Beauty Update: Summer Tanning, the Best Concealers

I read recently that Anna Wintour and her "FROW" chums (those frosty faced ladies at the fashion shows) never wear tights, not even in the depths of winter. Well, fair play to them if they can withstand the cold plus endure the upkeep required to keep legs suitable for all-weather exposure.  I find it's enough of a "faff" in the summer to keep my legs in the required state.As Mr Mutton and I won't be going abroad any time soon  (our Greek holiday was sadly cancelled) I've been exploring a couple of new products for getting an effective and easy fake tan.  None of them were gifted, so rest assure you're getting an unexpurgated opinion.

I like to use a gradual fake tan on my legs - my arms pick up a tan when I'm out walking or gardening. Dove's Summer Revived, which I wrote about here, is still a favourite and pretty fool- proof.  This year I've also tried a new type of formula from St Tropez: Self Tan Purity Body Mousse. I bought a sample pack which included small trial bottles of the body formula and the facial tanning mist.  I didn't like the body product very much.  You shake the "water" and it turns into a mousse as you spray it. A mitt is required to arrange it on the limbs.

I found the result a bit patchy and prefer to use hands rather than a mitt.  You can easily wash your hands immediately afterwards and use a nailbrush to remove any signs.

But the facial mist is very good and I bought the full size bottle.  Simply shake and mist it on, remembering to close your eye as you spray each side of the face.  It smells OK and, used lightly, gives a pleasing glow.

St Tropez have also introduced a tan remover, which is very useful for getting rid of the last vestiges when you want to start afresh after a few days. Used with an exfoliating mitt, it effectively removes the debris.  If you've had "accidents" while applying a fake tan  (orangey patches) then you can also use this.  The only irritating thing is that you have to wait five minutes before rinsing it off.  That seems a long time to be standing in the shower.

My two other fake tan tips are:  use a dark towel after showering  (I find they all come off on white towels) and don't apply before bed because your legs will probably be streaky the next day.

So that's fake tan covered.  What about getting hair-free legs?  I have never had my legs professionally waxed.  I've always used a razor.  But the amount of plastic involved, and the cost for replacement blades  (up there with the cost of ink for printers) makes it an extremely unattractive proposition. I was intrigued to read a very positive review for an epilator by an Instagrammer.

Remember them, ladies?  They came out a few years ago with a lot of publicity but many of us dismissed them as instruments of torture. The nature of the beast is that it rips the hair out from its root.  In theory this makes the hair slower to grow back, but it also makes for quite a painful experience.

I've never tried an epilator so I thought I'd give it a whirl.  The model shown is the Braun Silk-Epil 9 which was on offer at Amazon and came with a separate skin cleansing brush which I probably won't use.

After charging the device I started epilating without reading the instructions and mistakenly used the  no 2 setting (slightly more painful).  It is a little bit grimace-y, but my main beef is that it doesn't give such a good result as shaving or no doubt waxing. It kept leaving some hairs behind, even though they were the same length, and I had to keep having another go. But I'll use it now and then, if I need to give my legs a quick once over and don't have time to shave them.

Finally to concealers.  I've been using a runny cheap one and it was rubbish, so I went back to Charlotte Tilbury and bought the Mini Miracle Eye Wand (the white wand) and the Magic Away liquid concealer. I'd been reminded how good these are by receiving a sample of the Magic Away product.

One of the challenges is finding the right shade if you don't want to go into a store.  If you buy a couple of products from Charlotte Tilbury online you can request a couple of samples, and their colour chart samples are excellent  (see my latest one below for foundation).

My shade for the Magic Away concealer is #3, fair, pale and neutral. I use this on pigmentation spots.  The Mini Miracle Eye Wand, in shade 2 for me, has a an under-eye cream at one end and an eye brightener / concealer at the other.  It's a slightly more liquid concealer than Magic Away so I prefer it for under eye circles.  Anyway, here I am having used both these miracle products.  I've used a turquoise eyeshadow as an eyeliner which we're always warned not to do  ("so old-fashioned! So Princess Diana") but who cares about rules, eh ladies? The lipstick is by Look Fabulous Forever.

Let's hear about your fake tan recommendations and leg hair disposal methods in the comments below!