Tarte Brazilliance | Adventures in Self-Tanning

Well, I've done something completely out of the norm for me. I bought fake tan! And I'm really excited! For years, and years I've taken pride in being pasty white. I always thought I wouldn't look right tan, or that I would look "dirty" or "dingy". I think my newly healing mental state is making me more open to things I wouldn't have considered even a year ago. The past month or so has been really sunny and I've just been noticing more and more that I'm so white it's borderline blinding! So I decided to give fake tan a try and see how it looks!
To start off, a general thing with all fake tan is that you have to shave and exfoliate really well before applying, and with some brands they recommend moisturizing. I have pretty sensitive skin so I had to buy a specific shaving gel created to prevent "razor burn" or "bumps". And to be extra sure I made certain that the body scrub I bought said "soothing" on it. When I was done I applied a very light layer of lotion to my elbows, knees, ankles, and wrists and then wiped it off so it wouldn't affect the fake tan.
The fake tan I bought was the Tarte Brazilliance one, and it comes with a mitt to apply the fake tan with. This stuff looks terrifying when you first open it, but that's just the color guard and bronzer so you know where you've applied it so it won't go streaky. It's kind of feels like a gel formulation, and it smells fantastic! It's like molasses cookies or something along those lines. I love it!
Now, I've never tried fake tanner before, but the main thing I hear is that they smell horrendous. Especially as they develop and that's why a lot of people put them on at night and then sleep through it. But you don't have to with the Tarte one! They do say to stay out of/away from water while it's developing though.
I accidentally let this develop for 12 hours (instead of the recommended 8 hours), and by the time I rinsed off the color guard it wasn't dark enough for me. (That phrase itself just makes me laugh..) So I put on a second layer. When applying I would recommend getting a buddy to help with your back. I had my sister help me with mine. After I let the second layer of tan develop it was fine, but my legs just didn't seem to want to accept the fake tan. I even tried a third layer! I'm going to have to play around some with them next time I put it on. Other than my issue with my legs, I loved the color that I ended up being! I just wish I could achieve that level of tan naturally!
I never thought I would feel like this, but I'm really loving being tan! Whatever Tarte puts in their Brazilliance gives such a nice, even, natural looking color!
My fake tan lasted about a week before it started to fade. Only really on my body and legs though. My arms and back are fine. I think next time I won't go all over with it. I've also heard that getting some tan enhancers like Jergens in the medium/tan shades helps prolong the tan, so I'm going to try that too!
I also tried the tanning face towelette that came with the bottle, but I didn't expect much. I only used it so I could get a more accurate color match for foundation. I'm going to have to get a tinted moisturizer or BB Cream for days that I don't wear a full face of makeup.

 (Left: Before | Right: After)
The before picture is an old one, but I'm still just as pale, if not more.

A definite Pro of fake tanning (for me) is that it's so much easier to go out a buy foundation! It's amazing! Being so pale is definitely a struggle when you love makeup so much. Fake tan also aides in helping my rosacea blend too!
Tarte did an amazing job formulating this stuff! It's the perfect fake tan for pale girls that need some color without accidentally going orange, or having it look muddy or "BAM! In your face!" dark. It's a nice bronzed color. I love it!!
10/10 would recommend!

Until next time,
Abby