sorry, I am having problems with the comments again but they should be working now. Unless it stops allowing them again in which case... leprechauns!

I like Estee Lauder's self tanners. They didn't make me look orange and they didn't have an overwhelming smell to them. They also didn't streak which is a huge plus. Just make sure you wash your hands with soap and water after applying or you'll have orange palms.

I have used Neutrogena, and it works really well for me. It even does a good job of filling in tan lines (like when I'm out in the sun wearing socks and tennies, and then your ankles and feet are WHITE while your legs are BROWN) - - and it's not so expensive it breaks my bank account.

Self tanner? I LOVE the Jergens stuff! There is a way to apply tho - first, shave and exfoliate. Then, apply regular lotion and DO NOT SKIMP on the regular lotion! Wait for the regular lotion to ALMOST sink in, and THEN apply the self-tanner!! This will keep the self-tanner very even on your skin. Do NOT get dressed or sit down for about 1/2 hour after that.

My 2 cents!

I like Loreal's tan towels - I use the medium to dark because it takes alot to un-whiten my legs. It doesn't smell (too bad) and they don't streak. Sometimes they even have coupons, so it's pretty affordable.

Have you ever tried the spray on tanner at a tanning salon? I never had the best luck with self tanners applied at home (orange, streaking, etc) so that works well for me. You can usually get a first time customer deal and one or two sprays is all I need to head into summer where I will get some natural sun. Another plus - it dries way faster than the diy stuff.

Oh my gosh! I had Number 1 this morning. I didn't know there was a name for it. I feel so much better knowong I'm not the only one who has a love/hate relationship with warmer weather. I love my winter layers!
2 cents worth- I use the Jergens stuff. Looks very natural but it is a little smelly. And I second Liz J in Central Illinois that you have to walk around in your undies (and not sit down) for a while until it dries.

Siobhan is one of the few contestants I'm rooting for, and last night I was wincing during her performance, dreading what the judges were going to say. And then I was just confused. I must have fast forwarded through Paige's judging, expecting the judges to slam her, too.

Sorry, no help on the self-tanner, I do it the old fashioned skin cancery way.

I think all the judges wear ear plugs in A.I.
We also like the Jergens in our house.
Here's a recipe I'm making today and I thought of you...odd since I don't know you, but I here you go.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/special-dietary-needs/vegetarian/soba-salad-with-asparagus-and-shiitake-mushrooms/

I'm only rooting for Siobhan because she is bringing awareness to a cause I feel strongly about - teaching people to pronounce my name correctly :-)

Who even has time to shave let alone tan those sun-deprived legs in winter? My spring solution: long-ish skirts and bright toe nail polish.

Knitting question: I'm making your beret receipe using chuky yarn with the 9 and 11 circs. I have a huge head so I casted on 72 and now have 108 after the KFB round. Using your shoe formula I have 2 options: decrease by K10, K2tog or K7, K2tog. What would look best for a beret?

My legs are ghostly white. I am wearing a skirt anyway and it is black! I think it scares my assistant. Anyway, I like Fusion self tanner spray a lot. I get it from Sephora. It is a litte spendy, but they have a shade for those of us with extreme paleness and it does not turn orange! or smell bad! (I have tried the Neutrogena and Jergens recommended above and they did not work well for me). Fusion is the only self tanner I have tried that did not have the orangy tint. It was a better color on me than the mystic tan from the salon.

Laurie, I'm a whiter shade of pale, too. After years of searching for the ultimate tanner, I came across this product. Loved it SO much I wrote a review on Amazon (the only place you can buy it, unfortch.) Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/SheerTan-Sunless-Tanning-Wand-Spray/dp/B001J7CAA6/ref=cm_cr_pr_acc_t

I am curious about the tanning too - never tried it. However, do you just do the legs and let everything else be blindingly white or go for the whole body?
Anyway, I am truly sorry I won't be able to go to the Knitter's Studio! I wanted to meet you in person! It is the exact day and time of my daughters bday party. Any plans for another local reading/signing???
xo,
Lisa

Laurie,

I have white legs(Minnesota style) with old lady crap going (just imagine). Tanagment from Drugstore.com in the Natural section in terrific and affordable. It doesn't look fake, but takes a couple of applications to be honey glazed.

Best of luck with your event.

Hi Laurie! Whitey McWhiterson here! I use Loreal from Target when the budget is tight (the medium spray is my favorite, but the cream is good too), and I use Mystic spray from Sephora when I can spring for it ($38 for a 5oz can). Don't bother with the whole 'system' of tanning crap. Just shave, scrub, and spray. Avoid Banana Boat at all costs if you don't want to smell funny! Plus it doesn't work worth a damn anyway. Good luck!

I am having that same pre-traumatic stress syndrome, myself...I'm wondering where my shorter sleeved tops all went...they have disappered...maybe I weeded them out last Fall in hopes that I could wear winter sleeves forever?? And I wear pants...everyday...no white legs showing...ever...But, I do do sandals...

For self-tanners, I like the gradual tan daily lotion, although I don't apply it daily. I am currently using the Aveeno brand, but have also liked the Jersens brand. It's harder to make a mistake with the gradual stuff, and for me (Casper) I only need about two days before I'm acceptable bare-legged. I think it's important to buy the light-fair color though, which can be hard to find at drugstores, which tend to carry only the medium shade. I usually order mine from Amazon, several tubes at a time.

I think they're all a bit stinky, but at least the drugstore ones aren't spendy.

I have a year-round tan and my daughter is lily white. I have no problem with white legs whatsoever. I don't find them to be aesthetically displeasing. I appreciate variation in the human species and find fair skin to be as pleasant as any other skin, if not romantic because of the literary references (as in "my fair lady" or "fair maiden"). You are beautiful no matter if you are wearing pants or a potato sack! But I'm guessing a potato sack will not be your frock of choice :)

Why can't the white-legged sisters unite and just brighten the world a little more? Why does everyone shield their eyes and gasp when I show my legs? It's a pity, really. :)

Anna ... I would go with decrease by K10, K2tog. You want the beret to have some puff to it for a bit, then get smaller, yes?

I had pretty good results with one of those daily lotion/tanner combo's. The effect took longer but the scent issue was also less (being there was less of the tanner),but since I just slathered it on after the shower, and it wasn't tinted there wasn't the wait time before dressing like the tinted tanners. And I'm all about the quick shower/dress/leave effort - means more time to sleep!

I think it was Olay but only because the normal scent of Jergens makes me nauseous. For tanner-only I've had good luck with the Loreal products in mid-dark since the light-mid products didn't do diddly squat even on my own version of pasty.

Hi Laurie,

I use Jergens too, and while it doesn't smell divine putting it on, the smell is gone as soon as it's dry, in my experience. I am super-duper pale (it's a joke in my office - how pale I am), and the Jergens lightest shade is just right for me. It's enough color not to look mostly dead, but at least on my skin there is no trace of orangey-ness and I've never had any trouble with streaking. If my knees are especially dry (I kneel a lot to help out my little boy) then they get a little darker than the rest of my leg, but putting regular lotion on just those spots first seems to keep that from being a problem. I also wait to get dressed, but really not a very long time. I just do lotion at the beginning of my post-shower hair/makeup routine, and by the time I'm done with that, I'm ready to get dressed. Most important for me is NOT to use it every day. I'm just too light for something like that and would look ridiculous. Twice a week is perfect for not looking like death but also not looking like a baked potato below the skirt and lightning everywhere else. Advantage is that's also easier and cheaper, which I'll go for. Good luck!

Don't you live in, like, California? And, so, like, isn't it sunny there? So, like, I don't understand the need for the fake tan stuff -- I'd put on sunscreen with maybe number 8 or 16, walk around outside for a week, and then bob's your uncle. You know. Ta da.

I lived in London for a year (land where the sun don't shine) and went on holiday to Greece in September for 8 days. Two elderly German ladies on the beach where I was sunbathing took their saggy, wrinkly, topless selves out of the water to ask me if I had brought along sunscreen. "Ve are very vorried about you because you are so vhite."

Siobhan is strange and mysterious and I think that's why people draw to her. Men like mysterious women...you know that. I wish Paige had been cut WEEKS ago. And the spikey redhead.

Mary, my mom was diagnosed with skin cancer several years ago. I saw what she went through with chemo and it's my personal choice to use self-tanner.

Thanks for all these product ideas, everyone else. I haven't tried the daily tan stuff before, I'll have to look into it.

I like the Jergen's gradual stuff that several others have recommended. (also like L'Oreal's) They're both smelly, but I think they all smell, I've never tried one that didn't. I mix it with a squirt of a nice smelling lotion, which both keeps it from streaking and also seems to help with the smell.
Also, for when you want really serious coverage, have you ever tried that Sally Hansen spray-on leg makeup? It's messy, apply it outside, but it makes my skin look airbrushed and once it's on, it doesn't come off.

I know nothing about self tanners. I will educate myself by reading your comments.

Ireland's national color is blue! So your shirt is like, totally, and completely, really Irish!

Tan Towels from HSN.com are my faves. Spendy though, but no streaks!

I like the Jergens self-tanner too. Not great smelling, not awful and doesn't cost a ton. I agree on not using it too often too.

I'm with you about Siobhan!

Ditto the daily. I use the Aveeno one. It has the smell, but it's fairly light (I have a super-human sense of smell, and they ALL smell to some degree to me). My best tip is to use a regular lotion that has a scent that you like. Both will fade as they absorb, but at least it covers up the chemical scent a little bit when you first put it on. Plus it's less streaky to moisturize first (and even with the gradual, daily stuff, I am pale enough I can see streaks for the first few days if I don't apply carefully).

Once I've done that for a week or so, I like to supplement with the Neutragena spray mist one. I moisturize while I'm still standing in the shower and then spray it on in there with the curtain closed (so I don't mist up the rest of the bathroom). It's easier than the lotion kind, and I don't have to worry about my hands (the daily lotion is more gradual, though, so I wait until I've built up a little color first, to minimize streaking).

I sympathize with you - I never achieve anything approaching tan with the self-tanner, but it takes the edge off the blotchy whiteness. I don't mind being pale, but without a little help you can see even vein, bruise, and scratch on my legs from a mile away (and I'm klutzy, so there are a lot)!

Jergens for me! (which, as a child I thought was "Clergens"--bad logo back then) Just started the other day, in fact, now that it's shorts weather out here in Palm Springs. I slather the stuff on, and it never streaks or looks weird, and I like the fragrance. Wonder if it's available at Costco? Hmmmm.

Jergens!!!!! Yes!

Not that I can relate, being well-endowed in the melanin department, but I have used spray on hose before. It doesn't smell at all. Hard for me to find one dark enough usually, but should be easier for fair-skinned ones.

I was totally pleased with myself for actually having a green shirt to put on my son this morning. This was not good planning on my part but simple dumb luck; it just happened to be the last thing I washed. I am not in the least Irish, so I have to rely on whatever random luck comes my way, and it's usually dumb.

I have been wearing the same black skirt all winter. If I take off my long underwear I can fit into my fattest jeans in a sausagelike way. I've been laying off the sweets. Here's hoping I have the fortitude to continue: it won't be warm enough here to go long-john-less for another month, but being able to sit down in my jeans will take me at least that long.

My votes for Siobhan and not because she lives here in MA. Not sure what Paige is all about and that dress!!

Last time I paid a million for self tanners the smell really made me gag. I'm not a gag person but that smell is the worst. I opened it up to use again and kept gagging and had to throw it out. Maybe I'll try the cheaper products...OR maybe I'll just try to shave my legs and moisturize everyday!

Hi Laurie!
I love your blog and your books, keep it going!

On the self-tanner, I personally like the Clinique products a lot. No strange smell or orange color there! They have creams or spray-on and I've tried both with good results, plus the product sizes seem to be pretty decent. Wasn't a fan of Jergens or Neutrogena but that could just be me.

Blue was the original color associated with Saint Patrick, so you're fine. Everyone else is out of step! :)

This is probably an unpopular opinion but I think self-tanners are evil and should be done away with - forever! I don't tan at all. I'm whiter shade of pale all year long.

I have an impressive shade of white leg. Almost a blue they are so dang white. I have used Aveeno's tanning lotion in the past. It is very subtle. Might almost be too subtle for some but I'm lazy and anything darker can get streaky because I seem incapable of being careful and thorough.

Along those lines, someone else recommended mixing the tanning lotion with a little regular lotion if you need to tone it down a little and to help apply it more evenly. That seems to do the trick for me.

I use the Dove one. It builds up gradually so you don't get all crazy tan in one day and it isn't orange at all. I also love, love, love the Sally Hansen spray on panty hose stuff. And it covers bruises (if you're as clumsy as me that's important) and spider veins.

I happen to love Siobhan. I think she's kinda geeky and that makes her more endearing. Paige I really don't get. And I'd trade several people just to have Alex Mullet-boy back...Mike, I'm lookin' at you!

I for one flaunt my lack of tan while wearing SPF 80 sunscreen, and if anyone tries to mock me I tell them to enjoy the melanoma.

Who do you say S-i-o-b-a-n? I saw someone made a comment -- but I have no idea how to say it.
And good for you for looking for healthy ways to get a bit of color!

Honestly, this wasn't meant to be some debate about tan vs. not tan! Everyone should just do what they want, clearly.

I simply was looking for product help, and I appreciate the input from those who have tried different lotions, thanks.

Blue was the original color of St. Patrick's Day. :)

Origins' The Great Pretender works great, leaves a subtle shimmer after applying (until you bathe, of course), and it's by far the best smelling of any self tanner I've ever tried. Sorta citrus-y. And I'm really fair, yet the color is very natural. [http://www.origins.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY5801&PRODUCT_ID=PROD224] Mary Kay's self tanner works really well, too, and I don't think it smells bad. Both of these products, in my opinion, are superior--in both performance and scent--to Jergen's.

I like the Jergen's self tanner lotion. It takes a little while to build up a color but DOESN'T leave those streaks on your body that some of the stronger ones do plus, very affordable.

I use the Jergens self tanner and have no problems with it. It dries fairly quickly and you can re-apply it as needed. Plus it's relatively inexpensive and if you clip coupons every so often in the summer you can find $1.00 off coupon in the Sunday paper.

I watched Idol last night and I really thing it might be Crystal as the winner. I like DeeDee but not sure if her voice is as strong as Crystals. We'll find out who goes home tonight!

I love Crystal, she is by far my favorite. I miss mullet boy! Though I do think that Lee has a good voice, too, my 2nd fave has to be Didi as well. I love her, she seems very real to me, I loved what she said about living in LA giving her a thicker skin. It's so true!

Laurie, I am inspired to try salon spray tanning for the first time after reading about your experience in your book. Would you try spray tanning again? I'm guessing you are just looking for a cheaper/at home option?

Katie -- the spray tan was AWESOME. It was a lot like being a perfectly glazed ham, or maybe like a car getting a fresh paint job. It's definitely worth it if you're looking for an all-over tan in a minute.

I just want a good self-tanning cream option for occasional home use. I'm not sure if it's cheaper or not in the long run, I don't use either enough to know for sure.

Whoops - obviously I haven't read the book yet :) Sorry 'bout that.

love Coppertone endless summer Gradual tan lotion. I got mine at Walmart for about $6 it works like a lotion and you can use it everyday to get dark or once in a while to maintain. Im very white so self tanners look orange on me but this doesn't. I like the smell too. I try to ex-foliate before I use it and always wash your hands after or you get weird patches in between your fingers. Try it out! It's so cheap you can toss it if it isn't what you like :)

I love the Vaseline brand of self tanner. And believe it or not I picked it up @ the .99 cents store. It's great, different shades and starts "tanning" your legs within 3-5 days

I love the L'oreal Glow self tanner version in Medium and I am very fair. It's about $10.
After using it a few days in a row, it's good to scrub the leftover color off well with a washcloth and start afresh.

I'm with the Jergens lotion group. I used to get the L'Oreal self-tanner, but you have to be more careful than I ever am to avoid the dreaded streaky syndrome. I can use the Jergens for just a couple of days and it gives me just enough color to look life-like without looking fake. It still has an odor, but not as bad as some of the others.

Gosh, I didn't know self-tanners were so popular and had come so far from the dreaded oompa-loompa look. Thanks for bringing it up, Laurie. Makes me want to head out to the drugstore and peruse the aisles for some great white coverage.

I'm one of the Jergens users. I'm a fading red-head who's very protective of her pale, sun-blocked skin. However, I do like a wee bit of color on the legs. Jergens comes in several skin tones and also contains a moisturizer. Also - my feline buddy doessn't object to the scent - nor do I.

I didn't read all of the comments, so I don't know if this was mentioned or not. Anyway, when I need to use self-tan (which I unfortunately need for dance competitions) I use Johnson's Holiday Skin moisturiser. It's got the fake tan built in and if you use it daily then a fairly nice deep colour can develop. I'm not a huge fan of the smell though; I prefer my moisturisers to smell like mangoes or coconuts...

Embrace your whiteness! And don't smear those nasty smelly chemicals on your body - like we don't get enough daily exposure to these things that we have to bathe ourselves in them? No product looks natural, and they ALL smell. And the ridiculous amount of time it takes to "get tanned" what a waste. Why do white people want to be dark, and dark people want to be white? Love your pale beauty, or your dark beauty - whichever you were blessed with.

Hi Laurie
I too am very fair. I use Palmer's body lotion - not sure if that's a brand you guys have in the US? It's essentially a tinted body moisturiser and I can highly recommend it. It just takes the (marshmellow) edge off. And if you want to go darker, obviously you can apply it a couple of times a day. Have a great day, K x

Thank you everyone who gave me some great ideas! Have a great day and hope to see you on Sunday!

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