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Mid summer bronze

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I’m a real O.G. when it comes to self-tanner. I’ve been applying self tanner at least monthly for the past 9 years, and have tried nearly every brand out there.

In fact I’m working with a brand (well, gifted to me) that I purchased many moons ago. When I first moved to the USA I was so stoked to shop a few brands that was never available to ship to Canada. This brand that I’m showing you today is based out of Australia (and I bought it from their AUS site back in 2014) but now they ship worldwide, including Canada!

It’s no secret I have sensitive skin due to my nearly 6 years of chronic daily hives. I always reach for sensitive skin products, Bali Body is one of those that caters to people like myself. Sensitive to a ton of things! Bali body is 100% vegan and cruelty free.

I self-tan at home during the evenings when my two boys are gone to bed. Personally, I like the way that I look with a bronzed look to my skin. My favourite way to achieve that look is with a tanning mousse like the Bali Body mousse in ultra dark. I have to say though, this particular one isn’t as quick drying as others I’ve tried. Bali Body replied to my IG story and suggested I try their express tan.

My regime before I self-tan:

Day before: Hop in the shower and exfoliate your entire body, this is the day where I scrub like mad. Also, shave. Make sure your heels aren’t rough and if they are use a pumice stone (tanner will really accentuate the dry parts so make sure you’re good and smooth). When you get out of the shower, moisturize your entire body.

Day of: Exfoliate stubborn parts, like your heels or elbows one more time. I tend not to moisturize the day of as I find that an oily moisturizer (such as Lush’s Dream Cream) tends to not allow the self-tan to lock into your skin, and will wash off in 1 day! I do end up putting moisturizer on my elbows, feet and hands. Not too much!

Then apply your tanner in circular motions with a tanning mitt – I personally like to start from feet and move upwards. Sleep on it,wake up in the morning and rinse it off and you’ve got a mid summer bronze goin’ on. 

To maintain the tan throughout the week(s), apply a gradual tanner!

 

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Beauty

1 Sephora purchase: Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi

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Drunk Elephant’s D-Bronzi was the only thing on my buy-list when the recent Sephora sale happened at the end of April. I’m at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to their point system, so I got 10% off my total purchase. Which was fine, because I wanted to have my freebie birthday gift mailed to me, since all stores are still closed (presumably) due to COVID.

It’s no surprise I love to self-tan and I’ve been doing so since 2011. I am pretty regular about it, minus a few months during the winter months. I like the way my skin looks when it has a sunkissed look to it.

Before purchasing anything, I always go ham and read every review under the sun about it. I was a bit hesitant at first when I heard someone recommend it, because although I’ve only tried one thing from Drunk Elephant in the past (last year’s Sephora birthday gift) it gave me a weird reaction and I haven’t used it since. So I was wondering what this D-Bronzi stuff was like, and why it received such high reviews on Sephora’s site: 4.5 out of 5!

Well folks, those reviews came through. I bought it, and it’s a game changer after only one use. I had already done my self-tan routine for my 40th birthday, but the tanner never seems to stick on my lower legs the last couple of years. Weird hey? My legs are just immune to the DHA now or what? Who knows. Either way, I applied my SPF50 sunscreen all over my legs, added a generous 5-6 pumps to each of my legs mixed with the sunscreen and holy boom did it ever look good. And you know what? It dried down to feel like my regular skin. No sticky feeling, no tacky, and it didn’t rub off on my clothes or fingers when I tried to see if it would lift. It also gave an unreal glow, making the legs look gooooooood. This is in the mid-day sun without a filter.

Look how dark it is! Keep in mind I do have self-tanner on my legs. I’m that dark because I have some self-tanner on my legs, with the Drunk Elephant D Bronzi layered over top for an extra amount of colour and glow.

Here’s a more subtle everyday approach, and what I’ll probably be doing the majority of the time. Applying a single pump to my facial moisturizer to give my skin an even glowy-sunkissed look.

BEFORE. All I have on in the before photo is eyebrow pencil, concealer, and I curled my eyelashes.

How much product I’m using.

Spreading it all around.

Directly after application. Still a little dewy but it does dry down.

 

 

Thoughts?? Have you tried it before?

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Daily

Tips to use self-tanner if you’re afraid to dive in

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I’m loving self-tanners. I waited until the 2010’s to start diving in, and I’ve been adding a bit of glow to my skin regularly for the past five years. Mainly because “back in the day” the tanners were streaky, a tad orange, and well….still a bit stinky (okay they still are stinky). I didn’t want to dive into a pool of orange streaks. But now that I’ve pretty much have the routine down pat, I thought I’d tell you what I know, so far.

Folks, it’s that final stretch of winter where we can almost see a glimpse of spring. I have a simple self-tanning hack that will bring your spring glow (not summer, ’cause we aren’t getting dark-dark here with this tanner hack).

All you need is a cream or liquid self-tanner (I favour the mousse formulas, but skip this for this tanning-hack), and your daily moisturizer. And gloves. Always wear gloves. That’s it.

Mix a dime sized amount of self-tanner with your moisturizer and apply to your face/neck. Repeat every morning until you start to see a bronzed tint appear, it doesn’t take long (a couple of days) for the colour to build up. Your end results end up being more of a subtle glow, and quite natural looking.

What tanner(s) do I use? I’ve been using these two in combination with one another for a few years: St. Moriz ($12) & Fake Bake Liquid ($32). Wait for an ULTA 20% off sale, and stock up then.

A bonus tip: during the hot summer months, consider storing your self-tanners in the fridge so they don’t go bad as quickly.

Hope this helps!

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