Santorini Sun Sunless Tanning Lotion - Golden Caramel Brown

 Have you any idea how difficult it is to take a non creepy, non awkward, somewhat flattering photo of your legs? It's impossible. Either your legs appear obscenely large, in contortionist type positions or strangely...creepy.

The reason, in case you were wondering, why I was taking photos of my legs was because I wanted to review the Santorini Sun Sunless Tanning Lotion. So if you wish to read on, please excuse the horrible awkward photos of my legs and just understand that the sole reason I put them on this post was so show you the effects of this product. Sorry in advance!

This was the first time that I had ever used fake tan in my life. I was absolutely terrified. I couldn't bear the thought of turning out orange and because I had no idea what to do, I knew it was quite likely that I would end up resembling a large carrot.

I researched* how to apply fake tan (*asked several friends on their fake tanning tips) and discovered that exfoliating and moisturising was the key, especially on ankles and elbows. Playing it safe, I decided to just apply it to my legs first, and whilst I knew it would be weird that I would have tanned legs and pale arms, I wasn't ready to risk transforming my whole body into a carrot just yet.

Then came the actual tanning part. I exfoliated, moisturiser and then went for it. I sprayed the lotion onto my skin and rubbed like crazy. All of this was done at lightning speed for I feared that it would stain my skin and I would forever be a streaky mess.

The lotion is tinted which allowed me to get a good idea of where it was that the product had been applied. It was also quite dark and green based (which scared the bejeezus out of me) but I have since been informed that those two qualities are in fact good things because it means that it won't turn out orange. Okay then!

I applied the lotion very sparingly and the results were exactly what I wanted - super subtle and glowy golden. I had nothing to be afraid of with this tan because it isn't too dark and can be applied with ease.

Legs after fake tanning

I asked a couple of people whether my legs looked strange, and after a series of head shakes I revealed that they were in fact, fake tanned. Such knowledge evoked a response of, 'Well now that you mention it...' but I was just pleased that they didn't consider my legs a strange shade of orange!

Even though I was satisfied with the almost non existent tan that I had achieved from my stingy application, I figured for the purposes of the review I should probably add a bit more and see how tanned I could get without it looking horrid. Sooo...I put on some more the following night.

It all turned out well and gave me a lovely glow. As you can see in the photo, (my apologies for not having taken a 'before' photo), I still look stupidly pale. Like a ghost. I realise that, I do, but it doesn't bother me that much. I am incredibly impressed because I am highly intolerant of tans - or at least the fake looking ones. Even the slightest fake tan that is noticeable bothers me to no end, so for this fake tan to pass my acceptable radar it must mean it is pretty darn impressive.

That said, if you want a darker glow then this isn't really for you. I guess you could probably layer this (I'm not interested in trying that out, I really, really don't like orange skin).

Other information you might be interested in is that this has no distinct fragrance and is applied by spraying it onto the skin and then rubbing it in. I personally found it easier to spray onto my hands and then to rub that in the desired areas, although you do risk super dark palms so it is up to you how you wish to apply it.

I did receive this product to try out (I'm not really a fake tan kind of person) but if I was to need a fake tan again I would definitely go for this one again because of the simplicity of application and lovely colour it left. This retails for $29.95