Well, for a long time now English white porcelain tan went out of fashion, so a beauty conscious fair girl had no other option than to get a suntan. With my pastry color legs and a hideous fear of sunburns I was forced to make frequent trips to tanning-bed salons in order to stop looking like a fairy-tale fairy. But, once I learnt that those too can cause skin cancer, this plan went down the drain.

To tell you the truth, I've never liked self tanners (in cream, mousse or spray) because they are really difficult to apply, and I usually got spotty and streaky, with white blotches here and there and an orange hue atop. Although this is probably due to my lack of patience, I'm a great believer in user-friendly products, so I soon gave up trying to get that bronze tone everyone was raving about.

Can you even imagine my utter happiness when the lotions with self-tanners hit the market? Yuhu! My first try was the Johnson's Holiday skin Lotion and I fell in love after the first use. It smeared on so easily, didn't reek and was on the cheap side. I was really happy for a while, but then I noticed that I had brown smudges between my fingers, and it also managed to stain my towels and a couple of perfectly nice white tops. Not good.

Therefore I've changed it for Dove Energy Glow recently. It's a nice lotion with a wonderful smell, and somewhat softer than Johnson's lotion. I'm developing a nice 'healthy' tan, but it's rather slow. So, when I finish the bottle, I'm going for a L'Oreal Sunless Sublime I've heard only good things about.

Well, for my final chapter, I'd like to share a couple of tips and tricks you should know when dealing with self-tanner lotions:

Always do a whole body peeling before applying it - this way you won't flake or have color build-ups. Wash your hand thoroughly between applying lotion to your legs and the rest of your body - you'll prevent your palms going a few shades darker. Once you get the color you want, use the product only every second day, and keep your skin moisturized. Don't wear light color clothes after you've applied the lotion, and do buy dark color towels and sheets.