Self tanners - Lancaster vs. St. Tropez

A staple of my summer beauty routine is self tanning. I just don't feel comfortable in cute little dresses and miniskirts with very pale skin. So i turn to self tanners. A long time ago, i used to try and use some of the ones available at CVS. These never worked and usually made me more self conscious of the streaks and mistakes rather than just not tanning at all. In college, I finally had the knowledge and money to begin to use higher quality products, such as my perennial favorite St. Tropez. then several months ago, I met the Lancaster rep and he convinced me that I would love the Lancaster line of self tanning products. So I bought their products also.

St. Tropez is by far the better known of the two brands. It is rumored to have been used on the set of Baywatch and preferred by many models and celebrities. The company states that their products has the highest concentration of DHA available in any self tanner on the market today. DHA is the chemical that reacts with the amino acids in the skin to create the tanned effect. St. Tropez is used in many professional tanning salons and is available in kit format so that anyone has the ability to create the perfect tan. The result is a deep, even tan that has gotten me many compliments over the years.

Obviously, the sales rep from Lancaster must have been very good at his job to get me to try another brand. Lancaster was founded right on the Rivera in Monaco and is the most popular line of tanning and sun care products in the European Union. This company believes in free radical protection and adds this into all of its products. the Lancaster created more of golden tan and it is much less of an instant gratification product. After the bronzer is rinsed off, much less color remains and it is much harder to build up to a perfect tan.

Is the gradual color better? I don't know. It seems to look more natural to tan slowly but the Lancaster products are much more high maintenance and don't last as long as those from St. Tropez. Lancaster was no help when i got a last minute beach invitation and wanted some color.