I''ve got 4 days to cover a farmer''s tan... any suggestions?

[geckodani]

Okay. Wedding on Sunday (I''m a bridesmaid). Just came to the horrible realization that I have a farmer''s tan, and a spaghetti strap dress....

I''m crazy pale, except for a tanned V at my neck and my forearms.

So. I see my options as:

1. Use bronzer/makeup to try and blend it.
2. Go tanning and hope that I don''t burn, and that it doesn''t just make the darker parts even darker.
3. Fake tanner. This strikes me as a bad idea.

Any suggestions?

 

[tlh]

my hairdresser had tan in a can, it was a temp bronzer- similar to makeup - and you sprayed it on like hairspray. It washed off, was temporary, so would only be good for a sunny day. Totally covered up tanlines! I don''t remember the brand though.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 1:45:36 PM
Author: tlh
my hairdresser had tan in a can, it was a temp bronzer- similar to makeup - and you sprayed it on like hairspray. It washed off, was temporary, so would only be good for a sunny day. Totally covered up tanlines! I don''t remember the brand though.

I was looking at the Sally Hansen spray on nylons, LOL, and wondered if they would work on arms/chest.

 

[cara]

Don't burn. Point one.

You can't fix the imbalance by Sunday but getting a bit of color on the pale areas will help it look not so bad. Put sunblock on the tan areas and then go tanning today if you can. Be conservative, as there's no way to get all over even color by Sunday and so many ways to mess up.

If it goes OK, I think you could repeat on Friday for a teensy bit more color. Be sure to moisturize and not overdo.

Since you have a farmer's tan, I am assuming your are someone that CAN tan. And also, that you are not one of those people who only gets tan after a burn and peel phase. If that's standard for you, then I think tanning is probably off the table

Then you are out of my expertise. If you can find someone skilled and confident in the ways of fake tan or makeup, they might be able to help take you all the way to even color, but I think getting rid of (or at least making some progress on) the ghostly pale part of the contrast will help. At least that would be my goal! Good luck!

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 1:47:41 PM
Author: cara
Don't burn. Point one.

You can't fix the imbalance by Sunday but getting a bit of color on the pale areas will help it look not so bad. Put sunblock on the tan areas and then go tanning today if you can. Be conservative, as there's no way to get all over even color by Sunday and so many ways to mess up.

If it goes OK, I think you could repeat on Friday for a teensy bit more color. Be sure to moisturize and not overdo.

Since you have a farmer's tan, I am assuming your are someone that CAN tan. And also, that you are not one of those people who only gets tan after a burn and peel phase. If that's standard for you, then I think tanning is probably off the table

Then you are out of my expertise. If you can find someone skilled and confident in the ways of fake tan or makeup, they might be able to help take you all the way to even color, but I think getting rid of (or at least making some progress on) the ghostly pale part of the contrast will help. Good luck!

I am one of those people that can tan, and the last time I peeled it was after a 2nd degree burn, so I'm not too worried about peeling. I think I'll try a quick tan session (I can't do more than 5 minutes or I fry on the first run). I agree that getting the Casper portions a little darker would probably help, LOL. I'll give it a shot and hope for the best I suppose!

 

[somethingshiny]

I don''t think you will get very tan with a tanning salon but I think it''s your best shot. Apply SPF to your tan and use a tanning lotion on the rest of your body. These usually run around $5 for sample packets at a tanning salon. You can go every 24 hours. Most of the tanning lotions do have a self bronzing agent in them so in essence you''ll be doing fake tan and tanning at the same time. After that if you still notice a huge difference, I''d try to blend with makeup rather than risk going orange with tan in a can.

 

[tlh]

that''s where me and the girls put it...didn''t cover it 100% but it made it 60% better.

 

[tlh]

here is a pic... 2 out of the 3 wore it. It didn''t turn me or the bridesmaid orange at all. You can definately still see a tan line, but it isn''t as obvious as the girl who didn''t wear it.

I hope this helps... sorry I don''t have a brand name for you.

 

[tigian]

Date: 7/8/2009 1:51:37 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I don''t think you will get very tan with a tanning salon but I think it''s your best shot. Apply SPF to your tan and use a tanning lotion on the rest of your body. These usually run around $5 for sample packets at a tanning salon. You can go every 24 hours. Most of the tanning lotions do have a self bronzing agent in them so in essence you''ll be doing fake tan and tanning at the same time. After that if you still notice a huge difference, I''d try to blend with makeup rather than risk going orange with tan in a can.

I agree with Shiny. Good luck!

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 1:51:37 PM
Author: somethingshiny
I don''t think you will get very tan with a tanning salon but I think it''s your best shot. Apply SPF to your tan and use a tanning lotion on the rest of your body. These usually run around $5 for sample packets at a tanning salon. You can go every 24 hours. Most of the tanning lotions do have a self bronzing agent in them so in essence you''ll be doing fake tan and tanning at the same time. After that if you still notice a huge difference, I''d try to blend with makeup rather than risk going orange with tan in a can.

Luckily it''s not a horrendously huge difference; only a few shades darker. Okay, dumb question about the lotion. How on earth do you spread the lotion evenly on your back? And do you use it on your face?

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 1:56:39 PM
Author: tlh
here is a pic... 2 out of the 3 wore it. It didn't turn me or the bridesmaid orange at all. You can definately still see a tan line, but it isn't as obvious as the girl who didn't wear it.

I hope this helps... sorry I don't have a brand name for you.

That does help! I think there is going to be a makeup artist there for the bride - if all else fails I can always ask for help I suppose!

ETA: Did you have problems with it rubbing off on the dresses?

 

[geckodani]

Oh - okay, if I''m tanning, what about regular bed vs high pressure?

 

[geckodani]

Okay, this is the best picture I can find to show what I'm dealing with - my face is paler too because my foundation has SPF in it, LOL. I'm on the left with the funky hair. You can't see the extent of it, because I'm in a T-shirt, but the color difference is about the same as the difference from my face to my chest. Maybe slightly lighter. It's pretty noticeable in the spaghetti straps, because the V is pretty defined.

 

[tlh]

nope/ me and the girls didn''t... and you would have seen it on the white dress. (And I sweated a lot. DANCING!)

 

[ms.halo]

Go get a professional spray tan at a salon. It will even out your skin tone and make you glow! You need to exfoliate really well before you go and it lasts for about 4-8 days depending on how moisturized you keep your skin.

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 2:22:06 PM
Author: ms.halo
Go get a professional spray tan at a salon. It will even out your skin tone and make you glow! You need to exfoliate really well before you go and it lasts for about 4-8 days depending on how moisturized you keep your skin.

This option frightens me - I''ve seen too many orange people!

 

[D&T]

good luck Dani- do you think you can layout in the sun a bit, cover the your lower self (where you don''t want to tan) with a towel (of course use sunblock as well ) and bake for a little bit? just a thought

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 3:02:05 PM
Author: D&T
good luck Dani- do you think you can layout in the sun a bit, cover the your lower self (where you don''t want to tan) with a towel (of course use sunblock as well ) and bake for a little bit? just a thought

Hee hee - I just watched the clouds roll in... LOL!

 

[D&T]

Date: 7/8/2009 3:14:08 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 7/8/2009 3:02:05 PM
Author: D&T
good luck Dani- do you think you can layout in the sun a bit, cover the your lower self (where you don''t want to tan) with a towel (of course use sunblock as well ) and bake for a little bit? just a thought

Hee hee - I just watched the clouds roll in... LOL!

dang it!

 

[geckodani]

Date: 7/8/2009 3:17:34 PM
Author: D&T

Date: 7/8/2009 3:14:08 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 7/8/2009 3:02:05 PM
Author: D&T
good luck Dani- do you think you can layout in the sun a bit, cover the your lower self (where you don''t want to tan) with a towel (of course use sunblock as well ) and bake for a little bit? just a thought

Hee hee - I just watched the clouds roll in... LOL!

dang it!

Eh, I''ll figure it out.

 

[ms.halo]

Date: 7/8/2009 2:25:57 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 7/8/2009 2:22:06 PM

Author: ms.halo

Go get a professional spray tan at a salon. It will even out your skin tone and make you glow! You need to exfoliate really well before you go and it lasts for about 4-8 days depending on how moisturized you keep your skin.

This option frightens me - I''ve seen too many orange people!

Really? They must have been from a bad/cheap salon. You get what you pay for KWIM?

 

[MonkeyPie]

Date: 7/8/2009 2:25:57 PM
Author: geckodani

Date: 7/8/2009 2:22:06 PM

Author: ms.halo

Go get a professional spray tan at a salon. It will even out your skin tone and make you glow! You need to exfoliate really well before you go and it lasts for about 4-8 days depending on how moisturized you keep your skin.

This option frightens me - I''ve seen too many orange people!

This is a good option - get it done one or two days before the wedding so you can "soften" it a bit and not look so orange!

 

[somethingshiny]

If you put the tanning lotion on your face, kind of tap it on with the left over product after applying it to the rest of your body. You definitely don''t want your face to get weird, you can always do a full make-up if you have to.

As far as the back. I can reach the top of my back down to my bra going over my shoulder, then I can come up and get the rest. If you are nervous have a friend help you.

The super beds are usually 10 minute beds and have a different percentage of UVA/UVB than a 20 minute bed. Personally, I''ve found that the 20 minute beds (even at a much lower time) tan more than the super beds. The super beds seem to tan deeper and last longer, but for immediate color the 20 minute beds are best for me.

 

[geckodani]

Okay, went for five minutes last night. Can definitely see a softening of the lines, which is good! Going again briefly tonight as well. It's not going to totally get rid of it, but looks like it will at least cut down on the appearance of a giant V of tanned skin, LOL, and I should be able to blend further with makeup.

The dress is a light brown, and actually looks better on the pale skin, which is why I'm trying to be subtle about the whole thing.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!