The Beauty Diary: Everything you need to fix a fake tan fail
It’s an embarrassing beauty blunder many women have had – but there’s a $10 product from Kmart that can fix even the worst of these fails.
Not that long ago, I raved to you guys about doing my first ever at home foot peel.
It’s a lengthy process that the instructions said takes anywhere between two to three weeks to finish.
At the time I called the treatment, which causes the thick skin on your feet to crack and peel off, revealing silky soft skin underneath, “feral but amazing”.
After 10 days, all the icky flaky skin on the soles of my feet had disappeared and I went about my life as normal – including indulging in a bit of fake tan.
But I should have listened to the advice on the packet because at 10 days, my feet were not done.
And as I found out, fake tan and foot peels do not mix.
You see, while the skin on the bottom of my feet had completed the process, the top hadn’t even begun – a situation I didn’t realise until the morning after I’d applied two layers of Elle Effect Fake Tan Mousse. Oopsie.
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I was in the shower scrubbing away with a body sponge to get rid of the tan when suddenly the bronze colour on both feet just wiped clean off. Meanwhile, the rest of my body had developed.
The next day I had to wear strappy heels to an event I’d been planning for months, so I needed to fix it and fast. But I wasn’t sure how to blend the line that had formed on my ankle, separating my lush tan from my embarrassing foot peel blunder.
After sharing my dilemma on Instagram, a very helpful soul replied telling me I could fix it using a special make-up brush – but at 7pm on a Friday night the only place I could try was Kmart.
So I hotfooted it to my local store and thankfully they had them in stock – and boy did it turn out to be a total lifesaver.
The bargain beauty find is one of three I used to fix my dodgy tan job and have shared with you below.
BALI BODY SELF TAN REMOVER
Available at Chemist Warehouse and au.balibodyco.com
Price: $24.95
After my serious fake tan fail, I needed to try and lighten the line that had appeared on my ankle before attempting to tan my foot again and blend it in with the brush. But we all know, getting rid of fake tan is a bit of a nightmare – especially when it’s fresh. But this foam made the job much easier. I simply squirted it on where I wanted to lift some of the colour and let it sit. Then I scrubbed at it with an exfoliating mitt. It definitely didn’t completely lift the tan which I suspect is because this product is actually designed to get rid of leftover patches before applying new tan – but it did reduce it, giving the edge created by my mishap a much more subtle line. Hurrah!
KMART OXX STUDIO KABUKI BRUSH
Available at Kmart
Price: $10
A kabuki brush is not something I’ve ever used before and is traditionally designed for powder products. However brushes are fast becoming a favourite among fake tan lovers for the seamless blending abilities – so I squirted some of my tanning mousse onto my usual mitt and then dipped the brush into the foam making sure not to use too much product. Next I applied the bristles to the skin on my foot in a gentle circular motion taking particular care around the ankle area where that ugly line that I’d buffed out earlier with the tan remover had formed. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous as heck – but the next day I woke up and my feet were no longer white. The fix job wasn’t perfect, however it was SO MUCH BETTER, and made me realise that using a kabuki brush was much better than a clunky mitt. I’ve since used the Kmart brush again when applying fake tan (not fixing it this time) and it works so well on all the tricky areas – ankles, wrists, hands and elbows. The short bristles are perfect for maintaining control of the tanning product and gives a lovely smooth finish with no streaks.
ST TROPEZ PURITY VITAMINS BRONZING WATER FACE SERUM
Available at Priceline
Price: $34.99
While I didn’t mess up the tan on my face, quite frankly it’s a miracle I didn’t and it is all down to this amazing new tanning serum.
Ordinarily I’d take my mitt at the end of my tanning application and rub it on my face without adding any more product, hoping the remnants from my body give just enough of a glow. After all, a fake tan mistake on your feet is nothing compared to your face. But this serum has changed EVERYTHING for facial tanning in my books.
I applied it like I would my morning serum, two pumps in my hand that I then warm up by rubbing my hands together and apply to my face. I took extra care to make sure I rubbed all the way into my hairline and on my ears and down my décolletage. Don’t forget to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards too.
The next day I woke with a flawless face (unlike my poor tootsies) – honestly, I’ve never had a more natural fake tan. There’s also another reason to completely love this new St Tropez product – it’s packed with skincare goodness too with vitamin C and D boosters that brighten skin – and it also has a gorgeous tropical scent that reminds you of that time when we could travel to foreign shores and drink pina coladas. It also didn’t transfer onto my white pillowcase which I was very surprised about. Big ticks from me on this one – love it.
This column is not advertorial content. Every review is independent, honest and ad free.
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