I've never been one to enjoy laying out in the sun - it's ridiculously hot, I get sunburn and start peeling, and I'd just much rather be indoors basking in some artificially cool air. But that's not to say that I can't appreciate the allures of tanned, golden skin! I happen to have a mini obsession with ultra pale skin (just ask Ana!) so I never thought I'd love self-tanner, but it's pretty amazing stuff. Who knew a tan could make my flabby legs look leaner and more toned?
So for the self-tanning novices out there, here's a mini guide!
Before you start...exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate!!! When applying self-tanner at home, exfoliation is really the key to a nice, evenly developed tan unless you're intentionally going for the zebra look. Focus on dry areas with scaly skin, such as the elbow, knees, ankles, etc. to ensure that your self-tanner doesn't hit any snags mid-application. My two current exfoliators of choice are Antidote Skincare's Go Slough Yourself ($15) and Elemental Herbology's Beach Prep ($37).
If the skin on your body likes to act up like mine does, Go Slough Yourself is some pretty amazing stuff as it contains salicylic acid (making this also great for your face if you're breakout prone), diatomaceous earth (also in one of my fave Philosophy face scrubs), passionflower extract and D-alpha. This exfoliator is actually quite scrubby (a pet peeve of mine is scrubs that don't actually scrub) and dramatically softens and smooths my skin and I don't plan to be without it for a single day! Plus I just love that I can use it on my face in a pinch.
Elemental Herbology's Beach Prep is fabulous for those of you with dryer skin, as it contains hydrating Buriti and Macadamia Oils and radiance boosting Kombuchka and Fig extract in addition to exfoliating sugar and fruit enzymes. It leaves a later of moisturizing goodness on your skin, saving you the trouble of applying lotion post-scrub!
Choosing a self-tanner can be overwhelming I know! I'll just lay out a few basic options for you, depening on what is it that you're looking for.
To naturally develop a subtle, barely-there glow of sun-kissed color, try Elemental Herbology's Sun Kiss ($39), a daily body hydrator that contains an eco-certified self-tanning agent derived from sugar beet. You won't see a dramatic color change, but the subtle tanning agent will leave your skin with a beautiully hydrated healthy glow while boosting your skin's anti-oxidant activity. Plus it contains some great ingredients such as watermelon seed oil, macademia oil, olive oil, pomegranate, aloe vera, lavender and fig extract.
For a flawless golden tan without the funky self-tanner smell, check out Antidote Skincare's All Seasons Glow ($42), my current self-tanner of choice. Using All Seasons Glow, even a beginner like myself is able to get a streak-free gorgeous tan that develops to the perfect shade. This stuff has a somewhat scary bronzey/brown tint to it that acts as a color guide so that you can actually see where you're applying it, has a pleasant smell and is all-around amazing! Definitely a mainstay in my summer arsenal!
If you really don't want to get your hands dirty, there's always Sevin Nyne's Tanning Mist ($35), brought to us by none other than Lindsay Lohan! I haven't tried this one myself and I've heard that it can get a little messy (which I guess is inevitable with a spray can) but you really can't beat the ease of a spray!
And last but not least we have Kate Somerville's Somer360°™ Tanning Towelettes ($48) which pack your self-tanner into 8.5 x 11 towelette form. These have a light, citrusy scent, dry quickly, and develop within 2-4 hours. Another favorite of mine!
So now that you've chosen a product, how to apply it? Well the sprays and the towelettes are pretty self-explanatory, but if you decide to go the manually-applied-with-hands route, here are a few tips.
1) After exfoliating but before applying self-tanner, rub some lotions on the dryer/wrinklier areas of your body such as your wrists, ankles, knees, finger, toes, and ankles.
2) Wearing latex gloves, start with your calves, then do your feet and work your way up. Lightly glide over the areas you've applied lotion to using your self-tanning agent, but don't linger on those spots for too long.
3) Don't forget to focus on easy-to-miss spots such as behind the ears, behind the knees, underarms, etc.! You don't want to look like a tanned dalmation!
Since there's no way I can give you a full spiel on self-tanning in this post, I highly suggest you check out these wonderful videos by Antidote's founder, Sinead Norenius, found HERE. I found them exceedingly helpful I hope you will too!
16 comments:
The model in that picture looks 800000x better pale.
At work we're selling tan tablets, and have like 9 posters and an entire window display promoting them, and the poster shows one girl pale, then same girl tan. She looks better pale. But the slogan is "From pasty to tasty", and I take issue.
Pasty IS tasty. Everyone should stop burning their skin orange, kthx.
LOL Ana you know that I hate the look of orange,extremely artificially tanned skin! But I do appreciate the ease of a good self tanner - if I want a nice goldenglow for a few days, I like having that option without having to bake in the sun.
That having been said, I would absolutely resent a brand that marketed their tanning product with a slogan like "pasty to tasty" - it's offensive to imply that you're not "hot" because you have beautiful pale skin.
Part of the reason I really love the brands I mentioned above (although I can't speak for Sevin Nyne as I don't know enough about it) as that they really emphasize the need to apply sunblock and advocate taking good care of your skin, and should you feel the desire to be tan, they provide a safe and easy alternative.
Your post prompted my own tirade against the sun.
My doctor says I have "summer depression" which is like SAD except that people with it get really ANGRY and irritable in summer, because everything's hot and sticky and stupid and there's bugs everywhere and have I mentioned I hate the sun?
I agree that bottle tans are the way to go. You have beautiful exotic skin and almond eyes, lucky :[
thanks for the tips! I've been looking for a decent self tanner forever!
hey jen!
as a competitive ballroom dancer the "competition tan" as we call it is super important...
i've found that clarins delicious self-tanning gel-cream has worked super well. i start applying about 5-7 days before the comp, and it turns my NC15/20 skin into more like NC30/35 by th sixth application or so. i mean, that's going a bit overboard for every day, but i love that stuff!
you should def give it a go!
Pasty is tasty!
Thats like my new slogan.
I loved this post. I just.. never had good luck with self tanners. I exfoliated until the cows came home, and I moisturized and all that jazz..
And I still looked like a orange zebra-printed blimp =[
So now, I just figure it was a sign that I need to embrace the paste!
Embrace the Paste.
(Oh, and I found your blog thanks to Ana! :])
Ana is there seriously such a thing as summer depression? Because your description sounds exactly like me in the summer. I hate being out in the sun, hate humidity, being hot and sticky, and ESPECIALLY hate the bugs! I constantly feel like there are little bugs taking nips at me and it drives me nuts!
You know I'd love your complexion!
Keely Valentine I hope that you found my overview helpful!
Hey Lareinarumbera!
Sounds like you're quite the expert on fake tanning. I've been trying a few Clarins products lately and I've been loving all of them, so I don't see why their self-tanning products wouldn't be great as well. I'll definitely have to give them a shot!
Hey Jessie!
Welcome to the blog, I hope that you like what you see!
Ana is one of my fave people, I Hope she's been saying nothing but nice things =P.
Definitely embrace the paste, I think there's nothing more beautiful than super pale skin!
I've never tried self tanner, but I think I will go the towelette route if I do. I saw some ones Comedynes on Shop NBC that looked good. One towelette gives you a light tan that develops after a couple of hours. If you want to go darker, you do another towelette. The fact that you can gradually build up to the desired amount of darkness seems a little more goof proof.
Yup, it's a real thing!
Deb towelettes are definitely really convenient. I actually had a ton of fun trying out a bunch of self-tanners, and now I know how I'll be getting all tanned before my next tropical vacation :)
Ana I can't wait until winner. Love the cold!
Wow, I never thought to put it behind my ear.
Hey Joy Winner-or-Whiner!
The behind your ears thing isn't too big a concern if you don't put your hair up, but if you wear it up often as I do, you don't have to have that area be white when the rest of you is nicely tan =P.
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