Kanebo Instant Natural Golden Glow UV

How do those Scandinavians manage to keep such a healthy glow through those cold winter months? It’s not just mini-breaks to Spain that’s bringing out the tan which so perfectly complements the blond hair and blue eyes of those lucky scandipants. The hidden secret is Kanebo Instant Natural Golden Glow UV gel!

Many people in the anglophone world are not familiar with Kanebo products. That’s because they’re sold only at exclusive department stores, and without a visible marketing campaign its fairly unlikely shoppers know the product well enough to pay top dollar for an unknown product. So I’ll let you in on a little secret: Kanebo makes excellent skin care products, and consumers outside of the US pay 2 to 3 times more (!) for those products in their home markets than they cost in the US**. I don’ t use the full line like my nearly mother-in-law does, but I will once I can afford to. In the meantime, I will continue my parallel-importing scheme from the US to Europe.

Kanebo Instant Natural Golden Glow UV in deep bronze is a super light-weight gel that gives the most lovely glow and even brings out freckles! It’s a great alternative to self-tanner because it’s instant, doesn’t smell and blends so easily that it’s dummy-proof. I apply this right over my moisturizer, concentrating on the cheebones, nose, forehead – any place the sun would naturally hit. Sometimes I use it after I’ve put on my makeup as a highlighter. It just melts into the skin and gives such a natural glow.

There is no sparkle in this gel so it’s great for men, too! I bought my guy some at Christmas to keep him from nicking all of mine. He haphazardly slaps it on and you’d never guess…shh

Kanebo international

Kanebo Norway

Kanebo at Barneys

Available in: US, Scandinavia, Japan

** A further note on the pricing: I believe it’s so much cheaper in the US because of the current exchange rate and economies of scale. Currently the Dollar is very weak, giving people from most European currencies a significant advantage in buying-power. There is also the whole lack of a true single market in Europe aspect, too.