IS IT REALLY 100 DEGREES OUT?!

Surprise! It’s the hottest days of the summer! Since we are in the heart of the sunny season, and having that nice bronzed glowing tan is something I try to covet but usually achieve as soon as it’s time to put away the bathing suits (eye roll), I’m going to review some products that I’ve used recently that you’ve probably seen floating around on your Instagram or on the shelves at Ulta that will help you ACCELERATE and achieve that nice tone.

A little background on my skin tone… I have, what some people would describe as, olive skin with yellowish undertones (ooohhh how specific). All that means is that I tan easily and if I had to pick a foundation I would generally tend towards one with a yellower (that must be a word because it didn’t auto-correct) tint to it. I DO burn when I go out in the sun if I don’t wear sunscreen before getting a base color so I’m not naturally all that dark but I can achieve a pretty deep tan. Why do you care about my skin tone you ask? It’ll help gauge how quickly and effectively these products will work on your skin tone.

1. FOX TAN Rapid Mist and Rapid Elixir

I’d like to thank Instagram marketing for introducing me to this product because I LOVE IT! This product comes from Australia and is a two-part system. The first part, the Rapid Elixir lotion, is meant to be used a few days before you go in the sun. It’s a moisturizing lotion that will boost the melanin production in your skin, not a bronzer or a self-tanner (although I did see a slight change in the pigment of my skin), but a warm-up for your skin so when you get out in the sun your tan will start to appear quicker and become darker. The best part about it is that it really does moisturize your skin AND it smells really good. Before I knew that it worked I was thinking to myself, “Why did it take the allure of having a glowing tan to moisturize every day?!” Because my skin felt great. The second step is the Rapid Mist Spray that you put on OVER SPF when you get in the sun. Neither of these products have SPF in them. The Rapid Mist will give you a shiny glow in the sun and before you know it you’ll move your ‘kini to check your tan lines and you’ll notice a difference much quicker than without it. All in all, I LOVE Fox Tan but there are somethings that I was a little turned off about…. So here are some of my Pro’s and Con’s for you to weigh them out for yourself

Good Before the Bad Always…

Pro’s

1. It Works! I was able to achieve a darker tan more quickly than I would normally from sitting in the sun. Mind you though, I don’t do tanning booths so I can’t speak to what happens in the ultraviolet ray spaceships.
2. The Elixir is also a moisturizer so you’re not only increasing your skin's ability to tan you’re moisturizing at the same time. If you’re anything like me, as much as you’d like to moisturize your skin every day, you can barely get to work on time fully clothed with matching shoes and your hair resembling anything but the fact that you just rolled out of bed so the two-for-one (tan and hydrated skin) is a real plus.

And then there’s the bad…

Con’s

1. The bottles are a lot smaller than I anticipated which is definitely a huge bummer if you want to use this all the time continuously. Although the price isn’t a total killer at $39.99 USD, you’ll be buying it a couple times if you’re going to use it all throughout the summer especially if you don’t tan very easy.
2. The prep time using the Elixir. If you’re like me and need IMMEDIATE gratification, putting this on for a few days BEFORE you go in the sun is not ideal. Especially for me when half the time I forget to put deodorant on every day.

As with everything in life, these Pro’s and Con’s are reflective of my lifestyle and my experience so everyone is going to feel differently. Overall I will continue to use Fox Tan as much as I can remember to prep my skin first because it DOES NOT have the same effect without the two part system. I tried to cheat and not use the Elixir first and just use the Mist and there was a significant difference in how my skin reacted to the sun.

2. Sun Bum Browning Lotion

I’m not sure what it is that always draws me to Sun Bum products in general but they’re my go-to for SPF. Again, I am a sucker for marketing and the goofy looking chubby-faced monkey with sunglasses on I can relate to. Also, their website is “trustthebum.com" which is hilarious to me because it can be taken in so many different ways depending on your mood.

I discovered this product in Ulta and was excited to try it after using The Fox Tan because there’s no prep time involved you just slather it on, on top of your SPF and you’re good to go sit in the sun. Unlike The Fox Tan, they don’t give a super in-depth reason as to how this tan accelerant works on your skin but the bottom line for me was…. IT WORKS! The Browning Lotion also has a number of different oils in it including coconut oil so it’s moisturizing, it smells like chocolate and it actually has a brown tint to it so you’ll look slightly more tan just from applying it. Due to the nature of the color, it can stain your clothes so be careful when applying it. I did get some on my bathing suit when putting it on but a dip in the water seemed to have taken care of it. I wouldn’t trust that as a sign it wouldn’t do more damage to other materials. As with The Fox Tan, the Browning lotion does NOT contain SPF.

The BEST part about both products is that they give you a natural-looking tan rather than anything remotely close to the orangey fake tan you can sometimes achieve from spray tanning and using at home self-tanner. The Fox Tan products will give you a very deep tan and will last for a longer period of time and happen quicker where the Sun Bum might take you longer the achieve the same level of tan but prep time is zero.

Results from both are going to vary by skin tone I would imagine but I wouldn’t give up on either of these products if they take a little longer to achieve the result you’re looking for. Judging by the reviews from others it seems like the majority of users have had success even if the end result wasn’t achieved as quickly as desired.

Every product whether it’s beauty or wellness comes down to lifestyle. If you have time to try Fox Tan I would say absolutely do it but if you don’t and you want a quick boost in your tan definitely snag the Sun Bum Browning Lotion.

Thank you so much for reading through this review. I hope it helped in some way or another! Enjoy this crazy hot weather out there!

XOXO

Kissy :)