BEAUTY Faking your way to a tan

Glow girl glow!


Beauty
Maggie Gibbons

If you didn’t manage to get a bit of colour this summer then you just can’t take the sun. What a glorious few weeks we had for transforming pasty winter skin into a Caribbean-esque glow. Sadly though for some of us, no matter how long we spend under the rays that natural bronzed look eludes us, and here’s where a bit of fake tan comes to the rescue. And lets face it girls, it’s way safer to apply a bit of faker.
There are so many fabulous products on the market. The secret to being a bronzed beauty rests in the amount of shimmer contained in the product, skin is much more attractive when it is light and sunkissed rather than dark and unnatural. The orangey, uneven look of older tanning products are a distant memory, as products now build up to the required shade and leave the skin moisturised. Instant tans also come in a range of natural shades. Stay fairly close to your own skin colour for best results. And remember, if you’re doing your face also apply to the neck, otherwise it will be obvious that it’s fake.
Lancôme Flash Bronzer Mousse Magique (€29) is one of my all-time favourites, apply it to your body with a mitt to protect hands. It’s easy to apply as you see the colour on application. Pick up a mitt  in Euro shops or Penneys for a couple of euros.
Dove Summer Glow for simple DIY tanning  (€6.50) is available in ‘fair to medium’ and ‘Medium to Dark’. It also comes in matte or with a slight shimmer. It builds gradually to a natural tan.
Roger and Gallet Crème Sublime (€17.50) has a beautiful fragrance, and it contains shimmering golden flecks that give tanned skin a fabulous sheen. Sweep it across the shoulders, arms and legs.
Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs (€16.97) gives your legs an instant makeover without streaks. It’s designed to give you flawless looking legs. Think of its as a lightweight make-up that enhances your legs and covers those veins and imperfections.
Irish company Karora offers all kinds of luxurious products – and all of them natural, using botanicals and avoiding chemical ‘nasties’. Its bronzing range will instantly transform milky skin to beautifully bronzed. Glow Glamster Instant Tan (€14.99) is easy to apply and offers instant colour camouflage with a glorious sexy shimmer. It resists water and stays in place, even if the pace heats up. Order online at karoracosmetics.com or pick some up at selected Mayo chemists.
Rimmel’s SunShimmer is a tried and tested favourite for face and body that’s widely available and great value at under €10.
For those of you who don’t like the sun on your face, Vichy has the perfect solution. Vichy Compact Solaire (€19.50) is a cream foundation in a compact that provides brilliant coverage with a flawless result, and SPF 30. Available in chemists nationwide.
If you love the bronzed look then Gosh Bronzer is good value at €12.99. I got it in Staunton’s, our local chemist in Louisburgh, but it should be available in chemists nationwide. Choose a shade slightly darker than your natural skin tone for bronzers.

Maggie Gibbons is an Image/Style Consultant based in Louisburgh. She can be contacted at living@mayonews.ie.