So this past weekend Tim and I were Sonny and Cher for a fundraiser for the Youth Department at our church.  Since not one strand of my DNA is similar to Cher’s I decided to get the mother of all spray tans and at least I would have that going for me.  I am no stranger to prepping for, maintaining or scrubbing off a spray tan or self tan, but recently I discovered the perfect product leading up to the big event.

Deborah Stone and her daughter Alex have recently opened Botaniko. Botaniko is a hip new space in downtown Birmingham that offers skincare powered by natural ingredients balanced with modern day cosmeceuticals.  One day Deborah, knowing that I am a “product junkie” invited me down to check out her new space and sent me home with a bag of goodies.  I made it clear to her that I would only talk about products on the blog that I loved, believed in and came back to purchase.

Today’s post is the first installment of one of the many Botaniko products that I love and will keep me coming back for more.  Botaniko’s Lemongrass & Mint Bamboo Exfoliating Body Wash is awesome on any given day, but is essential to the scrub down right before your self/spray tan is about to go down.  (Let’s be honest, it is about to be Spring Break and we all know tan fat looks better than white fat!)  I know there are a gazillion scrubs on the market, but this one is my fave.  First the scent is amazing and clean, second the bamboo is finely ground and covers a lot of skin real estate and most importantly, this scrub is a cleanser!  Translation, it will scrub off any unwanted dead skin and since it is a cleanser it won’t leave behind a moisturizing residue that could act as a barrier and keep your self tanner from “grabbing” the skin.  In the world of self-tanning it is “Prep Perfection.”

To order your own Lemongrass & Mint Cleanser call Botaniko at 205-568-7277 or order from their website here.  If you live in Birmingham I highly recommend you taking the trip downtown to see their space.  It is amazing and cool and doesn’t feel like anything else in town.

Botaniko
310 Richard Arrington Boulevard North #300
Birmingham, AL 35203

For the record my two favorite spray tanners in Birmingham are Abbie Pettijean (205-540-7633) who makes house calls for $35 in the Over the Mountain area and Studio A in Cahaba Heights because I can book on-line.