She said colour took days to disappear and she couldn't leave the house

As she applied the mouse her face began to turn a bright shade of green

A woman's face was left as green as Princess Fiona from Shrek after a disastrous attempt to use a bottle of fake tanning mousse.

Kirsty Reeves bought the bottle of St Tropez from Boots in Stanway, Essex, but as she applied the lotion her face began to turn a bright shade of green.

She said the colour took days to fade and she was unable to leave to house until her face returned to normal.

Kirsty Reeves bought the bottle of St Tropez from Boots in Stanway, Essex, but as she applied the mouse her face began to turn a bright shade of green, leaving her looking like Princess Fiona from Shrek

The 27-year-old had sent boyfriend Ty to get her a bottle of the popular San Tropez dark mousse

He went to the Boots store and when the product was not on the shelf, he asked a worker, who got a can from the stock room.

But after using it Miss Reeves' face suddenly turned an unbecoming shade of green and she was so mortified she refused to leave her home, in West Bergholt.

Miss Reeves was so embarassed of her new skin shade that she refused to leave her home in West Bergholt

Miss Reeves' face suddenly turned an unbecoming shade of green and she was so mortified she refused to leave her home, in West Bergholt. She is pictured after recovering from the incident

Miss Reeves, 27, said: 'I put it on for the first time and it is usually tinged a bit green because it has a green undertone to it.

'I left it for about 45 minutes as usual but it was getting greener and greener.

Miss Reeves, who has used the £33 product before, frantically tried to remove the green colour with a standard make- up wipe

'I only put it on the bits you are going to see. I thought it wasn't going well and it didn't come off.

'I rang my friend, who is a beauty therapist, and sent her a picture. She said it looked like the tan had got air in it.'

Miss Reeves, who has used the £33 product before, frantically tried to remove the green colour with a standard make- up wipe.

But the colour refused to budge and it was three days before her face returned to its normal colour,

Even after the green shade had faded she was left with a large angry red mark on her face.

Despite her nightmare she has only been offered a £15 voucher which she says is an insult after her ordeal.

She said: 'I'm on a zero-hours contract, but there was no way I could go to work. I didn't go out. I was horrified. I knew I didn't have an allergic reaction. I knew it was the product.'

She said: 'My dad was calling me Hulk and Princess Fiona.'

She visited the store with the product, pictures of her green face, and a bank statement to show proof of purchase. She said the manager filled out a complaints form to send to head office.

After chasing the complaint, she was told it had never arrived and she was advised to contact the manufacturer directly.

She said: 'The manufacturer said when you put the product with oxygen it changes colour.

'They said more than likely what's happened is it hasn't been stored properly. Boots keeps saying it can't do anything because it is the product and have only offered me a £15 voucher.

'No one is taking responsibility. That's what's really annoying.'

A Boots UK spokesman said: 'We are very sorry to hear about our customer's experience. The quality of the products we sell is of utmost important to us and we will investigate this matter further with the supplier.'

St Tropez said it has been in discussion with Miss Reeves to attempt to resolve the situation.

They added: 'However, we have not yet been able to retrieve the product to investigate exactly what happened. We are working with the retailer and the consumer to identify the product involved as quickly as possible, in order to conduct a thorough investigation.

Even after the green shade had faded she was left with a large angry red mark on her face

Some tanning products such as the Dark Bronzing Mousse have a tendency to go green when they get warm affecting the colour of the product in the container. This is purely to do with the colour of the product and does not represent any safety risk. For this reason, we recommend that all tanning products containing high levels of DHA (the active ingredient) are stored below 30 degrees (as indicated on pack).

The quality and safety of our products is of the highest importance to us and we are taking this incident very seriously. We will take any appropriate action as soon as we have concluded our investigation.