Posts with tag tan

Regardless of what month is on the calendar, many of us like to have a natural-looking, sun-kissed glow. Especially those of us who live in southern states -- people expect us to be a little tan, you know? But, tanning beds are so last millennium -- we'll sacrifice a lot to look good, but risking skin cancer is more than we're willing to do.

We avoid sun tanning at all costs, and this "sun tattoo" robe from designer Yu-Chiao Wan has only reaffirmed our aversion.

The robe features mesh cut-outs that allow you to sun damage your skin into what looks like an over-sized wallpaper print from the 1970s. Kind of like those ridiculous little palm tree and Playboy bunny stickers they hand out at tanning salons taken to the extreme.

Can someone please pass the sunblock?

What should you wear on your walk to the beach? Certainly not just your swimsuit and nothing else! *shock, gasp, horror* You need something more elaborate than that, something to cover up your nearly naked body until you arrive on the sand where it is acceptable. A "cover up" perhaps? Bingo!

Click for the seasons best cover-ups.

Most of us love the summertime – the sun, the beach, the warmth, the runny makeup... okay, so maybe we don't love all of it. When the weather is hot and you're sweating your face off literally, it is time to readjust your makeup routine so you don't look like a hot mess for the next three months.

While pale, porcelain skin is beautiful, it's hard to ignore the beauty of a bronze glow in the summertime. Who doesn't feel a little bit lovelier with slightly golden, sun-kissed skin? Notice we said slightly -- there's a big difference between being a little bit tan and looking like you've spent every day for the last three weeks baking on Miami Beach.

Given that it's a gloriously warm and sunny weekend day at the peak of summer, it's the perfect time to talk about tans, tanning, and just "being tan."

A deep, dark, St. Tropez tan is style that will stick. Entertainment and media have tried to shift the idea by glamorizing fair-skinned beauties like Nicole Kidman, Rose McGowan, and Liv Tyler. Even with every outlet -- whether it's media, internet sources, your friends, family, and even your doctor -- hurling warnings of early aging, risk factors, health and medical statistics, and case studies of people who have died of one of various forms of skin cancer, "tan is beautiful" will never go away.

I have to admit, I have been a little unfair in my daily pick of a dress. I have knowingly excluded a certain type of dress, and not just once. I'm not exactly sure what it is about the dress or why I am so exclusive, since I have never even worn one.

But today is the day I let the Kimono Dress into the club. I still won't wear one, but that shouldn't stop anyone else from slipping into the 100% silk brown and tan floral print kimono dress by Vivienne Tam. I think I am okay with this dress because the print is far more subtle than the bright red and pink cherry blossom prints I'm used to seeing. The dress features solid black satin trim on the short sleeves, empire waist, and the deep V-neckline. Perfect for matching black shoes -- I am thinking you should definitely stay away from white tube socks and flipflops on this one.

The Kimono print dress is on sale at Neiman Marcus for $244.

I'll admit it. I have done lots of things to get that golden glow without actually subjecting my skin to the damaging rays of the sun. Oh, alright, I've done bad things, too, like cook myself in those horrible light coffins, but that was a long time ago. I've used self-tanners at home, had tanners applied by "professionals," and even stood in the Mystic spray-on shower stall. Though I certainly had a "glow," I looked more like a glowing orange creamsicle than a natural beach beauty.

However, there might be a technology on the horizon that actually produces the same type of natural color that comes from the sun. Researchers at the University of Kentucky are working on a product that stimulates the body's own tan-generating cells, melanocytes. The stimulation is produced by forskolin, a naturally occurring plant compound.

In laboratory experiments, not only does forskolin create a tan color, it also had the same effect as a sunscreen. A natural, non-orange-hued tan from a cream? It's looking good, but it's still a long way before it'll be available.