Xen tan has been raved and raved about for such a long time and despite having tried a LOT of fake tan in my time, it was still one that I had never tried.
From preview reviews I had read, I expected a lush smell of marzipan/vanilla, a streak free finish, bronzed colour and at least a weeks worth of lasting tan.
So with that expectation in mind, lets see what my reality was ...
SMELL: I didn't notice any marzipan, vanilla or anything pleasant smelling about this tan. It smelled straight up of biscuits but you know what? This doesn't bother me in the slightest. Having worn fake tan for half of my life it's something I have learned to put up with and it really doesn't put me off a product at all. (the only fake tan I have found to smell pleasant is my old fave, Sunbrushed).
APPLICATION: Okay so this is where I ran into some problems. I am very very pale skinned. Xen tan on first impressions has a very dark colour guide. However, once applied to the skin it seems to turn very light and I started to worry if I was covering everywhere as it looked like parts of me hadn't been tanned at all. This resulted in me tanning certain parts of my body twice. I applied using a tanning mit which I find is best for a mousse tan.
RESULTS: I waited until the next morning before I showered. So, first of all the colour was lovely and natural although I did prefer the parts of my body where I had double tanned as one coat seemed too light for my personal preference. I also noticed a little bit of streaking on areas of my leg where the application had been so light I hadn't noticed if I'd covered or not. This really frustrated me as I am a dab hand and making sure tan is not streaky after all these years. Nonetheless, the colour was very very natural looking and I put it all down to first time jitters.
LONGEVITY: I got about 3 days out of this tan and even noticed that on day 2, I appeared a little bit darker than on day 1 which was very strange but I am certainly not complaining :) Even though I only got about 3 days out of the product, it faded naturally with no clumping of colour or patchiness, it really did fade like a natural tan which I loved. Also just a note, 3 days of full coverage I personally find a nice timescale as I exfoliate and re-apply my tan once or twice a week so this meant I could keep up this routine and keep my tan looking fresh.
On the Xen Tan website you pay £21.95 for 118ml of Xen Tan Mousse Intense. I think this is extortionate for this size of bottle. I only got 3 full body applications out of it so this price is not good for someone who tans on a weekly basis.
Overall, I like this product, the results are natural and I love how it fades away without any ugly dirty patchiness and if I get a full weekend out of it then I am happy with that. I do think this may fair better on skins that take a natural tan better or even very pale skins who are looking more for a hint of natural colour rather than a full on tan.
This tan was sent to me for review purposes and unless I find it at a cheaper price, I am not sure I would purchase this myself.
I do realise there is a wider range of Xen Tan products and would consider purchasing other products in the range to see how they compare and if they would suit me better personally. I especially would like to try out the xen spray tan which I think considering the natural colour pay off would be very good.
What are your thoughts on Xen Tan? What are your favourite Xen Tan products?
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