Feeling Pasty Pasty White?

[JaneEyre9]

Well it's that time of year again here in Ohio, and the warm weather clothing is making me feel paler than white. I had to be in public last weekend, so I went to the drugstore and found Jergens Natural Glow Face Moisturizer for FAIR skin. It is the best! It even smells like suntan lotion, so I can pretend I've been out all day at the beach. :-) It did NOT turn me orange or make me look really dark.

I just wanted to throw this recommendation out there for those of you who want a little lift. It did wonders for me emotionally to feel like I was the color of a real human. haha.

Also, I got the Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer (in a larger tube) for my legs and arms. I didn't want to be 2 toned! The plus side of this is that it's primarily lotion rather than a pure tanning agent, so it makes you soft without an overpowering color.

Kristen (not to copy Melissa, but i think her signature face is appropriate for this post)

[Megan]

I've definitely been using that lately! :-) My boyfriend's fraternity formals are this weekend also, and I didn't want to look see-through.

Meg

[DancingLight]

Kristen,

I think I need to get me some!

My mom loves that stuff and all the people rave about it! Mary Kay has a similar product out now which I think I may try too. I think other companies are trying to imitate Jergens now--Neutrogena etc.--b/c they made such a huge splash with that product. It was so popular when it first came out that it was out of stock everywhere. They are making the big bucks off of us pale folk!

Em

[dizzygirl]

hey thanks for the sunny tip!!!!!!! lol.. i know i too am tired of looking like capser and would welcome some color or "glow" to my face/skin!! one of course that isnt involve flushing or nigth sweats..LOL

how cool a tint of a tan minus having to sit in the sun and be sick! WAHOO!!!!

[MightyMouse]

I use the sunless tanner stuff too--b/c when I'm outside, I'm wearing at least spf 30, so I don't really get a tan. Even in Mexico, I use the sunless tanning lotions so I can look like I've been sunning myself, but without the skin damage and overheating I'd otherwise get. It does really help me emotionally to look in the mirror and not look a funny shade of greyish white, almost see-through.

Nina

[lalalisa]

Thanks for the tip. =) I've seen this in stores but wouldn't try it until I heard from someone else that it worked and didn't turn them a funny shade!

Take care,

Lisa

[DancingLight]

Just wanted to clarify a little somethig (sorry, the Mary Kay beauty consultant is coming out in me)....

Kristen is talking about a product that is a lotion that GRADUALLY over time, gives you a 'natural glow'. It's easy to put on and you just put it on like regular lotion after a shower. Over time you create a tan. You can put it on every day if you want.

Classic sunless tanning lotion like Nina mentioned is different in the sense that you put it on and within a couple of hours you have a tan. I used to love to do this when I felt better, but now I haven't messed with any of it since it is a bit more work. With sunless tanning lotions you need to be much more careful about not getting too much at the elbows or knees for example or putting it on unevenly. You also have to be very careful to wash your hands so that you do not have colored palms! You have to also keep up with sunless tanning lotions...in the sense that they fade quickly and need to be done at least 1 time, usually 2x a week.

For those of us with extremely low energy I think products like Jergens, Mary Kay and others that are the lotion style that work over time might be an easier go. I think companies are perhaps starting to think this for the general population. Mary Kay just phased out its sunless tanning lotion and replaced it with a product similar to the Jergens Natural Glow lotion.

Okay, enough on beauty tips! It's a nice distraction though.

I need to get rid of this under the skin swollen zit the size of TX on my chin before I can put anything on my face! LOL.

To a few less casper the ghost faces out there!

Emily

[DancingLight]

Lisa...just try the stuff on a patch of skin that isn't so 'public' before you slather all over your face or something!!!! But, Jergens comes highly recommended and raved about and I would recommend Mary Kay of course and I am sure some of the other companies will have success with products...just make sure to test it first on a patch of skin if you are worried about how the color will look on you. Em

[DancingLight]

Ah, yes, me again.

Just flipping through a magazine full of ads and there were a zillion ads for the gradual tanning lotions! So, just chiming in again--Nivea, Aveeno, Jergens, MK, take your pick!

Looks like this year we won't have to search the shelves b/c the Jergens is sold out! LOL.

Emily

[Sunfish]

kristen (or anyone else who's used this or something similar), so you generally have super sensitive skin, at least on your face? i'd love to try/ use the stuff but my face generally can't tolerate anything that's not marketed for "sensitive skin", and sometimes not even that. this goes for even "good stuff", i.e. i can't use clinique's face lotion nor mary kay's nor oil of olay's if it's not the "sensitive skin" type. (nor lots of other types that i've tried over the years!). i have found a few that i can tolerate now so am set in the plain lotion department but would love to try some of the gradual tanner stuff if i think i'd have a chance with it.

the rest of my skin is sensitive too but not nearly to the same extreme as my face so i suppose if i bought something for my face & ended up not being able to use it on my face i could use it elsewhere, though i'm not sure having a bit more color elsewhere while still having a pasty white face would necessarily help anything...

:-)melissa

[MomtoGiuliana]

Is everyone aware of www.cosmeticsdatabase.com

This is a great resource for comparing the relative safety of different cosmetics and other personal care products. If you look at this you will see that some sunless tanning/glow products are safer than others.

[DancingLight]

melissa,

i can only speak for mary kay--and it sounds like that one has given you problems in the past--the one they make is for face and body all in one tube which is nice--but it's brand new this year so i don't know a lot about how people are tolerating it. still, it IS marketed as tested for allergy and safe for sensitive skin, non comedogenic, blah de blah. you can look on www.marykay.com and see what you think?

i worry about stuff on my face too!!!!!!

later gator!

em

[kitchmill]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! Another Casper here. I actually use my kids' Water Babies SPF 55 when I go out in the sun, so no chance of any color on me! In fact, I spent 5 days in Mexico on vacation last month and came home with only a small burn around my hairline where I must have missed applying the lotion one day. I'm going to have to try some of this lotion so I don't look so white all summer!!!

Rachel

[JaneEyre9]

Hola from the Caribbean! Just kidding. I am loving my tanning lotion.

Melissa-- What happens to you when you can't use a face lotion? I obviously can't say with 100% certainty that this would be ok for you, but I do have sensitive skin in terms of breakouts, and this Jergens stuff is a new product designed just for face (make sure it says "face" on it)-- noncomedogenic, oil free, and light weight. Due to my chemical sensitivities, I'm generally super careful about putting anything on my face unless it is specifically formulated for faces, and even then I usually go without any makeup-- only using mild bar soap. I have to admit, you gave me a laugh about being tan everywhere but your face. What a picture. hahaha.

Lisa-- I am usually the same way about trying new products on myself-- I like to wait for someone to tell me it works for them. I was feeling extra bold and feisty that day at the store and decided to go for it! Thankfully the risk paid off-- especially since I was about to see friends I hadn't seen in a few years. Wouldn't that have been great if i had shown up orange?

Em-- Thanks for clarifying that the tinted moisturizer isn't an instant tan. It is gradual which makes it more natural I think, and easier to control. All I wanted to do was take the glare off of my arms, legs, and face, and so just the couple times I used it, I succeeded. I didn't think it was doing much at first, but I tried using some hydrogen peroxide on a cut I had on my leg, and when it dripped, it bleached a little streak down to my ankle. I rinsed off the peroxide right away and it was fine, but it showed me I actually did have some color.

Keep in mind i chose the Jergens for *FAIR* skin tones. I'm not responsible for the results of medium or dark, though that might give you a lot of color fast.

~The new and improved artificially bronzed Kristen

[DancingLight]

Kristen,

You are getting me motivated. I have to tell you I'm sick of looking at myself in the mirror! You are right....we have glare to us! People need shades we are so white. In college some guy (who was a total jerk) called me an albino. Nice.

Anyways, I need this escapism, can you tell?

Yes, Jergens did not have that face product at first so that is really nice.

Melissa....my mom just reported to me that she has had trouble breaking out from the Jergens face stuff and also from L'Oreal, but likes the L'Oreal better.

I may try the MK and I'll report back to you on that just b/c I can use their other products.

Kristen--I'm really glad with all of your sensitivities this one worked for you.

I, too, can't tolerate much stuff and so just stick with the tried and true MK--but then you have Melissa who reacts to that!

We're all so different.

I do think fragrance is a problem--for Melissa too right?--and I saw in one of the ads that something like Nivea has a fragrance, so I won't try that one!

Now, here's my question...

If you wear camis or bra top type stuff in the summer--how in the heck to you get the stuff on that part of your back and stuff?????

I don't want to be uneven either! Or have a white face and a tan body like Melissa.

Melissa--can you use a tinted moisturizer from Clinique or MK?

I hate that it's trial and error just like our darned meds! I'm glad you lucked out on the first try Kristen.

Glad you're having fun in the Carribbbean! LOL.

Em

[DancingLight]

OOOPS!

I reported incorrectly! My mom likes L'Oreal better--seems to feel better and do a better job than the Jergens. I guess she read somewhere that this was the 'top pick' last summer. Of course, Jergens was the top pick two summers ago...but it was the only product like it!

Probably will have a new 'perfect' in the magazines this year! LOL.

Anyways, NONE make her break out. She just has really sensitive eyes--to eye products that I've never had issue with. Her eyes burn and these products make them burn.

That's the update.

I'm looking at the tubes right now that she ahs for Jergens and L'Oreal--both come in face style as well as skin tone (like fair, medium, dark).

To all of us looking fabulously beautiful even if we never leave our house!

Em

[Sunfish]

hiya gals -

yes, i'm up late, but i didn't wake up today until 3pm so am more than a bit off kilter sleep-wise (slept 15 hrs last night). but anyway...my sensitivity, aka "what happens" when i can't tolerate things on my face, actually has nothing to do with breaking out, as that's not really a problem for me. em it sounds like my problem is a bit more like your mom has with her eyes. my skin simply burns like crazy & gets blotchy red. it happens right away & feels like someone has poured acid on my face. i'm not sure exactly what it might be that causes the reaction (though i haven't tried incredibly hard to pin it down). and while i have this sensitivity (whatever it is) there are some things that one might think would bother me that don't at all. so who knows.

you're correct emily in remembering that i have issues with some fragrances too, though it's not all fragrances & seems to be an entirely different issue than my problem with creams/ lotions on my face. frangrance - wise i generally can't handle anything floral, though real flowers are usually okay (though i think i technically am allergic to many of them, it's never bothered me to have them in my room). scents that are in the fruity, fresh/ clean, spicey variety don't bother me, though like anyone would i prefer some more than others. i'm actually pretty obcessed with scented candles & my favorites are ginger, basil-lime, pink grapefruit, & peppermint. i use scented lotions & as long as they're not floral i'm usually okay with them. floral stuff tends to just set me off on crazy sneezy spells. not as bothersome as the rashes/ burning i get from lotions that bother my face but still not fun!

not sure if any of this helps with deciphering what i might or might not be able to tolerate, & i'll be honest that i'm not sure if i care enough at the moment to bother with risking it. i don't like my pasty look one bit but it's also not even close to the top of my list of concerns these days so am not sure i'll bother with trying it when there's the chance of it adding to my list of physical annoyances/ discomfort. after a few years of new make-up i did acquire some "bare essentials" brand items a few months back that i like a LOT. i try to use it on the few occassions i make it out for something non-medical & when i just use it to give me a bit of color & don't bother with anything else (i.e. eyes) then it literally doesn't take me more than 3-4 minutes & gives me a healthier look without looking at all like i have make-up on. so i may just stick with that for now, though do wish i knew if the gradual tanning lotions might work for me as it would be great if they did...

melissa

[DancingLight]

me,

i wish i had an answer to your dilemna--so that just buying a make-up product wouldn't turn into such an ordeal. it would be nice to have one thing be easy for you!

i'm going to give the jergens a shot i think. b/c like kristen said it is derm teste, non-comedogenic and oil-free, all important to me.

i couldn't find this sort of info on the l'oreal packaging that my mom had. i did try my mom's l'oreal (for medium skin even though i'm far from medium) and i went to the dentist today--after just one use the dentist and all was saying how much better i looked than last time i was in! maybe it was the lotion, maybe the blush, maybe i'm doing a tad better, i don't know!

sometimes i wonder if i should bother and get all wrapped up in whether to put that energy into it...i start out gung-ho and think i'll be able to keep it up but then i can't. i haven't felt like i could give it a shot the past three summers, but may this summer.

the jergens is cheap so if i don't like it i won't feel too terribly.

i'm going to ask my MK recruiter about the MK too and see...it's one tube for face and body...so that could mean less energy output!

i'm totally rambling...

oh, the l'oreal, to me, was really greasy and it felt like my face never dried! so that's why i defaulted to the jergens. if i place an mk order, i'll give mk a shot next.

melissa--one other possibility if you really want something just on the days you go out? there are some really cool new bronzing powders and highlighters that you can put on with a few strokes of a brush and be on your way. i'm going to learn how to use them soon (the mk ones)...so maybe that's another way to give a boost on the days you feel like it?

i only put blush on right now, but it doesn't cover the pallor that is for sure.

sometimes though, i'm almost grateful when at least how i look is congruent with how badly i feel...then i don't hear...oh but you look great!

anyways, melissa, i wish i knew more about specific ingredients to help you. the only option is obviously some sort of small patch test on your face with something like the jergens. or just to maybe try a bronzer/facial highlighter in powder form (do you react to powders?)...

just let me know and i'll find out what i can. if it would brighten a day for you i'm in! i was surprised given all of your craziness medically that you were interested in even giving this a go...let me know what i can do to help.

to my fellow pasty white friends, and a very tan kristen,

goodnight!

em