I was completely gypped when I was born. I inherited- from someone? somewhere? - super fair skin. I have that type of skin that is usually called porcelain. I should have blue eyes and pale blond hair. Red hair would make people automatically assume my last name begins with Mc or O' (it doesn't). I should be explaining my heritage as Nordic,- that would make sense. If my skin were a bit more rosy, I'd be referred to as "peaches and cream" but instead I just have a saucer of milk. No one else in my family gets a sunburn when they go out to get the mail, but I do. No, I'm not kidding.
I've always wanted to be bronzed and gloriously (safely) tan, and I recently had my chance to try it.
"Jen gets a tan". That's what I wanted to call this post, but that would be exaggerating a bit. At least it wasn't "Jen turns orange". I got to try touch of bronze moisturizing body lotion from Clinique (a self-tanner) recently and I want you to know about it.
Keep reading to see how it went...
OK, I do want to admit that I don't really mind my fair skin- I kind of like it, actually. It works for Nicole Kidman, right? So who am I to argue....
Besides, I look younger than I am, or so I'm told, and that's a great benefit of staying out of the sun!
And after all, it's due to the wear and tear on the skin that we stay out of the sun. Am I right, or am I right? So what that leads to is a market chock-a-block with products that fake a tan. Sadly, most of those make me look orange, even those that don't make other folks look orange. I can't even wear a daggone powder bronzer without looking like Ernie.
So when Clinique sent me touch of bronze moisturizing body lotion, I was skeptical. Hell, I was actually dreading it! You see, if someone sends me something, I feel compelled to review it, and I really dislike "fake tan products". I decided to swallow my distaste and jump into the fray, figuring maybe things have improved since my last Cheeto experience.
touch of bronze moisturizing body lotion is a moisturizing lotion with a low-level self tanner called DHA that enables you to slowly build color until you're pleased with the level of tan. It's great for all skin types (though fairer skins will get better results than darker folk) and soothes while you tan. You are supposed to see color in 24 hours and then the "glow" will build over the next 4 days. After a week you're at maximum tanness.
I decided to try this product on my leg. No, that's not a typo - I only tried it on one leg, 'cause I wanted to be able to easily compare and see what the results were. I was careful to wash my hands after using it, because even though this is light and gradual, I didn't want weird orange hands.
The lotion is, indeed, lightweight. It sunk in quickly and didn't stain my clothes (thank god, because I decided to trust the packaging and didn't stand around naked for 1/2 an hour before putting on pants!). Oh, it didn't stink, either, which all of the other products of this ilk seemed to.
After one day, I noticed absolutely nothing. Well, maybe that leg was softer than the other, 'cause I forgot lotion on it! Day 2, and I saw no change at all. Day 3, again - no change. I was starting to think I was doing it wrong. Oh, before you ask - I wasn't shaving my legs during the test, because I didn't want to exfoliate it right off.
Day 4 - BAM! There's the color. It was subtle and warm, but not orange. Well, there was a bit of orange on a scar I had, and a bit on a dry spot on my ankle, but the overall effect was not orange. Over the next two days the color deepened a bit, but never went fake-y. I was pretty pleased!
And then I stopped, because I realized I don't really want a tan. :) I gave the package to my friend, and she's quite glowy and tan and very, very happy with it.
touch of bronze moisturizing body lotion is on-counter now and retails for $18.50 USD. Since it's Clinique, we know it's allergy-tested and 100% Fragrance Free.
