A little added color to the face is sometimes just what you need for that extra boost of confidence. The goal is to obtain a post-holiday glow that makes your complexion look a little more radiant. Enter the Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster.
This self-tanner designed just for the face comes in a miniature, hand-held serum form (tick for being travel friendly) and promises to deliver a sun-kissed color that deepens over a few hours. Intrigued by this little vial of golden liquid, I added a few drops to my moisturizer and applied it to my face while sitting at my desk. When I say a few drops, while I was meant to add just three, I think I added six. By lunchtime, my face was seriously sun-kissed (even my assistant remarked on my much darker skin tone) and by the time I was home, the color had developed into full-on bronze. After a quick pit stop at the grocery store, I went home to study the results in my beauty editor-approved magnifying mirror.
Let’s just say that what I thought were admiring glances at my tanned visage, were probably disapproving stares as I had developed the equivalent of huge foundation lines but in terracotta brown streaks that ran down the sides of my temples to my chin. Oh dear. So here is what we learned: this is a super strength formula and when the directions say mix three drops with a measure of moisturizer, you better make it three drops with a large measure of moisturizer—unless you want to look like an Oompa Loompa. My most important piece of advice: watch your hairline and your eyebrows.
On my next application, to even out my mottled skin tone, I am going to first use Vaseline on the perimeter of my face and my eyebrows and then add the moisturizer and tanning mix. To avoid making another beauty faux pas,I will do this overnight (with a dark pillow case) and will have some fresh lemons on hand to help strip away the color should anything awry. Faux tan novices please take note—this is not for the heavy-handed.
