Au Cournat Natural-Looking Sunless Tan

If I haven't already made it abundantly clear, I am pale, pale, pale. I mean, almost translucent. With my fantastic translucency comes the impossible task of finding a sunless tanner that doesn't make me look ridiculous and, well, I am happy to report it has been found (and it works even better on my friends who tried it and are a bit darker than me). Au Courant Instant Sunless Tanning lotion comes out black from the bottle (strange, I know), but it does help to keep you in check as to where you've slathered the stuff. The smell isn't offensive (you know some of those self-tanners that are so nasty you want to apply the stuff outside the house), and the lotion goes on smoothly, which I think is why this stuff looks so natural on my skin. I only went with one layer, but my friends who are a bit darker than me applied a few layers and there was no orange on any of us. It's pricey at $30.00, but when it comes to natural-looking color, I'd spend a fortune. Nothing is worse than being orange. Actually, scratch that - the worst would be orange skin and Sun-In damaged hair. Eek, I just cringed.

Au Courant's founder shares these great self-tanning tips (to help even a pale, novice like me):

• Exfoliate from head to toe! “It’s best to exfoliate before you tan to ensure that your skin is smooth and even for a flawless application,” said Au Courant’s Sue Horrell. “Use our Ultra-Nourishing Face & Body Polish for a moisturizing exfoliation pre-tan.”
• For hard to reach places like your back, be sure to use Au Courant Sponge On A Stick to ensure that you’re covering all those hard to reach places – this convenient sponge makes applying cream to your back a breeze.
• To avoid streakiness, be sure to take your time and pay careful attention that you are thoroughly covering every inch of your body.
• For a deeper, longer lasting tan, use a layering technique. In order to do so, apply two or more coats of tanner on the same day or one day apart. There is no need to shower, exfoliate or moisturizer in between these double-sessions.
• Do not shower for 24 hours in order to allow color to soak in and reach its peak.