Beauty Basics ::: Perfect Summer Glow

I heard you liked my first beauty post, so this week I am on to the next important beauty topic. {sorry to any men reading this blog, recipes are here to stay…promise!}

Maintaining a great tan + glow without ruining your skin, getting wrinkles, and potentially even skin cancer. Ten years ago I would have handed you a bottle of baby oil or Australian Gold “no SPF” tanning lotion and sent you to the beach.

With a few scares of skin cancer in my family and many years of sun overexposure from growing up on the beach in Florida, I’ve retired that mentality and adapted to a “mostly fake bake” lifestyle. {We have a pool at our apartment and yes I still lay out “sometimes”}

If done right, this approach shouldn’t send you out with that Jersey Shore orange shade and it will be just enough  color to make you feel healthy and bronzed.

1. EXFOLIATE – I believe any product works here as long as you do actually exfoliate and the product is not oil based. I recently purchased this one:

 

Bliss Super Slough Scrub

2. TAN – I love love love  St. Tropez. It is rich  enough for a real tan, but dark enough so it is not at all orange. Be careful with your hands though. I use a pumice stone to scrub the mousse off my hands after, but gloves might be a good idea. 

St. Tropez Tanning {Exfoliator, Tanning Mousse, Lotion, hand mit}

AT home: This set above covers it “All in One” and is only $25 dollars more than the tanning mousse itself, might be worth it but I have not tried the set. 

 

Professional: In LA I used to go to Mind Body Manhattan for Chocolate Sun for spray tans. All organic and a tan great color, they customize it for you and it smells great. In Miami, I have been to Forever Tan. It works, but I prefer the St. Tropez at home method for the true tan color. 

 

3. BRONZE – It doesn’t stop there. Using a good bronzer will help you with the glow side of the tan and will accentuate your now tanned body. 

 

Use CHANEL Soleil Tan Sheer Illuminating Fluid mixed with foundation, the Guerlain bronzing compact, and then for a super glow factor use the NARS The Multiple in Copacabana and South Beach. 

 

 

CHANEL Soleil Tan Sheer Illuminating Fluid

Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer in #03

Copacabana (white highlighter, brightens)

 

South beach (pinkish bronze highlighter, bring out the tan)

 

4. EXTEND – I am a lotion FREAK so this is an obvious one for me. Right now I like Eucerin, but any drug store lotion with SPF will do. You’ve already spent your beauty bank for the month on the above products above right?

 

 

Eucerin Everyday protection SPF 15 

 

 So, what’s your go-to tanning product?

 

Have you tried any of these before?

 

I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

 

::: keelymarie :::