Finally I got round to trying gradual tan lotion I was given by the lovely Nicky from Sienna X over at Olympia Beauty exhibition. This will make a long-ish review, as there were quite a few products to try!

Sienna X was in the media cloud area, and I was very excited to stop by, have a chat about the company and get hold of great products.

The company was born out of Nicola Matthews ingenious tanning cubicle idea, and evolved into a brand that provides salons with professional tanning supplies as well as helping with education, marketing and business support to salons and mobile therapists. Add to that tanning provided to huge TV shows (Strictly), fashion shows (London Fashion Week – Holly Fulton), glossy mags coverage and celebrities fan and you have a winning formula.

However, what really makes it and matters, for me is the product. I received a full size gradual tan lotion, as well as a sample of their Try me, Tan me kit in a pretty bag containing a Polishing Scrub, Dark Glowing self tan (which will also come with latex gloves!), Radiance Body Balm, and Silver Shimmer (when you buy a berry bag) or Gold Shimmer (when you buy a gold bag).

All the products I tried are paraben and cruelty free, have natural ingredients and some have anti cellulite and anti-ageing formulations. Instead of the Dark Glowing self tan, I decided to try the gradual tan sample only.

The packaging is very nice, with a lock pump, sturdy and easy to use, especially when you have your hands full of products. The lines are simple and modern, the colour scheme very pleasant to the eyes with good contrast – fuchsia/pink and gold, of course!

To prepare for the tan, I exfoliated my skin with the polishing scrub, which contains fine pumice, ginger and a lovely lemongrass smell (which is present across most products I tried).

After rinsing it off and drying my skin, I applied the gradual glowing self-tan lotion, which has aloe vera, almond old and cocoa butter AND the anti-cellulite formula! The cream is not too thick and spreads really well, so it is easy to rub thoroughly on the skin.  The colour develops in 6-8 hours. I applied at night and could not wait to see the result in the morning.

Finally, I applied the radiance body balm all over my body – this contains almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E, has a very nice consistency and also spreads well, being absorbed quickly by the skin and leaving a subtle cocoa smell, which I love. This, after the self tanning lotion, is my favourite product from the samples I got.

I woke up to a sun-kissed skin, much richer than I thought I would after only one application. The colour is a lovely light shade of gold, not too orange for my skin tone. There were no streaks, which is fantastic;  in the past, I always went for sprays and mixed with moisturiser, to avoid streaks!!!. My skin was also soft and feeling moisturised. My palms, being washed as instructed, had no stains! Bonus!

When I got to work, I also noticed that the radiance balm had left very subtle shimmery flecks all over my body, and the over all effect was a nice sheen – I wasn’t sparkly! The following day I washed my body with the Balance body wash, with silk protein, ginger and lemongrass, which is meant to help to prolong your tan.

The proof is in the nose (yeah, you heard it!)

So, the whole line and the tanning product are ace right? Wait for this, it gets better. When Nicky offered me the lotion for review, she asked what was my problem, if any, with tanning products. I said, without thinking twice, “the smell”, to which she replied “we got an award for best smelling tanning product”. That got me excited, despite being quite sceptical. I have tried many tanning products over the year, even though this is the first I review, and the smell really, really gets to me.

Well, I ate my words. This products smell is much, much, much better than anything I tried before. I am not going to say there is not even a tiny sign of that “biscuit” smell that exhales from your body after self tanning application. There was, but it was almost imperceptible. At no point during the day I caught a sniff of it. NOT A SNIFF. Amazing!

So I am sold. I am soooo glad Nicky gave me a full size bottle if the Gradual self tan! This is my favourite  self tanning lotion and I shall keep using it – more than vanity, it is a need, just because I am from a tropical country, and I don not recognise myself in the colour I turn into in this country!

For more information on these products and others from Sienna X, visit their website. They also offer free delivery in the UK!

I was offered the products to review by Sienna X. The review is based on my own true experience with the products and reflects my opinion on it.