I'm so desperate to be tan at all times that before I was ~comfortable~ with Rob, I literally spent over an hour spray tanning before I'd go hangout with him. Going out for the night? My roommate, Lauren, helped me spray tan literally every visible part of my body. I'm sorry, Lauren. That's right baby!! We're uncomfortable in, literally, our own pale skin over here!! I think I just overall look a lot better when I'm tan. I look more toned, my hair doesn't wash me out, it brings out my eyes - whatever, I like being tan. What I don't like is skin cancer. As I'm sure a lot of you know at this point, my mom had HORRIBLE skin cancer over the summer and the wounds from her surgery are still, almost a full year later, in the process of healing. The worst day of my life was when the doctors told us they were concerned it had metastasized and that they had found a spot on her liver (she's okay now! Thank God). My mom was always crazy about applying and reapplying sunscreen (I think my first "real" sunburn was when my dumb ass went tanning my freshman year of college), so her diagnosis was really shocking. My grandfather has had melanoma quite a few times, my mom had horrific skin cancer, and I am desperately trying to avoid it. I apply sunscreen everyday and as much as I love getting cute little freckles on my nose and laying out in the sun, I absolutely refuse to tan. I don't want the cancer, I don't want the wrinkles - my tan is coming from a can.
My tan in a can is not always great. Tan in a can rubs off on other people who didn't want their clothes and/or body to have tan in a can. My poor, poor white clothes. I just want nice white sheets I won't destroy after laying down on. In addition to the fact that it usually rubs off, I don't love the overwhelming smell, the inevitable streaks and dark spots, and the effect it has on my skin. Usually fake tan gets in my pores and creates what looks like blackheads or leaves me with a rash or a breakout - not great. When I say I have tried everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I took a break from spray tanning over the winter just to let my skin heal a bit, so by the time shorts season kicked into gear a few weeks ago I was desperate to get some color. I had done some research and found a company called Tan-Luxe that had great reviews and seemed really easy/clean to apply. The "tan" comes in a bottle with a dropper that you use to mix 2 - 6 drops into your normal moisturizer (per body part) and will gradually darken over 12 hours. The reviews seemed to all mention that it didn't smell horrible, didn't streak, and was a very natural looking glow that you could build upon. I loved the idea that I didn't have to let it rest and then shower it off (I'll still probably do that with my beloved St. Tropez every once in awhile over the summer when I want a really deep tan) & that it lasts up to a week (and, again, its buildable). It's a little on the pricier side, but I figured for the money I spend now on tan in a can, professional spray tans, and bronzers etc etc, this would be a worthwhile investment. Getting a natural looking tan that isn't going to destroy my skin or rub off on my loved ones? Fukkkk ya.
I purchased Tan-Luxe's "The Body" Illuminating Self Tan Drops in medium to dark at Sephora about two weeks ago and I'm obsessed with it. I used 4-6 drops per body part (more drops for larger areas) mixed in with my normal moisturizer (and mixed in with my Brazilian Bum Bum Cream on my butt/thighs - idc if I'm being crazy, it works and I will attest to that forever) and had a light glow within about 2 hours. The tan deepened throughout the day, I barely smelt like fake tan, and it was SO smooth. I didn't look spray tanned! I looked actually, real-life, maybe goes outside sometimes and isn't scared of the sun, tan. I did get a little bit between my fingers (nothing compared to usual) so I would recommend using a tanning mitt to apply it, but aside from that I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about it. It isn't a drastic tan, but its noticeable and you can build on it as much as you want. Make sure you exfoliate your skin before applying and make sure your skin is dry, it's a miracle worker. I wore a white top the day I applied the tan and a white dress that night & it didn't transfer AT ALL. I lovelovelovelovelove it.
I don't use my self tan drops on my face as I am psycho about skin care (I know there is a separate face formula from Tan-Luxe if you're interested) and have been using/absolutely loving my Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads lately. The glow pads are used in a circular motion all over your face and neck & overnight will develop a beautiful, not-at-all-spoltchy, glowing tan. They have a very mild scent that I found disappears with time & leaves me looking airbrushed. I will 100% use it all summer (maybe with a bb cream) instead of my usual insane bronzers. You won't need to apply it more than twice a week (unless you're exfoliating a lot or doing a facial peel and want to deepen the shade) & it takes literally 30 seconds to apply. I was scared at first because it doesn't show up when you're applying it, but it blended perfectly!
One thing I thought I would miss from my tan in a can was the little bits of shimmer it gives me. I'd have to buff it out sometimes if too much came out or use a bronzer if there wasn't enough, but I always liked that it glistened a little. Obviously it didn't look "natural," but I think its cute. The second Fenty's Body Lava came out, I swooooooore I was going to buy it. Then I saw the price. And that it was sold out. And that I could probably just make the same thing by mixing essential oils with crushed up drugstore highlighter. It wasn't happening. I love Rihanna, I love Fenty, but I wasn't about to spend $60+ for a product I could DIY for $10 and wasn't getting any crazy good reviews. However, I'm a huge fan of Sol de Janeiro, so when they came out with a similar product, I at least wanted to rub it on myself. The time period between rubbing it on my arm and standing in line with it at checkout was about 30 seconds. The Glow Oil smells so good. So good that my Uber driver had me write down the name and where I bought it on a napkin for her. It's not overwhelming, just really, really good. It's a glistening, subtle glow in normal lighting, but in the sun/bright lights it's insane. I felt like Kate Upton on the cover of Sports Illustrated. I felt like Rihanna and I wasn't even wearing her product. I was so shiny, every inch of me looked like my skin was made of sunlight. Unreal. I painted it on with a brush, definitely need to get a larger brush, but it worked for the time being. I wouldn't recommend putting it on in large amounts without a glove or a brush because it stays really well and your hands are going to be very, very sparkly. It's less expensive than Body Lava & personally I think it smells a lot better. You need very little to cover your whole body and I 10/10 recommend you get it now, as its a limited edition product that I'm desperately hoping they keep restocking.
I wore all 3 of these products while wearing a white body con dress and my dress didn't get stained!! There was a small amount of glitter on the inside, but nothing transferred or stained the dress whatsoever. Such a miracle that I had to share it with you all. Keep your skin safe this summer! Wear sunscreen and a hat!! Reapply your sunscreen! Wear sunglasses! When you're 45 and the only one of your friends that doesn't have wrinkles or dark spots, you'll thank me. My dermatologist once told me that any tan/pigmentation on your skin from sun exposure is considered damage & can do harm to your body both internally and externally. You don't have to get sunburned for it to damage you! Even if you naturally get really dark during the summer, please throw some sunscreen on! Better to be safe than to have a tumor the size of a tennis ball (YA, A TENNIS BALL) removed from your shoulder. And another one from your forehead. And another one under your eye. Or the 26 my Grampa got removed from his face. Please wear sunscreen.
Be safe out there, glitter in the sun, wear your fake tan with white all summer, and thank the good Lord that we're not in the generation that used to put baby oil on their skin to go tanning. If anyone ends up making a homemade body lava, let me know how it works! We are sparkly & taking care of our skin all summer '18.