Click through for details on what I love about my May 2018 Favorites.
This is a legacy post that was given a facelift. Here’s why: With a gift card, I recently purchased a facial sunless tanning serum that I can mix in with my normal moisturizer (yes, it is awesome, yes more is coming on that). While researching which one to purchase, I came across a few rather acrimonious reviews on one such product (not the one I purchased). The reviewers were somewhat-justifiably upset because the product claimed to be free of smells. Well, sure – the product is fragrance free. That doesn’t mean it won’t cause a smell, however.
It really blows my mind that SO MANY people, including self-described self-tan aficionados, have no idea what actually causes the telltale sunless tanner smell.
I’ve talked about sunless tanners (my favorite is Million Dollar Tan) quite a bit before. Many posts mention, but do not focus on sunless tanner smell, however; the occasionally annoying odor that follow sunless tanning product usage. It isn’t limited to lotions: spray tans and even tanning bed (boo, do not use these) products are affected.
There are three kinds of sunless tanners. Some products only temporarily deposit color that is washed away in 1-3 showers. Other products are intended to develop color over time; in those, the main, active ingredient in sunless tanners is DHA (dihydroxyacetone). The third type does a bit of both.
When applied, DHA prompts your skin to produce melanin. Melanin is what gives our skin its color; people with darker skin tones naturally have more of it regardless of sun or DHA exposure. For lighter skin tones, stimulating melanin production causes us to appear tan.
April 2018 FavoritesThanks for bearing with me through technical and scheduling difficulties that delayed the April 2018 Favorites from its usual posting slot. Details on them, including two reappearances, after the jump.
I had a hell of a time with my image editing software this month and simply couldn’t create a cutesy, pin-worthy (ha, right) graphic this month. My July 2017 Favorites have images in line with the text itself.
Ocean Potion Everglow had been on my sunless tanning radar for years. It had, in fact, occupied a space on my drugstore.com list for quite some time (before drugstore.com became defunct; RIP). Somehow, though, I always found something more interesting to try that stepped in line ahead of it. It wasn’t until after drugstore.com shuttered, however, that I decided to pick it up from my local Wal-Mart earlier this year.
Because Ocean Potion Everglow does not deposit color and uses DHA to stimulate melanin production, this isn’t an instant gratification product. Unlike other self-tanners that are DHA-only, too, this is, like the title suggests, a gradual sunless tanner. You don’t apply and have noticeable color in 6-8 hours. You will develop subtle color after a few days. For me, it took about 4-5 days of daily use to notice a difference. When I did, I found the difference to be good – my tan looked natural. Not orange, not streaky.
Since this is a gradual tanner, I skip the tanning mitt when I apply. After using my normal body lotion as a barrier on my feet, knees, and elbows, I apply it like any other lotion. After application, I wash my hands thoroughly – and that’s about it. A slow-to-develop product like this requires less precision and attention to application detail. I never noticed any awkward streaks or splotches.
The Jergens Natural Glow line started out years ago with a couple lotions. Since then, they have expanded to having several lotions including ones containing SPF, a mousse, and some closer-to-instant-gratification options.
I have tried the Jergens Natural Glow Firming and the Revitalizing lines of lotions. Without having any color (natural or artificial), I’m approximately an NC20 (plus or minus a shade I suppose) – but because I take color pretty evenly, I skipped their Fair-to-Medium products and went straight from Medium-To-Tan.