With winter just around the corner, daylight is now fading earlier into night. Along with the sunlight, goes the skin’s summer glow. Disguising a tan less body is easy to do in the winter because the cold weather leaves us with no choice but to cover up. But what do you do about the pale, ghost-like appearance of the skin on your face? In my opinion, wearing a foundation darker than your skin’s natural tone only makes it look like you’re wearing a mask . One of my favorite makeup tricks that I am convinced is the best way to keep your facial skin glowing is the use of a self tanner. However, I don’t recommend just any self tanner. Your best bet is a self tanner that is formulated for use on your face only. Sunless facial tanners will produce a more natural and subtle look. All you really want is a pinch of color, not the look of having just spent the entire day at the beach. Here are some additional tips on how to prepare your skin and apply the self tanner so that you are not left with any streaks or patches of color.

1. To achieve smooth results, you must exfoliate your skin before application of your self tanner. A mild exfoliation, such as a scrub, is best to use the day before applying your sunless tanner. Be sure to include your neck and decollete when cleansing, exfoliating and applying tanner so that you have a balanced look.

2. Don’t forget to moisturize your skin. There are two ways that you can moisturize and apply self tanner to your face. The first way is to tone and moisturize before smoothing on your sunless tanner. The other way it so combine your moisturizer and self tanner and massage them into your skin together.

3 . Keep a natural look by using cotton balls saturated with water along your hairline. This will help to avoid the look of a “bordered tan”.

4. To prevent discoloring of your palms, use vinyl or latex gloves. If you are allergic to the gloves, you can use baby wipes or just wash your hands with soap and warm water immediately after applying your facial tanner.

5. Allow your self tanner some time to set before applying your makeup. Rushing the process will leave you with uneven results.

Clarins has just come out with this fantastic new sunless tanner for the face. The Sheer Bronze Self Tanning Hydrating Gel For Face does more than just give your skin a beautiful glow. Your skin will also reap the benefits of hydration from aloe vera extracts, as well as protection from the sun and free radicals with cocoa extracts and vitamin E. The gel texture of this self tanner is exceptional for all skin types.

Dove is another great option, which is easier on the budget. The Dove Energy Glow Daily Face Moisturizer with a Touch of Self Tanner is a facial tanner that comes in two shades of color to accommodate all skin tones. Because this product has a built in self tanner, there is less potency of the tanning ingredients, which allows for daily application without the worry of having too much color on your skin.

A sunless tanner is really the best method to keeping a healthy glow of your skin throughout the year. Whether or not you decide to do this during just the winter or for all seasons, don’t forget to continue using a sunblock. Protecting your skin from the UV-light rays is the #1 way to prevent sun damage and premature aging.