You know who I blame for my never-ending pursuit of the perfect tan? Francine Pascal. The author behind the widely popular ’80s teen/tween book series, Sweet Valley High, instilled me with the belief that to be beautiful meant I needed to be bronzed. After all, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, the most beautiful 16-year-old twins on the face of the earth, had “sun-streaked, silky blonde hair,” “blue-green eyes the color of the Pacific” and, of course, “sun-kissed skin.” I couldn’t do anything about the blue-green eyes, but for years I “chased the blonde dragon,” which I finally gave up after a hairdresser finally told me platinum hair didn’t look good on me. But thanks to SVH and being California born and bred, I’ve remained pretty obsessed with having a glowing tan. During the summer, I lay out every weekend, though I realize that even with a high SPF, this isn’t the wisest idea. Thankfully, a recent trip to the dermatologist confirmed I am skin cancer-free. (I’m lucky — for about six months in college I went to the tanning salon once a week. Big no-no!) And I always emphasize the tan I’ve got with bronzer — for awhile, I had the boneheaded notion to use bronzer meant for Black women.
Now that I’ve lived in NYC for nearly 12 years, I’ve gotten some distance from my California-roots and have begrudgingly let go of my desire to be tan 365 days a year; during the winter, I leave my naturally fair skin well enough alone (though I still use a little bit of bronzer every day). But summer is on its way and in less than a month I’m headed to Nicaragua for vacation. I need a (fake) base tan! You know, something close to the subtle, sun-kissed glow of Snooki’s knee-caps. Luckily for me, Sephora sent over their Express Self-Tanning Kit For Face And Body and I rushed home to try it last night. Let’s review… Keep reading »
