Try This: Self-Tanning Products With a Natural, Realistic Glow (Seriously!)

recently attended a beauty event where the Fall beauty products were displayed in their full glory. The usual covetables were there: Givenchy, Dior, Chanel. But one display caught my eye because of its giant poster….of Snooki. Not to be rude, but it seemed a little odd that Snooki would be sandwiched between these luxury brands featuring glossy supermodels. That is when I realized that Snooki was the “Don’t” photo. Ah, now that makes more sense.

The brand was Xen-Tan, and though I consider myself a bit of a self-tanning connoisseur, I hadn’t given this particular product a try. After looking around a bit more, I saw a beautiful, life-sized poster of the gorgeous Amber Heard. She looked sophisticated and St. Tropez bronzed, and I figured out she was the illustrious “Do” photo. Xen-Tan, a favorite of Heard’s, had taken her already lovely skin and turned it a sexy shade of golden brown, rather than the orange tint we are all used to. (Snooki especially.)

Beautifully tanned Amber Heard

Willing to give this product a go, I allowed Grace, the beautiful product specialist to apply a small amount of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion to my wrist. I immediately noticed it didn’t have a heavy, chemical smell, nor did it feel tacky. (Isn’t that the worst feeling? Self-tanner always makes me feel like I’ve been dipped in sticky honey.) I’ll admit that I spent a few more minutes chatting, and then went on my merry way, forgetting about the lotion application. Imagine my surprise the next morning when I went to wash my face, and I see a beautiful, bronze square on my wrist! I was amazed at how dark the self-tanner registered, but didn’t appear at all orange or fake. I examined it closely, and yep, this looked like the most lovely self-tan color I’d ever seen. They say the proof is in the pudding, and this was definitely the pudding. If paying a monthly rate to spray tan isn’t for you, and other self-tanners leave you “Snookified”, I highly recommend keeping Xen-Tan ($56) on hand. You may not feel like you’ve just returned from the South of France, but you sure will look like it.