snowy white legs!!

[yoko]

i have lovely ,glowing white legs as part of my celtic complexion and i really want to use a fake tan this year.so,can any one reccomend a good pale tan-dont actually want brown legs,just not blinding white ones,also,any application tips,thanks.

Hi, I have the lovely white legs evey year, it's a nightmare!! I used to use Boots Soltan, but that thats about 24hrs to show. Last year I found Piz Buin mid self tan was brilliant. You can see the results in 3/4hrs and it is very mild. Good luck!

Hi Yoko, I have white legs too. Over the years I've tried various fake tans but the one I've got atm is The Body Shop Fake It. I haven't used it for so long though (last summer) that I can't remember what it's like but I did see it recommended in some magazine recently. I use Ambre Solaire on my face though and that is good, although the smell is quite strong and Apricoty. It was good when I used it on my body too, quite a subtle colour and there are separate ones for body and face. They're quite expensive (compared to others anyway) but I thought they were worth it last year.

Application tips, right. Shave/wax your legs and exfoliate, thoroughly, beforehand. I also moisturise too, although some people say not to. Be VERY careful around your ankles, elbows and knees as these areas can easily turn orange and look fake and wrinkly and completely spoil the effect. I usually put tan on these areas as I would elsewhere and then immediately wipe over with a damp cloth/towel to take the excess off. You won't really be able to tell whether you did it correctly or not until it's developed though. I've found this even with tinted ones that show the colour as you apply. I always look at people's ankles if I'm trying to guess if their tan is real or fake and you can often tell because they've mucked it up here. Anyway, I have sometimes got it right. Remember to wash your hands IMMEDIATELY after you've applied the tan too or you'll have orange palms for a week.

But if I were you and if you can afford it, I'd go to a decent salon and get a St Tropez/other salon treatment. I'm assured there are no streaks or orange and I bet it's worth it. My sister had it for her wedding and it looked totally natural and fantastic.

I have fantastic blue-white legs for most of the year, and after bareing them to the sun for months this will soften to a much more acceptable cream. The bane of my life.
Agree with WWW about the salon application and about the importance of exfoiliating. I use Clarins and the Avon fake tans. They have different textures and yield the same colour so I apply the avon one (much thinner and cheaper) lightly around dry areas, and use the clarins (expensive, but lasts and makes my skin lovely and soft) around the rest. Still looks fake but if I apply it lightly I get the natural cream I'm looking for.

Can I ask another question? What do you do while waiting for the tan to 'take'? I mean, you can't sit/lie down, can you, because the tannign stuff comes off on the furniture. Having spent one year in the tropical sun of Asia, my legs, I am proud to say, are now very light pale ecru. Sigh.....

Body shop fake tan, thin it down with moisturiser, perfect for the celtic blue glow.

suedonim, I'm afraid you have to walk around the house naked!

I find failing to get your legs waxed for months gives them a soft, brownish coating that disguises the white quite well...

Go to your local boots and get a nivea tan prolonger, its only about a fiver a tube and has just a little fake tan in with it,
becasuse it only colours a little at a time it doesn't streak, you can keep applying it daily till you get the colour you wan tand then drop down to once every 3/4 days to keep the colour up. It's brilliant!

I use a Rimmel face and body fake tan on my legs when I'm going to wear a skirt at this time of year. I shave my legs, apply loads of moisturiser when I get out of the shower, then thin down the tan stuff with moisturiser, putting on one thin coat at a time until I have a veyr light colour.

I'm totally anti-sun these days but hate the colour of my untanned flesh! Not sure how I am going to cope with a week in Majorca in August with a friend who suntans year round - either on holiday or on a sunbed! Still if I get an adult size sunsuit, I can hide the wobbly bits too!

That's what I feared, WWW, - or rather, it's what the rest of my family fear!

actually, I only bother with the real fake tan for special occasions as it's fussy to apply. Usually I just smooth on some instant stuff when I wear a skirt or go out for the evening and it washes off later. much more straighforward, but tends to get on clothes if I'm not careful.

another bluey-white here (I'd kill for pale ecru!) Can I ask an ignorant question? How does one exfoliate?? (yes, I do know what it means, just not how you do it!)

and about to go on holiday with very slim olive skinned friend - just as I'm looking my most pudgy-but-not-yet-properly-pregnant!! Ah, that's another thought - presume its ok to use these fake tans in pregnancy??

saint tropez

elliott, this is going to sound horrible (and I spose it is, come to think of it) but you need to get one of those mitt things (Body shop, Boots) and some exfoliation cream/wash/soap and scrub the top layer of your skin off with a combination of the two. Not to make it raw but just so that your fake tan doesn't flake off in hours. Might stay white this summer, don't think I can be arsed with all the faffing around. at suedonim and yuk! at Aloha.

Sobernow. I only got 6mths in jail and no fine (whilst my 16yr old DD got 25yrs and gbp 2,000 fine!) so I suppose I was bound to get my come-uppance eventually.

thank you all,if the weathers not good i can safely keep my tights on,other wise i shall be experimenting cautiously!!

I hear good things of those Tan Towels which I think Soltan is doing now, and superdrug sells as well.

Disposable gloves (get in a pack from same chemists) keeps the stuff off your hands, same as with dyeing your hair.

Clarins is the only one for me!

I used to use Clinique but now use Boots Soltan in a mousse. Have come to the conclusion that I should be "white and proud" as I'm fighting a losing battle trying to tone down my illuminous white legs.

I haven't seen it for a while but I love that advert where the woman is trying to find someone where to put herself while her fake tan dries. Have done that many times trying not to touch myself, the furniture, the cats...

I once had a salon tan before a holiday only to find that the beautiful sandy beach I was soon on quickly exfoliated it off.

I must admit that I used to use fake tan on legs and arms years ago and turned into something like the honey monster. Those bad experiences put me off so I began to use a sunbed (quicker and cleaner but more harmful)

Girls have these creams really improved since the old days as I would be very interested to know. If they are easier I would not mind giving it another go? On another point does anyone remember the course of pills years ago (early 80's)that turned the user into a tangerine nightmare??????

Ooh! I've just remembered I've also sat in a bath of tea bags thinking that would do the trick.
It didn't.

Boots No 7 is really good and quite reasonably priced, my friend used decleor which is also very good but quite expensive (she hasn't got children!

I'd be worried about applying a fake tan pre-holiday since I would become paler as the holiday went on.

A question for those who apply all over, how do you get it really even at the back?