Let The Sunshine In: VS Beach Sexy Instant Self Tan Lotion with Tint

Photo Credit: Kimber's Beauty Corner

As I mentioned yesterday, Monday was my birthday (yes, I'm a D-Day baby, just several decades after the fact). To celebrate, I spent Sunday hanging around my Mom's gorgeous pool, enjoying the fact that my diet seems to be working and I could wear a cute two piece with no real shame. My brother didn't even make fun of me. That, right there, was a fabulous birthday gift.

Of course, as I've explained numerous times, I am black-light friendly white. Recently, I reviewed the airbrush bronzer from Victoria's Secret, but, amazing as it is, it washes off. I didn't know if pool water would take it off (and didn't really want to find out the hard way), so I opted to use their Beach Sexy Instant Self Tan Lotion with Tint. I normally use another drugstore brand, but was so impressed with the VS airbrush that I had to give this a whirl.

I am so glad I did.

This is, hands down, the best self-tanner I have ever used, and I'm an old pageant girl, so I've been around the tanning block. Normally, self-tanners smell atrocious, transfer on clothing (especially in this god-forsaken humidity), and tend to streak, so you need a shower and a possible second coat to even things out. Since I had an event on Friday, I thought it best to apply the product on Thursday, so I could worry about damage control on Friday. In the event of disaster, I had a spare bottle of airbrush tan to get me through, and I could use the old standby for my birthday bash.

So, Thursday morning, before work, I showered, shaved, exfoliated, and did all those other fun things you have to do before you self-tan. After I slathered on some moisturizer to make sure the tanner went on smoothly, I grabbed the bottle and set to work.

The first thing I noticed what actually what I didn't notice. There was almost zero tanner smell. In fact, the fragrance was actually quite pleasant. There also weren't chunks of glitter peppering my skin; just a soft gleam. Already, I was impressed.

The tanner applied almost effortlessly, and left a light tint so I could see where the product was, and catch any missed spots easily. I think the entire application process took about five minutes, then I let it dry for about ten (the instructions say five, but why chance it?) while I put on makeup and fixed my hair. So far, so good.

The heat and humidity were excruciatingly high that day. By the time I got home from work, I was terrified that I was going to have bronzed clothing and underwear from all the transfer that had surely occurred. Um...no. The only transfer I noted was on the inside of my bra, where the underwires come together in the center. That was it, and even that was minimal.

Friday morning, I did do a second coat, just to darken up a bit, since I didn't have to worry about the smell. There were no streaks on either attempt, and the color was a gorgeous, natural bronze. No oompa-loompas here! Sunday morning, I slapped on one more coat, since the original application had started to fade slightly. I didn't have time to moisturize first, but the application was still very even with no streaks.

I can't recommend this enough. Plus, at only $12, it's one of the least expensive tanners on the market. Give it a shot. You won't be sorry. $12, Victoria's Secret.

Final Verdict: 10 out of 10. There's nothing I'd change about this, if I could. Utterly amazing.