If you guys saw me rocking my natural hue, you’d need a pair of shades to prevent instant blindness from the glare of my winter white limbs – I’m that pale so I use a self tan skin product.

When I have a big event on the cards, I like to treat myself to a Caribbean Tan courtesy of my amazing spray tan gal, Lisa. (link to www.spraytancapetown.co.za) Usually, however, I like to do it myself.

Anyhoo, due to a lifetime of fake baking, I can now give you a few of my top self-tanning tips:

Don’t forget your face
There’s nothing worse than a bronzed bod and incongruous white gesig. To prevent this, invest in a good facial self-tanner. I’ve tried zillions and my absolute favourite is Clarins Liquid Bronze. It’s a watery, white ‘milk’ that you apply to your face in place of a moisturizer. I love that it doesn’t smell hideous – or at all – when developing, so you can slap it on the morning and look like you just got back from a holiday by 11am.

Exfoliate like a demon child
Often people blame the self-tan for going on streaky, but really, it’s just that they haven’t exfoliated properly, causing the product to ‘grab’ unevenly on their skin. For me, the ultimate way to exfoliate is with those bath gloves you can buy at Clicks or a Sh’Zen skin stimulator sponge. (link to www.shzen.co.za)

Get the timing right
Lisa has always told me that self-tan sinks in better when your skin is moist. This is why it’s its a good idea to apply it after you’ve gotten out of the shower or bath. (Obviously you’re not to slap it on wet skin – give your bod a good towel dry first!)

That tricky foot issue
The spot peeps mess up most? Their feet! To avoid ending up with feet that are too pale or a horrid shade of orange, I like to extend my self-tan down to my ankles. Then, I apply to small dollops of a much lighter self-tanner, something like Johnson’s Holiday Skin, to the tops of each foot and blend the two into each other. I also make a point of pulling the lighter self-tan all the way over and under my feet. So yes, I’ll have tanned soles, but at least my glow is seamless.

Have fun faking it girls!
Love, love
Leigh van den Berg

Leigh van den Berg is a product-obsessed beauty writer. Her goal is to get a handle on her lip gloss addiction and live happily ever after with either of the hotties on Supernatural. Go visit her at her beauty blog, www.lipglossismylife.com