I am told that this is the ultimate coverage foundation that MAC do, and after using it, I can believe it. It does feel very heavy when you first put it on, however once you get used to that feeling, it’s really nice to blend and work with. It does require quick application, any longer than ten seconds once it’s on your skin and it wants to stay there, becoming difficult to blend so you do need to work fast.

I like a flawless, even result and this foundation is really good at evening out and perfecting my skin. However, it is easy to over do it, and you need to be careful with this one as it can look cakey and kind of flat on your skin if you use too much and don’t blend it properly. For that reason I’d say this stuff is best for the evening when you want a coverage which is going to last all night and give a perfect finish too.

I noticed some oxidisation of this product after about 5 hrs wear. But when I set the foundation with a bit of powder it didn’t have this effect and still looked reasonably fresh at the end of the day.

At £19 for 30ml this is not the cheapest foundation around, but because of it’s thick consistency and the fact that a little goes a long way, I can imagine the bottle lasting longer than a runnier, cheaper foundation, thus making up for the price difference.

Good points:

• Great flawless finish
• Long lasting
• SPF 15

Bad points:

• Expensive
• Bottle doesn’t have pump – so you can end up decanting more than you need

• Overall? – 8/10

There are so many reasons why I like this tan, but one massive reason why I won’t use it anymore.  I paid £7 for mine, and it seems to be on offer for around that price in most supermarkets and shops at the moment.  I opted for the ‘medium skin’ formula, through experience I’ve found that when it comes to tanning, the result is always going to be less than what it promises, so I think it’s safe to go for the darker option in an effort to get the result you should get with the ‘fair skin’ version.

Application 

 This is almost effortless.  I just sprayed it on.  There is no guide colour so you do need to be fairly confident at knowing where to put it, but it leaves a wet mist on the skin so you can almost see where it has been applied.  It didn’t dry instantly, but in less than five minutes.  That’s pretty convenient compared to Fake Bake and Xen Tan, which leaves skin feeling tacky for a good few hours.  The smell was not unpleasant, quite a nice peachy, summery scent.

 Results

 I applied it in the morning, and left it on for the day.  It seemed to take most well on my arms, stomach and chest.  As is usually the case with fake tans, the colour did not develop as deeply on my legs.  The colour was natural and warm, and so I thought I could afford another application to see if it intensified the result. 

It did!  I loved how my skin looked, natural, even and brown, and I had comments from people saying how well I looked.

 So, easy to apply, good results, cheap price….so what’s wrong with it?

 The tan lasts for about 5 days, but after that it begins to fade into a patchy nightmare.  I mean, it looks really, really bad.  Mottled, and awful looking.  So for those few days of having a great colour, you pay for it with the awful after-effect!  I showered and exfoliated my skin twice a day in an attempt to remove the patchy colour, but it took me about a week to get rid of every trace of the product from my skin. 

 Conclusion

 This tan gives a brighter, bolder result than my trusty Fake Bake, and much less hassle to apply.  I just wish that Garnier had made a formula which faded evenly rather than one which clings to the skin for days and looks terrible.  The only time I’d use this tan now is if I had a special occasion in the winter, and was confident I could spend the next week wrapped up to hide the awful effect of it wearing off!