Self-Tan Without the Streaks

Before: Splotchy and Too Dark

Jessica Silvester, a 27-year-old associate editor at O, is a recovering tanoholic. "I quit cold turkey last year," she says. But while she now (smartly) uses self-tanners to get a sun-kissed effect, the results are never as natural as she'd like. Makeup artist Carmindy, author of Crazy Busy Beautiful, explains why: "Self-tanner should be only two shades darker than your natural skin tone. Jessica was going about five shades darker." After picking out a much lighter color, Carmindy showed Jessica a few more tricks to perfect her self-tanner application.

Learn how to apply self-tanner the right way