Estee Lauder Body Performance is certainly one of the higher-end gradual tanners tested this month, and I came in with very high expectations. I've always found Lauder products to be exceedingly well-formulated and on the mark.
Body Performance Golden Naturally Radiant Moisturizer delivers on all fronts but one: the smell. It has a light, pleasant floral scent, but something is lurking underneath. Something like...bugspray. For the life of me I can't figure this out. Fortunately the bugspray note dissipates ...
Last time we talked about the Lancome tanning mousse, which received a dismal rating of 17/30. I still can't figure out why Elle named it one of the top 5 self-tanners!?
Lancome Flash Bronzer Glow 'N Wear - a 2007 CEW Beauty Awards finalist -is a FAR superior product. It claims to be "Virtually Transfer Free," and guess what? It is!
Glow 'N Wear is a tinted gel, available in Shimmer Tan and Natural (no shimmer) formulas. The ...
OK. We've done gradual tanning lotions, tinted tanners, mousse tanners, and spray tans in the booth. Now it's time for the "airbrush" category.
Or, if you prefer, the "tan in a can."
Tan Airbrush In a Can was the first ModelCo product I tried; I've since become addicted to their other "in a can" offerings, like the moisturizer.
Tan in a Can (I know the word Airbrush is in there, but doesn't "Tan in a Can" sound so much better?) is ...
L'Oreal Sublime Glow Daily Moisturizer was another popular reader request for Fake Bake Month, and I was embarrassed to admit I hadn't tried it yet! I picked up a tube at CVS and got to work.
Overall, Sublime Glow has got to be one of the best gradual tanners on the market. It has a terrific texture that feels like a good body lotion instead of a sticky self tanner that never dries. It has the lightest touch of ...
Honestly, I wasn't aware that Bare Escentuals even made a self tanner, but after several reader requests to review it, I headed to Sephora to pick up a bottle.
Bare Escentuals Faux Tan isn't cheap - $22 for only 4.5 oz - but after testing it out I'm convinced it's worth the price. The texture of this tanner is similar to St. Tropez; it's a somewhat thin lotion that spreads easily and evenly. However, it does take a bit ...
Mystic Tan has become somewhat iconic over the years as a means of describing someone who glows as only an Oompa Loompa can; it's most closely associated with the likes of Jessica Simpson and Paris Hilton, who seem to relish overindulging in the fake bake.
I tried Mystic Tan a couple of years ago and my experience was laughable; not by any fault of the product or machinery, but as a direct result of my klutziness and inability to stop flailing ...
Flash Bronzer Tinted Self Tanning Moisturizing Mousse is one of Lancome's many - and varied - self tanner offerings. On the whole, the Lancome tanners are quite good; a few of them will be covered during May Fake Bake Month, starting with the mousse.
The Flash Bronzer mousse - housed in a can like mousse for your hair - has a lovely, creamy texture that allows for smooth, even application. It spreads quickly, doesn't "goop up" on your hands, and ...
St. Ives Healthy Brilliance Renew & Glow is one of the newer entries to the gradual self-tanner market (seems like every brand is coming out with one these days!).
I was initially skeptical of all the marketing gobbledygook and product claims ("age-defying anti-oxidant complex of grape seed, olive and green tea extracts that fights free radicals that damage skin at cellular levels and cause premature aging"...come on! Just say it's a tanner and be done with it!), but I actually ...
I first discovered St. Tropez tanner the summer of 2005, when I was in Greece for my friend M's wedding. After a summer of tanning, M had a patch of skin on her shoulder that peeled 2 days before the big day. I was fully expecting her to panic, but she just whipped out her bottle of St. Tropez and insisted she could match her natural tan and cover up the pale patch for the wedding.
I scoffed.
I was ...
I first discovered St. Tropez tanner the summer of 2005, when I was in Greece for my friend M's wedding. After a summer of tanning, M had a patch of skin on her shoulder that peeled 2 days before the big day. I was fully expecting her to panic, but she just whipped out her bottle of St. Tropez and insisted she could match her natural tan and cover up the pale patch for the wedding.
I scoffed.
I was ...
Each self tanner reviewed this month will be rated across four categories, on the following scale:
1 = very poor
2 = poor
3 = satisfactory
4 = very good
5 = excellent
And the categories:
- Scent, ranging from gag-inducing (1) to heavenly (5). DHA is so foul that I doubt any of them will score a 5, but we shall see!
- Color. Tanners that show up orange (or not at all) get poor ratings; those with good depth of natural-looking color get praise.
- Texture. ...
The sun is shining, the weather is warm, the beach beckons...and you're white as a sheet. But before you reach for that bottle of sweet tan salvation, some quick preparation is in order, lest you emerge looking more like a striped animal than a bronzed goddess. You'll need:
- non-oily body scrub
- a loofah
- a razor and a non-oily shaving aid
- plain body lotion (no tanner!)
The key to an even application of tanner is an even surface, ...
It's coming. And soon you won't be able to avoid it. Summer. Think sleeveless, strapless, skirts, shorts, bikinis. Is your faux tan arsenal ready? This is NOT the season to embrace the pale. OR to bake in the sun or tanning salon, setting yourself up for wrinkles and skin cancer. Go for the faux, baby!
I'm hoping to do a pre-summer self tanner review blitz, so I've taken stock of all the ones I've already tried ...
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