My Favorite Beauty Products For The Body and How To Achieve a Long--lasting Tan

I am back from my vacation in the Hamptons (I have been back for a few days now but I am alone with my daughter and she has been spoiled all the summer with constant attention, when my mother in law was here and then by daddy on vacation so now it's hard to go back and play alone all day) and I feel exceptionally well in my body. We had fantastic weather (very sunny but not too hot) which lead to a very flattering tan, we ate very well (a lot of fish) and I even started to run every morning on the beach and enjoyed it (I, who in my youth gave up on tennis, at which I was quite talented, because I couldn't stand the training associated with it).
So, instead of posting pictures of my vacation outfits (that you have already seen on this blog anyway, as I mostly wore my "summer staples") I thought that I would share my favorite beauty products for the body (and yes, that includes the "miracle firming cream" that some of you asked about a few posts ago). Also, as you know, I love myself a nice tan (hey, I am italian!) and I have developped the perfect method to achieve and, especially, keep a long-lasting tan, so in case some you are interested I will also share my secret.

First, a disclaimer. I am not a beauty expert in any sense of the word, just someone who has always enjoyed taking care of her body more than any other "maintenance job" (I hate brushing my teeth for example and my husband has to threthen me almost nightly to get me to brush them). Of course what works for me, might not work for you as there are a lot of factors involved, like the actual condition of your tissues, diet, exercise and ultimately genetics, so take this with the necessary caution. I am only speaking for what worked for me.
Ready? Let's go!

1) If I had to choose my all-time favorite beauty product it would probably be Khiel's Creme de Corps Lightweight Body Lotion, which is a lightweight version of their classic Creme de Corps cream (that is too thick for my taste). I discovered it quite late in my life and if you were expecting something French or Italian, a "best kept secret" you had never heard of before, I am sorry to disappoint you. This is, in my opinion, the best mosturizing product out there, including those from high-end brands, and it's American (so it won't cost you a fortune). It leaves the skin incredibly smooth, it absorbs quickly, it has no owerwhelming odor and a few hours after applying it your skin already looks different, tighter and almost firmier. If you haven't tried this one yet, I urge you to, you will become addicted to it.

2) The Kiehl's body lotion has even become in my post-vacation beauty routine a subsitute for what has been for a long time my favorite after sun, Shishedo's After Sun Intensive Recovery Emulsion. For some reasons this product isn't sold in the USA (the after-tan line is very limited here) so after a few years of stocking up in Italy (where Shishedo is much more expensive, BTW) I found out that I can obtain the same long-lasting results if I diligently apply the Kiehl's body lotion every day once I am back from vacation (I used the Shishedo after sun mostly as a mosturizer and not to soothe my skin from an eccessive sun exposure. For that purpose I use Clinique's After-Sun Rescue Balm with Aloe which is pretty effective).
Often people look at me in disbelief when I swear that I don't use any sunless tanning cream (I hade the smell that even the most high-end product cannot hide) and I don't secretely go to a tanning center twice a week to keep my tan. In fact there is no secret, or if you prefer the secret is this one: SIMPLY, DON'T WASH IT AWAY, TO BE STINKY IS THE PRICE TO PAY FOR A LONG-LASTING TAN.
I am kidding but more seriously water is not good for your tan so if you want to keep your tan for as long as possible (which, I understand, you might not want to do) don't spend hours under the shower or in a bath, especially a hot one; use a very mild cleaning product, preferably soap-free and with an oil base (like Eucerin Calming Body Wash Daily Shower Oil); apply a mosturizing product like the Khiel's daily.
Also, it is a common belief that a peeling after a vacation will help your skin to "glow" by getting rid of the old skin cells on the surface. I find that this is only true if you start to peel naturally (when it starts there isn't much than you can do), in which case a peeling is the only remedy (basically you have to ge rid of a layer of skin to get rid of the speckles). But if your skin looks healthy and smooth, just leave it alone, there is no need to scrub it and it will only accelerate the process of losing your tan (your skin will start to peel, or you will look paler at the best). Once again, there is nothing scientific in what I am saying, I am just sharing what I know from personal experience.

3) Of course the foundation for a nice and durable tan is to avoid sunburns and to always use a sunscreen before exposing yourself to the sunrays. You have heard that before, right? Now you can choose your sunscreen based on a variety of factors but I think that once you try the Netrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock line, there is no going back to another product, unless you hae very dry skin (in this case you might prefer a classic emulsion or cream for your skin comfort). These have a protection ranging from 100 SPF to 30 SPF and are ridicously easy to apply (my daughter can do it). The continuous spray provides protection at any angle and in less than 2 minutes you are completely covered, even in those spots that are not easy to reach with a regular lotion or cream. Done. And you don't even have to wash your hands. I think that one of the most common causes of sunburns is that we get very lazy when it comes to re-applying a sunscreen after the first application (I mean, who doesn't know that you have to re-apply your sunscreen often during the day?) but these make the task so easy that you WILL actually make the small effort of re-applying it when you feel that you are getting too much sun (of course if you are really getting too much sun, you should go in the shadow).
I usually start with a 70 SPF and then gradually lower it when I feel more comfortable, reserving the SPF 30 to the very last days (and in any case not when the sun is at its maximum peak).
Don't forget that it is better to apply a sunscreen when you are still at home and not at the beach/pool: it takes 15 minutes or so for a sunscreen to be fully effective and also the advantage of applying it at home is that you can apply it before wearing your swimsuit (and if your swimwear moves during the day, you will be protected).

4) If the Khiel's body lotion does the trick for my body tan, I haven't found yet a subsitute for the Shishedo's After sun intensive recovery cream for the face. Once again, it isn't part of the products sold by Shishedo in the US but you can find this one on Amazon (for around $32). This cream is amazing, it's like to apply "creme fraiche" on your face and it really is my best-kept secret. I would use it year-round if it was easier to find. Their Day moisture Protection or Night Moisture Recharge from their Skincare line have a similar feel but they are stickier IMO. A few years ago I tried a product (by the French company Lancaster) that was specifically designed to "fix" your tan, but it didn't work as well as this after sun.

5) One of the most appreciated effects of a tan is that it makes you look "thinner". I don't think that this is entirely true, in fact I think that I look fuller when I am tanned, but it is true that a dark skin helps the general appeareance of your skin and makes that uneveness of the skin known as cellulite look slightly better. If I could get back all the money that I spent on anti-cellulite creams since my teen years (when I was thinner than Kate Moss and clearly didn't need any anti-cellulite but was fixated on "preventing") I would probably be rich now (and I don't even own a shoe treasure like carrie Bradshaw), so you can trust me as an expert (cellulite did arrive later in my 30s). Here is the bad news: there is no treatment for cellulite. Some creams can help "a little bit" to smooth the appeareance of dimpled skin, but none of them will make it disappear completely. I have tissues that respond very well to cosmetic treatments and in the first few days or weeks of applying an anti-cellulite it is true that you I always witness an improvement but generally this effect fades as the skin gets accostumed to the active principle in the cream. Basically it stops working.
So I was very excited when the French brand Lierac (which was already one of the leading brands in this kind of product) released Morpho-Slim Anticellulite concentrate which promises to "transform mature, stubborn cellulite into firmness with the exclusive Lipo-Reverse complex - a combination of concentrated 10% Active Caffeine and 2.5% Glaucine Complex. In just 15 days, the look of “dimpled skin” is reduced, and the figure appears more defined." Moreover, in this exclusive complex, your skin is deemed capable of "remembering" this process and never go back to that "bad process" that leads to cellulite. This may sound like science-fiction but you will agree that it is worth a try (I have tried it and it is one of the best, if not the best anti-cellulite product out there, even if my cells must be a little bit dumb and went back to producing cellulite as soon as I stopped).

6) In my opinion it is easier and more rewarding to get some visible result with a firming cream or lotion than with an anti-cellulite. Once again, it depends on what kind of damage we are talking about (ultimately only a strict diet and regular exercise can really reshape your body) and as I said before my tissues are very reactive and it might not be the same for you but I will share anyway (I don't want to give you false hopes but on the other side, what if what works for me works for you too?).
As I was telling you in this post, for the first time this year I felt like I needed a one-piece swimsuit. I have tendency to gain weight in my thighs/legs (even calves!) but I always had a pretty flat stomach (even post-pregnancy) and years of exercising left me with thight abs, even if I don't exercise anymore (I think that I have acquired a way of stimulating my abs during my everyday life without even knowing it). This year for the first time I noticed that my stomach wasn't so flat anymore and that I had (horror!) pretty sagging skin on my upper abdomen. Honestly, I thought "This is it, I am over 40 and I am going to be stuck with this until the end of my life". I can be dramatic when it comes to my abs. I didn't even try to fight it, I was really ready to accept this new person that was looking at me from the mirror with her sagging skin (my husband wasn't ready though, I must add). Until I went to Italy in June and not only my mom told me that I actually had a belly, which came as a shock, but I found the "miracle" cream.
I have a bad news and two good news. The bad news is that this particular brand is an italian brand, which is not sold in the US (I am not even sure that it is sold anywhere outside Italy, actually, even if I found some evidence of its presence in the UK). The name of the brand is "Pupa" and they recently launched this new line of products aimed at specific body parts, which is kind of a new concept. We have seen treatments specifically conceived for the bust or the waist before, but I had never heard of a "buttock enhancer" or an "inner arms reshaping cream". So even if I was initially skeptic (because it sounds a lot like a good marketing strategy), I decided to give it a try while I was there and I bought the "Inner Arms Reshaping Cream", the "Inner Thighs and Knees Shaping Treatment" and the "Intensive Shaping Abdomen Treatment" (I didn't try the buttock enhancer). While I can't vauch for the inner arms and the inner thights treatments (I didn't see any visible result, even if the application and perfume were very pleasant), the abdomen tratment worked in that my sagging skin basically disappeared almost completely (after a month of religious application morning and evening). Now, I am almost convinced that in life there are things that we can control and things that we cannot like the fact that I gained weight while I was on a diet, while I lost weight during periods of time where I didn't follow a diet at all and who knows what was that made me burn calories. All this to say that I don't know if the appearence of my abdomen improved only thanks to this cream, but because it was the only thing that I WAS DOING (that I am aware of) that could have an impact on my abdomen, I would say that there are chances that the cream worked.
So the first good news is that if you want to try by yourself, there is an italian ebay seller (under the name of "italianostile") who will sell you these products (including the buttock enhancer) and will ship them to you for a small fortune.
The second good news is that Lierac has another product in the Morpho-Slim line that targets the same area and promises the same results (buy here). I have tried this back in the winter and I found it excellent, even if I didn't use it as regularly. So this could be a good alternative if you don't have anyone who can buy the Pupa for you in Italy. Another excellent product in this range, that I had tried a long time ago and still use from time to time is L'Oreal's "Body Expertise Sublime Slim ABS" that has been discontinued but you can still find on Amazon

These are my favorite products but none of them compares to the benefits of a swim or walk in the ocean, which I am reminded of each time that I go on a beach vacation. If you are on a beach, try do do this exercise: walk keeping yourself in parallel with the beach, with your legs immersed in the water up to your knees and your feet slighly open (a little bit like a ducky). While you walk you have to feel the resistance of the water and sort of drag your legs against it. If you are doing it correctly you will sweat and feel pain in your legs (if it's too easy, you are not making any effort). I guarantee that if you do ten minutes of this every day, you will see your body reshaped in no time, because not only you are doing effective excercise, but the salty water provides the most beneficial massage on your legs and hips.

OK. I hope I haven't annoyed you too much and you found some of this at least entertaining. Don't worry, I will resume my regular posting soon.

What's your "miracle product"? Please share!