Spray tans can be scary things. (To be honest, we're usually happier with the one-day wash-off variety, having previously been turned the colour of a mahogany sideboard.) But who could resist the opportunity to expose everything (well, everything but what we could hide in a pair of paper pants) to the celebrity tanner du jour, James Read (a.k.a. The Tantalist), a chap who's pointed his nozzle at everyone from Lady Gaga to Lindsay Lohan? Actually, James did a marvellous job using the He-Shi (say it 'He-shy') range - which we'd rather thought came from the Far East, but turns out to be from Belfast. (Who knew? Although they do love their fake tans, in the misty isle.) From mother-and-daughter duo Hilary and Shelley McMurray, who's pictured here with James (the 'He' is from Hilary's name, the 'Shi' from Shelley's - give or take a letter or two), the products have a fabulous, realistic yellow undertone rather than red (as so many self-tanners do), so you get a golden glow rather than boil-in-the-bag-ham redness. As for the usual biscuit tin smell? Well, it was there, if not as overpoweringly as usual. (Apparently, how much a fake tan smells depends not so much on the formulation as the amino acids in your skin. Of which we clearly have plenty.) But after two days, we're honey-brown and happy, just in time for the belated sunshine. If James can squeeze us in between Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton, we might just be back.
Beauty Bible blogtip: ‘A real dead giveaway for self-tans is the inside of the wrist, and the toes. Moisturise first, and then afterwards use a dry flannel to buff the area – almost as if you were polishing a pair of shoes - to remove any excess self-tan.’ James Read
www.he-shi.eu
www.thetantalist.com
