50 Shades Of Orange

It is that time of year again: bikini season. Basically it is that time of the year where we all do some crazy diet and exercise plan that ends with us binge eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's on the couch watching Friday Bride Day on TLC. Now, while I don't have the perfect solution for that, I do have some solutions for the other problem with bikini season: paleness. I am Irish so, yeah, I know a thing or two about burning turning into a lobster. I am also 1/4 Italian so that does end up helping a bit, but tanning is a gradual process for me.
These past two summers I have been working all day so I don't have the luxury of laying out all day, every day. Plus, I cannot tan my face at all after a bad sunburn a couple of years ago. Seriously, my entire face peeled, it was horrific and now wear tinted moisturizer with SPF every day and wear a hat all day on the beach. Since I don't want to be pale and I really don't want resort to a tanning bed! I have tried spray tanning and I really liked it, but it gets expensive. So can you get tan without breaking the bank, hitting the bed, or laying out all day?

YES!

There are so many products out there today that are great ways to tan without damaging your skin or breaking the bank. Admittedly, I have not tried all of these, but I did my research and talked to people about what products they like. I reviewed a lotion, towelette, and spray on. I didn't include bronzers because I don't know them that well and I normally just go up a shade in my tinted moisturizer over the summer!

Jergen's Natural Glow: 

Price: $8.69

Quality of Tan: good; some people have natural coloring that favors this product

Speed of Tan: Slow

I love this product. Now, I have heard some people say it is too orange on their skin tone, but it works for mine. It takes a couple of days to show, but it has a natural sheen and goes on evenly with just a light application of the lotion. People comment on how tan I look and tend to be surprised when I say it came from a bottle! I just put it on after a shower in place of my normal lotion. It has about the same moisturizer as a normal lotion so it won't dry your skin out too much! There is both a light and dark skin tone tanner, as well as one made specifically for faces! Now keep in mind, this is not a heavy moisturizing lotion so don't treat it like one, it only takes a light coat to make an even tan.

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Towelettes:

Price: $9.29 (6 towelettes)

Quality of Tan: good; again some people have better natural coloring for certain products

Speed of Tan: Medium

I have heard so many great things about this product, so many that I am thinking of trying it for myself. While you will have a bit of an instant glow, you really need to do it a couple of times the first week to build a tan and then just once or twice a week to maintain it from there. These wipes have quicker results than the Jergen's, but the ultimate tan still takes longer. The only other thing about these is that they do not moisturize and sometimes dry skin out so make sure you have a good lotion to go with it.

Neutrogena MicroMist Airbrush Sunless Tan:

Price: $8.10

Quality of Tan: good color, especially for instant, but not very dark

Speed of Tan: Instant

Some days we just need an instant tan. Whether it is a hot date or a family barbecue a tan can increase our confidence and happiness with an outfit. This is the best instant tanner I have heard about. While it does have the typical tanner smell, the color is more natural than the standard bottle orange color. This product can streak a bit if you don't use it correctly, but it is very easy to correct! This spray on is cheap and you don't lose any of the quality by saving the money.
What are your favorite summer tan solutions?

xoxo,
SSP