Review: St. Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse

St. Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse

I recently received the St. Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse from work and I have been very eager to try it! My pale snowflake self needs a little bronze in her life, without damaging my skin. With many self tanners on the market, is this one worth the splurge? Retailing for $44 at Ulta, Sephora, and the St. Tropez website, it is one of the pricier self tanners on the market.


This new formula of their iconic self tanning mousses, the St. Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse promises a soft bronze tan in just an hour, or a deep bronze glow in 3 hours. The new formula is easy to apply and will not leave streaks.


So how did it go when I applied it? Do I think it's worth the money?




Let's talk about the packaging. The mousse comes in a convenient blue plastic tube with a pump, great for no mess application. I found the pump deposited the perfect amount of product without making a mess. With 6.7 ounces of product, you won't use up half of the tube with one application.

Firstly, I found the application just as easy as they said. The mousse didn't leave patchy streaks or spots when I rubbed it into my skin, and the mousse sets within just a couple of minutes. So if you're in a hurry don't worry about staining your clothes, it doesn't.


For those of you curious of how to apply and how much to use. I will go into that at the very end of the review.


The mousse itself is a bronze brown color with green undertones, so you do not have to worry that the color will turn out orange.  The texture is a very light and frothy mousse. Not too thin as to leave streaks or have to go over spots again and again, but not too opaque where the color is too intense.


The first time I applied it, I only left the mousse on for an hour. The instructions say to take a shower after the 1 to 3 hours have passed. 1 hour was supposed to give a "sun-kissed glow", I noticed a tiny hint of a glow on my legs, but other than that, I do not think the mousse had done any tanning after only 1 hour.


The second time I applied it, I left the mousse on for three hours. A tip, don't apply it for longer than 2 hours for your face, my face absorbed the color much more than the rest of my body so it came off much darker than I would have liked. I would say the 3 hours was actually a light to medium tan, not the deep tan claimed. I rarely get color, but now I look like I've been out in the sun for a couple of hours. It's subtle but the tan is noticeable.


I'm quite pale, so if you are any darker than a MAC NC20, you would probably need to keep this on, at the very least, 3 hours. I would probably recommend keeping this mousse on for four hours to really see results. Particularly if you already have a little bit of a tan.

However, it does have that obvious self tanner smell, which does linger for about a day after you wash it off.


Overall, if you are in search a subtle tan, or a tan that is buildable (not overdue the color right away), you'll really love this. If you already have a little bit of a tan, or you're already using a self tanner, you won't like this. 1 hour really doesn't do anything, and if you're pressed for time, go for the original St. Tropez Self Tan Mousse. But, this is paraben and cruelty free! With an easy application, it's worth checking out.


NEED IT!
4.0/5



How to Apply:

• Exfoliate your body well, you don't want the tanner to cling to dry patches.

• Pump out one pump of the mousse onto the tanning mitt. 

• Blot the tanner onto the part of your body you're working on first. Start with just one arm, one leg, or your chest, helps to ensure the tanner doesn't dry before you blend it out.

• Take your tanning mitt and blend in downward strokes to blend out the mousse. Keep blending until all the tanner is blended out with no harsh lines or spots. 

• Leave on for up to 3 hours, depending on the deepness of tan you want, then rinse off.

• Be sure to wash off the tanning mitt with soap and water. 

• After rinsing off the mousse, make sure to moisturize with an alcohol free moisturizer to lock in and protect the color. 

How Much to Apply:

• One and a half pumps to each arm

• Two to three pumps to each leg

• One pump to my face

• One pump to my upper chest/décolletage

• One pump to my stomach/abdomen