Two days before my last trip to WDW, my little sister graduated college. It was a proud day for all, and there was the added bonus of Bill Nye being the commencement speaker. In case you’re wondering:
Bill Nye then and now.
And as you would expect, Bill Nye is awesome in person.
But there was a dark side to this day. Being that it was a graduation, my family and I dressed in your typical garden party attire, took our seats in the folding chairs on the quad, and settled in for five hours of watching someone else’s kid take the stage. By the time the event was over, my sister was a grown-up, my camera was out of batteries, and I had the Most. Awkward. Sunburn. Ever. I’m talking short-sleeve lines, awkward scoop neckline, and the classic “One Side of Me was Facing the Sun More and Now I Look Like Two-Face from Batman” burn. In other words, the full trifecta. And did I mention I had booked us a private family photo session the day after our arrival? *
Sadly, this was not the first time I had to deal with Sunburn Shame. There was that time when I fell asleep in the sun on Long Beach and burned so badly it took almost a year for the line to fade. And who could forget the BlogHer Burn of 2008? The day before the conference I was left lobster-faced after a couple hours of goofing off by the Golden Gate Bridge. In 60 degree weather.
True, I have very fair skin. I sunburn through car windows. It is my curse. And the aforementioned accidents aside, skin care is not something I’m willing to play around with. Frankly, the leatherfaced trophy wives running rampant in NYC have scared me straight. Alabaster is the new tan! (Plus, you know, cancer.)
And so, when I went to this year’s BlogHer conference, I was happy to see Eucerin in attendance, because I’m a big fan. Reasonably priced, non-smelly, SPF lotion that doesn’t leave a slimy residue? Sold! I was extra thrilled to see what was included in the Eucerin swag bag:
Eucerin® Everyday Protection Body Lotion and Everyday Protection Face Lotion – These guys keep your skin healthy and protect against dry skin by moisturizing for 24 hours, helping to prevent skin aging and cancer, long-term damage and skin cancer by providing broad-spectrum sun protection. And they absorb quickly without any greasy feeling on the skin. These are a "must-pack" for any WDW trip.
And Eucerin Daily Skin Balance Hand Crème is a must-have in my purse. It’s great for keeping your hands moisturized against all kinds of environmental stress.
While I was at the booth, I also pledged to put my skin first, because – despite my love of Jersey Shore - tanning is super dangerous and not worth the risk. You can sign up to take the Eucerin Skin Pledge here, and they also have a quiz you can take to learn more about skin care.
GIVEAWAY! Thanks to Eucerin, I’m giving away the same swag bags (filled with the products listed above) that were handed out at the BlogHer conference to TWO lucky winners. Great for every day, even better to take with you on a day in the parks.
To enter, leave a comment below with your worst sunburn experience, WDW-related or otherwise. Flip-flop marks? Farmer’s tan? We’ve all been there. Share the shame, people. (Contest ends on August 31, 11:59 PM EST.) Good luck!
Updated: Thanks to Random.org, we have our winners! Congratulations to Amy from Occupation: Mommy and Kristen from The DVC Mom!
*Weird sunburn lines aside, the photo session was fabulous. I hope to do a full review of the experience soon.
**Disclosure: I received my Eucerin products for free while I was at the conference, but was not otherwise compensated for this review.
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Related Links:
* Disney on a Budget: When You Wish Upon an All-Star
* Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of WDW
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9 comments:
When my son was 10 years old I sent him off for a week at WDW with his Grandmother. He came home with a serious second degree burn across one of his shoulders. The giant (it covered his entire left shoulder) deep blistering mess took a month to heel and he still has scaring from it 6 years later.
I'd love a skin care kit to help avoid the trauma I know can be cause by a really bad sunburn!
Which sunburn experience ISN'T a bad one? :) It's got to be when one of your children gets it, because you really beat yourself up for not preventing it. I'm happy to say, we did not have a single sunburn experience this summer... I was PREVENTING BABY!
I got a terrible sunburn in February one time. Like you, I've got skin that burns if I stand in front of the oven too long, but somehow I forget this fact when it's not 90° out.
My senior year of high school I went to Myrtle Beach with my mom the week before prom. I lathered on the sunscreen, but somehow managed to miss the area around the front of my arm pits (the area that you see when arms are down and you're facing forward). Once I burn, it turns to tan...very dark tan... So for prom, I had 'muddy pits.' Yes, indeed lovely darker than the rest of me circles. Fortunately, my date didn't mind and stuck around long enough to eventually marry me. :)
I hope when Bill Nye sent forth the graduates, he said "Now remember: Only you guys are going on this special mission. So don't tell anyone, okay?"
My worst sunburn ever was during a trip to Disneyland and southern CA when I was about 19. I am extremely fair skinned and am usually pretty good about putting sunscreen on, but on this paticular day in southern CA, I completely forgot to put suncreen on the entire backside of my body. I ended up spending the entire day in a bikini and looked like someone had fried my entire backside (my calves all the way up to my neck.) Unforuntely it was the 2nd day of our trip and I spent the rest of the trip carrying around aloe vera trying to soothe the burn.
I would love a Eucerin skincare kit to keep my skin healthy and burn free!! :-)
A few years ago while on a trip to Hawaii, I applied sunscreen to my 9 month old daughter. I had quite a bit left over on my hands, so I decided to rub it on my face and on my shoulders. Then I did a quick swipe on my left shoulder and a quick swipe on my right. After a few hours of hiking, my husband looked at me and started laughing. He asked if I had put any sunscreen on. When I said I put a little on my shoulders, he said he could tell. I looked down and there on both of my shoulders were perfect white hand prints silhouetted by a gorgeous red sunburn!!! I had those hand prints on me for the rest of the summer!!!
As a kid, the day before my last ballet recital, where I thought, "I won't burn, not in this short a time." Yikes. I will never forget having to pull on that ballet costume: millions of sequins, net tutu, tights. My arms stayed way far away from that tutu. To this day, not something I recall without a shudder.
I am also extremely fair-skinned. I have had a couple of bad burns, but my worst was in high school. I went to watch a high school baseball game while wearing a tank top. I got such a bad burn on my shoulders that it blistered and oozed for over a week. It was sooooo painful. The only good that came of it was that I swore I would never get burned again, and I haven't :)
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