The Secret to the Instagram Tan | Effin Tan Review

You know how some people are wine connoisseurs, able to recommend over six different full-bodied reds that would complement each course of your dinner party? I consider myself a bit like that, except with tan. Yes it’s a bold statement to make, but I think I’m a fake tan connoisseur.

(Except I don’t have a fake tan cellar… yet.)

If you follow me over on Instagram (@vanity__claire, hinty hint) then you might have noticed my tan game has been well and truly stepped UP over the last month or so. And of course, as a tan connoisseur, I never keep a good new tan discovery to myself. I’m therefore happy to divulge the secret to my new perma-bronzed colour: Effin Tan.

As some of you may know, I get my hair extensions done at Effin Hair by an amazing girl called Stef. As well as stocking her own hair wefts and aftercare products (which I reviewed here), she also sells her own brand of tanning mousse. I’d been tempted to try it for a while, but seeing as I always have at least six different bottles of fake tan on the go, I just hadn’t got round to it. I finally picked up a bottle at my last weave appointment and…

Oh. My. Goodness. It’s fake tan love. There are a few things I look for when trying new tanning products that help me decide whether I’m a fan or not. A strict criteria to suit my connoisseur tastes, if you will (heehee). Effin Tan ticks ALL of these boxes, which I’ll go into more detail of below.

First of all, as I mentioned, Effin Tan is a mousse, which happens to be my favourite formula. It comes in a large, 200ml can with an easy-to-use pump. I find mousses a million times easier to apply than sprays or lotions, and I also think you end up using less product and getting a more even result.

Secondly, the tan has a nice guide colour so that you can easily see where you’re applying it. What’s really nice about this guide colour though is that it’s not too intense, as you can see from the photo above (where only my left leg has a layer of tan on). I’ve tried other tans that have such a strong guide colour that your only choice is to hibernate in the house until it’s time to wash off. With Effin Tan, you get a light, golden colour that you could actually go out and about in straight away.

Of course it does get darker as it develops, but as it hasn’t got an olive undertone like some other tans, the colour never looks too unnatural.  But what about the results?I am simply OBSESSED with the colour of this tan once it’s washed off. Unlike some tans that seem to disappear down the drain with the shower water, this formula leaves me with a beautifully even medium-dark colour.

And what’s more is that the colour lasts really well, too. I’d say I keep a strong colour for a good 2-3 days (making it perfect for busy weekends where you need to be a casually bronzed goddess for a few days on the trot), and then it fades gradually over the next couple of days. This also gets a big thumbs up, as there’s nothing worse than a tan that looks amazing to start with but then turns you into a speckled egg three days after. Of course a light exfoliation and moisturising sesh keeps the skin looking nice and even, but you won’t have to reach for the scouring pad with this tan.

And the final thing that I love about this tan is the price. At £14, it’s not the absolute cheapest tan around, but it comes in cheaper than all of the high-end tans that I think it’s easily as good as. If you’ve been reading for a while then you might remember the last fake tan that I tried and loved was Skinny Tan – that is  great tan, but at £26.99 it’s almost double the price of Effin Tan. And can I honestly say there is any difference in results? Nope, nay, nada-no.
(I haven’t even smoothed out my legs in these pictures, it’s a miracle!)

If you’re looking for a new fake tan that will give you a beautifully dark colour and look super pretty on your bathroom shelf, then I highly recommend Effin Tan. You can pick it up via Stef’s new-and-improved website here (where, on a side note, you can actually now buy her hair extensions too).

Have any of you tried this tan, or would you like to? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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