Alternatives to fake tan for my wedding ?

Karmella

Hi people!

I have a bit of a conundrum that maybe someone could advise me on. I'm getting married in June, abroad. I have never been one for wearing fake tan - can't do it properly myself, haven't had it professionally done either - and I worry that I may be allergic ... have had some reactions to those tanning moiturisers (holiday skin and the like)... Generally I don't like the orangeness etc either.

Now, I would be willing to go without, au naturelle as it were, but my skin tone/condition around my shoulders isn't the best, i get red blotches very easily (especially as soon as i start on the champagne!) At moment, even though its dead of winter, my shoulders / upper arms have a reddish tone and are a little bit 'spotty' ... like not in the acne sense, but just tiny tiny lumps all over (sorry I can't describe this better .. hope it makes sense) and then the rest of it is milky white. So what I would love to do is get an even skin colour and 'glow' that'll look good with an ivory dress.

Does anyone have any 'miracle' tips? I suppose what I'm looking for really is 'make-up' for my upper body without going down the tan route. Is there some regime / scrubbing / exfoliating / jiggery pokery that I should be trying also in the lead up?

I should also point out that I'm a disaster in the sun aswell - burn really easily - so I'll probably be covered up for the 2 days leading up to the ceremony!! Imagine having tan lines (or in my case pink lines!) - what a nightmare!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated ... so useless at this kinda stuff. :rolleyes:

hill1

Hi there, I know what you mean about the fake tan hate it myself. best thing to do is to get a body brush and brush your skin every morning before showering use a scrub/showergel like the radox ones or aldi have some on sale this week, then a body lotion like vaseline and you will see a big difference in 4 weeks, if you are not a morning person then before bed is good.
It will take 4 weeks before you see any change but it will be worth it, on the day of the wedding you could use something like Macs strobe cream ( do a test before hand to make sure that it will not bring out any red spots) this will give you a nice glow but it will not change the colour of your skin and will not leave any marks on the dress. have a great day

fend

Defiantly get the body scrub anyways! As it will help your skin glow and is also a nice little treat ...
Why not book somewhere and have a trial fake tan session before the big day. You can pick what level of darkness you want, so even letting them know that you literally just want a tiny tint of bronze will help greatly.

It's basically just trial and error. Make sure you discuss with the tan technician your concerns and tell her that you literally just want the faintest tint on your skin... He/She will be happy to oblige!

Penny Dreadful

As other FMs have said, exfoliate your skin and moisturise, it will do away with the red bumps and give you wonderfully soft even skin.
I am very pale and have very sensitive skin and so can't wear fake tan at all. I bought a body lotion from L'Occataine (apologies for the spelling:o) that has a shimmer in it and wear that on a night out and sometimes dust a sparkle type powder on my shin bones, down my back (if wearing a backless number), on my shoulders, clevage, wherever appropriate. It catches the light, makes my skin look great and no nasty reaction.

gaoife

Hi
It sounds like i have the exact same skin as you
Cant handle su and alergic to loads of things, i have the bumps too!
I have found that san tropez and fake bake both cause serious rashes on my skin but if you try caifornia tan spray (its hard to find maybe call your local chemists) i put it on with a tanning mit that you can get from any chemist and get someone to do my back. It never causes any skin problems and always turns out perfect. Like the others said do a few trials first cus you dont wanna mess up your big day.
Good luck

Stella777

Google dry brushing. You do it before you shower. If you tried dry brushing regularly until your wedding I think you would see an improvement.

Little My

Maybe consider getting a light shawl or bolero or something to go over your shoulders for during the day? If your skin is good on the day, and you find a good product well and good, but you could have a plan b so it wouldnt be a major thing if you feel self conscious.

Once it turns into the evening I wouldnt worry too much - the lights will be dimmer, everyone will be enjoying themselves and no one will notice anything like that.

builttospill

Peanut butter. But make sure it's of the smooth variety or else it wouldn't look the mae west.

rantyface

As someone said, MAC is great. I used one of their body make ups for bruises on my arm when I was a bridesmaid and I'm very pale- no hint of tan or freckle- and it was the same colour as the rest of my skin. I got a huge amount of compliments for my skin tone because of it. Fake tan might go out of fashion and will be akin to having a big dirty frizzy mullet in your wedding photos in a few years...

Ask a beautician, the girl at the mac counter or a pharmacist for advice. There are some "bumpy" skin conditions that are best not to scrub because the damaged skin can get infected- happens all the time to my boyfriend's excema. He finds some shampoos can rinse down and dry his skin too, might be worth watching.

Pythia

Sally Hansen airbrush legs. It comes in lots of colours, not just tan colours. Gives you a nice matte finish.

fend

Only thing with using an instant tan is, it will come off on the white dress....
Using one that gradually comes up will lock it in and avoid it getting all over your pretty white dress!

window_licker

id recommend the sublime bronze tan! Its like instant, as in u can see it when ur putting it on, so no lil mistakes, and it gets darker as the day goes on, its my BFF

Karmella

Thanks for all these tips! I think i'll try the exfoliating anyway, and the mac body makeup sounds intriguing! Must check that out.

HardyEustace

Not all fake tans are horrible. Remember it's only the dodgy ones that you notice! :-)

Fake bake is made from vegetable extracts I think and is a fantastic fake tan. What ever salon you go to, they should do a patch test first.

To be honest, I'd advise trying a few out. When done well, it gives a lovely glow and it's one less thing to worry about on your wedding day rather than messing around with shimmers/lotions.

naasface

Sunbed?
If you don't want to go there I would try Sally Hansen in the lightest shade. It's like body make-up, will look good in photos too. The light shade is more golden than orange too. More than likely look healthy than oompa shade!

If you're worried about rashes and that I would do a 24 patch test before using it all over.

Mac face + body make up also very good but pricier! Though I think if you went into Mac they would match you up to your own skin so that you would have your own skintone but just more flawless-y!

Good luck with the wedding!

MissHoneyBun

Another vote for the MAC face and body make-up. Take care that it doesn't smudge on to your dress though.

Twee.

I love Mac Face+Body. I'm super pale, never bother with tan. I put it on my back or chest and use a matte loose powder all over to make it look super smooth. It's great just for evening out skin tone.

Dark Phoenix

definately try the body brushing and the exfoliating its natural for your skin to be a bit blotchy and dull in this weather!
You could try a product called daily tanner by spa paradisa I love it as it smells fgab and gives a really light colour that builds up each day. I started using it as I can't stand holiday skin. the st tropez everyday body moisturoiser in light/medium too is dearer but gives a lovely golden colour.

At least you have plenty of time to test out a few options OP!

ams

the bumps on your arms are called keratosis pilaris and can be got rid of with eucerin cream - see post on beaut.ie

http://beaut.ie/blog/?p=4540

Definately try out whatever you decide before hand and check that the tan doesnt transfer onto white clothes!!

Karmella

ams wrote: »

the bumps on your arms are called keratosis pilaris and can be got rid of with eucerin cream - see post on beaut.ie

http://beaut.ie/blog/?p=4540

Definately try out whatever you decide before hand and check that the tan doesnt transfer onto white clothes!!

Hi, I've just Wiki'd that and it looks very like what I have. Its on my upper legs too but I wasn't so worried about those as they'll be covered up Must investigate further. Does look like I need to start doing some intensive exfoliating and treating with creams - at least I've got 4 months to get it sorted!

Probably will invest in that Mac stuff too, sounds really good from reviews...

Thanks everyone for your help ...

Dublin_Gunner

My missus uses Dove Summer Glow (I think) cream and it builds up a nice light colour over a few days. Quite cheap, effective, and keeps you nice and moisturised..

Just a blokes 2c