I have been self-tanning for 5 years, and I especially go ham with the tanner during the warm months. I usually opt for once a week, and it’s almost always on a Sunday evening to prep myself for the rest of the week. I feel like I need some sort of routine and schedule in place in order to keep doing the things around the house that I need to get done. Sundays are for relaxing, then self tanning. Monday is the day to get shiz done. Washing the bed sheets, the towels, the clothes, the grocery shop, the cleaning of the two bathrooms. That sort of thing. But I still create a list of what I need to do each day, because I love that satisfaction of scratching something off a to-do list. Who’s with me?
If you’ve watched my Snapchat last week, you would’ve seen me excitedly rip open a box of Rituals body products. I reached out to them in the first place, because I’ve heard great things about them — what I didn’t realize was that they also sell makeup. I lost one casualty there (a peachy blush, which looked SO pretty) but we’ll talk about the makeup in another post.
Prepping my skin for self-tanning is key for a flawless self-tan application.
- Hop in the shower and let the warm water soak into your skin for a few minutes
- Shave your legs and whatever else. Use a nice sharp razor for this! I don’t usually shave when I have my self tanner on for the week (because luckily my hair grows really slow. Side-note: I went to a spa last year and she suggested I didn’t do the leg/foot massage thing because the oils would irritate my freshly shaven skin. I was like: “Lady. I haven’t shaved in days!“)
- I like to double-team the exfoliator-game. I use a scrubby mitt along with a gritty body scrub as it works better with the mitt than just a regular body wash, then go to town all over your body. Not forgetting hands, toes, neck and under arms!
- After all that’s done, hope out of the shower and moisturize the most dry parts of your body. For me, that’s feet, knees, elbows and hands.
Rituals Sakura Body Scrub
It’s important to use a body scrub, as it helps prevent ingrown hairs, and really exfoliate any dead skin cells. I’m not sure if I forget what a sugar scrub acts like on my skin, but I’m pretty happy with the turn out after hopping out of the shower. I ended up exfoliating my skin before shaving, so you’d think the scrub would wash away and with the razor over my legs, it’d dry out. I love how soft and glowy my skin looks prior to self-tanning! It’s a gorgeous smelling product with scents of cherry blossom and organic rice (what?… I’m not sure what organic rice smells like) but I do love the scent and it’s not overpowering.
AHAVA rich body butter has the perfect amount of thickness. I always reach for a body butter when applying self-tanner since it doesn’t soak in as quickly as body lotion. That way the self-tanner almost acts as a gradual tanner and doesn’t apply as much to these areas. You want to make it look natural, not as if you’ve applied a tint to the skin! The scent I have in the AHAVA body butter is lemon & sage. It’s definitely not a scent I would ever reach for (it was sent to me from a PR company), because if there are a couple of scent I really dislike, it’s lemon, vanilla or anything food-related. Usually those scents are people’s favourites. But I prefer to reach for something more natural and clean smelling. Lemon and Sage smells like something I’d clean my house with, or reminds me of a fresh smelling kitchen. Lol! I’ll use it up though, I love the texture of it, and it doesn’t irritate my skin.
If you want to see how I self-tan and see before/after photos, go to this blog post!
Usually when I have a vehicle for review, I often take it to different places I’ve never been before, and simply go out and explore.
I’m ready. Alfie’s ready. We’re off to explore!
Like always, the first day that I had it, I went exploring the rich homes in the hills of Saratoga with Alfie (
My little Mazda (I’m so proud of it. It’s my first car and I paid it off in no time because of my hatred for being in debt), but for the past year or so it’s been giving us troubles. Not enough to sell it or to let it go, but enough to where my husband doesn’t want me driving it such long distances, in case anything happens. Like, the suspension busting off on a highway or something. Joking!!!
It’s been a while since I trekked down to Santa Cruz. Not a far drive, but a curvy one down Highway 9, so I like to go super early to beat any traffic. I went solo this time because I wanted to park the crossover, and go cycling a bit down there.
You know, have a bit of “me time” even though I’m constantly exploring independently on my own, it’s still fun to dedicate a morning or a day to it, ya hear me?
So, I didn’t bring Alfie. He missed out on this adventure, but I’m sure soon enough he’ll be in the passenger seat going down the road with me, with his smiling face like this one.
When I think of Kia vehicles, I honestly don’t think anything but an affordable, and not-super luxurious. But ba-bam, it may look boring from the outside but it’s all bells and whistles on the inside. The last time I was in a Kia was probably the late 90’s! This Sorento was fully-loaded and I have to tell you, it’s really impressive and I”m surprised to say that myself. This Sorento with all the bells and whistles MRSPs at $46,495.00.
The things that impressed me regarding the 2016 Kia Sorento SXL V6 AWD:
So enough about the car! Let’s talk about more fun adventures Mr. Spiffykerms and I did this weekend.
We checked out the Legion of Honor museum for the first time, and saw a ton of Rodin bronze sculptures (the Thinker!!), some van Gogh, and even Monet was on display there.
Selfie time with Thinker! Lol. Do you like my lightweight sweatshirt? I love it, it’s from 
The building itself is absolutely stunning.
I could have easily stayed here most of the day and just sit outside to people watch in this gigantic entryway. Have you been there? I can’t believe how gorgeous it is.
I’m not sure my husband had ever been to Dolores Park in San Francisco before, so after the Legion of Honor museum, I drove us over there but first with a quick stop to one of my acai bowl places for a snack. It’s packed on the weekends in the park! Guess that’s city life for you.
Well that’s it folks, a lot of fun touring around last week. And I’ll leave you with one last photo to show you that Alfie doesn’t always cooperate with me taking photos. He’s clearly ignoring me here, ha!
Tom Ford’s Correcting Pen
Although the coverage is a little lighter weight than my Cle de Peau, I do enjoy using it. The Tom Ford Correcting Pen is a little less creamy gliding onto my skin, but blends out beautifully with my ring finger (I don’t use a brush, and for no particular reason — just out of convenience I use my ring finger).
Zero concealer
Applying concealer in a triangle shape under the eye
Concealer applied on YOUR left, and nothing on 
Concealer applied and blended in, on both under eye areas
And because it’s easier, a side-by-side comparison
I’m not sure that this product will last me as long as my Cle de Peau one (CDP will last me 18 months), since the Tom Ford Correcting Pen is a slimmer with less product. But I’m curious to find out how long it’ll last me, and compare the two with pricing, since the CDP is really expensive, but worth the investment for how long I can use it for.