Best Self-Tanners

It's that time of year again when I realize that my everyday winter rituals of sitting around inside watching TV while wearing sweat pants and eating chocolate have somehow not resulted in a perfectly bronzed, toned, swimsuit ready body. This weekend I'm hitting the beach with some girlfriends, and while the toning isn't going to happen with one week notice, the bronzing I can definitely handle.

Now, I'm by nature a very pale person. Like Nicole Kidman pale, but without her lovely, glowy aura. I'm also not really that into skin cancer, I'm more an SPF 50 kind of girl. So I'm all about the self-tanner.

Self-tanner is extremely tricky. I've used several that I like--L'oreal Sublime Bronze is pretty good--but the best, by far, is Origins The Great Pretender, which is 17.50. There are so many reasons why this tanner is superior. It's tinted, so you can see where you've already put it--essential in self- tanning application. Also, I like it because it's a little bit shimmery--don't worry, it's not like body glitter, but it contains mica, so it just gives you a little shimmer in the sunshine. It doesn't smell like most self-tanners, it has kind of a minty smell, and is not super strong. It leaves your skin super soft. But the best thing about it is the color--it gives you a true tan color that is not at all orange. You can buy it at the Origins store at the Domain.  As far as application goes, just make sure you exfoliate first, rub in completely, and apply lotion to your feet elbows and knees after applying.

For face, I really like Neutrogena Build-a-Tan for Faces, which is $8.99 at drugstore.com. This has SPF 15 and is oil free, has a really nice smell, and gives a golden color that builds up gradually over use, and doesn't streak. I use this as my daily moisturizer in the summer.