Don’t judge me. I used to lie on a sunbed. Yes, in my ignorant pre-green days. GAH! I shudder at the thougth now. SHUDDER. Damn you Virgin Active Westville – for having such a cool (influencial and on-trend) gym with a sunbed. Which reminds me, I need to book an appointment with a dermatologist to get my moles checked. Note to self.

There are a few things in the green-eco space which I LOVE. One of them, is finding Ecocert certified products (like Pure Beginnings and Woolies Organic Coffee Beans). I’ve gone on and on about Ecocert before, but they are an AMAZING international certification body and you can’t get a sneaky whiff of nasty-anything past them. You can’t green-wash when it comes to Ecocert. This is the label I’m referring to:

So you won’t believe my excitement when I found an Ecocert certified SPRAY TAN. Hellllooooooo!!! Are you kidding me? A COMPLETELY organic, non-toxic tan? Say hello to Vita Liberata – the world’s first non-toxic and organic spray tan, free from parabens, perfume and alcohol.

Vita Liberata – Luxury Skin

“A Vita Liberata tan is the purest in the tanning world. Made using natural, certified organic and Ecocert ingredients, Vita Liberata tans nourishes the skin, ensuring your glow looks radiant and fades patch-free, just like a natural suntan. With zero parabens, preservatives or other chemical nasties that can dry out your skin, Vita Liberata tans give you a 100% healthy and completely natural glow, all year round.

So I did my pre-spray tan oil-free exfoliation (with epsom salts) focussing on ankles, elbows, colar bones, wrists etc. and off I went. Fortunately having given birth three times, I’m not skaam about getting naked infront of strangers (not something I do on a regaular basis mind you). I put on my stylin’ paper g-string and got sprayed!

I GENUINELY felt like a Greek goddess after. Had you given me some oversized wings I could have walked straight onto a Victoria’s Secret catwalk. I felt like this:

Of course I didn’t LOOK like that, but I sure FELT like it. Overall self esteem boost to the max.

Post tan: I didn’t touch much. I slept on a towel (our linen is white), and didn’t shower for 12ish hours. When I did shower, I felt like I was washing hair dye out of my hair with lots of colour coming off – which I must be honest was a bit of a relief seeing as I felt unusually brown (not a BAD brown, but this was all new to me).

The next morning (post shower) I went straight to an Adventure Boot Camp and worked my ass off feeling all glamorous and golden. Beverley Hills here I come.

I was really, really happy, and REALLY impressed with the tan. My tan lasted longer than 2 weeks – and felt SO natural and wonderful. In fact, I bumped into a school-mom at the shops (post school holidays) and she said “Ah, have you been away?” Honestly – no word of a lie.

Price point? You will pay from R400 for a Vita Liberata spray tan. The ‘sprayers’ are all professionally trained to give you a ‘healthy bronzed glow’.

How Vita Liberata differs to usual spray tans (besides it being organic and non-toxic of course):

• Skin Colour: The intention of the tan is not to make the natural skin colour darker (per se), but rather to enhance your skin colour by bringing out it’s natural beauty by bronzing & illuminating it. The formulation works with the melanin in your skin to give it that glow. So you’re not painted orange. Your result is almost ‘tailored’ to your natural skin tone.
• Hydrates skin: Dark skin, like white skin, can look dry, dull and particularly ashen if not regularly exfoliated or correctly hydrated. Vita Liberata contain a patented 72 hour moisture lock which keeps moisture in the skinand nourishes the skin.
• Anti-oxidants: All skin responds to the absorption of anti-oxidants which hydrate, heal, feed and prevent free radicals which are aging to all skin colours. Vita Liberata products are intensely rich in anti-oxidants as ingredients like liquorice, lychee, melon & raspberries all are naturally & inherently high in ant-oxidants.

That tan line along my hip (from the paper g-string) is 9 days post tan. Impressive. 

Finer details for those ingredient watchers out there:

What Natural Ingredients go into a Vita Liberata tan?

Aloe Vera – The extract from this plant is full of vitamins C and E and has a host of skin benefits including anti-ageing properties that improve the skin’s firmness. It also hydrates, moisturises, conditions to give you a softer, younger looking skin.

Cucumber – Cucumbers are rich in vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that protects skin from damaging free radicals and helps fight premature ageing. Cucumber extract also contains vitamin B-5, a compound that helps your skin to retain moisture, helping to keep skin hydrated and maintain your glow for longer!

Lychee – Lychee extract is a great source of vitamins B & C which both have powerful antioxidant and anti-ageing qualities. Vitamin C helps boost collagen production, meaning plumper, more youthful looking skin, and Vitamin B helps skin retain moisture to help your glow fade naturally.

Pomegranate – This vibrant red superfood contains anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Packed full of powerful antioxidants, the extract helps to neutralize free radicals, helping your skin resist the ageing process caused by every day pollutants.

Melon – This extract is a wonderful source of vitamins A&C and offers a wide range of antioxidant benefits. Vitamin A is also known as retinol, an extremely effective cell-communicating ingredient, which means it can connect to almost any skin cell and tell it to behave like a healthy, younger skin cell. This super smart vitamin helps prevent wrinkling and increases collagen production.

Papaya – Papaya extract is bursting with Vitamin C, our favourite source of antioxidants, and a must-have for helping build and produce collagen – the natural way to firmer, plumper looking skin.

Raspberry – This little berry has powerful skin conditioning benefits and is packed full of antioxidants – it ranks among the highest fruits for its antioxidant strength. Thanks to this there are many repairing, conditioning and moisturising qualities associated with this this super berry. Think younger, brighter looking skin and a natural glowing tan.

So it’s pretty much like having a fruit salad sprayed onto your skin, resulting in health, happiness and broze-goddess-ness. Who loses? No one! Get brozed safely, and naturally with Vita Liberata.

You can find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Also, check them out Online: www.vitaliberata.co.za

For a list of Mobile Tanners and stockists in other areas check out: http://www.vitaliberata.co.za/vita-liberata-stockist/