From Snow White to Tan Jan to Orange Lauren ... Neutrogena Sunless Tanning
Written: Jul 14 '01 (Updated Jul 04 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Looks natural at first, dries very quickly, smells nice
Cons: Orangey in spots after a few days
The Bottom Line: Sounds better than most -it was one of the first sunless products I used.
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| KMINER's Full Review: Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Lotion Medium |
I was determined not to be pale and white this summer. I hate wearing shorts, and have one leg that has some spider veins and red blotches that I'd love to minimize. So I bought minutes at a tanning salon. 3 months later I have "some" color. I never had the time to go faithfully, and some sessions if seemed like I got no color, and others too much. While not overly expensive, I was undecided whether to buy more minutes when we went on vacation.
My mother in law confided in me that she uses self tanners for her legs, once her whole body gets a little color. She really liked the Neutrogena Sunless Tanning and had a few bottles in both Dark and Medium in her bathroom to try. (I tried Medium) I really liked some of the things I read on the bottle, though I tried to keep in mind that Neutrogena was probably trying to market the product in the best possible light.
Dries in 5 minutes -- Great I thought, I have no free time anyways, and who wants to sit around naked trying not to touch anything for a long time.
SPF of 8 - Not ideal, but better than nothing, I thought. I felt comfortable that I'd be somewhat protected from the sun while using this.
No orange glow - Perfect, who wants to look orange.
Pleasing floral scent - Even better, who wants to smell like medicine or bleach?
I was worried that I'd wake up and look drastically different, and so I just used the lotion the first time on my legs (I figured, at worst, I could wear pants until it washed off). I used the bottle (as opposed to the spray), and the lotion came out pale white and went on clear. It rubbed in easily and was easy to spread. It did smell faintly like flowers, and did not have an unpleasant scent. I was unsure how well I had covered my leg, and since I was on my way to bed, I figured I'd see how it looked in the morning.
The bottle says to wait about 4 hours to see results, seeing as it was 10 pm, I decided I would check in the morning. Getting up early to go to garage sales, I really did not take the time to notice my legs until about 10 the next morning. "Hey, I look kind of tan!" I was very excited.
It was noticeable to my family that day, whom I did not tell that I had used a sunless tanner. "I guess you have picked up a bit of color," they commented, after noticing my legs. I was pleased that the color seemed to blend with the tones on the rest of my skin, and looked natural enough for people who really knew me not to second guess it.
48 hours later, I noticed that "tan color" kind of fading, streaking some, and turning a little orange in spots. That seems fairly typical for what I have read about this product, and so I was not surprised. Additionally, as I improved in my application I saw less and less of this. Every other day I would re-apply as I was getting ready for bed, and in the morning, my legs would again have that "glow".
Not having anything else to compare it to, I bought a different brand of sunless tanner also. I preferred Neutrogena overall, except for the orange streak (which I feel have minimized over the month I have used the product and improved in its application). The other product, Coopertone Endless Summer (click the link to read that review), took forever to dry, smelled horrid, ran off me even after waiting 6 hours to shower, and flaked off my skin in patches for the 48 hours. While the overall color seemed similar, I preferred the smell and limited wait time of the Neutrogena. I have also tried Mary Kay's sunless tanner, which worked about as well, but I liked the ease of purchasing from my local Walmart.
Overall, I have been pleased with the Neutrogena Sunless Tanning and plan to try it on other forms (spray, or look for a mousse).
Recommended:
Yes
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