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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time

December 22, 2017 by Taylor 1 Comment

How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time - Espresso and Ambition

My natural skin tone is a wonderful shade of bright white. While I can usually cover that up with a nice natural tan during the summertime, I have no such shield in the winter. Some people look great with pale, porcelain skin; I am not one of those people. Left to its own devices, my skin looks borderline sickly – which means I’m forced to bring in outside help. I’m generally not a huge fan of spray tans (they’re pricey and always seem to fade in the patchiest ways possible), but I love me some self-tanner.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through my foolproof method to get an even, glowy tan every time.

 

Step 1: Exfoliate

How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time - Espresso and Ambition

This step is especially important if you’re applying self-tanner on a regular basis (I try to do it once a week in the winter). Getting all that dead skin and faded tan off is crucial to making your fresh tan look even and smooth, so this step is a must. This Soap & Glory scrub is my favorite – it’s not overly harsh on my skin and smells like maple syrup.

 

Step 2: Shave

How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time - Espresso and Ambition

If you shave your body hair, this is the time to do it. Shaving has a natural exfoliating effect, so if you shave immediately after putting on self-tanner it’ll accelerate the fading. Better to start with smooth skin so you can go a bit longer without pulling the razor back out, if you ask me! (Also, would highly recommend using a men’s razor –  they’re pretty much the same quality as women’s razors but cost less. #pinktax)

 

Step 3: Lotion

How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time - Espresso and Ambition

This is probably the most important step to getting a fake tan that doesn’t turn out splotchy. An hour or so before I plan on putting on my self-tanner, I like to put this Soap & Glory lotion all over. This makes sure that your drier skin doesn’t absorb more tan than the rest of you – orange elbows and knees aren’t a good look on anyone. I give it plenty of time to sink in before applying self-tanner; this is a great time to watch a couple of episodes on Netflix.

 

Step 4: Self-Tanner

How to Get an Even, Glowing Fake Tan Every Time - Espresso and Ambition

I have been obsessed with St. Tropez self-tanners since high school. I recently fell in love with the dark mousse version – I personally prefer how quickly a mousse sinks into your skin as compared to a lotion. This means you’re not stuck waiting for ages before you can put on clothes because your skin is still sticky. I use a tanning mitt to put this stuff on – it’s way more even than using your hand and only costs a few bucks.

Also, make sure you’re applying self-tanner in a well-lit area. The nice thing about this dark tanner is that you can clearly see where you’ve applied product and where you haven’t, but you need good lighting to catch that. Otherwise, you can end up with a nice tan line down the middle of your arm (been there, done that).

 

Step 5: Shower

I typically apply self-tanner at night so I don’t have to worry about sweating it off during the day. As a rule, you generally want to shower within 8-12 hours of applying your fake tan. So I’ll hop in the shower first thing in the morning to rinse all the bronzer off, which leaves me with that nice fake bronzy glow. Wait too long to shower, and you’ll sweat off the fake tan in weird places (like the crook of your elbow) – so make sure you do that first thing!

 

And there you have it: my step-by-step guide to not looking like a ghost this winter!

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Beauty, Etc.

Comments

  1. Juliette says

    December 23, 2017 at 7:50 am

    This is the best self tanner, I agree! Great guide. I’ve also heard using an epilator is good for pre-tanning, but I’m nervous to try it.

    XOJULIETTE
    Juliettiful.com

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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