Beyond the Pale

Let me begin by saying that I have totally accepted the fact that I am pale. And when I say "pale" what I mean is"almost translucent."  I am, and will forever be, the girl at the makeup counter buying foundation shades like "Ivory" or "Porcelain" or (if makeup companies really want to throw it in my face by numbering their selections..."000001" (i.e. the lightest shade you can possibly get...like ever).

"But what about summertime?" you may be asking with sincere hope in your tone. Well dear readers, there were times indeed---back in the days of such concepts as "free time" and "part time jobs" when I did sport a slight bit more of a tan. Typically, this tan achievement took about thirty minutes per day of me sitting around a pool--bikini-clad with an icy Pepsi product at my side. Tough work...but someone had to do it.  Here's a picture from my childish youth four years ago to prove the above mentioned claim.

 

Yet, as the philosophic country artist Tracy Lawrence stated, "Time Marches On" and so too did my ability to get any kind of a tan...at all. My darling husband even gave me this little lovely as a gift in order to better support my tanning dreams. Although it works great to lay out by the lake and indulge in some light reading, the few moments of time I have on the weekends simply don't cut it to take me from see-through white to golden brown.

 

It's not as though I entirely mind having fair, fair skin. Several of the most beautiful women in the current entertainment industry sport no tan at all. Take one look at Anne Hathaway, Dita Von Teese, or Nicole Kidman and you will see for yourself. Sometimes, especially in fall, you can make it look super elegant with correct makeup application. However, everytime the dreggs of February hit and I can taste the hopeful promise of spring, I start to wish I had just a touch of a tan.

Of course, I can sympathize to every woman who is equally as "tanning-challenged." You try every product on the market, come spring and summer, to try to achieve that beautiful glow everyone is sporting to no avail. Who amongst us hasn't had that awkward day-after self tanner moment when you realize portions of your legs look like Neapolitan ice cream? Or, even worse, PAID for a spray tan and left with your hands looking like strangely spotted and dyed for seven...WHOLE...days.

After trying everything out there...I finally just gave up and accepted my fate of being a pretty pale Floridian. That was, of course, until I saw a fateful post on Pinterest. A female ("pinner?"...."writer?"...I have no clue what she'd be called) wrote an article divulging how simply adding a few drops of foundation to her moisturizer gave her a healthy glow--just as a tan would. The foundation type is depicted below.

 

This article appealed to me on a few different levels. They are listed below.

1)I had seen this exact bottle of foundation at my local Dollar Tree

2)I already had moisturizer, so no need to purchase that

3) I had a coupon for the makeup retailer...which I could use at Dollar Tree

4)It wouldn't be permanent and if I didn't like it...I could shower it off right away. No muss, no fuss.

So I gave it a go a few weeks back when attending a party. I just added a few drops of the foundation, as instructed, to my regular body lotion. From there I applied it everywhere that would be showing in my outfit--i.e. arms, legs, and decolletage.

 

 

 

*TIPS WHEN TRYING THIS:
*Run a quick allergy test on one section of your knee or palm before full application to make sure you arent allergic.
*Even though it didn't happen to me, try to keep fabrics from being tightly pressed to tan lotion to prevent staining.
*Apply in downward, swift motions and rub thoroughly around knees.

The end result was that, even though I'm not sure it built a tan on my skin, it definitely gave me that glowing, just out of the sun look. It works great as a leg concealer too--covering up the redness and dry flakes fall most certainly brings. Think leg makeup...without the cost of that spray stuff you buy for $13.00 at CVS. I want my legs to look pretty...but not at $13 a pop.

 Not to mention, it held up the whole night. I wore a black blazer and shorts combo so I thought for certain I'd have foundation streaks on the shorts by the end of the night. But when I got home...nada..zilch..the big goose egg of residue appeared.  I put a picture below to show the differences between my untanned leg, and the other leg sporting the aforementioned concoction.

 

 

 

I would have to say that the best part of this trial was that I didn't come out of pocket ONE RED CENT!!!! As I mentioned previously, I purchased the Maybelline mineral foundation from one of my most favorite stores--the insanely delightful Dollar Tree. What you may not know about Dollar Tree is, per their store's most recent coupon policy, they accept manufacturers coupons. I put the link below so you can check it out.

http://www.dollartree.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageName=FAQ

I had a coupon for Maybelline foundation products, cut out of a simple Sunday paper, that gave me $2.00 off any foundation shade and looked something like this:

 

So, I went to my local Dollar Tree, applied the coupon, got the item for free, and used it with the moisturizer I already have (which I will discuss exclusively in a following post).

Anyways, I so encourage you guys to just get out there, use your coupons, use your discount retailers, and give it a shot. You never know what will work for you, and it always feels fun to try something new.

Until next time, terrific tan trials!!!!