Good morning class,

Today I’m going to chat about one of my favourite beauty products for summer. My #1 “Summer Essential” if you will. Fake tan.

If you are not blessed with a delicious olive skin tone, or are one of those unfortunate people (like me) whose skin can be one of two colours; pink or white – then you’re probably in the market for a decent self tan.

I think self tanner is a fantastic invention and the way it’s been perfected over the years is incredible to look back on. Let’s face it, not everyone can pull off the deathly pale skin look. For some reason, I think my legs look ten times better with a bit of tan on them, like the tan acts as my rose-coloured glasses or something. Plus, anything to avoid sunburn and skin cancer gets a big fat tick in my book! I’ve never been much of a sunbather anyway…

Anyway, today’s tan I’m going to tell you about is another fantastic Manuka Doctor product (if you haven’t heard of the Facial Peel then you’ve been living under a rock… Do you even YouTube?) 😉 and it’s from the same range as the peeling mask. Drum roll please… it’s the Manuka Doctor apibronze Anti-Cellulite Bronzing Gel!

This gorgeous product not only looks so good you could eat it, however it also gives you a natural looking tan and apparently gets rid of cellulite! Say whaaaat?

And I quote… “This unique uplifting Bronzing Gel helps reduce the appearance of cellulite & improves skin’s firmness for younger looking body contours”

I’m loving anything with Manuka Honey in it at the moment – as it is said to have many benefits to the skin – and what better than a NZ brand, who is well supported by official beauty people like Shaaanxo,  with Manuka in the name!

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Formula

The Manuka Doctor Bronzing Gel literally looks like caramel or honey or something. Like, it looks freaking delicious. I instantly want Caramello chocolate right now. It’s got both Bee Venom and Manuka Honey in it which both sort of excite me. It looks quite dark but it doesn’t turn out that way when applied. It smells like a mixture of fake tan, medicine, old ladies perfume and sweets, however it actually doesn’t smell too bad. The smell isn’t too strong either and doesn’t tend to linger. The gel-like consistency is really easy to apply.

 

Application

I apply my bronzing gel with a tanning mitt so I don’t get it all over my hands. It takes about 2 minutes and I get an instant result. You do have to do it somewhere with decent lighting so you can blend it out perfectly to avoid streaking, although it doesn’t streak very much. Basically, it’s super easy to apply. It dries pretty fast and makes my skin feel moisturized.

Result

As you can see it gives me an instant, natural looking tan which isn’t too dark. It develops over a few hours into a slightly dark, still natural looking olive tone and I actually really like the result. It does the usual slightly-darker-around-the-knees thing like most tans do but that doesn’t bother me. I love the instant colour.

As for cellulite-busting qualities – well, that’s not something I’ve been paying attention to. I haven’t been using it regularly enough and besides, I don’t like focusing on an area of my body I’m not particularly happy about, waiting for something to change. It’s not really healthy for the mind! However, the product feels amazing on the skin and doesn’t dry out my legs or give me eczema like most other fan tans do!

Price

This little baby is on the pricier side at $49.95NZ however it is a New Zealand made product with some expensive and natural ingredients, you get plenty in the bottle and a little goes a long way, plus it just feels good on the skin. If it’s out of your price range, perhaps keep an eye out for a sale? Otherwise, you might have to save up or shop around for something cheaper. Personally, I love the idea of supporting a NZ company and lathering myself in the amazingness that is Manuka Honey.

Overall, if this sounds like you then you can find a retailer or website near you by checking the Manuka Doctor retailers. This is the sort of tan I use daily, whereas I have other favourites for night-time use or when I want to be super dark.

I do have some other fake tans which I am also obsessed with! Would you like to hear about them too? Let me know down below. Also – let me know which fake tans are YOUR faves because I’d love to hear about them! 🙂