Bondi Sands: The Self Tan Inspired By Australia's Most Famous Beach
Inspired by Australia's infamous Bondi Beach, Bondi Sands brings all the glow of a real Australian tan to your beauty routine - without the need to even leave your own home!
With luxurious salon-quality formulas available in an array of shades and textures, customise your tan and faux your glow whilst keeping your skin at its healthy best with the brand's skin-loving ingredients.
Join our FTF Copywriter and resident Makeup Artist, Rachael, as she tells you all about the brand and why you'll never look back once you've experienced tanning the Bondi Sands way!
Discovering Bondi Sands
Welcome back to our blog, everyone! Today, I'm so excited to tell you about the new addition to our brand family: Bondi Sands!
As a self-tan lover, I was super happy to hear that we were going to be launching this Aussie favourite brand, and I was even happier when I got a Bondi Sands product in my hands to try!
As someone with very fair skin, red hair, and freckles, my skin is prone to burning in the sun. Because of this, I make sure that my tan comes strictly from a bottle, and I always wear a high protection sunscreen. My long-term favourite sunscreen is La Roche-Posay's Anthelios UVmune 400 Invisible Tinted Fluid SPF 50+, but since being part of the FTF family, I've also come to love Heliocare Gel Oil Free SPF50 and Hello Sunday The One That's A Serum SPF50 for my face, and Eucerin's Sun Gel Cream Dry Touch SPF50+ for my body.
The Trial And Error Of Self Tanning
Over the years, I've tried countless fake tans - from gradual lotions and express mousses, to tan towels (remember those?) and temporary wash-off formulas. I won't pretend that some didn't have disastrous consequences! From bright orange hues and streaky hands, to raindrop-patterned legs when the heavens opened mid dash from bar to bar on evenings out.
But thanks to my (many) years of relentless tanning trial and errors, I'd now class myself as somewhat of an expert. A tannoisseur, if you will. I have a real tried and tested routine when it comes to self-tanning prep, I have my routine and tools down to a fine art, but until now, I had the most important element missing: the perfect, fail-safe formula that has the Goldilocks effect. A formula that's just right every single time. Until now...
Bondi Sands Self Tanning Foam in Light Medium
I've always been a fan of foam formulas over oils or tanning waters, so, the Self Tanning Foam in Light/Medium was my first choice. As well as giving you a tan, this particular formula has an addition of aloe vera that helps to moisturise your skin as your tan develops, helping your skin to look and feel its best.
I applied the light and voluminous foam using the Bondi Sands Application Mitt which made it easy and effortless to spread the foam evenly across my skin, If you've never used a mitt to apply your tan before, then I'd really recommend you try one - it really does give the most amazingly flawless streak-free results in less time, plus, it protects your hands against accidental staining (I'm sure we've all been there!)
As soon as I applied the foam I noticed the beautiful coconut scent which was really lovely and instantly reminded me of the summer. If you love tropical scents as much as me, I'm sure you'll enjoy this gentle fragrance, too!
This particular tan is designed to develop over the next few hours and can be left on the skin for up to six hours for a longer-lasting, darker tan. So I did leave mine on for the full six hots, despite being a little nervous about the outcome. My usual favoured tans are express formulas where you can customise your glow by washing the product off earlier, but if you do prefer an express formula, Bondi Sands do have a 1 Hour Express Foam option too that you can find here. But despite my worries, I was so, so happy with how natural and gorgeous the colour looked after it had fully developed.
One of the main selling points for me that I think a lot of you will be curious about is the scent of the tan during the developing stage. I'm sure many of you will be all too familiar with that telltale biscuity smell of fake tan formulas, but I'm pleased to say that this formula didn't have that super strong odour. Another big bonus for me was that the tan didn't transfer onto my bedding, so my white bed sheets happily survived the night unscathed.
The tan has a natural-looking golden tone and lasted on my skin for around five days before gently fading away without leaving any scaly patches - another huge selling point for me.
How To Get A Flawless Self Tan In Four Steps
Step 1: Prep your skin the night before
The best fake tan always starts with a little groundwork to create the perfect base.
The best way to prep your skin is by taking a warm bath or shower and using your favourite exfoliator to gently polish your skin to perfection. If you want to wax or shave, it's best to do this 24 hours before you intend to apply your tan.
Once you're out of your bath or shower, apply your favourite moisturiser, making sure to pay special attention to drier patches like your knees, elbows, and wrists.
Step 2: Apply your tan
Using a tanning mitt, apply your favourite Bondi Sands tan all over your body using long, sweeping motions, applying to the top of your feet and back of your hands with whatever is left on your mitt at the end.
Don't forget to gently blend the tan into your hairline for a seamless finish.
Wait for your tan to be touch dry before getting dressed, and make sure to wear in loose, dark clothing to avoid skin marks, and colour transfer. Allow your tan to develop – developing time is usually from one hour for express tans, and to around six hours for classic formulas.
Step 3: Rinse and glow!
Once your tan has developed, head off to a warm (not hot) shower and rinse away the guide colour. As soon as the water runs clear, hop out of the shower, and gently pat your skin dry, making sure to avoid rubbing at your skin.
Step 4: Prolong your tan
To keep your tan looking its best for longer, gently exfoliate your skin every couple of days in the shower before applying Bondi Sands gradual tanning lotion - I like the Bondi Sands Gradual Tan Lotion Illuminator as it has shimmer pigments that gives your skin a gorgeous radiance straight away. This keeps your skin deeply hydrated whilst maintaining your glow.
For an extra glow boost, you can use Bondi Sands Liquid Gold in between your normal fake tan applications.
Bondi Sands Technocolour
Whether you're new to tanning or a seasoned pro, you'll find products in the Bondi Sands range to suit you. Especially now that Bondi Sands has recently launched a new range: Bondi Sands Technocolour!
Perfect if you're looking for the ultimate tailored tan to suit your skin tone, these innovative new formulas have been specially curated through cutting-edge research, development, and laser skin analysis technology.
With tailored levels of DHA to best complement your skin function and customised levels of active ingredients, the four shades: Sapphire, Emerald, Magenta, and Caramel give gorgeously natural self tan-results that are perfectly matched to every skin tone.
Discover the range today and get ready to glow into summer and beyond!
Shop The Post
La Roche-Posay's Anthelios UVmune 400 Invisible Tinted Fluid SPF 50+ is an ultra – lightweight, invisible and universally tinted fluid for the face that has been specifically formulated for sensitive skin. It contains their new...
An oil-free dry touch sunscreen that’s clinically proven to protect against UVA and UVB.
Ultra-light and non-greasy, Eucerin Sun Gel Cream Dry Touch SPF50+ 200ml is the perfect sunscreen for the body and is formulated with Oil Control Technology and mattifying pigments for a dry-touch finish on the skin.
Ready to discover the beauty industry's most up and coming? Come and read all about the brands starring in our edit for part 2.0 of our exciting project: Future of Beauty.
