Genetics are a funny thing, aren’t they? I am 75% Italian and only 25% Irish, but I’m usually the second or third lightest shade in a foundation line. Throw my dark hair and eyebrows into the mix, and I look even lighter than I am. (When I’m wearing black, my father likes to call me Elvira. Can’t say I like that.) I’m not saying light skin is a bad thing–look at beauties like Julianne Moore, Emma Stone and Dita Von Teese–but I think I look best with a little color on my face. I don’t sunbathe or use tanning booths, and I don’t find it practical to spray tan regularly, so I use Jergens Natural Glow. I use the face and body versions, but for this post, I will be talking about the face version.
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way that I thought might be helpful. Here goes:
Exfoliate. Before your initial application of the product, exfoliate your face and neck. Any kind of tanning product will work better if you have sloughed off the dead skin cells first. If not, the product may “stick” to the cells, leaving you with a very attractive patchy look.
Moisturize twice each day. Jergens Natural Glow for face will last longer if you moisturize morning and night. This is a skincare essential anyway, so unless you are targeting a specific issue that requires more or less moisturizing each day, two times is the magic number.
Avoid applying to smile lines, if you have them. I’ve found that any product I put on my face will eventually settle in to my smile lines and something about the shimmer and pigmentation in the Natural Glow accentuates the lines. It’s any easy fix though–just don’t apply it to those areas. Smile lines–this is the punishment we get for being happy, huh?
Mix with moisturizer when applying to your neck. Necks are tricky. Many of us have some lines or creases there, and much like the smile lines, this product can settle into those lines. Applying a thin layer of moisturizer first takes care of the issue.
Apply it at night, or well before makeup. I don’t use this as pre-makeup moisturizer because I don’t think it’s moisturizing enough, and I’m not sure it will react well to all face makeup. It’s not a problem if it’s completely absorbed, but if it’s still tacky, wait a little longer. That’s why I tend to do it at night.
Adjust your foundation/tinted moisturizer. This is a tanning product, so your foundation shade is going to change. That’s one of the reasons I always suggest having a couple of foundations in your makeup bag. That way you can darken and lighten the shades (by mixing them) if your skin changes from sunless tanner or the sun. It’s not a drastic change with Jergens Natural Glow for Face, but you might go up a half a shade or a full shade.
That’s it! Not too complicated, right? I think it’s worth it and I really do love the product. After a few days of using it, I always feel like my skin looks good enough to forgo face makeup if I want to. The shimmer that it contains is subtle, but true to its name, gives you some glow. And something about being tan seems to even out the skin (although a real tan actually does the opposite, in the long run). If you are feeling winter pale or feel like your skin is looking dull, give this a try.
Have a beautiful day 🙂
A Pretty Addiction 