It’s almost officially summer, and the hotter it gets, the more I want to wear cute sundresses, jean skirts and tank tops. But exposing my un-sun-kissed skin can be kind of a downer. Enter self-tanner. In the past, I’ve been a pretty strong devotee of the tinted variety. It’s easy to make sure I don’t miss any spots (nobody wants cheetah-print legs!). But in order to get a good application, I find myself using a ton of tanner, making it not exactly budget-friendly. Plus, I have to wait around while it soaks in, which gets annoying.
Flash-forward to a week or so ago, when my eye was attracted to a tub of TanTowels at Nordstrom. I’d heard lots of people rave about these little tanning cloths, but I was skeptical. I mean, how would the color turn out? Would the application be even? I guess I was in a daring mood, because I picked up one of the full-body-sized towels (it was only about $5) and took it home with me.
A few days later, in an even braver frame of mind, I gave it a shot before a party later that evening. When I opened the packet, I found a little, pleasant-smelling white towelette. The instructions said to apply all over, rubbing in a circular motion, so that’s what I did.
By the time I reached my face, the towel was starting to dry out, but I did my best to use every bit of moisture. After I was done, I happily noted that the tanner had already soaked into my skin. No need to wait around for it to dry. So I got dressed and went on my way. A few hours later, I noticed that my legs and arms had an almost flawless tan. I was impressed. This took way less time to apply and was just as effective. There was still a slight self-tanner scent on my skin, but nothing as strong as you'd fine with the typical bottled variety.
After some research, I found out that TanTowels have built-in pulp fiber to exfoliate skin while tanner is applied. Everyone knows the key to a great self-tan is exfoliation, so I thought this was a pretty cool, time-saving idea. Plus, the individual packaging is perfect for travel.
For the future, I think I’ll buy two half-body packets — TanTowels are available in full body and half-body portions — so I’ve got a little more tanner to work with on my arms and face. Either way, I’ll be using this to get a bronzy glow all summer long!
You can find TanTowels locally at several retailers, including Nordstrom, Sephora and Lavish Apothecary.
