I am THAT pale girl. I get asked if I am a vampire, if I am wearing stockings when my white legs show, & if I spend any amount of time in the sun I simply come out looking like a lobster.
At school I remember being so envious of all the “cool kids” for their tans from their overseas island holidays, & their healthy glow that just radiated from them. Perhaps if I had a tan I could tap into that level of cool & garner some of their confidence?
So I invested in some self tan.
I SLATHERED that stuff on daily & you could smell the coconutty scent from a mile away (if you have ever been a self-tanner you know exactly what I am talking about!). I was ORANGE. Yes, there may have been a subtle edge of tan, but mainly I was orange. And my hands, feet, elbows & knees were a darker shade so gave away the fact it wasn’t natural – just in case people weren’t convinced by the unnatural pumpkin-tinge.
And then, I went to buy foundation & they didn’t have a colour to match my skin tone. Yip, I was too pale. The Ivory was too yellow, & the Porcelain too dark. I looked ridiculous. The lady at the shop looked at me in horror as she stuttered through telling me she didn’t know what I could do – perhaps I could add some white to a foundation & pray to the make-up gods that it would suit me?
The mocking & laughter at my expense got to me, & I gave up on attempting to fix this myself. I could no longer be a walking carrot, & perhaps I should just embrace my pale-ness. I told myself: “pale is the new tan”, but deep down the years of not fitting in & feeling like an outcast was heavy on my heart.
And then, I discovered the joy of spray tanning! How had I missed out on this for so long? No more dark brown hands from applying it, no more of that giveaway scent of the self-tanner, & it gave an even glow to my entire body! I felt like I had found my very own happy place & would no longer inspire people around me to wear their sunglasses when they look at me.
Adrienne from TanFabulous Spray Tanning (Facebook & Instagram) invited me into her home & I instantly felt relaxed & welcomed. I felt comfortable, & she explained the procedure from pre- to post-care so well that I knew that I had found my happy place.
People often complain that their spray tan doesn’t last as long, or that they aren’t happy with how patchy it turns out. I have had over 6 spray tans with Adrienne, & have never once left disappointed or unhappy with how it has turned out. This really showed me the importance of exfoliating often before my tan, as well as wearing loose clothing immediately after the event. She now stocks the most gorgeous kaftans as well as too many people were arriving in clothing that would have rubbed off half of the tan before they got home!
Adrienne uses a product called Norvell, which is the tanning product that is rated number one Sunless Tanning Brand in the world. If you take care of it, it should last at least 8-10 days. It is natural-looking (NOT orange!), has a beautiful gentle Summery scent, & is used worldwide. Adrienne also offers both the Venetian Solution (Designed to match skin colors found on the beautiful beaches of the European Riviera. Best-selling, proprietary sunless formula created with VIO-7™, a unique blend of anti-orange bronzer pigments, designed to counter an unwanted orange undertone for a natural-looking tan. Offered as instant cosmetic bronzers with extended or rapid tans), or the Rapid Tan Solution (Creator of 1 hour rapid tanning technology. Gives client the ability to control the depth of color to rinse in as little as 1 hour)– depending on your needs.
If you have Pale Girl Problems like me, then you need to give sunless tanning a try!
Give Adrienne a call before you leave on your glamorous Summer vacay, & enjoy feeling tanned & healthy.
I would really like to thank Adrienne for making me her TANbassador, & always ensuring that my tan is on point. I feel beautiful & healthy whenever I leave her house, & her positive, bubbly energy just fills my heart with so much joy.
You can book your appointment through her social media channels, or by giving her a call on 083 601 2291. She is based in Lonehill, Sandton & offers great discounts when you do group bookings (yay for Matric Dances or Weddings!), or when you do a bulk booking (i.e. 4 or more appointments booked).
I will leave you with some more pics of my fabulous tan as it develops just to entice you a little further!
