Tutorial: Self-Tanning Fixes 101

Summer is here and I don't have to tell you how important a golden glow can be to your look.  It's slimming, it evens out your skin tone and blurs imperfections, and it makes you look healthy.  Chances are you've already tried self tanning at home, but perhaps your results weren't ideal.  With a few quick fixes to common self tanning woes, you'll get the perfect shade of bronze without the hassle.

Step 1:  Choose the Right Formula 

Whether it is spray or foam, cream or gel, there are many choices on the market.  The best tip for choosing the right one for you?  Don't be cheap.  It's understandable, some of us do beauty on a budget, but a good self tanner will last you for months and is generally the easiest to use.  The formulas are built to reduce streakiness and help you avoid looking orange.  My favorite self tanner is Tarte's Brazilliance (pictured at top).  It is a gel/cream hybrid that is tinted to show you where it's going as it's applied.  The application mitt is particularly helpful: one, you avoid orange palms and stained nails and two, it cuts streaky application down considerably.  This formula also has a beachy coconut fragrance; while that self tanning smell isn't completely gone, it's certainly less noticeable.  

Step 2:  Apply at the Right Time

Some of us apply self tanner and attempt to go about our day:  No.  Stop.  Desist.  Throughout the day you're sweating, producing oil, rubbing against your clothing and other people.  Even though it might seem like your tanner is dry, most formulas are working for hours after they are applied.  To avoid finding splotches or uneven spots, apply your self tanner at night right before you turn in for the night.  We all tend to sweat less when we sleep, and pajamas tend to be less binding than other clothing.  It gives your skin the best opportunity to process with little to no movement going on.

Step 3:  Blend Trouble Spots

Before you apply your self tanner, consider applying a tiny dab of regular lotion to your knees and elbows.  Massage into the skin completely, then apply your tanner.  The lotion will prevent the dry skin on your elbows and knees from turning orange or darker than the rest of your skin.  After you wash your hands post-tanner application, use your damp fingertips to massage around your wrists and along the backs of your hands.  Washing your hands may have spread water droplets around the area, which can become splotches once your tan is complete.  Finally, do the same around your ankles, blending with your fingertips down toward your feet.  You don't want ring-around-the-ankle/wrists, right?  Taking an extra minute or two to blend these areas is key.

Step 4:  Make Corrections

Leave your self tanner in tact for however long it takes to process fully (the product packaging will tell you).  Once your tanning time is complete, take a shower.  Don't use a bath puff or abrasive sponge, just your hands or a soft washcloth.  After you've dried off, take a look in the mirror.  If you have any streaks or splotches, chances are they can be repaired.  For very minor streaks or discolorations, exfoliate the darker area with a loofah or other abrasive sponge.  This should even you out.  For more noticeable splotches, dip a cotton ball in nail polish remover and rub until you notice the color starting to become more even.  As a last resort if you've missed a spot, add a tiny bit of tanner to the bare area and blend VERY well.  

Step 5:  Troubleshooting

Are you noticing your skin looks orange?  Splurge on a cosmetic grade formula (read: probably not for sale at your local drug store/supermarket).  You may also be applying too much or too often.  Let's face it, self tanners can only go so far to give you a bit of color.  Like celebrities that have overdone it, you, too, can over apply at home.  Most self tanners should be applied no more than twice a week to maintain color.  Finding clogged pores or pimples cropping up?  Exfoliate between applications.  Self tanner can settle into your pores and cause bumps.  Scrub trouble spots with a sugar scrub: my favorite is the ridiculously accessible and wonderfully priced Tree Hut Shea Sugar Scrubs.  This particular scrub moisturizes without depositing heavy oils on your skin, so you can apply your self tanner directly after use.  Practice makes perfect, so keep at it and soon you'll be a bronzed goddess without ever leaving your bathroom.

Tutorial: Neutral to Night Out

You already know how versatile makeup is.  You can easily go from a soft daytime look to something more dramatic for an evening out.  We all want to amp it up a bit for a night out on the town, but have you tried neutrals at night?  Neutral... The word doesn't exactly stir visions of sexy smoky eyes, but try this look out for yourself and you may just be pleasantly surprised. 

Step 1: Foundation 

Any good look begins with a good foundation.  I have seen my fair share of fashion magazines trying to convince women that "a dab" of concealer is all you need - false.  The reality is even supermodels wear a full face of foundation, or enjoy the glories of Photoshop.  Your skin produces oil naturally, and environmental factors can dry out your skin; all of this can be controlled by foundation.  Foundation suggestions?  LORAC Cococin' Cream Foundation, Bare Minerals Original Foundation, or The Body Shop's Oil-Free SPF 15 Foundation  

Step 2: Base Shadow

Once your foundation is set, select your eye shadow palette.  Since your eyes are the focal point of your face and, therefore, your makeup, starting there helps you build the total look.  Prime eyes with your favorite, pre-shadow primer.  My current favorite? NYX HD Eye Shadow Base (did I mention it is under $10? Bonus!).  

Select a shimmery neutral shade, something to add light to your eye without heavy glitter.  I'm loving Pacifica's Duo 1:

Swipe the lighter shade from the inner corner of your eye all the way along the brow bone, blending with a soft brush toward the outer corner.  Next, apply the darker shade across your eyelid.

Step 3: Eye Shadow

Any shade from copper to dark chocolate is in the "neutrals" family and can be a part of your nighttime look.  I chose two shades from Urban Decay's Mariposa Palette: Rockstar, a purple-based dark brown, and Gunmetal (don't forget to go to your Naked palettes for other choice shades).

Follow the crease of your eye - the space between your eyelid and your brow bone.  Blend Gunmetal along the crease of your eye and follow up with Rockstar around the outer 1/4 of your eye lid.  Remember to use a fluffy shadow blush to blend everything together.

Remember the shimmery neutrals you started with?  They'll help to make blending easier and give the entire look a glow.  Tip:  Note how I've applied the darker shade at an angle starting from the outer corner of my eye and angling up toward the end of my eyebrow.  This helps to give your eye a naturally lifted look.

Step 4: Liner, Mascara, Brows

No look can be complete without a swipe of eyeliner and mascara.  Urban Decay's 24-7 eye pencils are soft and smudge-able, making it more difficult to mess up a smoky eye liner.  Simply drag the pencil along your upper lid, staying close to your lashes.  Use your fingertip or an eyeshadow sponge to gently smudge the liner.  Next, add your favorite mascara.  Start at the root of your eyelashes and wiggle the brush upward to the tip of lashes. Don't forget to comb your brows and set them with a brow gel (colored or clear depending upon your preference).

 

Step 5: Bronzer

A woman who loves her makeup cannot live without a matte bronzer.  These beautiful creatures add color and are perfect for contouring.  Too much shimmer in a bronzer can draw attention to enlarged pores and fine lines whereas a matte bronzer draws attention to your cheekbones.  I'm loving Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer.  Suck in your cheeks and find the angle of your cheekbones.  Brush your matte bronzer along this angle, which is below the apple of your cheeks (the apple is that wonderful, pinch-able part of your cheek that is front and center when you smile).  Blend upward toward your hairline.

Step 6: Lips

Apply a neutral gloss or shimmery lipstick in a neutral shade.  I used Impulse Cosmetics (see my review on these lipsticks) Opaque Matte Lipstick in Ever After.  Voila!  Your look is complete!

All of the angles you added will give you a quick face lift and add subtle sheen that won't age you.  You can experiment with the shades you already used and lighten your hand for daytime.  Now, bust out your favorite neutrals and get your night started.

Review: Impulse Cosmetics Lipsticks

The moment I saw bold, bright, matte lip colors come strutting down the runways early this spring, I was sold.  From neon hues to pretty pastels, there were colors galore and colors to suit everyone.  I suddenly wanted to try every possible shade, but found many mainstream brands just hadn't caught my rainbow fever and were playing it safe with bright pinks and peaches.  Enter the wonderful world of "Cult Cosmetics" - the relatively unknown but much loved cosmetics lines available for sale online.

One of the first "Culties" (read: my word for internet cosmetics brands you need to know but haven't met yet) I came across in my search was Impulse Cosmetics. Based in Pennsylvania, PA, Impulse Cosmetics offers a range of products from matte and metallic lipsticks to eye shadows and glitters.  The Impulse Cosmetics shop on Etsy boasts almost 4,000, 5-star reviews and over 16,000 happy admirers.  Of their 30+ lipstick shades, I purchased 6; 2 from their metallic finish, Metaluxe line, and the other 4 from their Opaque Matte Finish line.   

The Colors:

Note that all photographs are not Photoshopped or filtered so as not to alter the colors shown.  In addition, all photographs were taken using natural light at the same time, in the same place, to give you the truest possible depiction of the shades.

The Pros:

These vegan lipsticks, whether metallic or matte, apply smoothly right from the tube with minimal drag.  They don't feel excessively dry, and they boast a long wear time - "TEXAS TEA" lasted me an entire dinner without reapplication.  These babies pack major pigment so brights are very bright and pastels are very pastel.  BIG color payoff!  Another plus?  At under $7 a tube, you can afford to try several shades without breaking the bank.

The Cons:

As with any matte lipsticks, dryness and peeling can be an issue.  This is actually one of the least drying formulas I've tried, however.  If you're a girl who loves fancy, girly packaging to your beauty products, you will be disappointed with the very basic, very homemade plastic tubes these lipsticks come in.  

Application Tips:

At first these super-pigmented shades can seem a bit daunting as they are opaque and don't have the shiny, glossy quality you may be familiar with in lipsticks.  For the best, most even application, exfoliate your lips prior to application (I use a warm, wet washcloth and simply rub in a circular motion until dry skin is removed).  If you have a lip primer you love, use it.  Have trouble with lipsticks that bleed or settle into fine lines around your mouth?  A clear lip liner, or lip liner in a similar shade, would work wonders with these lipsticks.  Unfortunately, Impulse Cosmetics does not offer lip liners in corresponding shades at this time.  

The Bottom-line:

I have had a lot of fun with these colors and at such a reasonable price, I can play with runway-worthy color.  Impulse Cosmetics ships in safe, durable packaging and all orders come with tracking information.  Although Impulse Cosmetics seems to be swamped with orders at this time, the 4 to 7 day turn around time is reasonable in light of all this seller offers: high quality, highly pigmented, cruelty-free cosmetics in a wide range of colors and finishes.  Trust me, you'll be glad to add Impulse Cosmetics to your beauty routine.

Impulse Cosmetics can be found at: Impulse Co on Etsy.