All about the Sun(less)

Normally when you think of a blonde-haired blue-eyed child, you would go ahead and add dark skin to the situation. Not this child. I'm about as pale as a bottle of Crest toothpaste. Any color I have on my body is from a bottle! I went through the identity crisis of being so pale in high school and so I took it upon myself to work at a tanning salon so I could lay in the beds for free...whenever I wanted. As I was tempted to lay more than once a day. Yes, it was bad. I've fried my skin countless times in a bed and outside just trying to get an ounce of color on my skin. Boy how I wish I could go back and change that! I know my parents would freak out everytime I would go to the lake or beach with friends because they knew I would come back looking like a lobster...even if I really did use sunscreen...and then I would have mild panic attacks on the way home because I just knew how they were going to react. I got pretty used to hearing, "CHHRIIISSSSIIIIEEEEE.....", and "CHILD, SUNSCREEN!", and "OOMMGGG" along with the quenching of faces and awful facial expressions from anyone who saw me scorched. It was just always a bad day after being in the sun. And it still is but now, in my smarter more mature days, I lather sunscreen & always have some in my purse.

So, the point of this post? With summer coming and my Florida vacation in the near future, I'd rather save the people at the beach from being blinded by my white-ness and get a little color. So, I thought I would share some of my favorite products with you and how I use them!

On the daily after my shower, I use a body moisturizer with a "tint of color". I switch back and forth between the Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer in medium-tan *Firming (because well, who doesn't want that?) or Ocean Potion EverGlow. Both of these just help maintain a little bit of color in between the heavy duty sunless tanners. I prefer the look of the Jergen's but the smell of the Ocean Potion. The struggle, I know. I also use the Jergen's Natural Glow face moisturizer everyday (it has sunscreen in it so extra plus)

Jergen's Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer  $8.69 (for face & body) at Target or Walmart

Ocean Potion EverGlow Daily Moisturizer $3-4 at WalMart

About once a week I will break out the "bad boys". The ones that make me look like I've been on a tropical vacation (without the lobster effect...if you know what I mean!) These are my two favorites; The Sunlab Self Tanning Lotion (they have different shades) and for a cheaper alternative, Banana Boat's Self Tanning Lotion in Deep Dark Color. I tend to always get the *darker shades because they tend to look more "tan" and less "orange" on my skin, for whatever reason! Now, before using these, I will take a shower and exfoliate using whatever I have laying around. You can also make your own using a mixture of sugar (white or brown) and olive oil. There are all kinds of recipes online. Also, make sure to shave :) Now 95% of the time, I'll either do one of two things. I will either moisturize with whatever light body lotion I have, then apply the sunless tanner OR I'll mix half of the sunless tanner in with my regular lotion and apply it then. It tends to look more natural that way and always use latex gloves so it doesn't stain your hands. 

SUN LABORATORIES TAN OVERNIGHT SELFTANNING LOTION $29.95

Banana Boat Summer Color Self tanning lotion $6.99 Target

My husband laughs every time someone says, "You're looking tan". He thinks it's funny. I think it's smart ;-) So, ditch the bed and pick up the bottle!