I embraced my paleness a long, long time ago. I wear SPF 50 -- on cloudy days in winter. On the beach, I'm under a giant umbrella, wearing a giant hat, reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes.

So on the rare occasion that I want a tan, I'll go to a pro for a spray-tan. But even the light formulas are just too, well, "Jersey Shore.".

But a cute new white dress calls for drastic measures. I grabbed a bottle of Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Mousse in Fair, $54 (!), and a tanning mitt and rubbed it all over my legs before bed. It's a foam consistency, it went on easily, and it didn't stink.

The next morning, I showered, got dressed, and completely forgot about the self-tanner. Around lunchtime, I finally noticed my legs. They weren't tan per se, but they had just enough glow to make them, well, less albino than my dress -- and there wasn't a steak in sight.

Days later, I'm still kind of glowy and feeling rather pleased with myself. What's your go-to tanner? Share in the comments below.

For more on self-tanning:

The Top Self-Tanners of 2013

Tricks to Self-Tanning Like a Pro

9 Secrets Tanning Salons Don't Want You To Know