Xen-Tan: end of the search for the right tanning product for you - comparison

Hello lovelies!
Today I'll compare all four Xen-Tan products I've reviewed earlier HERE and HERE. I know how hard it is to choose the right product based only on the product description so that's why I am very grateful that I had a chance to try and review four of the Xen-Tan products.

Product
Transform Luxe-cream, ideal for light and gradual tanning and light complexions
Instant Mousse-my favourite product! It is the only product that is not a cream. It's a light foam with lots of air bubbles in it. dries few minutes after application so you don't have to worry about stains
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-cream, for dark complexions.
Dark Lotion-very dark brown cream, great for dark complexions. Let it dry out completely so you don;t colour your clothes!

Tan
The four products I've tried varied from light gradual tan to the dark tan.

Transform Luxe-one application will give you about two shades darker tan but no more. You can easily regulate the colour and you can get darker by applying more times. The tan was visible on me for about 5 days but it was fading fast
Instant Mousse-Darker tan than Transform Luxe after one application. You can apply second time for even darker tan. The colour lasted on me upt to 7 days and then faded slowly
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-the second darkest of the lotions. It lasted on me for about a week.
Dark Lotion-this product will give you the darket tan of all four products. See the colour difference in the pictures. I had nice colour for about 9 days

Leading colour
Transform Luxe-no leading colour
Instant Mousse-light brown with green undertones
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-light greenish brown colour
Dark Lotion-dark brown

Smell
Transform Luxe-very strong, rich vanilla scent
Instant Mousse-vanilla scent
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-very light vanilla scent
Dark Lotion-marzipan scent

Colour
Transform Luxe-white cream colour
Instant Mousse-light brown with olive undertones
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-greenish brown colour
Dark Lotion-very dark brown

Packaging
Transform Luxe-8 FL. OZ. (236ml)
Instant Mousse-4 FL. OZ. (118ml)
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-8 FL. OZ. (236ml)
Dark Lotion-8 FL. OZ. (236ml)

Price*
Transform Luxe-£24.99
Instant Mousse-£23.99
Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe-£39.99
Dark Lotion-£28.99
*prices from www.xen-tan.co.uk


Overall, all products are really good you just have to decide which one is the right for you and which one to buy. Always decide first what you expect from the product and how dark you want to get. It is always safer to start with a bit lighter self tanner and build gradually your tan. Don't waste your money, read reviews! That's really important if you don't have a choice of getting a sample to try it. Reviews and pictures can always help you with choosing the right product.


In UK you can get Xen-Tan products from official website www.xen-tan.co.uk. 

Xen-Tan tanners - part 2! Reviews of Dark Lotion and Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe

Welcome back for the second part of the Xen-Tan serie! Today I will review two dark lotions for those of you who like nice and dark tan!

Xen-Tan Dark Lotion - what Xen-Tan says about this product: "A favourite of A-List celebrities and beauty editors alike, our best-selling Dark Lotion gives you a rich, natural olive tan that looks great for up to 10 days. Easy to apply, it goes on evenly, smells delicious and instantly creates a gorgeous streak-free finish you'll love.  Packed with rich moisturisers and premium ingredients, Dark Lotion glides onto skin and leaves it feeling nourished and silky smooth. Enriched with coconut and walnut oils, it helps you achieve a stunningly natural olive tan that's exceptionally longwearing.

This product does not smell as vanilla like the others…it smells kind of like marzipan. The smell lasts quite a while, I could still smell it after 4 hours then it started to fade away. The formula is dark brown thicker cream. The colour is very dark brown as you can see in the pictures. That makes a perfect leading colour on the skin and it is perfectly visible where the cream has been already applied.

It is also better to apply cream self-tanners by hand than with a mitt. Mitt was great for the Mousse Intense product but not for this one. I’ve applied the cream in a patch so you can see the colour difference it makes. The colour next morning was visibly dark, darkest of all the four Xen-Tan products I’ve tried. It lasted on me the longest of all as well for about 9-10 days.

Applied lotion before properly spread

Colour the morning after. You can see much darker patch on the skin.

Xen-Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe - what Xen-Tan says about this product: “We've perfected our darkest, richest and most luxurious tan to date; one that offers a tan that will last longer than any other fake-tan product. To create this ultimate dark, long-lasting tan, we've included more DHA active tanning agent than ever before. Enriched with Ginko Biloba, Green Tea extract, aloe and Shea butter, Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe is a real treat for skin, leaving it feeling wonderfully nourished and smooth.”

Absolute Luxe is a thick cream and its colour is something like light greenish brown colour. It’s hard to describe so have a look at the picture below. The scent is vanilla again but not too strong and sweet and it doesn’t smell for too long. I didn’t smell it after 2 hours which makes it a great product for those of you who don’t want that rich vanilla scent.

The colour I got the next day after application was dark but it wasn’t as dark as from the Dark Lotion. In the picture you can see the colour difference it made on my skin. I’m quite pale and it made a difference.

Applied lotion before properly spread

Colour the morning after - you can see darker patch on the skin but not as dark as with Dark Lotion

So which one is for you? I'm in love with Mousse Intense ;) In the last part of the mini serie I will compare all four productsand help you to choose the right lotion for you... Bye bye x

Choose the best Xen-Tan product for you! Self-tan products mini serie

Hello lovelies! Today I have here something special for you! I'm starting a 3-part mini serie about Awards winning Xen-Tan self-tanning products. You will find out which one is best for you and what results you will get from different products. I will describe and compare 4 different products. Today I will start with the Gradual and Medium tanning products.

Xen-Tan Transform Luxe - what Xen-Tan says about this product: "For those who prefer to build their tan gradually, but still enjoy a rich, natural-looking finish. Packed with nourishing moisturisers and with a lovely fresh fragrance. Transform Luxe comes in a larger size than Transform, so you can enjoy even more impressively long-lasting results from every bottle."

When you'll open the Transform Luxe, it will hit you in the nose with very rich vanilla scent. If you like sweet scents you'll enjoy it. If you don't I guess it is still much better than the awful self-tanning creams scent. The smell still lasted after 5 hours and did not change. Not every Xen-Tan product has such a strong smell so don't worry about it you can still choose another one.

The product itself is a white-ish cream which becomes almost clear after application. It absorbs reasonably fast and does not leave any oil film on the skin. It does not have a leading colour so you have to be very careful not to skip any part of your skin. 

The colour I got overnight was just few shades darker than I had before. You won't get dark after one application with this product. But it is perfect for people who are really pale and for people who want to regulate their colour. You can apply cream again if you want even darker result, it is pretty straightforward. Tan lasted on me for about 5 days and then it started to fade away. I've applied it in a patch so you can see the colour deifference.

Transform Luxe applied before properly spread

Colour the morning after. You can see slightly darker patch on the skin.

The second product is Mousse Intense. I've already reviewed this product before HERE but I'll just remind you key points about it just for sole purpose of comparison of all four products. 

Mousse Intense - what Xen-Tan says about this product: "Easy-to-apply alternative to our lotions and sprays, Xen-Tan Mousse Intense is for you. Containing a remarkable ingredient that provides a darker, deeper and longer-lasting olive colour than ever before, it ensures beautiful, natural results every time.”

I've used Xen-Tan after a good peeling to make sure I don't have any dry/dead skin cells. I've prepared the mitt that I've got with it. Firstly you have to shake the bottle well and then you can start to pump mousse out. It is also really great and helpful that it leaves guide colour so you can see where you've already applied the product. The mousse absorbs really quickly, in about two minutes and leaves sweet vanilla scent. It is really nice in comparison with the ordinary self-tanning products. The scent lasts for few hours, after that is fades a little and reminds me of the ordinary smell a bit. The mousse dries completely very fast so I didn't get any colour marks on clothes. 

Another great thing is that you'll get a medium tan, not dark one straight away which is really good if you want to be able to regulate the colour. If you want darker colour just apply second coat next day. I had no streaks which is really lovely. The website states that tan should last up to 7 days but it lasted on me much longer and I am really happy with the result.

The colour next morning after application:

In the second part of the serie I will review Xen-Tan Dark Lotion and Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe so stay tuned!

Get a perfect tan with Xen-Tan!

Hello girls! Summer is coming and really, who wants to be white like a wall when wearing a skirt for the first time? Unfortunately sun here in England is not that generous like in California or Italy. I don't sunbathe anyway because of the aging effects on skin but I still want to have glowing sun-kissed skin.

So I started to try self-tanning products. I started with Garnier, Nivea, Evian then tried Piz Buin. All of them were quite streaky because there is no guide colour and the smell was just awful! You that typical smell of self-tanning products? Eugh!

After all these disastrous experiences I would never ever invest to a more expensive product. But some time ago I was sent Xen-Tan Mousse Intense to try and review. I was really happy about it because I would never buy it myself....until I tried it!

Here's what Xen-Tan says about the mousse:

"If you're looking for an easy-to-apply alternative to our lotions and sprays, Xen-Tan Mousse Intense is for you. Containing a remarkable

ingredient that provides a darker, deeper and longer-lasting olive colour than ever before, it ensures beautiful, natural results every time.

Paraben-free Xen-Tan Mousse moisturises skin and has a delicious fresh scent that leaves you feeling confident and looking great. The light foam texture glides on easily and dries immediately, so you can apply it just before you go out, for a stunning finish that's as light or dark as you desire depending on how much you apply.

Xen-Tan Mousse Intense is perfect for first-time tanners because it spreads so easily and evenly, meaning that most of the work is done for you. So you can enjoy an effortless tan that lasts up to 7 days."

I've used Xen-Tan after a good peeling to make sure I don't have any dry/dead skin cells. I've prepared the mitt that I've got with it.

Firstly you have to shake the bottle well and then you can start to pump mousse out. It is not dense like shaving mousse, it has more air in it as you can see in the picture. It is also really great and helpful that it leaves guide colour so you can see where you've already applied the product.

I started to apply the mousse from the ankle of my first leg and up and then I did second leg, arms, chest and belly. I persuaded my boyfriend to do my back for me. It is much more comfortable than trying to do it yourself and you can be sure that the whole back is covered. In the end I carefully applied mousse on the top of my feet and hands, face was last. I did use the mousse on my face as well and it turned out just fine. The application with the mitt is really easy I did it in circular motions. But next time I will use a glove underneath the mitt as it soaks through and you really don't want tanned palms :)

The mousse absorbs really quickly, in about two minutes and leaves sweet vanilla scent. It is really nice in comparison with the ordinary self-tanning products. The scent lasts for few hours, after that is fades a little and reminds me of the ordinary smell a bit. I let the the mousse to dry completely so I didn't get almost any colour marks on clothes. 

Another great thing is that you'll get a medium tan, not dark one straight away which is really good if you want to be able to regulate the colour. If you want darker colour just apply second coat next day. I had no streaks which is really lovely. The website states that tan should last up to 7 days but it lasted on me much longer and I am really happy with the result.

I don't know if you'll see the difference well but in real life there was a big difference :)

Before:

After 1 application:

What is your experience with Xen-Tan products?