Trying On Tan

Before and after

You know in the springtime when you want to wear a dress with bare legs for the first time since September, but you just can't bare to show how glow-in-the-dark pale you are? I've been struggling with this problem lately (as I mentioned here), so I decide to take a bold step and try a self tanner for the first time!

 I've used a bronzing lotion before (from Dove), but never a true tanner that produces immediate results. I was a little nervous about how dark the self tanner would come out, but I was really pleased with the results. I used Tanwise dark bronzing sunless mousse as recommended on the blog Maskcara, as well as the Tanwise self-tanning face gel. (Apparently Sally Beauty is having a buy 1 get 1 free right now on the Bronzing sunless mousse!) In a few places I even felt like the color could have been darker! On the face I actually applied two coats of the face gel, and then two more coats the next morning to get the color I wanted. Overall I am really happy with the results. The color does not make me look orange, and is actually quite a natural-looking tan. As a first-timer I messed up on a few things (like ending up with reallllly dark elbows and orange hands) which I will now know how to avoid for next time. I followed Cara's advice from these two blog posts on self tanning 1/2 to make sure I knew as much about it as possible before I began! I am so happy with the color and I definitely feel better about baring my legs with a little tan! Not to mention that I feel much less pasty-white all over. Having a little tan makes me feel so much more prepared to say goodbye to winter and take on spring and summer fashion.

Before applying, and after the tanner had developed overnight

When reading about techniques for applying tanner, many folks say that it is fine to apply with bare hands as long as you wash them thoroughly with baking soda afterwards. Well, let me just tell you that did NOT work for me!! I washed with baking soda after applying the tanner to my body and again after applying to my face, and all seemed well. My palms were a touch darker than usual but nothing dramatic so I thought I was fine. OH NO. Just wait a few hours until the tanner starts to set in and my hands were orange. Dark, dark orange. Frantically I googled methods to remove self tanner, and I tried several of the sworn-by options but nothing seemed to work. After trying baking soda, whitening toothpaste, even Windex, I went out and bought a lemon to try the baking soda and lemon juice method. This technique worked the best-- I scrubbed and scrubbed with the mixture and a damp washcloth for about 20 minutes and the color definitely lessened, but it was still embarrassingly noticeable. Well, lesson learned! I will be using the gloves I ordered next time for sure! And if nothing else, so much scrubbing left my hands silky smooth!

What do you think of the results? Do you use any self tanners?

Before (The Perfect White Jacket), and after (Flared Floral)

xoxo, CC