L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion

Everyone seems to be picking up some color lately....well, except me. I live in Southern California (or SoCal as we call it), but I have basically no time to just chill at the beach. What is a girl to do? My solution: self-tanner!

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion (long name, but great product) works miracles! Now personally, I do tan when I'm in the sun, but who has hours and hours to spend in the sun? Not me! I picked this up at my local Ralph's (the basic grocery store in California), but you can pretty much get this at any drugstore. It was only $7 or $8 (I bought the shade Medium Natural Tan) and so far, it's some of the best money I ever spent.

Now, to walk you through how it works (because I know self-tanners can be a bit scary for first-time users). First off...EXFOLIATE! Remove all of your dead skin cells, so that the tanner can really sink in to your skin. Then, apply it to your skin. I recommend doing sections at a time (for example, start with your forearm, then move the upper arm/shoulder area, on to the stomach, etc...). By doing sections, you can take your time and prevent streaking. It says it's streak free, but trust me, you still have to be careful. So, when you first apply it to your skin, it's basically orange (see picture above).

Don't freak out! Once you begin to apply, the color is muted and only shimmery sparkles appear!   Personally, I enjoy the shimmer because I know where I have applied it, but some beauty gurus hate it. The shimmers are actually only visible to you, as no one will be staring at your arm as closely as yourself (plus, they wash off in the shower). After application, wait for it to dry completely-which is not that long at all-and you're good to go. It doesn't rub off on clothing, sheets, etc. 

It says the color will develop in less than an hour, but I honestly can't say because I do this at night and don't even stay up to see if it develops. All I know is - when I wake up, I have a tan. 

As for the smell, it's honestly not too bad. If you've ever smelled Jergens Natural Glow, it's NOTHING like that! This one has a faint tanner smell that easily comes off in the shower. This brings me to my next point, does the tan come off in the shower? No! The better you've exfoliated before applying, the longer it will last. I apply mine for a few consecutive nights (until I reach my desired tan level), then I only need to use it once or twice a week to maintain the color. I honestly love this product! 

My only cons to this product are that when the bottle says to wash hands throughouly, they mean it! I woke up after my first use with orange hands (it went away eventually, but that wasn't so cute while it lasted).

Overall, I would give this products 4 STARS and recommend you purchase it!

~Serena