This stuff is my answer to being so pasty, I could try-out as an extra in the next Twilight movie- Fake Bake – Self Tanning Airbrush Spray - LOVE it! For the first time ever, I bought a self-tanner that does what it says it will do. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it’s $30- kinda pricey you say, for a self-tanner (the Husband would think so too, which is why I told him it was only $10, so shhhh). Just consider what you would pay for an airbrush tan at a salon, or even a Mystic tan- and then keep in mind, that you would get at least three applications out of one can, and voila! Rationalization at it’s best right there!

Fake Bake is the first sunless tanner that I have used that gave me golden, even coverage on my first attempt. In addition, it didn’t have that yucky chemical smell that we all know is the chemicals reacting with your skin to produce the color, but it always reminds me of cat pee- gross. So, to find a tanner that has a pleasant smell and maintains a pleasant smell is surely a bonus! Also, the Fake Bake has a nice “instant” tan as you spray it on, which really helps to guide you while applying the product.

First thing you want to do before applying any self tanner, is shower, and exfolliate. Every different brand says that you should use their exfolliant first- in my experience, as long as you are exfoliating with something that is oil-free, and doesn’t leave a residue that will inhibit the sunless tanner, you’re golden, well, at least getting there! With a spray formula, such as Fake Bake, you will want to apply the tanner in your shower- not while the water’s running, or you’ll get streaks. But, definitely within the shower, or else you will end up sunless tanning everything in your bathroom- not a fun mess to clean up, I assure you! Spray in long, even strokes over your body, then rub in any “blotches”. For your back- a little trick I learned is to spray all that you can reach, then for the middle part that most of us can’t reach, bend at the waist like a tabletop, spray the tanner into the air above your back, then hold still, and it should fall pretty evenly onto your back. Or, you can ask someone to spray your back for you, always a novel idea!

Once you’re all laquered up, give yourself 15 minutes before getting dressed, wash your hands and soles of your feet with soap and water, so you don’t get orange Oompa Loompa stains on them. And, lastly, this will sound funny, but blow your nose. All of the little tanning particles from the spray will collect, and if you don’t heed my advice, you will get to wherever you’re going, and have brown nostrils, and people will point and laugh, and you will say, “I should have listened to Kristin’s advice!” Then I will point and laugh and say “I told you so”! Because that’s what friends are for.