Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads and Hourglass Solar Tan Self-Tanning Primer

Over the past couple of weeks it's been tradition to talk about self tanners on Sunday, I could call it Self Tanner Sunday! Today I have two really innovative products that I would definitely love to give a try.

First up is Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads. Has everyone tried Alpha Beta Peels by Dr. Dennis Gross? OMG they are seriously the most amazing thing to happen to skin in a long time. You swipe one pad over your face to exfoliate chemically and another to neutralize the solution and prevent irritation. Your face is left feeling baby bottom soft and with the Glow version you're left with a self tan. Sounds amazing to me. Skincare + a nice SAFE tan, what more could you ask for. I do find these to be exorbitantly priced at $32/20 but there is also an $18 pack of ten now available and they definitely do make your skin feel amazing.

The second product is one that I find COMPLETELY genius. You probably know how much of a fan of makeup primers I am, I completely love them. Though I mainly use them for special occasions where I need my makeup to last all day, they are perfect for the summer. They keep foundation in place and prevent your face from melting off in the sweltering heat.

Hourglass somehow found a way to make primers even better with Solar Tan Self-Tan Primer. This $60 primer is expensive as hell but it acts as a self tanner for the face. I know good self tanners are hard to come by, especially for delicate facial skin. You can't go too dark too quickly and you can't have anything that is going to clog the pores or make you break out. I think Hourglass is onto something with this one. If you work somewhere that requires you to deal with the public and you're working long hours you should probably wear a primer to begin with so why not add a little color to your face throughout your workday? It promises to leave your face moisturized with glycerin and vitamins A & E. What more could you ask for? Plus, it does it all with less odor than typical self tanners.

Jergen's Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer & L'Oreal Sublime Bronze One Day Tint

Every weekend we talk about how to protect yourself from the sun but what if you want a little color? Personally I've decided to embrace the pale, frankly, no matter what I do I can't get any color on my legs and the rest of my body just freckles. I'm just as prone to bouts of wanting color as the rest of you. No matter your ethnicity it's pretty rare to find a woman (and lots of men) who don't want a little more color this time of year. I'm going to talk about two products that can help you get color the responsible way.


First up is Jergen's Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer. OMG do I love foam. There are pictures of me as a child playing with foaming soap in the bathtub, probably a dozen or so from different occasions. I still have that fascination! This product is fun and the foam is easier to spread than a lotion or gel and has a quicker dry time than other self tanner formulas. I've used Jergen's Natural Glow products with moderate success. I'm such a klutz that I can't do self-tanner without screwing it up somehow either with missed spots or stripes of excess color. Since I'm so pale many self tanners leave me orange so gradual tanners are the way to go. You build up color naturally so that you don't go from zero to Oompa Loompa in 3 hours flat, perfect for those chicas who want to fool their friends.


If you're even more pressed for time, or are an uber-klutz like me, I can't recommend L'Oreal Sublime Bronze One Day Tint enough! I previously review this product here but I love it so much I figured it was worth mentioning again. This stuff is like a miracle in a bottle for pale girls like me. It's subtle but noticeable and so easy to use once you learn the tricks. I recommend wearing gloves because this stuff sets fast and will most likely stain your palms without them. I like to add a layer of lotion to both legs and then apply a little bit of this product on top with the lotion still wet. This way it blends into legs better than it would on dry skin (trust me!) and you can easily rub in until absorbed. Voila, your legs will look lovely. Sometimes I like to add a little shimmer on top and a stripe down the center of legs is said to give the illusion that they are smaller for whatever it's worth. This product is great for any part of the body except the face but I mostly use it on my legs because they're so pale!

The best part about both of these products is that they are so inexpensive and easy to find at most mass-market stores like Walmart and Target as well as drugstores.

Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes

To go along with today's earlier post I've decided to tackle a problem that most of us have in the summer, self tanning. I'm the person who's decided to live with the pale for the most part, only using body bronzer when needed, like last weekend's family get together or any other occasion that calls for dressing up.

What if I told you that you could use self tanner but not smell like the chemicals that come along with it? One of my biggest complaints with self tanner is the awful smell. It's not just disgusting, it's unbearable, I can't do it. That's seriously one of the reasons I don't self tan, that and because I'm so pale, I always turn orange no matter how light of an application I use. Then there's the klutz-ometer and I'm a huge klutz. I always end up with streaks no matter how much time I take, so I quit. I refuse!

Then I saw these and seriously considered changing my mind. Kate Somerville is a well-known facialist and skincare guru and her ExfoliKate has a cult following although it's not for me. Her 360 Tanning Towelettes bring convenience to a whole new level. Swipe one of your body and you'll find that they develop into a great tan in just a few hours while I've heard not leaving you smelling like you just used a self tanner. InStyle magazine even says you'll smell like citrus and we'd all love that in the summer. Am I right?

My only question about these pricey wipes is really, is one of these going to cover my whole body? I'm a big girl only these are expensive. I'm dying to know how other people like these towelettes. If you pick them up (they're $10/2 or $38/8 at Sephora) you have to let me know how you like them!

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze

It's that time of year again. No, not beach season, shorts weather or even picnics in the park, but time to start thinking about that tan. By now all of you know that laying out in the sun unprotected, and God forbid subjecting yourself to a tanning bed, is a no-no. More than a no-no, it's an absolute catastrophe. Why do that to yourself, set your body up for skin cancer or even just sunspots and wrinkles? It's not worth it. Step away from the baby oil and no one has to get hurt. But what to do if you're not blessed with naturally golden skin? Fake bake it I tell ya! L'Oreal Sublime Bronze comes to your rescue with a multitude of formulas for every need.

For those tan-aphobic, worried-about-streaks girls like myself, or those of us who are just so ghostly pale that any color is visible color, there's L'Oreal Sublime Bronze One Day Tinted Gel. I tried this out last summer and fell in love, here's my tricks of the trade. Right after a shower works best but it's not necessary, apply body lotion even if you're not a lotion girl. I rarely use lotion but I swear it's a crucial part of this process. Then, while the lotion is still tacky apply a thin coat of the bronzer on top and wash those paws immediately. I'd even go so far as to recommend wearing gloves to apply or you will be left with bright orange mitts. It's that easy. At the end of the day wash it off with soap and water, you can even reapply at the beach when you put on a fresh coat of SPF 100. You're doing that, right? The color is believable and coverage is easily buildable for reach-your-peak-color.

Not a tan-aphobic, L'Oreal's got you covered too. Sublime Bronze comes in an aerosol mist, gel and lotion. My personal preference is the gel just because it feels better on the skin but the mist is undeniably convenient for covering those hard to reach areas. I'm about as pale as they come and L'Oreal Sublime Bronze gives me the closest to natural tan I'm going to get on my skintone although it's not absolutely flawless. If you're a newbie I highly recommend starting early and practicing some patience. Take it for a spin now while you can still cover up your legs in pants if things go horribly wrong and you end up dreaming about zebra-like stripes like my BFF.