According to Hollywood Tans‘ Senior Tanologist Sue Lutter, regardless of what you wear, it’s important to remember style begins with your skin, after all — it’s the one accessory that’s sure not to go out of fashion.

“The key to making your favorite outfits stand out is displaying them on a glowing canvas,” says Lutter.

For a fresh look, Lutter suggests:

A Natural Foundation

Giving your skin-tone a healthy bronze boost can make all the difference in achieving fresh summer style.

High Gloss Finish

Top off your look with sheer or tinted lip gloss to get that polished summer look you’ve dreamed about all winter long. For the perfect pout, keep lips hydrated by applying lip gloss over a lip balm with sunscreen.

Image: Sxc.hu

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Dera Enochson, Tanning Expert and creator of the Xen-Tan self-tanning collection, shares her tips on creating the perfect, natural looking self-tan -

• Gently exfoliate the face by using a scrub or even a cleanser and a washcloth to slough off dead skin cells
• Apply face tanner in a circular motion to skin on face and throat. Daily self tan works best on the throat area if you have trouble with self tan blotching.
• For blending self tanner into your hairline, apply self tan lotion onto fingertips and use an up and down motion to feather into hairline
• For instant bronzing or contorting the cheek bones, add a little extra tanner to cheek area for additional color

Tips for body: (Remember, a good tan is like your favorite dark pants…it makes you appear slimmer!)

• Exfoliate first. Yes it makes your skin more smooth, but most importantly, it also makes your tan last longer. Self-tanners are absorbed by more drier skin, so make sure you focus on the extra dry areas such as knees and elbows
• Apply to clean dry skin and always work from the bottom up, remembering to wash hands with soap and water in between applications. Use a circular motion to blend. If you are looking for instant color, self tan with Xen-Tan’s Deep Bronze that also gives you a natural color guide so you won’t miss spots
• Don’t forget your back! Take a long flat folded strip of saran wrap. Dot some self tan lotion in the middle. While holding the ends, smooth over areas on your back that are out of reach
• If you are afraid you applied too much self-tan to your wrists or back of hands, just rub a little moisturizer to those areas and blend with arms

Tips for Swimming:

• If you want your skin to be tanned and beach ready, apply self tan at least one hour before you leave (preferably the night before). Then apply your sun block as soon as you get to the beach. Give your self tan time to develop before you jump in the water
• Self tan does tend to fade the longer you swim. Keep dips in the pool or ocean to fifteen minutes or less. Use your towel to gently pat dry instead of rubbing to preserve your tan. You can even apply a daily tanner after swimming to keep your self tan from fading

Flabby buns or tummy?

• To give the illusion of toned buns or abs or any troubled areas for that matter, add a little extra tanner to add depth where you feel you need it
• To fake a fuller bust line, apply more self tanner in your cleavage area to give the illusion of depth

For sandal ready feet:

• Use a light amount of self tanner and blend carefully. Also blend some of your regular body moisturizer around the edges of toes and ankles to prevent dark spots
• If you are afraid you applied too much self-tan to ankles and tops of feet, just apply a little moisturizer to those areas and blend with legs

Any Mistakes?

• If you forget to wash your hands, the best thing to do is put a little dishwashing liquid is a bowl of warm water and soak hands for 20 minutes. Dry hands and use rubbing alcohol with cotton balls to see if you can get any excess off. Then use a scrub.
• If you missed a spot, use a self tan with dark instant color like Xen-Tan’s Dark Lotion to fill in. The instant color will disguise the spot and the tan will develop within three hours
• Always remember to apply SPF every day – self tanning products do not take the place of sun protection

Image: Xen-Tan

Post from: eBeautyDaily

In Mall Cop, Kevin James gets a thorough tanning on top of his uniform and in Bride Wars?

Let’s just say that Anne Hathaway takes tanning a little too far.

Mystic Tan creator, Ricky Croft, is happy to go over the top on the big screen, but when it comes to real life (as opposed to reel life), he has all the info you’ll need to ensure a worry-free glow that will get you compliments. That way, brides … and mall cops! … can rest assured that the only thing that’s orange will be a honeymoon Mai Tai.

Perfect Glow Tips from Ricky Croft, Mystic Tan’s Creator:

* Be sure to apply a petroleum based product to cuticles and nail beds to avoid discoloration and a ruined manicure.
* Shave the night before. Exfoliate in the shower prior to use—but don’t apply lotion: skin must be clean!
* Use sparingly around rough and dry areas such as knees, elbows and ankles as these areas tend to darken more quickly and will be particularly unsightly against a white wedding gown!
* BUILD a tan in the weeks prior to a big event. Assess color after a few applications and once desired hue is achieved, maintain tone for the days leading up to the big day with follow-up sprays! This method lends itself to a less drastic, more even glow.

Image: Mystic Tan

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This is a WONDERFUL video from the Skin Cancer Foundation about the history of tanning (did you know a great tan was NOT always stylish?) and why you should be comfortable with your natural glow. I don’t have to go back into telling my skin cancer experience again do I? Just go look at any of these pictures and videos of me, and note that lovely 1.5 inch scar down the middle of my nose and remember to use that sunscreen liberally this time of the year – well, all year really. And watch for the Skin Cancer Foundation’s logo on makeup and skin care and know you are choosing the right product for you.Now, someone tell me how I can get comfortable with these skim milk white legs of mine. Thank God for self tanners. I’ll ditch those when full length skirts come back in style.

(Selina – Ill get into more self tanner stories for you soon! *muah*)

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Last year I tried the GlowFusion spray tanner from Fusion Beauty.  The sucker was a little pricey, just under $200 (at Sephora), but I love the cordless air gun.  And the really impressive thing is that it is still working perfectly, after a full season (which is about 8 months for me) of tanning. 

I wasn’t so tickled about the solution itself last year, as I didn’t really think it made much of a difference in color on me.  So, this year I decided to start off with it on my super pale skin, and whaddya know – it does have color.  Just the right amount of color, really.  And a neat cocoa scent (I knew that already).  And it dries quickly.  I like it.  I’ll possibly move back to my more dramatic O2 solution later, when I get a better (fake) base tan on, but for now at least, this is perfect. 

So, my question is – are you fake tanning this year (I hope if you’re tanning at all its fake tanning!)?  Do you have any current loves in the tanning products arena?

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of Elle Magazine’s top 5 self tanners (click image to enlarge):

What is your favorite self tanner, and why do you like it? You ARE using self tanner rather than the sun to bronze your bod, right?

Technorati tags: beauty, self tanning, bronzers, sun, skin cancer, skin cancer prevention

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Keep your eyes open for a special promotion related to Dr. Schultz’s book, It’s Not Just About Wrinkles, coming up later this month. In the meantime, I will let you know about some of the Stallex products that I have tried, and some I haven’t tried, and some I would like to try. Have you tried Stallex? What are your favorite products?

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Laser treatments are so popular these days, they can remove age spots, sun spots, wrinkles and unwanted hair. I really have never given these things too much of a second thought – I thought they were pretty safe, and I guess they are for the most part, but if they are botched, they are really botched. Here are a couple pictures, the first one is of a botched sun spot removal, and the second one is a botched hair removal. Read the accompanying article at the ABC web site if you didn’t see the story on Good Morning America last week. And check out all the pictures. Yikes.

Have you had laser work done before? If so, I hope your results were better than this – tell us about it, if you have a minute.

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Don’t you just love Dove? They have been on the cutting edge of what women want for a long time, and they know we always love a contest!

Coinciding with the launch of their brand new line of “moisturizers with subtle self tanner,” Energy Glow, they have a new essay contest, Look Like Summer, Feel Like Summer, in which they ask women to write essays about “summer experiences that make them glow.” The winners get their choice of 5 vacations, and the possibility of a photo shoot in NYC and a big day of beauty and fashion.

If you are into self tanners like I am, you might want to know a bit more about them – they have just launched them this week and they have the improved Beauty Body Lotion with Subtle Self-Tanners with 50% more moisturizers, and new Facial Moisturizers with a Touch of Self-Tanner. Both moisturizers are available in two shades for fair to medium and medium to dark skin tones, and boast a great fragrance – which is the downfall of so many self tanners. I can’t wait to try them – I am about as pasty as can be this time of year, and someday soon (*dreaming*) it is gonna be back to shorts and tank tops weather for me. Let me know if you have tried these, and what you think!

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It was an odd experience. The cancer appeared not as a brown mole, or anything that was ugly or even noticeable. It was on the upper part of my nose, and was flesh colored – the only thing I really noticed that was odd about it was that it was strangely smooth. And then it started growing – within two weeks it went from an area about the size of a dull pencil tip to the size of an eraser. It really wasn’t raised at all though, but I knew something was going on.

I went to my general practitioner, who thought it was nothing. She told me to go home and watch it for another couple of weeks. I refused to – I insisted she cut it off and send it in. I remember Marshall telling the doc, “if you don’t, she will, and she will come back with it in a baggie.” So anyway, she went on and did it. And called me back 4 or 5 days later and said it was indeed cancer.

Thankfully it wasn’t the super scary kind, but a basal cell carcinoma. Anything attached with “cancer” is scary though. This little flat pencil tip/eraser shiny spot on my nose gave me a 1.5 inch scar going right down my nose. Thankfully my plastic surgeon was amazing, and 2 years later, I really have to be dehydrated or looking especially haggard to even notice it. But, as Dr. Rude told me and I have since heard time and time again, my chances are huge (like 90%?) that I will have another one within 5 years. 2 years and counting, so far so good.

As a result of all this fun, I am pretty well scared of the sun. I used to love it, now I really don’t – it kind of pains me to admit that. I still love the beach, but I would just as soon go there in the morning and the late afternoon rather than bask and frolic all day. We have a beautiful cabin cruiser, that has sat unused for most of the last two seasons. I just don’t really want to go out on it. I wear hats, I wear pants (I used to wear tank tops and shorts 11 months out of the year). And, I wear sunscreen. Every day. I usually use products that incorporate sunscreen (one big reason I love bareMinerals so much – the sunscreen is amazing), but I have plenty of sunscreen – only products as well. My love for playing in the yard, planting things and making things pretty has gone for the most part, and I am sure my fear of the sun has a bit to do with that. I just want to stay inside during the day now. I think I would rather have a hot tub than a swimming pool – which is a huge admission for me, I have been clamoring for a pool since we moved to TX.

Now that I re-read all of this, I also think it sounds a little depressing. LOL Is the answer to face my fears, slather on the sunscreen and face my demons – or am I doing the right thing in hiding from the demon sun?

Stay tuned for more on the sun and sunscreens. Obviously I haven’t been preaching enough.

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