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.

Dior Summer Collection

Ever think you were born in the wrong place? I have that feeling daily. I'm from Maine, where the girls don't really wear makeup let alone obsess over it like I do. I mean we just got a Sephora last year, ditto for Ulta, and neither of them are close to me. I think I'm the only one who even knows what Sephora is in my circle of friends. I love my friends to death but one doesn't wear makeup unless physically forced and the another, well she's just so damn gorgeous she doesn't need to even though she's a master at application.

Well, that feeling has struck again, only this time it's been pushed into my conscious by the lovely Dior Electric Tropics Collection. It's so me that it's ridiculous even though I've never even touched a Dior makeup product (or clothing/shoe product for that matter, what is wrong with me?). I mean, Nude Summer Glow in Aurora, is pretty much the perfect bronzer for me, Casper the Albino Ghost, my self appointed nickname for the past two summers, since I decided to embrace the pale for the most part. That doesn't mean I don't want a little bit of healthy glow on my face but I refuse to let the sun do it for me, it does a pretty crappy job if you ask me. Freckles and redness do not a pretty girl make!


As if that gorgeous bronzer wasn't enough I'm oddly fascinated by the Nude Glow Healthy Summer Fluid. Basically, if I understand this correctly, it's a fluid that mimics the look of perfect skin. It comes in two shades, Rosy Nude and Rosy Tan, and Rosy Nude is calling my name like french fries to a fat kid. I'm dying to rub this on the high points of my face, on my collarbone, heck even in my cleavage for outside of the office fun.

Lastly, I don't think any makeup collection is complete without at least a gloss from every line that interests you and I think I found my Dior lemming; Addict Summer Glow in Sweet Peach. Even the name sounds delicious, the sheer peach shade would work on all skin colors and undertones and adds the perfect amount of color to a summer makeup look.

What do you think? Is Dior makeup worth the money? Is it as gorgeous in person as it is online? Let me know in the comments!

Physician's Formula Cashmere Wear Bronzer

You know it's summer when I actually find myself wanting to wear bronzer. See, being on the fairest end of the spectrum, I'm hard pressed to find a bronzer that is actually light enough for my skin and that gives me a believable bronze. Physician's Formula Cashmere Wear Bronzer looks pretty promising though with it's light finish and pure cashmere extract in the formula. Seriously, that's pretty cool. Don't ask me what it does but it sounds fun doesn't it?

The website claims that this $14 bronzer will leave your skin feeling soft and nourished and come on, the cableknit print is adorable. Honestly, I would think they'd save something so cute for a product more associated with the colder, sweater wearing seasons but oh well. This bronzer is a mix of pearly bronze and gold so it will leave you with a shimmery finish, a look I prefer anyway. On me matte bronzers can sometimes read dirty and who wants that?

The best part about this product (besides the amazing price point that is) is that it's available in both bronze and light bronze so you can customize your level of tan. It's also hypo-allergenic, fragrance free and oil free/non-comedogenic.

My favorite way to wear bronzer is spread lightly across my entire face with a pop of peach or bright pink blush on the apples of my cheeks. It's the perfect compliment for beachy hair and bright eyes or lips.

Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer

By now you all know just how pale I am, so pale in fact that most foundations don't come in shades light enough for my complexion. It's a pretty big bummer but I've learned to embrace it. I haven't really gotten into bronzer but I'm pretty ready to go in that direction this summer after hearing so many wonderful things about Guerlain's Terracotta Bronzer. I'm in no way advocating the nearly $50 price tag but for someone who needs a very light application, not to mention a flawless, perfectly non-orange shade it might just be worth a try.

Available in seven shades there is one that is guaranteeded to work with your skintone and undertones. Infused with moisturizing ingredients it practicaly screams out to to my super dry face. Best of all, this bronzer is not going to leave you looking like a carrot or an Ooompa Loompa, not a pretty look, no matter your age or celebrity status. It's scared me off bronzers in the past, that and overly shimmery or too matte shades. This is the perfect slightly shimmery look that just glows in the sun, exactly what I'm going for.

My face is practically drooling right now. Anyway, I've got a few months to think it over, play around with testers and make a final decision before summer rolls around. We are not skipping spring here and going straight to summer, no way. It's unacceptable considering that means we have to skip my birthday and all the fun activities that spring brings.

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.