Soap & Glory Touch & Glow Daily Radiance Moisture Lotion

I like to look natural without looking dead or, worse, old. By “natural,” I don’t mean really natural. Hell, that’d be easy: I’d only have to step out of the shower, shake my hair, and bugger off. NOT a good look! I said I want to look natural, which at age 47, takes layers of cream, some carefully applied makeup and a whole lot of time. In the winter, my daily quest to look natural requires something extra because without my soft summer shine, the age spots, dark under-eye circles and occasional blemishes on my face stand out like red wine on a white shirt. This winter, I’ve managed to skirt the unwanted-blotches-on-ghostly-pale-skin issue with a budget-conscious product from Soap & Glory called Touch & Glow.

I bought Touch & Glow for two reasons: First, I saw the word “CLEARANCE” above the Soap & Glory display. A Clearance sign above makeup or clothes attracts my attention as much as George Clooney. The 2.5 fluid ounce tube cost me fewer than $10 on clearance but is regularly $13. (I saved $3! SCORE!)

Second, I’m a sucker for packaging. I routinely purchase wine and books based strictly on their appearance. I love the Soap & Glory 1950’s marketing gimmick. Everything about their packaging is cheeky—from the pale pink coloring (think Mary Kay), to the product-name puns (e.g., The Wizard of Flaws), to the slogans and tips on their packages. On my tube of Touch & Glow, Soap & Glory Skincare Tip #12 advises, “Wear sunscreen on your face every day, or in 20 years, you could be wearing it as a belt.” Now see, that makes me laugh.

Touch & Glow is a bronzer of sorts. It contains tiny bronzing beads mixed with a lightly-scented moisturizer. Depending on where your face falls on the dry-to-oily spectrum, you could use Touch & Glow by itself or with your daily moisturizer; my skin is very dry, so I apply Touch & Glow atop my other two moisturizers. The tube claims that you need only apply a “pea-sized” amount for your entire face. Maybe I’m just really pale or maybe I like a little more glow than the folks at Soap & Glory would recommend, but I dab a pea-sized blob onto each cheek and another on my forehead. I blend it using my fingertips to rub the lotion in tight circles all over my face.

The result is a subtle, healthy shine. Touch & Glow gives me just the look I’m after: a natural glow, not a fake orange tan to rival the oompa loompa.

I do have one suggestion for the manufacturer: make those bronzing beads easier to break already! The beads break easiest against something abrasive, like my eyebrows or hairline—which is NOT where I want the little buggers to bust out the color!

Nevertheless, I’m willing to work with the finicky little beads and do so gladly. That’s how committed I am to looking natural!