Airbrush for your Body | Steal Vs Splurge

When summer rolls around, we want to look good. Naturally, winter means that we aren’t that tanned, so when summer hits, almost everyones mission is to get a healthy glow. While I’m all for a bit of moderate safe tanning (which includes sunblock and excludes tanning beds), more and more people are relying on self-tan, which I think is brilliant. This year, at a La Roche Posay event, I learned about the horrors of sun damage, and how it’s on the increase.

The products I want to talk about today are instant happy makers, in the form of skin illuminizing instant tans/body makeup. Whether you have a natural tan or one out of a bottle, instant tans help to amp up your colour and even out your skin tone.

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SPLURGE

Let’s just talk about the perfection that is Vita Liberata’s Capture the Light in Latte. It’s described as body makeup that you can use to create a photo-ready finish. I think it’s more like an illuminator that you can use all over your body to literally airbrush your skin. Because of the illuminizing properties, light is bounced away from any imperfections, making you look like you glow from the inside. Oh my goodness, this stuff is amazing. I used it to get the look in the title image. Look at how my leg is glowing! The only thing that isn’t amazing is the price. A 30ml bottle will cost you R970. Is it worth it? For special occasions, yes. To be sprinkled around like confetti? No. It’s worth every cent in terms of how it performs, because it provides real-time, live airbrushing, but use it sparingly. I would only use it for special events and times where you want to look next level.

For those wanting to take the plunge, you can buy it here.

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STEAL

On the absolute other end of the spectrum lies Caribbean Tan’s Shimmer Cream, which is a wash off tinted body bronzer. For a mere R57 for a 200ml bottle you get tanned legs in an instant, with a pretty shimmer. It doesn’t offer the airbrushing effects to the extent that Vita Liberata’s Capture the Light does, but it does work to even out skin tone and gives you a lovely glow. This stuff is so pigmented that a little goes a long way. Because it dries quickly, you have to act fast. If you add it to a bit of body moisturiser, it helps to blend the cream nicely and you get more time to work with. I always mix it with a bit of body lotion to make it easier to apply and also to lessen the colour – I’m quite fair-skinned and don’t want to look fake. A word to the wise: never apply this with your bare hands, and if you do, wash them straight away with hot water and soap. If there is still some pesky red/brown residue on your hands (which I can guarantee there will be), take a bit of toothpaste, rub it into your hands and use as soap. This should do the trick. I use this on my legs whenever I wear a dress or shorts and on my arms for when I want a bit of colour.

Available from Clicks.

Will you be picking up any body bronzing skin illuminizers this summer? Remember they work to prettify all skin tones.