My main problem in winter, other than miserable evenings, dark mornings and the general gloom of it all, is that my skin is often as grey as the weather. With the distinct absence of sunshine and the total lack of a winter holiday, a sun-kissed complexion is as distant a dream as the summer. Once spring has arrived, and both the temperature and my skin exposure has increased, I go full throttle into a self-tan regime; Wednesday night is hair removal, Thursday I slather it on, and on Friday it’s washed off in time for the weekend. However, such a routine is laborious, time-consuming and expensive; thus it certainly isn’t worth the hassle for the winter months, when the only skin on show is that of my hands, my face and my décolletage.

And having been around the metaphorical tanning block many a time, and tried and tested almost every tanning product on offer, it appeared there would never be an answer to my winter-tan dilemma. Many of the instant self-tans on the market contain chemicals, perfumes and stabilisers, all of which are very drying on my skin and certainly put me off applying it to an area so delicate as my face. That was until I happened across fabulous new self-tanning brand KARORA Cosmetics.

Founded in Ireland by businesswoman Karen Brown, KARORA Cosmetics is an all-natural, eco-chic tanning brand that contains no drying chemicals or nasty parabens, and thus is perfect for using on both your face and body. And unlike many of its competitors, it doesn’t have the standard fake-tan smell of digestive biscuits or tea bags. Full of a whole host of both delicious and natural ingredients, including Grape Seed Oil and Horse Chestnut Extract, KARORA’s Instant Self Tan is botanical beauty at its very best!

And thus, gone is my grey-like winter pallor, and in its place a healthy, sun-kissed glow to rival any Caribbean tan. And with its natural ingredients, and fabulous fruity smell, KARORA really is the answer to all my tanning prayers. Available at selected retailers and online.