thursday night 2nd application).
(Photos: Mine)
I definitly recommend using a pair of gloves if possible, exfoliating before you first apply (and probably a good idea to before each weekly application), and using a moisturzing lotion after every shower to help your tan look its best and last the longest.
(Photo: Mine)
I definitly recommend this over any other fake tanner if your looking to get a safe, natural looking, sunless tan.
Thank you Influenster and Jergens for letting me try out this awesome product :]
*I was given this product free for testing purposes. I was asked to give my honest opinions regardless of whether they are good or bad. I am rewarded for giving feedback but I am NOT rewarded more for good feedback over bad feedback. All photos in post are mine unless otherwise noted. All opinions are mine honest thoughts and feelings.*
