I love being tan. I feel more attractive and it blends my imperfections. Unfortunately, I've used up all my Nature's Gate Glow Lotion, read the review here. This year I tried something new- spray tanning. In March, before going to Mexico, I got my first air brushed spray tan. It was at a plain joe tanning salon, nothing special. They gave me one-size-fits-all disposable underwear, which were hilarious and also hard to keep even on my bum. I wore pasties because apparently I am scared of people seeing my nipples. And I didn't want my nipples to be tan or orange. But, then I had a flower tanned onto my boob ha ha 🌼. The place I went to let me choose how dark or light I wanted my tan to be. I chose it to just give me a natural looking glow. I thought the color turned out good but I did notice a subtle orange tint to it. I learned a few things from getting that first tan: 1) you can't shower 🛀for 24 hours, so take a nice long shower a few hours before, 2) exfoliate and shave everything, you won't want to scrape off your tan a few days later with your razor, 3) use that buffer lotion excessively on your knees, feet/toes (get the bottoms too!!), ankles, elbows, eczema patches, and wrist areas. You will turn orange in these areas. I learned a few things about myself too. Like I hate having stinky, sticky spray tan on my skin and not being able to shower for 24 hours... That was like a death sentence to me 👃🏽. I did wash my face before bed because I could not stand it. I couldn't wait 24 hours to shower so I showered probably about 15 hours after and everything turned out fine for me. I turned very orange in all the areas I told you to use the buffer lotion above (I suggest you maybe wipe these areas off sooner than 24 hours or before your first shower). The bottom of my feet were the worst. I stopped using my Clarisonic and my retinoid for the first 5 days or so, which caused some skin issues but nothing I couldn't handle. Read my Clarisonic Mia review here. I also used lotion on my body, which I normally don't do (this is what the tanning lady suggested). My tan kept for about a week. It turned blotchy peely and weird and then it was easy to remove in the shower.. All in all my first spray tan experience was not too bad, but at the same time I wasn't sure if I would do it again.time to lay out at the pool everyday over the summer like I did in high school. My priorities right now are indoor based so my outdoor time is pretty minimal. I also don't want wrinkles and to possibly get skin cancer, which we all know excess sun can cause. I am also a huge advocate for women to accept their bodies for which they are, and my paleness is genetically who I am, and I don't want to change that. So, it's really a love hate relationship with tanning. I've used the self tanning lotions, and but I can't stand the sticky and stinky affect. Read my
Yesterday, I got my second spray tan at the cutest little spa in my college town. I can't get over how nice that place is... way too high class (in a good way) for the town I got to school in. Anyways, they offered organic spray tanning so I booked my appointment for the day before I was leaving for Florida 🌴👙. As I mentioned above, you cannot shower for 24 hours and I got extremely uncomfortable. Yet again, this happened. So, ladies, plan this out with vacations, work, events, etc. I had to drive seven hours smelling like my skin was producing its own death scent 👃🏽. I would suggest getting a spray tan two days prior to events. As for the the actual experience this time, it was great. I used the buffer cream excessively. But, unfortunately that wasn't excessive enough. I still turned orange on my elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. And this lady even rolled over those spots with a sponge! Ok, so maybe that's sort of unavoidable. They offered awesome feet covers for the bottom of your feet so I am not orange there 😎.This time I went all "free the nipple" and decided to go topless. No regrets but my nipples are the same color as my body which looks strange. I also brought my own underwear, so now I have a nice semi-permanent whale tale on my ass 🐳. I don't know what to do about that situation because I really wouldn't suggest getting your lady bits spray tanned. Honestly, it would look weird once your hair grows out. So, I guess just deal with the weird tan lines for a week or two! If you ever get an organic spray tan, it will start out smelling like cotton candy. You will literally have to resist inhaling it as they spray it onto your body. They said that the organic kind smells better than the original... Then eventually they both smell the same stinky scent. This time the lady was really persistent on me washing my hands afterward. I am glad they're not orange but now I feel like they don't match the rest of my body. Not sure how to fix this problem either. I wore running tights which was probably the worst decision I've made because getting those things on afterwards was rough. It also caused the bronzer in the solution to shove itself into my freshly shaved leg pores causing it to look really odd. I was super uncomfortable and paranoid about it turning too orange afterwards and contemplated showering like an hour after I got home (lol, hello drama queen)😰. I washed my face 2x that night because it felt so terrible and gross, and I went about 15 hours again without showering. So far, over 24 hours later it hasn't faded. It may be slightly too dark of a color but doesn't look bad. My hands and some random patches on my body are paler than the rest. My eczema issues on my neck look like hickeys (the spray tan makes them turn deep brown). Although, it was nice to wake up this morning and not put any make up on and just feel less pale, I am not sure if I will be getting a spray tan again. It is just not worth feeling so uncomfortable!! So, if you're like me and can't stand even putting lotion on or you feel the need to shower at least once in 24 hours then I would suggest you think twice before getting a spray tan. I think I am going to use the Nature's Gate Glow Lotion prior to vacations instead of getting a spray tan. At least with that, it's the same affect but I can control where I put it. For now, I am going to just have to learn to embrace my paleness👩🏼! Let me know any tips you guys have found out about spray tanning, I could really use them😝.