Ok. I told you that I would be putting the Jergen’s Natural Glow Instant Sun Sunless Tanning Mousse.

Jergen’s Instant Sun Tanning Mousse

Well, I took a bath, shaved and exfoliated my legs, and am ready to give you a report.

First of all, I put one of my bathing suit bottoms on and an old t-shirt—which I’m actually glad that I did. There’s a lot of soft, flabby skin for testing—unlike the perfect human mannequins that you usually see throughout TV and print ads. You can see that my legs are extremely pale.

Pale, wintery legs shaved and ready for the tanning process.

Off to the bathroom to shake this can (No. Not the one on my body—the tan can!). I shook it until it twerked! The instructions read to pump the product into the palm of your hand or a mitt. My hand is my mitt. I did notice that for a mousse, it was a bit on the watery side. What I expected was a mousse with the consistency of shaving cream or hair mousse. It isn’t.

I shook the can incredibly hard but this is the consistency of the mousse. I thought it would be thicker.

I ended up applying the product directly on my legs and rubbed it in.

I worked the product in using a circular motion and trying to get an even application. Quite a bit of product is needed. The instructions also say that if applying additional product, wait until the next day. I’ll be applying another coat tomorrow.

Naturally, allow skin to dry prior to dressing. After 60 seconds, the product was a bit damp but not completely dry. While it does not completely dry after a minute, five minutes later it was completely dried—which is far better than using the lotion.

This doesn’t dry completely in 60 seconds–but it does dry quicker than a lotion. Much quicker!

I did notice my legs being slightly darker, but I definitely will have to apply another coat. The arms looked decently darker as well.

Somewhat darker–it is NOT instant, but as I write this, it’s a good couple of hours later and I won’t need to reapply tomorrow.

Is this worth the $11.99 price? To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. Tan Towel is still the best bet; they may be on the pricey side, but the faux tan achieved from Tan Towel is superior and lasts for quite a few days longer than other fake tan products.

 Still my personal favorite!

Now that makeup artist Wayne Goss is my pretend best friend forever (my delusions are increasing), I’m going to try using his technique for using the ELF face powder today. I’m also going to inventory all my makeup and “facial” samples and get a jump on packing my beauty products for our upcoming trip. Why do this so far in advance? Because I’m lazy and I procrastinate. Look—today’s weather is so crappy. The temperature dropped a good 20 degrees, it’s raining and damp as all get-out. Days like this are good days to find a task that needs to be done and get it over with. Taking care of my makeup/toiletries will make packing my clothing for the trip a breeze.

I revisited an old friend! YSL Top Secret BB cream. I should have used this more during this past winter because it isn’t cakey at all and it feels very moisturizing. It’s a bit on the porcelain side so I wouldn’t use it in the summer. It’s definitely a winter and cold weather product for me. It’s pricey at $50.00 but I’ve had this for over a year. A little bit goes a long way. Comes in three shades, Clear (light), Medium and Dark.

Top Secrets BB Cream from YSL. It isn’t dry and goes on nicely. Pic on the right–I’ve got cream blush on over the BB cream.

OK—the powder technique. I did as instructed by Mr. Goss,  I shook the container  to release the powder from the little holes.

Shook to release the powder!

Placed the puff on top of the powder, flicked the excess off and rolled the puff.

Trust me, the puff is full of powder. You can see it at the edges…

A quick flick of the finger to the puff to get rid of excess….

…and a roll of the puff onto the skin! (please don’t judge me on my nails. I need a manicure. I know. I’ll get one!)

Surprisingly, it worked. I have powder on my face and cannot feel it at all.

The ELF HD powder really gives a great finish. At $6.00 it is a steal!

Oh. Remember the Laura Geller “French Vanilla” highlighter I purchased?  Well, I wanted to show you just how yellow it is. Look below my brow. See how yellow? I mean, it doesn’t look horrible, but it certainly doesn’t look that great. Definitely will pass on to Oona.

I also wanted to mention. Today is a rainy, damp day. Putting my hair up in a high bun means that my hair is being “set” into nice waves when I take it down (on the next nice-weather day)! See my shirt? I’m an equal opportunity baseball fan! I love the Red Sox but still love my NY Yankees too!

Alrighty. On to the purging and packing of the beauty products. I swear I have more of this stuff than I do clothing!

A towel is placed on the carpet so I don’t mess it up with makeup. Chippy is trying to eat everything. What a project! L to R: Black case to store excess makeup,  “Thirty-One” brand Makeup case, a case for samples, a bag for more toiletries, a plastic, see-through, snap on bag for my luggage.

My travel beauty essentials are put into the “Thirty-One” brand “Timeless Beauty Bag”. One of my co-workers was selling the brand and I got one for me and one for Oona. These bags are in constant use and at the ready. Even so, I thought it would be a good idea to take inventory and clean it out. I forgot about my extra Vera Bradley brushes. I keep some in this bag. I cleaned all the brushes and now they are drying. I also purged any creams or makeup that dried up. I know that expiration dates are important but if I’m opening an old mascara and it isn’t dried out, I’ll keep using it—especially if I spent a pretty penny on it—like the Tarte mascara that I have.

Among the items in my travel makeup case are the old Vera Bradley brushes which I cleaned and are drying; one full sized mascara and two travel sized mascaras; three liquid eyeliners (I like to have backups); Wet ‘n Wild bronzer; Naked Basics Palette (Chippy ate some of the case and the mirror broke, but I’m still using this. The shadows are GREAT); glittery sample palette from Lancôme that’ll come in handy for evening; three weeks worth of Lancôme Genefique samples; Lancôme Visionnaire sample; L’Occitane cleansing cloths which are perfect while traipsing around the South of France!

Next up, I went through a clear plastic bag that snaps into my suitcase. Other essentials are stored in this.

Tissues, wipes, deodorant, combs, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hair ties and other essentials are packed in here.

After a thorough check of my travel essentials and makeup I still have enough samples to last me quite a few years!

My case runneth over!

You would not believe what else I found!

The crucifix from my aunt, Sr. Josephine’s, rosaries. She was an Ursuline nun, and the beads were worn as part of her habit. Note the inscription on the back.

This crucifix is now next to my dad’s missal.

Happy Meal  doll from 2004!  WTF??????

Anyway, I needed blush and razors and shaving cream. Since I wanted to get this done and over with, I ran to Target, picked up some inexpensive cream blush by NYX and a pack of disposable razors and a travel sized shaving cream.

I couldn’t find cream blush in the ELF aisle, but this is a nice inexpensive neutral blush and was only $6.00

All are now packed with the toiletries and I’m finished with that part of packing.   Now I just have to concentrate on the clothing!

Speaking of clothing. I ran out of the house dressed like the epitome of a Glamour Magazine “Don’t”. Leggings, t-shirt, denim jacket and a pair old and beat up Bass Weejuns! What a sight! Huh?

Oy vey! What a classy ensemble!

I’m off to look for some low fat, low caloric recipes for the weekend!

XOXOXOXO!

To get in the mood for travel, here’s the lovely Carla Bruni with “A Little French Song”. I hope you enjoy her raspy voice as much as I do. She’s a treasure!