A Just A Little Bit Orange Feature. By Clara Pettitt. Copyright © 03/08/2001. All Rights Reserved.

Sunless Tanning on Vacation

Whether you are on a luxury cruise, or visiting Grandma in Florida, you can stay bronzed while traveling.

The basics

No matter where you are going, you can count on two things: You will have little time or privacy. Nor may you have the opportunity to purchase sunless tanners while traveling. So prepare your sunless tanning kit in advance.

Pack the basics: cotton swabs, liquid eye makeup remover, pre moistened hand wipes, snug fitting vinyl or latex gloves, hand and body lotion, tons of sun screen, your favorite method of exfoliation, and your favorite device for getting sunless tanner onto your back. If your hair is long, don't forget an elastic band to keep the hair off your face and neck while the sunless tanner dries.

Also crucial: a dark, lightweight cover up to wear while the sunless tanning lotion absorbs into your skin.

Stuff it all into a spill resistant carry-on bag along with your sunless tanners. If you are flying, take it with you as a carry-on. Like all sealed products, sunless tanners may lose their caps when subjected to pressure changes in the cargo area, creating a real mess in your luggage.

Get to work on your tan well before the trip. The first day of a cruise is not the time to try a new product. Develop plenty of color before the trip so that you can forget about it for the first few days.

Note: If you are new to sunless tanning, review Preventing Sunless Tanning Accidents.

Once you are on vacation, the best time to apply a sunless tanner is just before dinner in the late afternoon/early evening. The bathroom is likely to be free for a quick shower, and your sunless tan can dry during dinner.

You will have a much easier time if you settle for a light, healthy glow instead of a dark fake tan. Maintenance will be greatly reduced, and if your fake tan vanishes after a prolonged swim, no one will drop their Mai Tai in shock.

Your best bet is to bring at least two products along, a dark product and a light/medium product. Use the dark product once a week, and then maintain the color with a light product you can apply every other day [alas, a sunless tan is a short lived thing].

For deeper color, apply the dark product every three or four days, and apply the light tanner every other day — or even daily.

No sink required application method:

• Put on your bathing suit. Put on your gloves. Apply the light sunless tanner to your feet and ankles.
• Apply the medium or dark sunless tanner all over, starting from your ankles up, including your face, and skipping your wrists and hands.
• Throw the gloves away.
• Rub a light sunless tanner all over your hands and wrists, just as if it were hand lotion, then immediately wipe off palms and nails with a damp washcloth or pre moistened hand wipe.
• Ten minutes later, rub hand lotion into your hands, wrists, ankles, and feet, and wipe off palms, fingernails, soles of feet, and toenails. If you wish you can do this step immediately, without waiting.
• Use a cotton swab dipped in liquid eye makeup remover to clean your fingernails thoroughly. Don't forget the cuticle or under the nail.

Now put on your dark colored, lightweight cover up and lounge around for at least an hour. Don't run four miles on the beach, go kayaking, or play volleyball until your sunless tanner is completely absorbed. One hour is the minimum; three hours is best.

Luxury Cruise

Ah, the luxury cruise. You might have fantasies of vast staterooms and sunken tubs; the reality is you will barely have room to turn around in.

But not to worry. The luxury cruise is a perfect time to splurge on all those sunless tanners that you couldn't quite justify buying before.

Splurge on: Beach Self Tanning Lotion in Coconut Rum, Murad Age Proof Self Tanner SPF 15, Jan Tana Studio Tan Face & Body Bronzer, BeneFit Kitten Sparkle Powder. The toll: about $85. You'll find them at StrongProducts.com, JanTana.com, and Sephora.com.

Use Beach to get a dark color and then apply Murad every other day to keep your tan from fading. Use the Jan Tana Face and Body Bronzer for touch ups. Use BeneFit Kitten when you want to be extra glitzy at night. After a week, scrub off as much of it as you can and start over again.

Caution: Beach is best applied by semi-experienced sunless tanning users. It has to be applied in a thin, even coat for best results.

If, on the other hand, you spent your last dollar on that Cole swimsuit, get Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Foam in Deep, Banana Boat Sunless Summer Color Light to Medium , Bonne Bell Gel Bronze, and Bonne Bell Glimmer Bronze. The toll: about $22. The four products are available from drugstore.com and your local Target.

Quick drying Neutrogena Foam will give you a dark color with just one application. Use Banana Boat to deepen and prolong your tan, and also use it for hands and feet — the Neutrogena Foam will be too dark for those areas. Use Bonne Bell Gel Bronze for touch ups, and Bonne Bell Glimmer Bronze for extra sparkle in the evening.

The Beach House

It's time for stealth tanning! Your sunless tanning lotion is going to have to go on quick, dry fast, smell tropical, and be convincing.

Dark product: Beach Self Tanning Lotion in Coconut Rum. Light/medium product: California North Titanium Self Tanner or Kava Kava Dusk. The toll: about $45.

Use Beach just once a week, and apply either of the light products every other day to deepen and prolong the color. After a week, scrub off as much of it as you can and start over again.

To keep your sunless tan from fading in the water, apply a waterproof sunscreen liberally beforehand. You should be doing that anyway!

If your feet give you trouble, skip them! Put on beach shoes before applying your sunless tanning lotion, then apply from the shoe up. Don't worry—You won't be the only person with pale feet on the beach.

If you want to show those sunbathing beauties a thing or two, see Vicki's The Dark Sunless Tan: Getting It And Keeping It.

Visiting Grandma in Florida

The good news: You won't have to hide your fake tan from Grandma. She should be cheering you on, not encouraging you to roast yourself in the sun [don't forget to check Grandma's cabinet to find out what she is using].

The bad news: you will be surrounded by natives who bake themselves to a crisp.

A product from Coppertone, Endless Summer, may give you the dark, reddish brown color you need. Try the light/medium version first; it's plenty dark. Be sure to follow the instructions carefully. Forty-five minutes of drying time is essential before getting dressed, and don't sit down on Grandma's white couch without putting a towel down first.

To maintain the color, and to tan hands and feet, use Banana Boat Sunless Summer Color Light to Medium, a light product that is easy to apply.

Or use the products popular with the natives who don't sizzle themselves, SUN Laboratories Ultra Dark and SUN Dark Sunsation.

Forgot the applicator to put the sunless tanning lotion on your back? Coppertone recommends borrowing Grandma's plastic wrap. You will need about four feet of it. Spread a little sunless tanning lotion in the middle, grab the ends, and rub it on your back as if you were toweling off.

Hilton Head

No sunless tanning kit required! Be like Mike and get a Fantasy Tan.

Rafting down the Amazon

Forget about it. You will not be able to maintain a fake tan in this situation. Ditto for scuba diving trips, mountain climbing, and surfing. Instead, the day before you go back to work or school, visit your local Mystic Tan or Mist-On Tan and bask in the compliments.