Review: Sunless Bronzers
Our Editor Xania test-drives the hottest bronzing moisturizers on the market.
Our Editor Xania test-drives the hottest bronzing moisturizers on the market.I’m already a brown-skin gyal (black/white/east indian) Typically, people laugh at me when I say I feel pasty. But it’s no laughing matter when we feel the winter blues of sunless skies or being stuck in hibernation. Often times, we need a little pick me up – even if it’s through a sunless tanning lotions. With spring FINALLY here, I’m about to haul out the summer dresses and cute skirts but when I look at my legs .. OMG – yuck.
Kelsey, our Beauty Editor heard me complaining one day and passed me the Nivea – Smooth Legs ‘Summer Touch’. After work, I ran to my hot yoga class, hurried home and hopped in the shower. The key to sunless tanning creams is to make sure you exfoliate your skin. It not only gets rid of the dead skin cells but it opens your pores. For a week solid, I’ve been applying the “Summer Touch” to my entire body – even though it says it’s for legs. I’m not trying to run around with tanned legs and pale arms – that’s just wrong. The other benefit was that I didn’t turn orange! How many times have you lathered on that stuff, begging to be bronzed and ended up looking anything BUT brown (who’s seen that Friends episode with Ross in the stand up tanning salon??)
So far, I’ve noticed a slight difference. It’s subtle but I can tell and it’s not blatantly obvious. The product actually smells really nice and it hasn’t left the palms of my hands tanned. I’m pretty good at scrubbing my hands clean after every application (crazy important!). With more aggressive sunless tanning lotions, despite scrubbing your hands with soap and water, you’re still left with tanned cuticles or those tough spots in between your fingers. With Nivea’s Smooth Legs, there’s been no traces of me cheating the sunshine.
My rating system out of 5:
Smell: 5/5
Absorbency into skin: 4/5
Did it work: 3/5
Price: 5/5
Will I use it again? Possibly. Hands down, my fave is L’Oreal’s Sublime Bronze, which I use all over my body. For my face, I use L’Oreal’s Sublime Glow (Medium tint). I love how quickly it works on my skin. It doesn’t have the greatest smell but that’s not why I bought. Be careful with Sublime Bronze – it is fairly aggressive and if you’re not careful, you can end up with tanned palms. I learned the hard way.
Advice: Always test an area on your skin that isn’t always exposed, you may not like how the product makes your skin look.
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