full body bronze.

Summer is right around the corner, which tends to kick my obsession with being tan into overdrive. As much as I love a good golden glow and basking all day in the sunshine, I don’t love abnormal skin cells, the threat of cancer and/or wrinkles (the order of importance is up to you), or the scolding eye of an all-knowing dermatologist.

So I’ll fake it.

But I’m very skeptical about self-tanner and spray tans. I’m a bit of a dummy when it comes to application, there’s upkeep involved, and I don’t even want to teeter on the edge of being orange. I find that even the gradual ones take on a little orange-ish tinge after 2 or 3 days of application. But I love me a good bronzer. The idea of a body bronzer that dries completely, gives your color a bit of a boost (without that chemical, self-tanner smell), and washes off completely at the end of the night (or when you mess up), is super appealing to me. Sure, you’re basically putting make-up on your arms, legs, and wherever else. But there are weirder things, and it’s a small price to pay for a gorgeous glow without the sun exposure.

I love the One Step Bronze from Stila (1). It adds a little warmth and color to your face without looking fake or too “make-up-y.” I’ve started using it in the morning just over a little moisturizer with SPF and concealer under my eyes. Considering that my prior AM routine involved primer, foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter, yadda yadda… It’s really helping to cut down my getting ready time. And it looks really good and natural – people have asked if I’ve gone away for the weekend! I haven’t tried, but I’m sure I could put it on my legs in a paleness pinch!

I actually just bought the One Night Only by St. Tropez (2) this afternoon. I put it on my arms and chest just to check it out, and I’m liking it so far! A little goes a long way, and while it looks scarily dark coming out of the tube, it blends in really easily. It also dries completely very quickly, and it smells really good! I keep sniffing my arm. It’s definitely a subtle color – not too dramatic or at all orange.

I used this Victoria’s Secret Instant Bronzing Tinted Body Spray (3) on my legs to go out in a super short dress. It does blend well, but not quite as easily as the St. Tropez. Also, the aerosol can doesn’t work upside down or too far sideways, so it was difficult to do certain parts of my legs. I had to enlist the help of one of my roommates to spot check me. I went out to dinner first, and the restaurant booths were, I kid you not, white vinyl. The backs of my legs were sweaty and felt like they were sticking to the seat. I thought for sure I had left a mark, but when I got up, nada! And the tan held up on my legs through dinner and a looong night of dancing!

Overall, I think I’ll continue to use the One Step Bronze on my face on a pretty much daily basis, but I’ll probably reserve the full body bronzers for more ‘special’ occasions, or at least summer nights out.

Do you have a tanning product you love the most? Do you, like me, feel the need to boost your bronze when summer rolls around, or do you embrace fair skin year round?

xoxo Molly

BostonStrong.

 ”Boston is a tough, resilient town. And so are its people.” – President Barack Obama

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who checked in on me in the wake of Monday’s events. It means a lot to me. I am safe and sound, and my thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the bombings.

I am insanely proud to be part of the Boston community. This city has been my home for the past 5 years, and I love it dearly. I am proud of the first responders, the runners who kept running to help those injured, everyone who donated blood and did their part to help in the aftermath. I am amazed and impressed by the outpouring of love and support, for and from individuals and the community as a whole. So many messages have been messages of love. It is much easier to destroy than it is to create, to support, to build. I will not let the hateful actions of an unknown few shake my faith in human nature as a whole. We are good, and strong, and loving. We are Boston.

*Image borrowed from Pinterest.

the reluctant yogi.

I know I’ve mentioned my deep-seated hatred of working out. Don’t worry – that much hasn’t changed. But I am making more of an effort. I’ve even gone so far as to purchase cute sneakers.  You still couldn’t pay me to actually run in them, but hey, you can’t win ‘em all. I have, however, been going to Bikram Yoga.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s a sweaty torture inferno. Yet for some reason, it’s still more tolerable (I wouldn’t say enjoyable) than lacin’ up my New Balances and hitting the treadmill. Maybe it’s a headspace thing. Some of my friends who are weirdly obsessed with running (agree to disagree on that one) say that they enjoy the alone time to think things through, and ultimately clear their minds.

I don’t know about you, but I spend all freaking day in my head. I don’t need any extra time in there. Bikram is so hot and so utterly exhausting that my mind absolutely cannot wander. I can only think about what I’m doing right in that moment, my body, and the posture I am in. There is no room for anything else, and that’s pretty nice.

You may be wondering how someone who hates sweating as much as I do ever got talked into trying out an intense, heated yoga class that’s about as humid as a steam room on full blast. Long story short, a super peppy, athletic friend convinced me it would be “fun.” It wasn’t.

It should surprise no one who knows me that I am uncoordinated, unbalanced, and generally prone to falling. Which I did in the class. Multiple times. It was brutally hot and I wanted to lie down on the floor and die. But somehow I soldiered through. And by that I mean that I barely survived.

But then, after the class was over, and the sweat had dried on my long walk home, something super weird happened: I felt awesome. High on life. One of my crazed runner friends insists that the post-Bikram euphoria is better than a runner’s high. I cannot confirm or deny this, but I did feel pretty great. I felt tall, and light, and clean (like I had sweat out all the Cheetos and Dr Pepper I’ve ever ingested), and a little giddy. I felt proud of myself for making it through, and appreciative of my body for what it can do for me, rather than focusing on trying to change it. I just wanted to go home, eat a big salad, and maybe save the world. Instead, I promptly passed out on top of my covers, but that’s beside the point.

And that’s what makes me want to go back. I’m not sure I believe in all the hippie, holistic stuff that goes along with it, but I believe it’s an awesome work out. And I do way better when there’s a teacher motivating me to try harder — If I’m on my own I’m totally gonna half-ass it. I have to admit, it’s hard. Some days I psych myself out, or lose sight of why I’m going. Or I’ve got “too much” work to do. And it’s so easy to get out of the habit – one or two days off add up quickly. Which is why I am now starting from square one after 2+ months off. And it’s rough. My first class back I literally just lay on the floor, sweating and cursing under my breath for the last 40 minutes. Not my finest moment, to say the least. But I’m trying — and my second class back was so much better. That’s another thing I love about Bikram, each class is the same postures in the same order, and you can feel yourself doing them better each time, and feel your body getting stronger. That pride is really motivating, and makes you want to keep going.

So I want to know: How do you get your fitness fix? And how do you stay motivated?

*All images borrowed from pinterest.com.

beauty splurge: glamglow mud mask

I have a confession: I have a weird fixation on pores. More specifically, on keeping mine clear & essentially invisible. And I’m a huge fan of those Bioré pore strips, where you can physically see the dirt that is no longer stuck in your face. I’m also one of those people who has to resist the urge to pop zits. Maybe this is an overshare, but if you’re still reading at this point, I’m not too worried about it.

So when I stumbled upon this face mask on Pinterest, my interest was instantly piqued. I will spare you the high resolution digital image (for those not into the nitty gritty), but basically you could actually see the clogged pores (and the stuff coming out of them) when the mask dried. I had to try it.

Normally $69.00 for 1.2 ounces is a little rich for my tastes, but I had just gotten my tax return and was feeling spendy. Besides, I’m a woman obsessed with minimizing pores, and I figured it’s cheaper than a facial (and less painful!). But I actually found it on Amazon.com for a  little bit cheaper than the retail price, which helped to soften the financial blow. I opted for the SuperMud over the YouthMud, though the latter has gotten a lot of positive press recently.

When I received it, I was pleased with the packaging — for a luxe product, I want it to look a little fancy, too! It’s apparently made from volcanic mud (extravagant but awesome), so it’s a rather unappealing shade of gray, but it smells nice. Like mint, or maybe tea tree oil.

I decided to test it out with a full face mask. It feels cool when it goes on, and sort of tightens a bit as it dries. I’m not super experienced in the realm of face masks, but I think this is pretty standard. As it dried, I really could see the parts where my pores were clogged (and the ‘dirt’ did seem to lift out a bit), especially around my nose and chin, which is where I know my ‘problem areas’ are.

My skin felt really good when I took it off – I was surprised, I thought it would be harder to rinse off! But be warned, it did stain my washcloth (and I’m still waiting to find out if it comes out in the laundry). I noticed that evening that my cheeks and forehead were a little dried out. Since I don’t really have a problem with oil buildup in those places, I think I’ll save this mask in future just for my nose, chin, and spot treatments, especially since it’s such a precious commodity!

Over the next few days, I did notice some of the ‘stuff’ that had been clogging my pores sort of sitting on the surface of my skin, so that when I washed my face normally it just came right off. Awesome. I’ve used the mask twice now, and I really do notice a difference in the skin on my nose and chin!

Would you try a $70 face mask? What’s your most recent beauty splurge?

xoxo