Review: Melvita Prosun Gradual Tanner

It's approaching that fake-tan-frenzy time of year again... In a bid to not look quite so pastey when (and if!) the fair weather rolls around, every year I road test all the new fake tans on the block.

This year I was most excited by Melvita's new Prosun Gradual Self-Tanning Moistursing Gel-Creme (tedious name, huh?!). I've tried Melvita's Prosun collection before, in the form of their sun lotion and after sun and it was lovely, so the idea of a gradual tan from them really appealed to me.

As the name suggests, it's an interesting gel-like texture. It promises to deliver a natural-looking, streak-free, sun-kissed glow while having absolutely no 'fake tan' (aka biscuit!) smell.

It's rather an alarming yellow colour in person and while I'm not a fan of non-tinted fake tans (I like to see where I've put it!) I have to say the resulting colour from this after just one application was as promised... Nice and natural with not a single streak. I can't deny it performed tanning-wise!

What it didn't deliver on however, was the smell. I can honestly say I've never experienced such a honking gradual tanner! Some of the 'deep' or 'dark' fake tans yes, but the graduals are usually a bit more subtle. I spent the whole day very aware of the smell and couldn't wait to wash it off when I got home.

My second bug bear with this is the amount of product needed. While the formulation is lovely, you require quite a bit to cover your entire body. I used this once and the bottle is about 1/6 empty. For a full on fake tan this wouldn't be such a problem, but for a product that you're meant to be able to use a few times a week, and that's priced at £20, I don't think this cuts the mustard really!

Sorry Melvita... not a winner in my books! My gradual-tanning heart still lies with Sienna X I'm afraid!