Getting Tan
Hollywood Style
by Wendy Fitos

Why do Hollywood celebrities always look like they step out of bed, shake their head and are picture perfect?

Yes, there has been many a morning when I look in the mirror with my pale skin and hope that if I blink quickly there will be a transformation to a beautiful bronze goddess.

Yet, alas, it just won't happen and, after a visit to websites like www.awfulplasticsurgery.com and www.people.com where celebrities are featured not wearing makeup and not having their "Hollywood" bronze glow, I realize it doesn't happen for them either.

I flash back to an article in Vogue written by an editor who spent a week getting treatments to be "Red Carpet Ready" and the $7000 it cost to get the look.

Getting tan Hollywood style is rarely a trip to the tanning bed that has been shared by 20 other people or standing in an airbrush shower shivering as a fan dries the skin's newfound color.

Stars and starlets have the luxury of calling professionals to come to them and getting pampered from head to toe so they don't have a streak across a wrinkle in the neck or white valleys in between the toes. If the professional can't come through, a quick trip to the Cote d'Azur or St. Tropez via luxury jet will do the trick.

A luxury tanning treatment often begins with a sea salt exfoliating body treatment performed on a hydrating bed while a warm shower flows from above to sweep away any dry skin that can cause a tanning product to skip even the tiniest pore.

Self Tanning products are applied with a massage so there will be no tension for a big event. After drying for a couple of hours, makeup artists are called in to airbrush bronzing makeup if the color is not deep enough or to soften a look for the starlet that just had to emulate Jennifer Lopez.

For the celebrity who wants to wear a skirt that may not be kind to cellulite deposits, contouring makeup and shining products can be applied to reduce those dimples. A quick call to a local boutique may also be in order if an emergency pair of Spanx is necessary to hold the dimples in.

As the evening approaches, the makeup artist will switch gears to focus on the face. Modern miracles like self tanning color with tint can be used to enhance the color that has been applied during the treatment and bronzing liquids will give the face the soft glow that is often captured in publicity photos.

A dermatologist may be called in to inject cortisone shots into the huge blemish that has come from nowhere so it will vanish before the trip to the limo to begin the evening has even happened.

Although not as extravagant, women can get and maintain the Hollywood tan by using body exfoliants and body lotions between tanning visits or trips to the beach. Lotions will help keep moisture in the skin which will help a tanning product last longer or keep a beach tan from peeling.

Although seen as an evil ploy by the true tanner, using sunscreen while tanning will keep color even and healthy and allow the skin to glow instead of being an attraction to the dogs on the beach whom sense a piece of rawhide leather is within grasp.

After bathing or showering, many body oils are very light and can add a sheen to the skin that will gleam softly under dim lights while enjoying the "Red Carpet Ready" evening.