In the name of journalism, I’m going to admit to my most unsavoury qualities. Here goes: I’m highly stubborn, give up way too easily and I don’t make enough time for myself. This adds up to a recipe for disaster when it comes to a whole host of things… but in reference to the world of beauty, it means I’ve been vehemently against self-tan since I was a teenager.

The associations with fake tan are forever intertwined with the awkwardness of my teenage years, conjuring memories of stained bedsheets and the omnipresent whiff of biscuits. Tanning did not go to plan, so I was all too willing to give it up. It took too much effort to be worth the pain of finding my wonder product, so I stood by au naturel like the stubborn mule I am.

But, as 2023 rolled around, a recent shift in the beauty world piqued my interest. We’ve officially entered the era of lazy girl beauty: we’re seeing does-it-all make-up products with long-term skincare benefits fly off the shelves, and easy-to-apply, no-faff gradual tan is having a resurgence, as we say sayonara to laborious instant tan routines.  

For a whole host of reasons, I started to realise the lazy girl trend might be a sign from the beauty gods to make building my ultimate self-care routine a high priority. In doing so I fell in love with the pursuit of a more gradual glow - here’s why I’ve been in a committed relationship with gradual self-tan ever since… 

When I started to feel myself veering towards burnout during the year we like to call January, I knew something needed to change.

I started with simple lifestyle swaps: more time with my head in a book, less time glued to screens. A walk outside every single lunchtime to break up the day, because the chained-to-desk WFH life is all too easy to slip into.

These were quick fixes, but I knew I needed an overhaul of my approach to self-care to truly refresh my mindset and carve out more time for me to just ‘be’ amongst the busy. Given my track record of giving up at the first hurdle, I started to build my ultimate slow self-care routine: simple steps I was sure I could follow religiously, even when life threatens to get in the way.

I scrapped blush and lip products for a multi-stick you can swipe on cheeks and lips; started to use concealer as foundation; stripped my excessive skincare regime down to three core products I now can’t live without. This was the reset I needed and I started to feel my mood lift. To anyone of the opinion that beauty is merely frivolous, my make-up bag and mentality prove otherwise. 

In a plot twist that was not on the vision board for 2023, I found myself hitting checkout on some gradual self-tan after a TikTok spiral drew me in. 

Inspired by lazy girl beauty, many of us are eschewing instant tan this year for products that produce a healthy, radiant glow – gradually.

Fuss-free, no streaks allowed and easy to integrate into a calming self-care routine: all this meant that I could cast aside anxieties from my instant tan teenage days and decided to give the glow a go. 

The key term being ‘gradual’, I figured it wouldn’t be a disaster if I didn’t get along with the product. And on the quest to build my ultimate self-care routine, the thought of carving out time to dedicate a portion of each day to a mini spa-like ritual seemed like exactly what my brain needed.

Taking a deep, anxious breath, I opted for Dove’s Summer Revived Self-Tanning Body Lotion. A gradual tan that requires minimal effort to apply, it may be a quick beauty hack, but the science behind what is now my ultimate hero product is a little more complex.

Key moisturising actives compressed with natural seed oils essentially offer a beauty technology that, when combined with natural-looking tanners, promises to gradually build a sun-kissed look while providing 72 hours of active moisturisation.

Slap it on and let the self-tan do the hard work? After years of going au naturel, this sunshine in a bottle has changed the game. Integrating this into my daily self-care routine, I massage the lotion evenly over clean, dry skin, and wash my hands thoroughly afterwards. No stained bedsheets, no biscuity odours – it really is as simple as that. 

From first use, my skin felt soft and deeply hydrated. With continued use, I got that holiday bronze while clawing back some precious me time each day to help me switch off.

Getting healthy, radiant skin without exposing myself to the sun has also given me a new lease of life. Never underestimate a good beauty glow – it’s infectious.

After years sticking by au naturel, when it comes to a precious self-care moment, you’ll bet I’m now eagerly reaching for the gradual self-tan. 

As the No 1 gradual self-tan brand in the UK*, Dove gives a healthy glow when you need it. Turn to the Summer Revived Self-Tanning Body Lotion for 72 hours of deep moisturisation and a natural-looking bronze glow or opt for the Summer Revived Gradual Self-Tan Body Mousse for 48 hours of moisturisation and a streak-free tan. 

*Source 2022 NielsenIQ data, Value Sales, Unit Sales, Gradual Self Tan (client defined) w/e 01.01.2022