Monday Blues

Ahhh, woe is me. I'm back at the office after a weekend away at the beach. I'm quite tired this morning as well, since I chose to wake up at 5 am to get to work rather than leave on Sunday and miss a few hours at the beach.

Although I practiced safe sun and wore SPF, I still conceived a small sunburn on my shoulders and chest. Therefore, I would like to digress from fashion and talk a little about safe tanning alternatives. My personal fave is the Mystic Tan. It is loved by celebs such as Jessica, LL, and Paris. Although sometimes they tend to go a little overboard on the Mystic (MTV Movie Awards, anyone?). For those of you who don't know, the Mystic Tan is a booth that sprays self tanner all over your body. It sprays for about 15-20 seconds on the front, then you turn around and it sprays the back. Once the spray is finished, you hop out and towel off as hard as you can. You may feel like you are rubbing the tan away, but the secret lies herein the toweling.... the harder you towel dry, the more even your tan!

• Pros: It's fast, quick, and doesn't rub off on your clothes. I even did it last Thursday before Alive after Five, and an hour later I was sweating and worried I would look like a dalmation. However, I wound up with a nice golden tan a few hours later. No spots visible.
• Cons: The barrier cream. You put it all over your feet and hands so that they look like you just dunked your phalanges in glue. I have yet to master how to get it so i don't wind up with splotchy wrists and ankles.... though in my own defense, I have improved a great deal. Practice makes perfect.

You can also get self tanner sprayed on by a professional which I have heard gives a very even color that lasts a few days longer than Mystic. However, I, for one, am not comfortable getting down to my skivvies or wearing paper panties in front of a complete stranger!

For those of you who want a cheaper alternative (1 session of Mystic is $25.00) there are always self tanners. My favorite is Sublime Bronze by L'Oreal. Their spray is great! I just towel off after my shower and spray it on right there in the tub. The only thing is it's hard to get your back and you still have to rub it in. I tried the Mystic technique of toweling off using the L'Oreal tanner and it really did rub off my whole tan.

For a quick fix, I am in love with Benefit's Jiffy Tan. It uses the same concept as their Benetint, however the geniuses there have developed a golden color in a lotion form. It stays put through sweat (trust me, I do live in the South) and rain, but still rinses off easily with soap and water. It's sparkly which also gives a dewy finish. My boyfriend doesn't like it though because the sparkles rub off all over the seat of his car. Ooops.

All in all, be sure to wear at LEAST SPF 15 every day. SPF 30 is even better and try to stay out of the sun... unless of course you're at the beach;).