It’s that time of year again; we’re all baring more skin as the weather warms up. But that also means baring my rather luminous white body. I find that my face, shoulders and back tend to catch the sun quite quickly in the summer, but the rest of me doesn’t. My legs in particular could always do with a little bit of help, and of course I’d rather not have to sit in the sun because of the damage it does to the skin.

So it was good timing to be invited to an event for the new tanning collection from Vita Liberata –  NKD SKIN. The range was designed to make the brand’s high-quality tanning products accessible to all. They promise ‘holiday skin in a bottle’ with no nasty odour via lovely natural ingredients. Sounded good to me.

I decided to have a spray tan on the spot to try the new products for myself. The tan was really quick to apply and the claims are true, there is almost no odour, and certainly none of the biscuit-like smell that tanning products have become so known for. The tan dried almost instantly and started to develop over the next hour or so, but I never felt too orange. I loved the fact I could put my clothes back on straight away –

anything that saves time is a bonus I reckon.

I went for the medium shade which, despite my currently fair complexion, came out just right. On washing the tan off the following day I was left with a lovely golden glow which got me lots of compliments at work. I hadn’t exfoliated beforehand so I did find that the fronts of my legs were a bit dry and there were some tell-tale marks there, so I definitely recommend giving your body a good scrub ahead of tanning. Other than that though, the tan looked even, and there were very few signs of it being fake. As it has worn off, it hasn’t left me too patchy either. All in all, I’ll definitely be trying it out myself at home.

The range includes a tinted tan mousse in medium and dark, £14.95, a tinted tan liquid in dark, £10, and a matte wash-off instant tan, £8.50. The collection is available at Superdrug.

NKD SKN’s Top tips for a flawless tan…

  1. Exfoliate your skin to prepare for tanning. It provides the perfect base and ensures a long-lasting tan.
  2. Use a tanning mitt to protect the palms of your hands and get a streak-free finish. Pump the tanning product onto the mitt and apply to skin using elongated circular movements. Use sparingly on the hands, feet, knees and elbows.
  3. Don’t moisturise before tanning as it will block the tan and can cause streaking.
  4. Wipe knuckles, knees, ankles, elbows and sides of the feet to prevent any product build-up. Rinse your tanning mitt and leave to dry naturally.