REVIEW | Vita Liberata pHenomenol 2-3 week Tan in Fair*

I have seen and heard so much about the Vita Liberata 2-3 week tan for a year. Often seeing it in store, looking at the price (£37) and being put off buying it. The price wasn't the only reason I was unsure about it, the other reason was the promise of the 2-3 week tan. I thought to myself, golly if it is the wrong colour or if I put it on wrong I am going to have to look that way for up to 3 weeks. This was not something that appealed to me.

So when I was given the opportunity to review the product I was intregued and decided to take the plunge. It would either go one way or the other.

I received the Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 week long lasting tan Mousse in Fair. The product comes in a metallic violet box which looks fairly tall and slim. Inside the box is a dark brown bottle with lid and spout which you push down for the mousse to expell. This design is very much similar in shape and function to a lot of other tanning mousse bottles like St Tropez and St Moritz.  They seem to do a good job of releasing the right amount of product.  I also received the Vita Liberata Tanning mitt which is recommended for use in applying the mousse.

I applied the tan as directed, after exfoliating, and using the mitt. Now on the packaging it distinctly states "no streaking and no smells". The no streaking part is absolutely true. I did not have one streak or uneven patch. The second claim, "no smells", is a huge claim to make.  Most products have some smell and this one is no exception. Although it doesn't have the usual fake tan stinky biscuit odour it smells to me of something pickled. It isn't awful or offputting, just different. Once applied to the skin the odour fades very quickly and is unnoticable after half an hour or so.

The application of this product is incredibly easy. It glides on beautifully with no crumbling or stickiness. It feels very light and absorbs in an instant. You would think this could cause a problem with blending but it doesn't at all. In fact I did half my arm went off to answer the phone and 5 minutes later finished the rest of my arm with absolutely no problem.  A gorgeous silky streak free finish. I was so pleased with the absorbtion and imediate colour that I put on my clothes and went out straight away feeling great. Wow the first self tan which actually does dry immediately.

Straight after applying Vita Liberata 2-3 week tan in Fair

One thing I really like about this product is the colour. It is quite different to most other mousse tanners or lotion tanners for that matter. A lot of these are "olive toned" and use a green colour to counteract any orange, which is lovely and I have had no problem with that. However, what I have realised since using Vita Liberata is that the colour of this product is far more suited to my natural fair skin tones.  I can not put my finger on why exactly, but it appears to have less green tones to it. Which suits my blue undertoned skin far better.

I applied the tan at 3pm on Friday 2nd August and bathed 9 hours later at 11pm that night. Throughot those 9 hours I had developed a beautiful golden tan. I was slightly concerned that a lot of it may disappear down the plug hole but in fact the bath water only marginly chained colour, leaving me with a lovely natural tan. I did notice some grabbing at the knees and elbows and noted that I needed to apply moisturiser in those areas before reapplying. After this first coat I was so pleased that I didn't want to 'spoil' my new tan by reapplying, but I was revewing the product so knew I had to follow the 'rules' and reapply to get that 2-3 week tan I was hoping for.

One coat down, the next one went on with exactly the same streak free silky finish. Off I went to bed ready to begin my 2-3 week tan. 

Day 1

I showered leaving a beautiful golden colour to my skin. It wasn't twice as dark with 2 coats in fact there wasn't a huge amount of difference from 1 but I was very happy as I liked the colour after the 1st coat. So off I went for lunch with the girls to be told I was a "lovely colour". It was going down well. The only slight problem was the grabbing at my knees.

Day 2

I feel like my skin is softer than yesterday and looks like I have been away for a month. Brilliant. Moisturising my skin daily.

Day 3

Had a bath and gave my knees a scrub. Looking a bit better now. Gave my skin a rub with a face cloth, with most tanners by day 3 the 'rub test' would reveal some crumbling. No crumbs here.

Day 4

Bathed and noticed very slight fading. Very slight residue on towel but nothing severe.

Day 7

Keep checking my skin for signs of fading or uneveness. Can't see any that are noticable but it does look lighter than when I first applied it.

Day 13

Very faint tan left. Will hold out and see what happens.

Day 14

nearly gone, time to reapply!!

As you can see above, there is very little colour difference between day 1 and day 3. By day 10 there was still a slight tan left and that didn't fade much more leading up to day 14 when I reapplied. The tanner does fade but very slowly and evenly. So evenly in fact that if it wasn't for a small area that I had missed, I wouldn't have been able to tell if there was tanner left on.

Pros
Gorgeous immediate colour
guide colour same as final colour
fades very slowly

no flaking 

Cons

Price. £37 I have had 4 applications and I would say there is another 2 left in the bottle.

some colour grabbing at knees and elbows

Overall I would say that this is a really great fake tan, and probably my new favourite. I wasn't sure what to expect with a 2-3 week self tanner and was very pleasantly surprised. It does last a lot longer than any other fake tan I have tried and the colour is superb. Will I be buying it again in the future? deffinitely!!!

Have you tried Vita Liberata before?  If not what is your favourite self tanner?

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