What They Say: "As seen in "Lucky" Magazine, Madflowers is the ultimate natural bronzer!

Madflowers approach to skincare is natural, pure and progressive. Madflowers Henna Bronzing Oil is a first in the industry creating a lasting, even, sunless tan on any skintone using natural henna plant oil extracts. It performs on contact, offering a smooth, bronze look, capturing and reflecting light on the skin to evoke a glowing, toned outline of the body. This luxurious and lightweight pure oil blend delivers a beautiful all-over body tan and due to henna's cumulative properties, skin will become darker with each use. Henna also serves as a natural sunblock."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: First of all, let me start by saying right off that this gives an excellent color. It's really easy (compared to any liquid-form self-tanners I've tried) and is practically mistake-PROOF. That said, let me tell you what I learned the first few times using it:

• Be very careful squirting the pump. Hold your hand close to the bottle make sure the oil doesn't go anywhere you don't want it to. In that same vein, do this over a sink or counter, or even standing in the shower.
  
• Don't apply this straight out of the bottle. Because if you do, you just might want to, I don't know...cry in fear. Because it looks MUCH darker than you may be prepared for, at least in the first few uses. But you don't have to be afraid! The best way to ease into it and get a really easy and EVEN application until you're more familiar with the product is to start with a pump-dispensing container of your favorite (inexpensive) body lotion. I like to use Johnson's 24-Hour Softlotion. Squirt about a 50-cent piece-sized amount into your hand (or less depending on how much you want to dilute the bronzing oil), THEN squirt the bronzing oil into the same hand. Mix them together, and then apply just like you would lotion, and repeat! Since it's got that nice glow you can see it very easily and make sure you get every inch.
  
• You don't really need to worry about rough knees or elbows, because unlike a self-tanner, this won't stain and show up exaggerated in spots afterward.
  
• DO let it dry as much as possible before wearing clothes...I like to apply this at night so that if any gets on my tshirt while I'm sleeping, it's not that big of a deal. But I've used it sparingly before going out, too, and haven't had much problem with staining. (It washes off.)
  
• Once you've gone over an area and moved on, be careful re-applying in that area after it's begun to dry, as you could rub some of it off. It's best to get it the darkness you want the first time around.

Whew! Now that all that is out of the way, let me end with a few more bits of my opinion. I absolutely LOVE this stuff, it looks healthy and radiant without being orange or gaudy, and is buildable. The only thing to keep in mind is to be careful as you first learn to apply it. One small negative is that sometimes a little while after applying there is a bit of wicking off of the color in tiny specks in certain areas that may have not dried. But those can be lightly wiped off easily and don't in any way make me want to stop using the product.

Retail Price: $38.00 (beautyintuition.com)

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