Thread: the perfect tan

Ok, I have seen so many beautiful bellydance pictures and everyone either seems to have a gorgeous tanned body or a gorgeous milky white body...I have neither!
My skin tone is pale with an olive undertone(a mix of my Syrian and Anglo heritage)...when I have a tan it's very nice, but when I don't it's pretty blinding and not pale enough to be pretty. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to getting a good full-body tanned or bronzed look without a tanning bed? Any products that you would recommend?

fake tan, don't seek a real one...it'll age you and put you at risk of melanoma

You can get a spray tan--they give you the best overall evenness w/o streaks. I've also used the Sally Hanson Airbrushed Legs product for photo shoots and it works great (you can use it on more than just your legs). Other than that, I'd try self tanner, but I find it hard to get it over my entire body evenly. Plus I hate the smell.

Originally Posted by Maizah

My skin tone is pale with an olive undertone(a mix of my Syrian and Anglo heritage)...

Your skin tone sounds really beautiful to me...just saying ..g.:



I have a farmer tan every year ,m:: so that is really the only contribution i can make to this thread

Oh what a beautiful heritage!!!!!!! I'm jealous lol

Originally Posted by bul_bul_ksa

fake tan, don't seek a real one...it'll age you and put you at risk of melanoma

Oh definitely not! As much as I love the sun, I grew up in the desert, I know better... I always go out with sunscreen:shades: I know it's just not worth it.

Originally Posted by aazura

I've also used the Sally Hanson Airbrushed Legs product for photo shoots and it works great (you can use it on more than just your legs).

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll have to give this one a try!

Rimalah and Lylagus, you are both too sweet!

If you need a tan fast, Loreal's Sublime Bronze gel works well and fast. They also have the spray version, but that one has an odor to it . . . If you want a gradual tan I suggest Jergen's Natural Glow. Also, Wal Mart has a generic of this "Equate" it's half the price and works just as well. That's what I use. It's also a moisturizer with a touch of self tanner, so it makes your skin nice and soft. It's also very natural looking not streaky or orangey . . nice and natural.

"My skin tone is pale with an olive undertone(a mix of my Syrian and Anglo heritage)..products that you would recommend?" ( quote thing didn't work for me)

I feel you on this one...i'm half libyan half anglo...saaaaame problem. I just wear plenty of makeup when i perform to warm up my face, balance of bronzer and blusher ( not drag queen, but enough to look healthily flushed) and it helps with the winter paleness. a vibrant lipstick or gloss also helps to bring some color to my face. I've been digging fire engine red the past couple years.. in the summer, i tan really quickly without spending too much time in the sun. spray tan might sound like a good idea.

If you have an olive undertone you must know by now that you need to avoid anything with yellow or green hues in there, so any fake tanner that makes you go more yellow or green than normal needs to be ditched. St Tropez is expensive but definately quite 'brown'.

Having said all of that, is there any way you can embrace your natural skin colour? Get some opinions on what to wear to really bring it out & make it look nice. I say this as a very pale lady who now (sometimes) is brave enough to go with the natural colour in some costumes sometimes.

I swear by L'oreal Sublime Glow Moisturizing Microfine Mist Medium Skin Tones. I'm italian and russian and my skin tone is pale-ish with green yellow undertones. This spray tan is warmer (so I don't look green) and super easy to use.

I also love L'Oreal Sublime Glow. I use the untinted lotion form. It gives a wonderful warm tone, I love it.

The most natural color I've found out of 5-6 kinds is with the Fusion brand. (I got mine from Ulta).

Originally Posted by Lauren_

L'Oreal Sublime Glow.

I like the towlette version of this product. I use it at night so I can wash it off in the morning (all self-tanners I've tried seem to stink something awful) but the nice color lasts for a good 3-4 days. It's also easy to correct farmer's tans and strap lines and such since you can spot-apply fairly easily.

Oooh, thanks for all the suggestions everyone, looks like I have some products to try :) As far as goin au-naturale, I could also try to find some great colors (thanks for the suggestion, BDCaroline)- anyone out there w/olive undertone have any color suggestions for costuming? I know I have my favorites for daily wear, but not really sure I've ever thought it out as far as making my skin looks its best :)

Casting another vote for L'Oreal. The gradual self-tanning lotion is nice for everyday use, to maintain a real or faux tan, or even to soften the glaring whiteness in the winter. I also like their Sublime Glow tanner, in spray or lotion form.

Spray's better - no orange palms.

I've also been known to tan a couple times a month or so, but the lotion is a good way to keep me from frequent frying. Aside from the fact that tanning is horrible for you (I know, I know), I also hate when girls tan so much that they start to resemble a cooked hot dog.

I'm very pale too and I've had good results with Jergens Natural Glow (there's one for pale skin). I use exfoliating gloves int he shower, then apply this lotion. The smell of this one doesn't seem quite as nasty as some others.

try this simple test. get two shirts or swatches of fabric or whathave you. one in bright yellow one in a bright cobalt blue ( or other bold blue, but not navy, too dark) and go in front of a mirror with good, bright lighting. see how it looks with each color.

if the blue washes you out than you should stay away from cooler tones ( blues, forest green, purples etc) you might be a summer or autumn, if you look best in neutrals than your probably an autumn

if the yelow makes you skin look kinda sickly, then you should stick to jewel tones ( the colors i just mentioned above) also if you have a blue undertone ( look best with the blue swatch) and dark hair, you're probably a winter ( like me ^_^) and look best in jewel tones also including pinks and alsoyou are one of the few who can pull of a fire engine red!

hope this helps...( it's probably a bit confusing) if you want more specific info you could probably figure out how to find out which "season" you are online if you google it. or you could have it proffessionally done if you want to spend the cash. I think it would be worth looking into to find out which colors suit you best.

Best web site ever on sunless tanning: Sunless.com -- Your Sunless Tanning Guide

fake bake / st. tropez are good fake tans if you're unsure about going for the total fake tan there are many brands that have a 'hint' of self tan mixed with a body mosturiser than you can use everyday.

Originally Posted by Maizah

Oooh, thanks for all the suggestions everyone, looks like I have some products to try :) As far as goin au-naturale, I could also try to find some great colors (thanks for the suggestion, BDCaroline)- anyone out there w/olive undertone have any color suggestions for costuming? I know I have my favorites for daily wear, but not really sure I've ever thought it out as far as making my skin looks its best :)

Bright reds, golds, maroons, royal blues, purples, deep oranges, turquoise all look good. I usually defer to saturated true colors over pastels and muted tones. Browns and neutrals are a good look too.

Colors to avoid:
Olive (brings out the olive in our skin making us look green)
Yellows (makes skin look wan and pale)
Light orange
Silver
White (unless a bit tan)
Green (with the exception of bright light greens)

But honestly this is just me, I would just go and hold various colors up to your face to see what kind of skin changes the various colors cause.

Hey, I just found this thread as a spin-off from another one. This is my exact skin tone! Armenian and French-Canadian, here. :) Makeup companies so rarely understand that yes, some people with olive skin ARE relatively fair! Most "light warm" makeup is too orange for me. "Light cool" makeup is too pinky-blue.

I wear lots of reds, burgundies, fuchsias, turquoises, forest greens, olive greens, plum purples, and browns. When I'm tan (I usually get a very slow tan even with sunscreen in the summer), I like corals, pinks, white, and lime greens too.

I'm glad to see all these self-tanner recommendations. I have a recital in early May, and I'd like to be a bit darker for that!

Originally Posted by Anahit_Karyan

... Makeup companies so rarely understand that yes, some people with olive skin ARE relatively fair! Most "light warm" makeup is too orange for me. "Light cool" makeup is too pinky-blue.

I wear lots of reds, burgundies, fuchsias, turquoises, forest greens, olive greens, plum purples, and browns. When I'm tan (I usually get a very slow tan even with sunscreen in the summer), I like corals, pinks, white, and lime greens too.

I'm Welsh, Polish and English. Maybe someone lied about who's child someone is, because I can never figure out where the olive tone comes from, yet there it is! Ivory pale in the winter, but tan up easily in the summer. I can wear all of those colors but avoid red out of personal preference. I love greens and browns, always have. I'm a twig in the mud, yeah!

Serious farmer's tan here, too. Need to tan up that fishbelly!

Originally Posted by aazura

You can get a spray tan--they give you the best overall evenness w/o streaks. I've also used the Sally Hanson Airbrushed Legs product for photo shoots and it works great (you can use it on more than just your legs). Other than that, I'd try self tanner, but I find it hard to get it over my entire body evenly. Plus I hate the smell.

I this Sally Hanson Airbrushed product. I would never use self tanners again after finding this.

I prefer a booth application vs. laborious time spent trying to reach the middle of my back, correct blotches, keep hands from turning orange, etc.. I've used the Versa-Spa booth at my local tanning salon and it gives a pretty flawless finish, full color develops in a couple hours. An hour or two after application I spray myself down with California Tan Neutralizer / Odor Eliminator - it really cuts down on the smell: [ame=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001OQMNH2/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A8U3H3CBDYBUQ&v= glance]Amazon.com: California Tan Neutralizer Sunless Post Treatment Odor Eliminato: Health & Personal Care[/ame]

I use Dove's sunshine body lotion, it has a gradual tanning effect and added glitter. It does have a typical smell, it's not bad but to me it's noticeable.