Being a teen in the 1980’s I was a fan of sunbathing and sunbeds – I even hired one for my home that I used whilst lying on my bed! However after seeing the effects of this damage in my early forties and effectively treating my pigmentation, I now religiously apply a high SPF to my face daily.

I have dipped in and out of facial self-tans over the last few years but have always noticed I was missing the benefits of using my regular results-based skincare on the evenings that I tanned.

I have to confess when Vita Liberata launched Trystal Minerals earlier this year I was super sceptical. But me being me I had to try this new idea for myself.

So how does it work? This mineral-based powder has micronised crystals and is oil-free. As in regular self-tans the active is DHA to give you colour. The benefit of this formula is that you just buff it on over your regular skincare – it comes with a great quality Kabuki brush. It also gives an immediate glow just like you’ve applied a bronzing powder. The formulation needs the emollients in your skincare to activate the DHA so it must be applied over skincare or foundation. Applied over skincare gives a quicker colour where as over make-up it takes a little longer for colour to develop and I found the colour wasn’t quite as deep.

Initially I applied this at night as I have always done with my self-tans however due to the fact that this product is bronze in colour I found my white pillowcases weren’t that pretty in the morning. So the routine that I have adopted is to buff this powder on my already moisturised skin on the days when I’m working from home and let the colour develop over the day. I have noticed that it immediately gives a polished soft bronze look to the skin so if I’m having a good skin day I will quite happily go out without my foundation.

As with all self-tans you can apply as often as you wish to build up the colour.The shade I have is the lighter one – Sunkissed but it is also available in Bronze which is deeper in tone.

A tip for this innovative formula is that you can lightly contour with it resulting in a softly-sculpted look even when you’re wearing no make-up. The best tip of all is to lightly buff this powder over your hands (after applying a light hand cream). This results in a mistake-proof glow right down to your finger tips.