I blame it on Barbie. I was a perfectly normal white girl until the early 1970s. And then she changed everything. That bitch.
Malibu Barbie circa 1971 was brown. Golden brown. With cobalt eyes, a tiny waist, and straw-straight bleached blond hair. Her unnatural yet tantalizing tan plastic skin made a permanent beauty mark on my mushy little brain. To this day, if I need a boost of confidence, I must be brown (and have my highlights touched up of course). Mal. B. would be proud had she not morphed into the Botox-battered 2009 model.
Yet at my age, you don't go peeling off your duds and skipping around unprotected in broad daylight. You slather on the sunscreen and pray to the anti-wrinkle, anti-carcinogen gods that you haven't missed a spot.
Oh, and have you heard that tanning beds are bad for you? D'oh.
So how's a girl with a serious Malibu Barbie complex supposed to get her tan on? A bottle. Of course. To fill my deep-seated need to hide behind a layer of bronzed skin, I go for the tan in a bottle. I've tried practically all of them. Even QT Tanning Lotion (it sucked but was a good start).
Ladies and gentlemen (drum roll, please), announcing the best tans in a bottle. Because of the endless choices, I've broken them down into types to make it easier for you to find the one that matches your Barbie persona.
For the newbie: Go for the build-up tan. You'll make mistakes along the way, and the gradual self-tanners are forgiving and streakless. Because it doubles as a decent skin moisturizer, I like Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer (about $8). Apply it daily, and you'll see a light tan develop in about three days.
For the instant gratification lover: Get one with a built-in bronzer. The bronzer helps you with application and you'll get the immediate satisfaction of a touch of color. On the affordable end, I like L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Lotion in Deep Natural Tan (about $10). You'll get an instant pretty glow, while the sunless tanner works to produce a natural hue. On the higher end, I like Fake Bake Self-Tanning Lotion ($24). This deeply hued product works fast and comes with application gloves — use them or you'll have brown palms!
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1 - Self Tanning Queen
For an amazing paraben free tanner, try Summer Glow from Antidote Skin Care. It smells lovely all with out the yucky raw chicken and biscuit smell that other self-tanners can have!
Happy Glowing!
Self Tanning Queen