A while back on Twitter, I noticed fellow beauty bloggers Laalaa  and Annie talking about developing a blogger project to test out instant tans on women of colour. Naturally, being  the nosey inquisitive person I am, I asked to be involved as it sounded like an awesome idea; self-tan for darker skinned gals? Interesting! There are 11 of us spanning across different skin-tones (sorted by MAC foundation colour) who will each be reviewing a tan. I am in the group with skin-tone “NC50”.

Fast forward a few weeks later, the project has officially begun and I’ll be starting off with GOSH’s Bronzing Instant Tan Gel!

” GOSH Instant Tan Gel gives a beautiful, instant and natural looking tan that washes off with soap and water. Free from DHA, simple to apply and absorbs easily. Non-greasy and streak free.”

“….Formulated with DayMoist CLR; a neutral based moisturiser which provides long-lasting hydration.”

I decided to test the tan out on my forearm, so I prepped first by shaving my arms (baby smooth!) and using a body exfoliator to rid of any dead and loose skin so the tan wouldn’t smudge or blotch.

For a gel, the consistency was quite runny and the thing that hit me first was the smell. To me, the scent reminds me of a very strong bleach. It was quite offputting at first, however you kinda get used to it after a minute or two.

As I didn’t have any tanning mitts, I used some makeup sponges which did the job just as well.

Taken just after applying the tan.

Here is a photo of my arm about 10 minutes after applying the tan.

I must say, I’m very impressed with the colour! It gives a very subtle glisten on my skin, leaving a dark golden sheen that’s quite noticeable. 

Here’s another photo taken of the tan after one hour:

tan on the left – normal on the right.

The tan is quite noticeable, so I think in future, I will use less of the gel as it has also made me quite dark too.   I would recommend this as it gives off a lovely bronze colour. I would use this on my décolletage (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a sentence) and legs – once I find a way to get rid of the smell!

Check out the bloggers involved in the project below and their reviews of the GOSH tan!

Annie – EpiphannieA

Sophia – Tattooed Tea Lady

Grace – All That Slap

LaaLaa – DolceVanity

Hafsa – Muslimah Beauty

Lola – LolaStar Hearts

Dija – Dijas World

Yinka – Vex in the City

Safiyah – FrootiBeauty

Tass – UneTasse