When I came back from Vietnam a lot of people asked me where my tan was and my answer, which is the same after every holiday, is ‘scrubbed off and down the drain’. Being a beauty writer, I know far too much about sun damage to ever want to expose my skin to the sun so when I’m ambling between the sea and my sun lounger (which is usually under an umbrella) I’m always wearing a high SPF and any ‘glow’ you’re seeing in my holiday snaps is due to a lekker slick of self-tan.

At present, one of my favourite self-tanners is still The Tan Lab in Dark. You can read my review here. Still, I’ve found another one I quite like and that’s Caribbean Tan’s wipes (R59,95, Clicks), mostly for the convenience factor. As each sachet is about the size of a large ketchup pakkie they’re super easy to pop into your travel bag.

I took two along with me on my last holiday to top up my tan after too much salt water and chlorine sloughed it off and was impressed by the natural and even the colour it produced. It’s kind of like a light, pretty gold, as opposed to a bronze, that would suit fairer skin types. For the record, it takes a long time to develop. If you slap it on in the morning, you’ll feel like it hasn’t truly ‘blossomed’ come late avie, but the next morning you’ll look down at your legs and be all ‘oh, that looks good!’ My recommendation is to apply it at night. This way you’ll also avoid the smell as it’s not one of those odourless self-tanners.

I’m glad I took two of them, however, as they held just enough liquid to cover my face, chest, legs, and arms. Next time I’ll take a third to do my back and stomach. (I’m fortunate that my stomach and back tend to tan naturally and hold onto that tan for ages so don’t really need a coat of self-tan, unlike my legs that only need one good shave to revert to the colour of alpine snow.)

Love, love

Leigh