Fire red leaves, crisp cool breezes, and rich indigo blue skies make Fall my favorite season. However, it has one downfall: the weather isn’t too ideal for tanning. I’m not going to opt for the tanning salon, although their coconut scent and tropical Hawaiian aura is tempting to any girl craving a sun-kissed glow. As a freshman, I went tanning at a salon every day and got perfectly bronzed. But after reading numerous articles explaining that tanning is a direct cause of skin cancer, I immediately went to an alternative: tanning lotions and sprays.

Desperate for darker skin and a Jennifer Lopez sheen that seemed to only belong to a goddess, I bought and tried almost every orange and brown bottle on the shelves at my local CVS. One stood out to me above all the rest. It worked instantly, absorbed deeply, and made my skin sparkle with golden glitter. Introducing my best friend in a bottle: L’Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion.

The Sublime Bronze collection features a variety of lotions and tanning mists that last anywhere from a day to a few weeks. My personal favorite is the Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion because it provides you with a quick tan that lasts longer than a few days, especially with continued daily use.

I have a medium skin tone, so I can use the lotion directly out of the bottle but I recommend that those with fair skin combine the bronzer with a plain moisturizing lotion to dilute the intense bronze tint. The one downfall of this product is its tendency to streak. Using lotion with it usually decreases the probability, but even so, washing hands after application is a must.

A bronze body awaits you so have no fear, because it is not just for summer but the entire year!