Summer is here! Or was here. I know, I'm a little bit late to the posting party. Anyways, I seriously love the summer days. Coming from the beautiful, and incredibly hot island of Puerto Rico, I always get super excited when summer finally arrives. Sun, shorts, pool, having a BBQ on our deck, hot weather, you name it! I am all over summer. Another thing that many of us associate with summer is beautiful, sun kissed skin......***OK LETS STOP RIGHT HERE FOR A SECOND!!! Oh yeah, even though I come from Puerto Rico, land of the tanned, I was not blessed with JLo skin. I was given a more fair complexion. Okay, more fair complexion is an understatement. I was cursed with whiter than white, five shades whiter than the palest Puerto Rican out there, closer to Irish pale, drown victim white, pale skin. 

Since the only safe tan out there is a sunless tan, I will be sharing with you my tricks and tips on how to apply sunless tanner when you are incredibly pale. If sunless tan is hard for normal fair skin, it is ten times harder for very pale, porcelain complexions. Every little mistake will stick out like a sore thumb. By no means this is a "get a perfect tan every time" kind of tricks. I still struggle with patches and streaks here and there (I think with how pale I am this will always happen) but at least it looks natural most of the time.

BEFORE

AFTER

THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU TAN

Before even pulling out the self-tanner bottle, there are a couple of things you should do to prevent your tan to develop uneven or patchy.

Exfoliate and shave. Self-tanner works by reacting with the dead skin cells of your body. If you want your self-tanner to apply smoothly and evenly, you need to remove any excess of dead skins before you apply it. Remember to always exfoliate BEFORE you shave, even if you are not self-tanning. Exfoliating before you shave helps remove dead cells from around your hairs, helping you get a smoother, closer shave. Also, if you exfoliate after you shave you will irritate your skin, not to mention it will hurt if you have any little cuts from shaving. I use Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub. It smells so good and it is very gritty. I get mine at Target. 

Dry off completely. If you are still wet when you start applying your self-tanner the water that is still in your skin will make your tan apply streaky. I usually stand in front of my fan for a couple of minutes, and if I washed my hair I wrap it in a towel until I am done. 

Apply non-oil based lotion to rough spots. Self-tanners will stick more to skin that is rougher and thicker like your ankles, toes, soles, knees, elbows, wrists, fingers and palms. If you have any other patches where you have rough skin like a scrape, a rash, breakouts etc, you should also apply lotion there. You do not need to apply heaps of lotion, a very thin layer is more than enough to do its job. Make sure your lotion is not oil-based, or it will cause streaks on your tan.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR A SMOOTH APPLICATION

Apply self-tanner in the morning. I know a lot of people that apply their self-tanner at night because the can go to bed and not smell the tanner. I get it, they do stink, but there is a bigger chance of ending up like a hot mess Oompa Loompa if you apply it at night. First, you can risk staining your sheets, and they will most certainly end up smelling like self-tanner. Also, you can end up with sheet marks on your self-tan, or remove some of the product if you are like me and toss and turn all night. The biggest advantage of tanning in the morning instead of at night is that during the day, while your tan develops, you can notice any mistakes and fix them right away. I ALWAYS have streaks on my feet and ankles, and I spot patches on my toes, feet and ankles during the day. I just apply a bit of self-tanner on the patch and move on. That spot will not develop as much as the rest of the body so it will look a lot more natural than doing it the next night and overdeveloping that little spot. 

Apply your self-tanner in a room with natural light. I cannot stress this enough, natural light is the best light to apply tanner. You will see more clearly where you are applying it. Artificial lighting, like the one on our bathroom tends to be yellow toned, and your sunless tan is also pretty yellow/orange tone. Artificial lighting will washout the color and you won't be able to see clearly if you are missing a spot. I always apply my tan in our bathroom with the lights off. I have a pretty big window on our bathroom and also a big skylight so it is very easy for me to see what I'm doing.

Apply your tan sitting down on a towel. I know this sounds crazy, but it works. If you are standing up you will try to rush things and end up missing spots or applying product unevenly. Plus, most of us are a bit more flexible sitting down than standing up. Take your time and apply everything properly.

Use a brush to apply your self-tanner. I have a big kabuki (123 Flat buffing) brush from BH Cosmetics that works GREAT for this. If you use a brush you will get a smoother application than using your hands or a mitt. If you use your hands, you will be left with orange hands, even if you wash them immediately after applying the tanner, and I feel like the mitt absorbs too much product and you really can't see where you are applying product. You might end up applying to much in one spot and too little on another. Use your brush in circular motions and work on sections. Once you have done your whole leg, then use that same brush with NO additional product and apply it to your toes and feet. Remember to apply it in between your toes and on your arch or you will end up with white soles and a clear line of tan vs non-tan skin.

Do not miss important spots that will betray you and scream "I have a fake tan on". Areas like your armpits, your soles, your hands, between your toes, between your fingers, behind your ears, your knuckles, all need to be tanned. Most people forget these areas and you can tell right away they have a fake tan when they do. Just think about it, when you lift your arms, are your armpits 5 shades lighter that your arm? The answer is no. You don't want to have brown arms and white armpits. Same with your knuckles, when you make a fist with your hand, your knuckles are the same color as your skin, so you have to tan them too. 

Let your tan dry off completely. You have to let your tan dry off or you will take it off when you apply clothes and will have clothing marks. If you are in a bit of a hurry, apply baby powder to areas that you know will sweat a bit like the bends of your elbows, armpits, neck, knees etc. This will prevent your tan from creasing in these areas. I always do this on a day I don't have much going on so I have time to dry off completely. Also, wear loose fitting clothes the whole day,

Shower before going to bed that day. If you don't do that your tan will keep developing a bit, so wash it off at night and you will have a beautiful tan.

TIPS FOR MAINTAINING YOUR TAN

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Tan reacts with dead skin cells so, if you don't keep your skin hydrated, the tanned skin cells will flake off and your tan will not last as long. 

Use a gradual self-tanner every other day. There are so many good gradual self-tanning lotions out there that work wonders and are pretty inexpensive. Use them every other day, to keep you tan looking fresh longer. I love to use Jergens Natural Glow firming Moisturizer. This is so natural looking, and it really doesn't smell like self-tanner which is great. I get mine also at Target.

That's it lovelies. These are my tips and tricks for sunless tanning. I hope it helps a bit. Until next time, stay gorgeous!


**Disclaimer - All items mentioned above were personally purchased and not sent to me for review. I will always note if a product is sponsored.