Beauty And The Blog: STILA SUMMER GIVEAWAY! Over $400 worth of product.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

STILA SUMMER GIVEAWAY! Over $400 worth of product.

When the rain finally stopped here in New York, I had a sudden sunstruck flashback! About 12 years ago, my BFF (I won’t name any names, you know who you are!) and I were on a beachy vacation in Miami, Florida, celebrating her graduating college. Once we hit the sand, my friend decided to go sans sunblock to speed up her tanning process. Although I was young and did love the look of tanned skin, I knew my pale complexion needed to be protected. The result? My BFF got a major burn. Sadly, the humiliation didn’t end there. As we walked along the strip, random people barked comments at her like: “Hey, Red Lobster” and “Mrs. Tomato Head”. Poor girl! Not only did she wind up getting a fever that night and couldn’t party, but unwanted sun spots also showed up just weeks later.

When the girls at Stila heard that story, they said, “You must share this story with your readers, and warn them of sun damage. We can give away a bunch of sun protecting products and save someone else’s BFF—before it’s too late!” Thank you, Stila, for coming to the rescue with a summer protection basket filled with over $400 of Stila products.

How can you win? Share your most horrifying sun mishap (not that we wish this on anyone) from your past, and let us know why you should score this basket full of beauty booty.

Don’t forget to include your e-mail address.

Basket includes:
Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, $34
Stila Sheer Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 Oil Free, $36
Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, $32
Stila Bronzing Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, $32
Stila Illuminating Powder Foundation, $28
Stila Stila Sun SPF 15 Bronzing Powder, $26
Stila Lip Glaze, $22 (in 5 shades)
Stila SPF 20 Shine Lip Color, $22 each (in 5 shades)

327 comments:

«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 327 of 327 Newer› Newest»

Selina said...: When I was 16 I spent the summer staying with my grandparents. Their neighbours had a cute teenage boy staying, and one afternoon to attract his attention I dressed in my bathing suit and spent the afternoon lying out in the sun. Now this was the 80's and my bathing suit was VERY high cut exposing a reasonable amount of bottom to all those UV rays. The hours spent in the sun had the predictable result, and I ended up with a bright red bottom. Problem was the next day I was flying home and I had to spend a three hour flight attempting to levitate myself so that my poor sore bottom didn't rub against the seat. OUCH!; July 3, 2009 7:22 PM
fostermalanna said...: Last summer, my friends and I went to the Oregon Coast. Of course, we had barely seen the sun all winter, so I was good and pale. No one brought sunscreen, AND I fell asleep on the sand. I had hundreds of tiny little blisters all over my back and hips, and I had to work the next day! (I work as a CNA, so my scrubs were rubbing against my burn for 8 hours).

My "tan" lines were visable until about November. I now wear sunscreen everyday (even in the winter).

I would love to be able to use Stile products! Right now I just have the eyeliner, and I love it! Thanks Sephora!

(conroym@pdx.edu); July 3, 2009 7:40 PM
Laura said...: My family used to spend a few weeks at a beach house each summer. I have always been so pale skinned that my sister-in-law would refer to me as the family's "pet vampire"! I was always very careful to slather on sunscreen and limit the time I spent in direct sunlight. Unfortunately, when I was 16 I still didn't fully grasp the reflective properties of water and its ability to magnify even cloudy days to full-tilt Fair Skin Fry Outs. I spent hours one grey-but-still-lovely afternoon in the ocean, and by that evening I was an alluring shade of vermilion. Unfortunately, that was the least of it: I had managed to give myself sun poisoning! My skin was swollen, I was nauseous, and I had a fever. My skin was covered with tiny blisters and my lips swelled so badly that my father kept calling me Mick Jagger. When I was able to get out of bed, I walked around wrapped in a sheet because I couldn't bear to have clothing on. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the summer swimming in a t-shirt, and I've been an SPF zealot ever since. I even carry a parasol in summer!; July 3, 2009 8:07 PM
Vivian said...: Just this past May, my school had a huge all-day party and I am a total sun protection freak and layered my whole body in sunblock. I was wearing a strapless tunic shirt (it looked like a short dress) and some shorts. I know I couldn't get all of my back and asked a friend to help as the sun was rising in the sky. Keep in mind it is an all-day party and most people are already plastered by then. My friend, who happens to be a complete lightweight, seemed fine. Little did I know, she just stamped a few handprints worth of sunblock on my back and said she was done.

I found out a few hours too late that she left most of my right back unprotected. To add to the unpleasantness, I had gotten an EXTREMELY cute spray-on tattoo in that area. Not only did I have to basically destroy my tattoo to prevent any more damage, but by the time I noticed, it was pretty much too late.

The next day I had criss-crosses gong across my back (racerback bra straps), my friends handprints all over the right side of my back AND some random remains of my tattoo.

amor_libri@yahoo.com; July 3, 2009 11:29 PM
ruthie said...: A toasty Quasimodo! A few years ago after a family tragedy my friends tried to make me feel better by taking me down to the beach close to where we live in south Texas. Needless to say once we got out on the beach, I was so out of it and just laid there like a limp doll. Then brilliant me realizes oh crap I am as pasty white as a cloud and grabbed the nearest tube of sunscreen in my friends bag, not regarding to read it. I put it all over my face (not realizing it was sunscreen for your body and that was offbrand - like a shady Russian 7-11 brand or something- with a SPF of 1.5). I ended up having an allergic reaction to it so not only did I get sunburnt on my face, it was actually a chemical burn since I put that wannabe sunscreen crap on my face and it reacted with my sunburn. My face literally peeled off. I am talking I looked like Quasimodo. A freaking monster. No joke. It was this oozing dark brown horrific mess. And not only was it awful timing going through the current family tragedy (last thing I needed!) and uber embarassing having to face work and the world the next two weeks... I was so afraid my skin would never be the same again. Needless to say I definitely have freckles now.

Although my skin seemed to heal and go back to normal I could DEFINITELY use the help and restoration of these Stila products! I love me some Stila and love me some Sephora.. I could not ask for more!!! Don't make me break into song because I totally will.

randomnessofruth@gmail.com; July 4, 2009 12:19 AM
Anonymous said...: In 9th grade a classmate told me just plain old cooking oil was really good to tan with. She used it & looked good so I gave it a shot. I literally fried myself. All I could stand next to my skin for days afterward was an old cotton quilt. I've seen what to much sun has done to a 60 year old woman. Not attractive. I protect my skin now & people always think I look much younger than I am. I am getting myself outta debt & can't buy any good products for a while. Winning some would be an awesome treat :)

Angkatgavdil@gmail.com; July 4, 2009 12:31 AM
Julie Fritz said...: But WAIT, there's MORE...
My mom took me six hours to the beach. We were living the good life of sun and surf! That first day out on the sand I decided I wouldn't miss one ray of sun. I oiled up with baby oil. Don't worry, Stila...I put a dot of sunscreen on my little nose! Then, as if the oil wasn't enough torture, I put lemon juice in my hair! I did this all day in the sun... for three days!!! I got the tan that I wanted, with many freckles...much to my dermatologist's horror (now in 2009). But wait, there's more... Back in 1989, the laugh was on me when I went to comb my BIG 80's hair and my scalp was PEELING because it was sunburned from the lemon juice! Boys probably thought I had dandruff of the worst kind and skin that felt like a leather coat. I must have been one attractive, big-haired, hot-mess!!!
:-(
hmbcoastgirl@yahoo.com; July 4, 2009 1:53 AM
Liz said...: I don't know if the story is horrifying, but the burn sure was.

The worst burn I ever had in my life - so bad it blistered and made me nauseated, was incurred in the early 90's in the Caribbean. I was a young Navy Lieutenant assigned to an ammunition ship and we were at Guantanamo Bay for a short port call. A bunch of us had the afternoon off, so we hit the beach for a barbecue and some volleyball. I was so excited to be getting off the ship for a few hours that I didn't do more than change clothes and boogie down the brow before my department head could change his mind about letting me go. Several hours later, I could feel my mistake. By evening, I was in pain. By morning, I was visiting sick bay to see if there was anything they could do to help. It was a learning experience I have never forgotten.; July 4, 2009 9:18 AM
diskogal said...: I usually use tons of sunscreen as I am quite pale, but there was this once that I thought it wasn't necessary because it was relatively late and the sun wasn't burning that much...well I was wrong. And let me assure you that there's nothing worse than a burnt back! You can't sleep, or even get dressed, it hurts too much! I spend the rest of the week covered in yogurt to cool off :P; July 4, 2009 9:31 AM
Mama Jen said...: I was 15 years old and i was at a family reunion. There was a swimming pool there so i spent the entire day at the pool without ever applying sunblock. I am a very pale girl so you can imagine what i looked like by the end of the day. I was so burned that i could barely move. My mom had to rub aloe all over me... I started to get water blisters and they would pop and ooze everywhere. it was not pretty at all; July 4, 2009 10:54 AM
Amy said...: About a year ago I went to Hawaii to visit a friend. On one of the days we couldn't hang out I went on a whale watch with a few British girls I had met on a bus tour a few days earlier. They were all slathering on what I thought was sunblock, so I asked if I could borrow some since I was wearing a tank top. Once my sea sickness was too overwhelming I fell asleep on a deck chair. When I woke up I found out that what I had put on was a combination of a light sunblock & tanning oil. My chest looked terrible, bright red & blistered, and because I had turned partly to the side it was lopsided as well. It took MONTHS and MONTHS to look like normal again. From then on, I always carry my own sunscreen.

I love Stila & would love to have this package. I'm also in desperate need of some fun new products, so they would go to IMMEDIATE use.

lee.amy@gmail.com; July 4, 2009 11:01 AM
whitney said...: I as 14 when I moved from Washington State (land of the pale white people) to the East Coast. I had never been on a "real" beach before, and had never experienced the harsh rays of the Jersey Shore in midsummer. Sunblock was simply not something I had ever used, I was more of a baby oil girl to amplify whatever rays I could get. After laying out all day with no sun protection at all, I had the worst sunburn of my entire life. I particularly remember how badly burned the backs of my thighs were, making any kind of movement uncomfortable. And when I started peeling, I was basically molting like a snake, and left pieces of myself everywhere. Disgusting. I am much more careful these days, and would love some enticing products to remind myself to always use the sun protection I need. Still a pale white person...
ws.pottery@gmail.com; July 4, 2009 1:11 PM
Natasha said...: A few years ago there was a "downriver cruise" near my house, which is where people set up tents and chairs as if they are viewing a parade and instead people drive their nice cars or their vintage cars around. It's a big day and I know people who go every single year. Well, this year I went and I actually DID wear sunscreen. My guess is that the sunscreen was old because even though I sat underneath a canopy, when the sun changed directions it was shining right onto my left arm and the left part of my face. I was wearing a tshirt and didn't really notice anything until I got home later that night and I was red as a lobster. I wound up getting sun poisoning that night, and the next day I woke up with a million tiny blisters all over my entire upper left arm and some on my nose and forehead. My neighbor, being an EMS, told me to put Solarcane on the blisters because he said it was at least a 2nd degree burn. I did and then discovered, to my horror, that I was allergic to Solarcane. My blisters immediately started to itch and burn. I took a shower to try to rinse off the product but the damage was done. I had to have a friend drive me to the hospital where they put me on strong medication and cream. Once the blisters went down I was left with this disgusting burnt skin patch on my arm that everyone looked funny at. Once the scabs ebbed I was left with a lovely white patch where the rest of my skin was tan. Needless to say I now use self-tanner instead of spending my time in the sun and I use SPF every day on my face, even in the winter.

pinkbunny08x@gmail.com; July 4, 2009 1:58 PM
tarotbydiana said...: I am very fair skinned! A week ago I went to a rose garden with a friend of mine. I had SPF 20 on my face and 15 on my arms and shoulders and was carrying a parasol. My face got pink enough that when I went on a first date two days later, he thought I was blushing at just about everything he said!

Another time I was at the beach and my boyfriend at the time enjoyed rubbing sunscreen everywhere except my knees! I had two bright red circles in the center of my white legs. If I stood on one leg, I could have been a stoplight.

berkana[at]fastmail[dot]fm; July 4, 2009 4:32 PM
annalene said...: i went out to tan earlier this year. i did this while i was at school and wasn't wearing any makeup or any sort of sunscreen. anyway, it seems my skin got super sensitive after my 2 hour tanning session in the school park and a few days later i broke out like crazy. not only that, but my tan came out UNEVEN.. one arm is about 2 shades darker than the other- yikes! so i think i've learned my lesson... protect your skin & your skin will be happy!

(my email address is in my blogger profile); July 4, 2009 6:51 PM
mmpotter said...: When I was 19, my boyfriend and I went to the beach early in the season. It was a beautiful day, but not too hot. We were only there about 2-3 hours. I woke up the next morning with my eyes swollen shut. I had sun poisoning on my face and chest. I saw the doctor for a shot to reduce the inflammation, pain medication which made me puke, and orders to purchase a special burn ointment which stains your skin yellow, but eventually causes your skin to lift off like a scab. Yay! I was more than hideous for about a week. I learned a valuable lesson though! Sunscreen is my new best friend.

marciapotter@hotmail.com; July 4, 2009 8:52 PM
babelicioussugar said...: A few years back my bf and I were putting on some sunscreen since we wanted to sunbath. We were being silly and making fun of each other! I still had a glob of sunscreen on my fingers, so I dabbed it on his forehead in the letter L! But then he quickly rubbed it off! Much later, did I notice his face was quite tanned cept a few streaks in the middle of his forehead!!

babelicioussugar at gmail dot com; July 4, 2009 11:59 PM
Kathy R. said...: We moved to Colorado and I finally got to get some "sun" after a long winter. My girlfriend told me not to stay out so long because of the high altitude. Being a midwest girl and detasseled corn in the summer, I thought "I never burn" what does she know. I stayed out for over an hour. Starting that evening I got sicker and sicker, my skin turned redder and redder. My stepmother took me to a clinic and I found out that I had 2nd degree burns on my body. I was to go to school the next day and the MD recommended me to stay home. MY father was so mad, he made me go to school and "learn my lesson." I never did that again. I moved back to the midwest and I never "tanned" again. I love to have a "glow" in the summer and I th ink Stila products are the best in doing that!!!!; July 5, 2009 10:48 AM
chinamomxtwo said...: This would be AWESOME!--my skin is super sensitive to the sun, and I'm always searching for products that really *do* protect me ( and not just 'say' they do!) thx for the chance to win!!!!!!
jeannejac@aol.com; July 5, 2009 12:58 PM
simply sweetness said...: I was in the Bahamas for a family trip the first week in April, years back. We did a trip to a different location every year and I loved to come home to all these pale, white people [indoor tanning wasn't as big back then] in upstate, NY and show off my wonderful tan. Keep in mind, I was only 14 and I never really wore sunblock, I just let the sun do whatever because I never had an issue with sunburn before. Bad idea, of course. After day 3 my shoulders were as red as a lobster and it was extremely painful to shower and sleep and get dressed... and once I arrived home to show off that tan, I ended up coming home and showing off a couple of big blisters on my back which eventually healed but, for years, I couldn't tan in those spots. I would go out and get sun and have white patches on my back. People always asked me what they were and I had to explain this same story to them. It was awful.

kissmystars@gmail.com; July 5, 2009 1:52 PM
email - mickmuff@aol.com said...: Will I never learn? I had gone to the shore (yep, I'm a Jersey girl) with a co-worker for a nice girls' weekend out. We arived in the late afternoon, and got to the beach around 5:00 pm. It was a lovely day, but as it was so late in the afternoon I decided I didn't need sunscreen. We stayed on the beach for about 1 hour, went back to our room, and spent the rest of the evening on the boardwalk. When I woke up the next morning, my face felt odd somehow. I reached up and it was all drippy (with what, I didn't know). I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror - ACK! my face was oozing clear liquid. And I was so swollen my nose was almost "flat" on my face. The swelling almost covered it up. The rest of my weekend was pretty much ruined. When we got back to work on Monday, I looked like I had been in a fire. My face was still swollen, but my skin was starting to fall off - in chunks!! The skin underneath was all pink and raw looking, and the rest was brown and, well, burned up. It was just horrible. As the skin came off of my nose, there were lines that looked like stretch marks across it, I guess from the swelling. I apparently looked so bad that a gentlemen I had never met went out on his lunch break and bought me some Ungentine (sp?), which is a burn ointment. It helped a lot and the crusty skin finally all fell off and I walked around pink-face for awhile.; July 5, 2009 3:40 PM
kacie said...: Last summer I went to Vegas for the first time with my best friend. We went down to the pool, I put on sunscreen twice and found out hours later that it was EXPIRED sunscreen. I'm usually pretty fair but my skin can take the sun as long as I have sunscreen that functions. That night at dinner I started convulsing and kept shaking for hours from sun poisoning. For the rest of our trip total strangers walked up and touched my skin, laughing the whole time. The worst part, however? The blisters and subsequent open, moist wounds on my chest and face for the next two weeks (I'd post pictures but they're really gross). My doctor prescribed burn cream -- like for victims of a FIRE and I had to take two weeks off from work AFTER vacation for my skin to recover and now I have a scar on my chest. I have never been so miserable in my life. So needless to say, sunless tanning and SPF 50+ are where it's at for me! I'd love to try this batch of Stila goodies to fake a bronze goddess look!!

(vipkacie@gmail.com); July 5, 2009 4:09 PM
Carolina said...: I sadly have to say that my lack of knowledge caused me a very bad burn one summer. You see I have very fair skin and dark hair, plus the fact that I rarely put on suncreen well you can just imagine what would happen next. Well I spent one summer in the pool every single day, at the end of the summer I realized that I had lines of demarcation from my bathing suit, so I just asummed that they would fade away in a month or so. That was not the case I ended having them for 3 years! and I had to go to a dermatologist to make sure they went away most of the lines did, so know I only have a tan in my armsthat is very noticeble. What is really messed up is that I was 12 when it happen.

lucia_angel_14@hotmail.com; July 5, 2009 4:26 PM
Felis said...: I was out way too late one weekend, and apparently the sleep dep caught up with me. I fell asleep on the beach and woke up an hour and a half later. I didn't think I was too badly burned - I'm a darkish olive girl - but a few hours later I ran my hand down my arm and it came away wet.

"The hell?" I thought, looking down to see what had spilled on me. I was covered in tiny blisters that all burst when touched. SO. UNBELIEVABLY. GROSS. OH MY GOD.

Took a few days to heal, too. Lots of long-sleeved shirts in South Florida summer. Ugh.

felis_demens@yahoo.com; July 5, 2009 9:02 PM
Nadia said...: I did one year service in West Africa, during which I had to camp out and do basic survival training: jogging at 5am, etc. I had some greasy sunscreen and the heat kept melting it off (it was too hot to even walk at noon) and it stung my eyes badly. The sunscreen slid off my face and it was too hot to consider reapplying (everyone dumped their moisturizers. Imagine being so burned later on that night, that you needed a treatment for "prickly heat" just so you could sleep at night! That was me.

nry258@hotmail.com; July 6, 2009 12:14 AM
diana said...: When I was in middle school, I went to an amusement park with my family. I guess we were really excited to get on rides that we all forgot to put on sunblock. Five hours later all of us were bright red. I remember peeling and being uncomfortable for days! Never again will I ever do that. I would love to have the glorious SPF infused Stila product so that I will NEVER have to go a day unprotected.

gongjukim07@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 12:37 AM
Cynthia said...: My most memorable sun experiance was when I was on a camping vacation and I burned the backs of my calves. I was in so much pain that I could bearly walk.; July 6, 2009 2:41 AM
Cynthia said...: My most mermorable sun experiance was when i had gone for a vacation by a lake and ended up with my clves so burnt that i could barely walk.

Email: hamsters.r.cute@hotmail.com; July 6, 2009 2:43 AM
Elly said...: One time when i was younger i went to kelowna for a vacation and i got heat stoke. plus to go with it i got a terrible burn.

Email: ellly_k@hotmail.com; July 6, 2009 2:45 AM
Elly said...: This year i went on a vacation to phoenix in april. i live in canada so i cant get taned in april. so i used self tanner to give myself a "glow". it worked fine for i while, i was getting golden until i ran out of the fomula i was using and decided to try a darker shade. NOT a good idea. I put it on one night and when i woke up i was bright orange. I was leaving for phoenix in a day! After 5 scrubs and a baby oil bath soak i was back to where i had started and had rubed my skin almost raw. I went to phoenix and got a natural tan and luckily did not burn.

Email: ellyk1@hotmail.com; July 6, 2009 2:51 AM
jamie said...: when i was in 7th grade my friend and i wanted to get a wicked tan, we thought that people used oil to tan so wouldnt crisco oil be the same? well we stayed out in the sun all day, and we literally baked liked chickens in a roaster. i was so sick i thew up for days, now i wear spf sunscreen everyday!

thanks for the contest! its nice to hear other peoples stories too! :); July 6, 2009 3:34 AM
Marie said...: The day before prom my two best friends and I decided to go the beach. It was kinda overcast before we left so I didn't even think to put on sunscreen. I have really fair skin and red hair runs in my family so you can only guess what happened.

I got burned SO BAD. My face, my body, every place that wasn't covered by my bikini was bright bright red.

The next day was prom and of course the redness wasn't gone yet. And to make things even worse my prom dress was red.
I can still hear the people commenting on it, saying 'red lobster' and 'tomato!' and I can't stand looking at my prom pictures. It completely ruined what was supposed to be one of the most fun nights of my high school life. :(

I learned my lesson though. When going anywhere in the summer I put on sunscreen, even if it's supposed to rain :p.

mango1226@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 6:46 AM
jalapena said...: I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding, and she selected strapless dresses for us. I made my first trip to a tanning salon and the monster working the beds decided to fry me. I had blisters on my chest, between the girls. So I decided to do my tanning the "natural" way and lay out in my back yard. I dozed off for a little while and reactivated the barely-healed blisters. I worked feverishly the day of the wedding with makeup trying to cover the wounds on my chest and the huge white spots left on my shoulders where my skin had peeled off in slabs. Years later I suffered skin cancer on my face and had a one-sided face lift when the skin had to be pulled up on the right to close the incision. For several days I felt like Popeye with one eyebrow much higher than the other. So, a few years later, my forehead has evened itself back out, and this girl stays out of the sun like nobody's business!! I <3 Stila!; July 6, 2009 12:43 PM
jalapena said...: I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding, and she selected strapless dresses for us. I made my first trip to a tanning salon and the monster working the beds decided to fry me. I had blisters on my chest, between the girls. So I decided to do my tanning the "natural" way and lay out in my back yard. I dozed off for a little while and reactivated the barely-healed blisters. I worked feverishly the day of the wedding with makeup trying to cover the wounds on my chest and the huge white spots left on my shoulders where my skin had peeled off in slabs. Years later I suffered skin cancer on my face and had a one-sided face lift when the skin had to be pulled up on the right to close the incision. For several days I felt like Popeye with one eyebrow much higher than the other. So, a few years later, my forehead has evened itself back out, and this girl stays out of the sun like nobody's business!! I <3 Stila!; July 6, 2009 12:43 PM
jalapena said...: I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding, and she selected strapless dresses for us. I made my first trip to a tanning salon and the monster working the beds decided to fry me. I had blisters on my chest, between the girls. So I decided to do my tanning the "natural" way and lay out in my back yard. I dozed off for a little while and reactivated the barely-healed blisters. I worked feverishly the day of the wedding with makeup trying to cover the wounds on my chest and the huge white spots left on my shoulders where my skin had peeled off in slabs. Years later I suffered skin cancer on my face and had a one-sided face lift when the skin had to be pulled up on the right to close the incision. For several days I felt like Popeye with one eyebrow much higher than the other. So, a few years later, my forehead has evened itself back out, and this girl stays out of the sun like nobody's business!! I <3 Stila!; July 6, 2009 12:45 PM
Lauren said...: Last April I went to my friend's brother's dirt biking race. It was a day-long thing and the main reason we went was to get off campus for awhile. It was a nice day, cool in the morning, but manageable in the afternoon. We watched a couple of races and then went back to sit by her family's truck. We had some camp chairs and we put in our ipods to just relax for a bit. Unfortunately, we fell asleep for about 3 hours (we had gotten up at 5am to get there on time), and had been sitting out there for at least an hour before that. This would have been fine if I had been wearing jeans, like a normal person. However, I was in capri pants and ended up with a line straight across my shins and another one across both upper arms. It was a farmer's tan x 10. My friend's mom saw me a freaked out, throwing sweatshirts and blankets at me so I could cover up. I received some awesome comments for the rest of the semester and throughout the summer. Anyway, the lines are still there, over a year later and after at least 6 months spent in sunny places, trying to fix them. Lesson learned: falling asleep in the sun is bad news.

Stila is one of my favorite brands and I would love this kit. :)

lblack07@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 12:46 PM
nicole1275 said...: when I was a teenager my sister ask me to go to maine with her and her friends I was like YES!!! I thought it was so cool to hangout with the older kids, we went canoeing down the river and it was so much fun until the next day when I woke up my face was so swelling I couldn't bearly open my eyes( an super red) and to top it off there was a cute guy i was trying to hook up with..I should have put that sunscreen on more through out the day with my fair skin, I was so embarassed, an saddly to say i never got the guy

nwhite1275@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 12:47 PM
Vanessa said...: About 5 years ago my family and I decided to go on a trip to Key West on my uncles boat. I was super excited because I wanted to get a good looking tan and take a dip in the beautiful crystal blue ocean. We were planning this trip for a month. Before we left in the boat, I put on my bathing suit and left my house without my tanning oil! For a whole week I kept reminding myself to bring the tanning lotion in my backpack. Without being aware I left the lotion, I laid on the front end of the boat thinking I had tanning lotion on. I then laid down gently and played my radio thinking I would look amazing with my new tan and attend a gala my father planned after the trip. I advised my mother to check up on me so I can turn over. Funny thing is, the only music the radio was playing was classical music.......I fell asleep for 3 1/2 hours!! My mother decided to check up on me after 3 hours and told me to quickly go inside the cabin because I was out for too long. Every inch of my front body ACHED in pain!!! It was more than red, it actually geared toward purple and I saw bumps on my face due to the sun exposure! I did not go to school for 2 weeks and was lying in my bedroom with nothing but ice on my body with green Aloe Vera and a lotion my mom bought for SEVERE burning. She bathed me and helped me with my clothes because I could not move an inch!! Good news is I didn't get skin cancer. Bad news is that my cousins and aunts taunted me because Frankenstein and I were a perfect match!

Email: claudia.hernandez@shcr.com; July 6, 2009 12:51 PM
Miko said...: Once I went to a water park two days in a row without wearing sunblock and had a sunburn so bad that I looked like a lobster with a black nose. I was sitting in the wading pool waiting for my boyfriend to finish his tube ride when 2 other boys came up to me and tried to talk to me. To get them to leave, I said "I'm waiting on my boyfriend" which was met with "NU UH you're so lying," "you don't have a boyfriend," "I don't believe you". Talk about mortifying, just imagine someone being with black-nosed lobster girl. Luckily my boyfriend walked up and they disbursed before they could make any more fun of me. I ended up spending a few days on the couch with chamomile tea bags and aloe on my face just to get to the peeling stage, I could barely move. Now I wear SPF moisturizer every day and my nose has always been shinier since.

mfedermann@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 12:54 PM
vanessah777 said...: About 5 years ago my family and I decided to go on a trip to Key West on my uncles boat. I was super excited because I wanted to get a good looking tan and take a dip in the beautiful crystal blue ocean. We were planning this trip for a month. Before we left in the boat, I put on my bathing suit and left my house without my tanning oil! For a whole week I kept reminding myself to bring the tanning lotion in my backpack. Without being aware I left the lotion, I laid on the front end of the boat thinking I had tanning lotion on. I then laid down gently and played my radio thinking I would look amazing with my new tan and attend a gala my father planned after the trip. I advised my mother to check up on me so I can turn over. Funny thing is, the only music the radio was playing was classical music.......I fell asleep for 3 1/2 hours!! My mother decided to check up on me after 3 hours and told me to quickly go inside the cabin because I was out for too long. Every inch of my front body ACHED in pain!!! It was more than red, it actually geared toward purple and I saw bumps on my face due to the sun exposure! I did not go to school for 2 weeks and was lying in my bedroom with nothing but ice on my body with green Aloe Vera and a lotion my mom bought for SEVERE burning. She bathed me and helped me with my clothes because I could not move an inch!! Good news is I didn't get skin cancer. Bad news is that my cousins and aunts taunted me because Frankenstein and I were a perfect match!; July 6, 2009 12:56 PM
kd said...: When I was ten years old, I was on a cruise with my family. I ended up contracting the Norovirus, which is pretty terrible on its own. My dad brought me up to the deck so I could have some fresh air... and I fell asleep in the sun. I ended up with first- and second-degree burns over nearly 70% of my body. The next morning, I couldn't open my eyes because my face was so swollen. It took me several weeks to fully heal.

Thirteen years later, I am still terrified of sun damage. I constantly worry that I'll develop skin cancer due to my bad experience at a young age. I am quite pale and covered in freckles, and I do everything I can to keep it that way because I never want to risk damaging my skin again!

I'm always looking for ways to feel pretty without worrying about sun damage. Unfortunately, I can't afford $400 worth of Stila goodies to help with my quest to be both beautiful and sun-safe! :D

leastlikely@boxofscraps.com; July 6, 2009 12:56 PM
Meg said...: So I've never had a mishap with the REAL sun...but a spray tan called my name in 8th grade so i could look all tan and gorgeous for my 8th grade dance

needless to say, i went to the dance all streaky and ridiculous looking from head to toe. i gave up on trying to be tan after that and embraced my pale skin.
i'd rather be pale than be streaky or cancer-ridden!!

forrma7@wfu.edu; July 6, 2009 1:05 PM
awinknasmile said...: During a summer day here in California my friends and I were at the beach and I thought I'd do my best to get a little tan going. I figured that my pail face and legs needed to be shade or two darker and opted to go sunblock-free. I remember one of my friends telling me to put on some sunblock and I just brushed her off by saying oh I never burn or tan I'll be ok. Big mistake at the end of the day my face was so red and I got so much sun damage I had blisters on the top of my ears. I don't know what was worst the damage I put my skin through or the pain I felt. Looking back it had fail written all over it and my legs didn't even get a bit darker. The only good think that came of this is that I realized how delicate skin is and that it needs protection. I use SPF moisturizer on a daily basis and I now always wear sunblock when at the beach. I have grown to love my light complexion.

sprinkles18@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 1:17 PM
Meredith said...: I said this earlier but forgot to leave my email! :(

I was working on a mission trip a few years ago- I was wearing sunscreen, but happened to be repairing a roof for a family who couldn't afford to do it themselves. Unfortunately, my spf 30 was not enough to protect me from the glare off of the roofing tiles- I had the most horrible blisters, and could hardly move for days! Yeeeouch.

merebeldith@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 1:29 PM
melodieLEE said...: This post has been removed by the author.; July 6, 2009 2:06 PM
melodieLEE said...: One time me and my family went to California, and of course it is a must have to go to the beach. so we went to Santa Monica beach, and I forgot to put sunscreen on like a doe doe bird and 3 hours later someone finally mentions that i have a sunburn and that I look like a giant tomato!! >:( it was horrible I was peeling like a lizard! I'm so fragile to the sun, and I need as much on my skin to go out thats why I would love to have the Stila summer products!!!

melodinote15@aol.com; July 6, 2009 2:09 PM
Elisabeth said...: For the first time in my sunburn riddled life I pay attention and put on SPF 60. Only the sunscreen was expired and once I woke up from my nap in the sun, I had the pleasure to have a silver dollar sized second degree burn in the middle of my chest and a lobster red body. I only wore my dads button down shirts the rest of the trip. Once we got to the airport and got our bags lined up for TSA we noticed they started pulling them out one by one and saying "Bag Check". Finally when they searched my family I got pulled out of line too. I was put in a room with all of our bags and had to wait for a female search attendant. The only bag they didnt take from my family of 7 was my mother's purse. I had alot of bags to watch. When the woman finally showed up (an hour or so later) I was informed that every bag in the room and myself tested positive for glycerin one of the main ingredients in a bomb. She needed to search me and within 30 seconds of unbuttoning that shirt she had me sitting back in my chair. She said it was the worst sunburn she had ever seen and that all the aloe and lotion (with both contain glycerin) caused the issue because I was touching everything. Prototcol states that she had to check the bags, so another hour later I was sent on my way. Only my family had left without me. Our bags and myself got to take a different direct flight home, they got a three hour layover in ATL. I beat them by 30 minutes and had to get all the bags back together just in time for them to waltz off their plane and head for the car. Always check the expiration date or you could end up the "owner" of 10 bags of luggage, 3 purses and four carry on bags. It was awesome.

Ezuerker@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 4:02 PM
Megan said...: One time me and my friends went to the beach. We just went to go play some volleyball in the shady courts so none of us bothered to fuss with sunscreen. We were in the middle of the game when I twisted my ankle. I went to go sit down, but the only spots were in the sun. So, I laid down my towel and put my headphones on and drowned out to my Ipod. I fell asleep for TWO hours and when I woke up I had a bright red sunburn all over my body and a pale white line down my chest and to my ears from where my headphones had been! I had a job interview the next day and I had to retell the story to lots of curious employees. It was super embarrasing. I will NEVER forget to put on sunscreen again.
marvelousmeg25@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 4:33 PM
Jillian said...: One day last summer I was at my friend's house, we were both tired from the day so we decided to lay on those blow up rafts for the pool. Being mostly Irish and having very fair skin I know that I have to wear sunscreen, but I didn't do such a great job at putting it on my shoulders and back. When I woke up they were bright red and very hot. my shoulders were literally burning hot. over the next few days i started to develop blisters and it started to "bubble". I was really freaked out, I thought I had sun poisoning. Luckily i was okay and everything went away but it really taught me to always be careful in the sun. I still have some marks from it.

I would love to win the Stila stuff for two reasons, 1. Stila is my all time favorite brand because they have something for everyone and 2. I can get get a pretty summer glow with out skin damage.

Thanks for the opportunity!

Luvnyc123@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 5:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Because I'm dark-skinned, I never thought I had to use sunsccreen.
Well, during a volunteer project at my school, I was out in the sun for at least 7 hours in the hot California sun. Later that evening, my skin felt very tender and it was red. I wasn't sure what was wrong until I realized it was sunburn. Now, even being a black woman, I always wear sunscreen and I make sure to tell that to all of my deep skinned friends.
Those prizes look gorgeous! I've always wanted to try Stila, but being a broke university student holds me back from purchasing it. I hope I can try them out and rock a safe summer glow.
kensiel@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 6:20 PM
Hanna said...: Back in the 7th grade my mom would tell me every day to put on sunscreen, and of course I was young and stupid, and rarely listened to her. The summer before my 7th grade year, we went all sorts of places, Disneyland, the beach, camping, etc. By the end of August, everyone, including myself, was starting to see these large patches of discoloration that were forming on my skin. It seemed a little weird and so we went to the doctor's, and it turned out that I had hypo-pigmentation, meaning that some places on my face didn't have as much pigment as others. So now whenever I am exposed to sun for long periods of time or regularly, even with SPF, my condition shows up time again and again. I NEVER skip out on sunscreen now, and really am need of SPf-filled cosmetics on a tight budget, because I'm still a student. Whenever I look in the mirror those discolored areas really catch my eye, and this is something that affects me to this day. I really would love to have even-toned and healthy skin, and Stila has some really great products. This set would be perfect for what I'm looking for,and Stila is awesome. :)

enjoy.love@ymail.com; July 6, 2009 7:00 PM
Hanna said...: This post has been removed by the author.; July 6, 2009 6:56 PM
Brooke Baker said...: My family loves to boat. For vacation every year, my whole extended family piles into a cabin at the lake and boats all day every day. Once, on our first day of vacation, I rode out to the cove we park in on my aunt's boat. Once we got there, everyone was putting sunscreen on and she was spraying her kids and their friends, so I just asked her to get my back. She sprayed me, and I thought I was covered. Nope.
Turns out, that spray not only covered random patches of my back and arms, but also was not waterproof. So at the end of the day, I had huge random patches that were bright red and extremely painful. By the time I reapplied the sunscreen, I was already burnt. I spent the next few days laying around the cabin in complete darkness, wincing every once in a while from my painful shoulders and arms.

peeanoe@gmail.com; July 6, 2009 7:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Okay, this story is in two parts.

I was in the Bahamas for my cousin's wedding and I had brought a beautiful red backless dress to wear to the reception. I had spent weeks in the gym getting ready to wear this dress, so I was really excited to rock it. The day before the reception, my whole family had gone to the beach, while I had slept in. Before joining them, I slathered on tons of high-spf sunblock, as I burn really easily. After a couple hours of frolicking in the sand, my family and I packed up to head back to the hotel - which is when my cousin started laughing at me. I didn't realize why everyone was staring until I got back to my hotel room, turned on the shower, and nearly screamed because of the pain my back was in! "But I put on tons of sunblock," I kept thinking - what was going on? I twisted my neck to look at my back in the mirror and--oh, my god. I had a huge, red, swollen sunburn in the middle of my back, right where my arms couldn't quite stretch far enough to rub in sunblock. It was the weirdest, lumpiest, most misshapen burn ever. You could see the shape of my fingers in it where they couldn't reach far enough. I swear, it looked like the monster from Alien was bursting out of my back.

Needless to say, my backless dress looked ridiculous. It looked like I chose a backless dress on purpose to showcase my freakish sunburn. Plus, it was clear what had happened to me because of the fingermarks on the burn.

Well, I survived the rest of the time we were there by covering up and, since I was determined to not peel, obsessively applying aloe and after-sun cream. (Okay, my boyfriend was the one applying it. I couldn't reach, remember?) The aloe did its job, and I didn't peel at all, although my skin did take on a weird, thick, leathery texture.

When I got back home, I took my first trip to the gym after my vacation. I was on the elliptical machine when I noticed that my back felt very, very itchy. I had read that sunburns could be itchy, so I ignored it until I entered the locker room and started scratching. And then I discovered that my sunburn had started to actually bubble - not blister, but bubble up, and that was why it was so itchy. I totally freaked out and called my doctor and she said that I should have just let it peel in the first place, because my workout sweat was building up underneath the dead skin of my sunburn and had nowhere to go. I can't emphasize how disgusting this was. It was painless, but popping itchy bubbles on your back filled with your own sweat? Disgusting.

Now I never, EVER go into the sun without finding someone to do my back first!

melissa@horn.com; July 6, 2009 7:35 PM
Chels said...: Last year for the fourth of July my best friend, Alex, and I made special plans to go out on the lake with some friends. Alex is one of those lucky girls with a natural perfect tan. As my friends pass around the sun screen, I decline-- determined to have that perfect golden brown tan for myself.

We spent the ENTIRE day outside in the sun, on the water, having a great time. Near the end of our expidition I started not feeling so well... and then passed out. I go to the bathroom to get some water, and suddenly come to the realization that I had the most ridiculous sun burn you've ever seen-- I'm talking full body redness here. I couldn't move for days... and to top it all off, once my entire body had peeled, I was the exact same pale shade I was before.; July 6, 2009 7:46 PM
Jessica said...: jessicathemakeupjunkie@yahoo.com

Classic case scenario of getting burned....but a bit more embarrassing...imagine getting ready for your first date with this guy you had been crushing on. the day before i was the beach with my friend having some summer fun and like a Neanderthal i went sans sunscreen as well. mind you this is the time when i had no care whatsoever for sunscreen. so the result was when i got home i was completely burned and my skin even had started to peel off bc it was so hot! but my date was the next day so i had to live with it....so it came time for my date and it was all going really great! we were sharing a good mango smoothie on a hot summer day when i completely forgot that the skin from my face was peeling....it got really itchy so i gave it a nice thick scratch when all of a sudden i peeled off a big chunk of my skin and it fell in the smoothie! he was grossed out and started cracking up...i walked out upset as well but he ran after me and made it all okay...we dated for a year so that piece of skin was the icebreaker as gross as that sounds....so it quickly went from one of the worse days of my life to the best! but is still the worst sun mishap i have ever had; July 6, 2009 8:41 PM
Anonymous said...: My best friend and I (in junior high at the time) went to Florida for spring break. We spent the entire day tanning on the beach with no sunscreen. I have never seen anyone burned like we were. I had fever that evening & it hurt badly just to take a bath. I could tap on my face and you could hear it tap because my skin was literally burned to a crisp. When we returned to school the next week, the principal sent us home because we looked so bad. I don't recommend a sunburn to get out of going to school! ;)

debbie12195@yahoo.com; July 6, 2009 8:43 PM
K said...: When I was on vacation a few years ago, I fell asleep on a beach chair in the sun and I wore a sunglasses to top it off. When I wore up, I got a sunburn! My entire body was red, and I had a permanent sunglasses tan line. It was embarrassing and painful. My family kept calling me "Sebastien the crab" referring to the lobster in the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. Till this day, my family calls me "Sebastien the crab"; July 6, 2009 10:00 PM
ekalour2 said...: This post has been removed by the author.; July 7, 2009 12:18 AM
ekalour2 said...: I have a naturally olive complexion, so I usually didnt bother with the SPF unless its UBER easy to deal with. One day I was mountain hiking an I didnt put on sunscreen. When me and my boyfriend reached the top we had a picnic and fell asleep for a while, it was summer and we were in the sun. I woke up bright red with a hand print on my face from my boyfriend's cuddling. No matter what makeup I used you could always see it!

A lot of the Stila products have a good SPF in there! I wouldnt have to worry about getting a hand print on my face anymore or sun damage!

ekalour2 at gmail dot com; July 7, 2009 12:19 AM
Jessica Allison said...: This past April my mother and I took a much needed vaction- a cruise to the Bahamas. My mother has a gorgeous, deep olive complexion while I'm the fairest of the fair, so the pressure was really on to get a nice tan. Of course, I was as vigilant as ever with sunscreen on my face, but not so much on my body.

I decided to "spot screen"- knowing that my legs never seem to tan, I skipped the sunscreen on my legs. I have had 2nd degree sunburns on the top of my feet before, and didn't want to repeat that, so I did slather a waterproof SPF 70 onto my feet, stopping at my ankles.

The sunscreen worked as promised- while I had a blistering burn on my legs, there was an very obvious line marking where I had stopped my sunscreen. The best part of it all? The lily white hand print that was "stenciled" into my leg after resting my sunscreen coated hand on my otherwise unprotected shin!

contact me at dizzyedge@gmail.com; July 7, 2009 1:03 AM
Serena said...: This year was my senior year in high school. Prom was coming up and I had pretty bad tan lines from playing on my high school soccer team. I didn't want to look funny in my beautiful prom dress, so I decided I would try to even out my tan lines. I spent my Saturday afternoons trying to tan and ended up getting really burnt the weekend before prom. The whole week I was peeling, especially on my back and chest area! I was freaking out!! Then I had an idea to fix it by getting a spray tan, the day before prom. It worked out okay, except the peeling parts around my chest! I was mortified! Even though I managed to hide it with makeup, it was stressful and not the perfect look I was going for.

This summer I am heading down to San Diego to work and then I am going to start college at UCSB in september! Hopefully I will win the Stila Summer Giveaway because I will definitely need these products as I love to hang out at the beach!! And when my friends ask me how I managed without getting burnt, I know who I can give the credit to!

email: calixgirl22@aol.com; July 7, 2009 2:54 AM
Melanie said...: I went to the beach in November of 2008 for a nice getaway with my kids. The weather was gorgeous, not too cold, so we played in the water all day.
i went without sunscreen because I truly didn't think I'd get much color, it was cloudy and cool, no worries, right? Wrong!
I got a horrible sunburn, and spent the next week with lobsterface. But that's not the worst of it. As a result of the sunburn, I developed melasma, which is basically brown patches on my skin. I have them on my forehead and upper lip, so depending how much makeup I wear, I either look really made-up or dirty from the spots.
I'd love to try the Stila line, I've bought a few things...either way, I hope my story can be a warning to others...don't ever forget the sunscreen!!!

melaniepailing@yahoo.com; July 7, 2009 3:11 AM
ladybuggg said...: i was visiting a gorgeous deserted beach in okinawa, japan with a gal pal of mine a few years ago when the water was too stunning that i had to jump in right then and there. i squirted a generous amount of sunscreen into my hands, lathered up and slapped it on my back, thinking, "i'll re-apply in 10 minutes!" 10 minutes turned into an hour, into a few hours... and yes, i was a victim of the "hand print sunburn." two white hand prints dragged on my red, owie, sunburnt back for the rest of my vacation. i was miserable and those major tan lines didnt go away for months!; July 7, 2009 3:14 AM
Elinor said...: On Saturday I rode my scooter down the street without sunscreen. It was around the 80s here in Los Angeles & I figured, I don't think I'll get burnt if I'm out for like 15 minutes. Well, I freakin' thought wrong! Since then my lips have been itchy, swollen, red, & they've got tiny little bumps on them. I looked up lip balm with spf & I came across an article that listed 3 types of sunburns. MY SUNBURN WAS A SECOND DEGREE BURN! OMG! What was even more horrible was that I was going to visit my orthodontist on Monday to get some dental work done for my braces & I KNEW my doctor was going to be probing around into my mouth. So, it's Tuesday now & BOOOOOY did it hurt when he stretched my mouth open :( Oh, my lips are easily burnt, but my body isn't, thank God. However, my upper body, especially my arms are now at least three shades darker than my lower body LOL.

xelinorx@yahoo.com; July 7, 2009 7:33 AM
errynshealthandbeauty.com said...: I was a teenager so I thought I was impervious to any type of damage what so ever! One summer I decided I would lay out and get a nice tan. The news said there was a UV advisory that day. Stupid me thinks Great! More tan for the time. I go out early in the AM and fall asleep. I lay there all day until late in the after noon baking while slathering baby oil all over to make sure I fried.

I finally go inside because I was feeling nauseuos and faint. When I look in the mirror to examine my oh so beautiful tan, I see a disfigured lumpy face staring back at me. I had severe sun poisoning turning my nose into what looked like an 80 yr old alcoholic nose.My forehead was swollen and freakish.Soon my legs were covered with knots and large blisters.

The scars lasted a good 6 months on my face(thank god I was young and healed quickly) but the scars on my legs were there for about 2 years. I am 34 now and I still have some discolorations from that day on my right upper thigh.

Makes me wonder how many years that day added onto me now and I would look a few years younger had I not fried myself.

I have alot of sun damage on my face from not taking care of it as a teenager, after my burn incedent I was more careful but I thought tanning beds would be OK as long as I didnt burn.Now I see all the wear and tear the tanning beds did as well. I wish I had the sense then that I have now to take care of my skin. I have to wear concealer constantly to cover the discolorations.

Great contest BTW! What a great idea:>
errynlea@hotmail.com; July 7, 2009 9:42 AM
Sarah said...: In highschool, I was never really exposed to a lot of sun because of my insecurities with my body. So I always wore big t-shirts and baggy jeans... so on and so forth. When it came to our senior trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, i was the palest ever with a huge farmer tanline (mid arm tan). What made it even more horrifying is that I was basically forced into wearing tanks & swimsuits because of the Mexico heat. With just a drop of confidence, I had to bare my yucky tanlines and pale limbs (in front of all my highschool friends). Oh the memories!

Thankfully the toasty Mexico sun evened out my tanlines. Now, with a touch more confidence & the right makeup & beauty essentials .. no more baggy t-shirts and ugly tan lines!

oh, and this would be a lovely birthday present for me! July 27th :); July 7, 2009 2:17 PM
Jenn Majors said...: During the summer after my first year of college, I spent the day at the beach with my roommate's out-of-town boyfriend and his friend. Trying to be nice, I let them use the two surfboards we had and I decided to soak up some sun. Well, do you know how long first-time surfers stay in the water? Long enough for their host to fall asleep on the beach and BAKE for the entire afternoon!
When we got home, I missed out on our summer house party because I was stuck stiff in bed from what I can only assume was sun-poisoning. In the middle of the night, I got up to get some water, passed out and woke up the next morning on the kitchen floor. The next day, my roommates said "Yeah, we heard a 'thud' but we didn't know what it was." Well, it was me.
I peeled for weeks, and, needless to say, looked ridiculous for weeks. Going from pale white to blazing red, is not cute, or natural-looking.
It totally wasn't worth the tan I got back then, and I learned my lesson not to do it again (at least not that badly!)
I would love the Stila Summer Giveaway because I'd still like to get that sun-kissed look, minus the sun damage.
And truthfully, just once, I want to be tanner than my sister! :)

email: jennmajors@gmail.com; July 7, 2009 4:46 PM
Amber said...: One summer I went to the beach, and even though I had sunscreen on my body, I wasn't regularly re-applying it to my face. After hours of swimming and fun in the sun, my T-zone was pretty darn pink. By night time my cheeks were red and badly burned. The sunburn itched soooo bad! Heres a lessons for you ladies, never ever ever scratch a bad sunburn especially on your face. I did, and it peeled off a chunk of skin from my cheek! It seriously peeled off layers of skin. I gasped and freaked out and ran to the bathroom, to see raw skin where some of my burned skin peeled off. I was so afraid it was going to scar, and it hurt REALLY bad. I seriously learned my lesson that day. It took time, and lots of aloe vera gel to heal the skin n my face. Luckily it didn't scar, but now, I always always always re-apply sunscreen to my face!

shevilkenevil1 at aol dot com; July 7, 2009 4:47 PM
Katrina V said...: I'd love to score this basket because I am all about sun protection!

A few years back, my cousins and a few friends decided to go to South Padre, Texas to party on the beach for spring break. We were so excited that we stayed up the night before and drove straight without sleep for 6 hours. When we finally arrived, they still had energy to swim and play, but I decided to lay and rest for a bit on the sand. Big mistake! I haven't applied my sunblock yet and fell asleep with my hand on my stomach! I burned and had a tan line of my hand because of it! :(; July 7, 2009 11:10 PM
jdaisey said...: I learned the hard way the viscous things the sun can do to ones skin!

After a regular day of swimming and sunbathing I had awoken the next morning to a bump on my nose that had grown and turned black! it was huge and turned out to be sun poisoning! I didn't leave my house for over a week! No more sunbathing for me!; July 8, 2009 4:13 AM
.jackie♡jaci. said...: This post has been removed by the author.; July 8, 2009 5:26 AM
.jackie♡jaci. said...: I was sea-doing a couple years back, and i am usually very good about applying spf. But, i stupidly forgot to apply to my knees. So while all through the riding my knees were getting burnt. The rest of the vacation i literally couldn't walk, or try to sit/stand. It hurt toooo bad!

email: jackiejaci.blogspot@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 5:27 AM
Anonymous said...: Earlier this year, my sister and I went to see MGMT. Determined to be at the barrier, we got their 5 hours before the doors opened to sit in line. All was well until the cloudy skies cleared, revealing a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Unfortunately, we were dressed to mosh, bare arms, bare necks, bare shoulders. 5 hours late, we were front and centre, our top halves an inviting shade of pink. Ouch. :)

hollywalker@live.com.au; July 8, 2009 5:33 AM
C. J. Diamond said...: I am always telling people how imprtant it is to wear sunscreen and stupidly ended up leaving the house without it. I took a trip to upstate NY and had no suncreen at all. I feel asleep in the sun and my face burnt up so bad. It was the worst thing I ever felt. Most people think women of color can't burn... well guess what we can. For the next week my face was so tender and red. Just putting water on my face felt like acid. My face was so raw and then it started peeling. To make matter worse I had to give a speech in front of a large crowd with a sore, peeling bright red face. I now carry sunscreen in my makeup bag.

cdiamond7@att.blackberry.net; July 8, 2009 10:09 AM
Allison M. said...: Way back in the day right after college, my best girl friend and I went on vaca with all of our guy friends.

Well two days before we left, we wanted to "soak up all the sun" and only laid out in baby oil and iodine. (I read it in some magazine.)

Bad idea because the next day it looked like I had a serious heat rash on my arms and someone took an iron to her chest.

Thankfully, I've learned from my past and use sunscreen to avoid having age spots. Or, at least try to prevent any more.

confessionsofacohabitant@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 2:18 PM
L1LMAMAJ said...: One summer, me and my friends were tanning outside her swimming pool at her apartment complex. I forgot to put sunscreen on my back and after tanning for about an hour or so, my back turned bright red!! However, the next day, it started to peel and burn so badly that i couldn't sleep on my back. It took weeks to heal but I've definitely learned my lesson. I need to be more sun safe in the future!

lilmamaj@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 2:21 PM
Melissa said...: My family has a timeshare in South Carolina, and being very fair-skinned, I always get excited to have a week or two to gradually build some nice, tanned, and glowing skin. However, after driving 14 hours from New Jersey, all I could think about when we reached Litchfield was a little rest in the beautiful sun. Well, I applied SPF 30, and settled down on my beach towel for an hour of sun...then woke up 6 hours later, having never re-applied sunscreen or anything. The first night was the worst. My skin was raw, blistered, and at its worst, I had 3rd degree sunburn on my chest and needed a skin graft. It was wonderful. Even better though, only the front half of my body was burned, as I'd fallen asleep on my back. Three weeks and a skin graft later, my skin was finally going back to normal, but to this day, the beach and I have a love/hate relationship. I'll stick to my Stila self-tanners and bronzers, thank you very much!

miss2486@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 2:21 PM
Lori said...: When I was in high school I wanted to get a quick tan so I decided to speed up the process using baby oil! I was burned to a crisp and the next morning woke up with my eyes swollen shut. I also had stipes of sunburn on the front and backs of my legs - with the sides of my legs being white! Took days for the redness to disappear and I felt like a complete moron when I went out in public!

I would love to win the Stila Summer Giveaway because all of the products are designed to give you a natural glow. As a mom of 2 who will be turning 40 in a few weeks, I would love some great products to help me look my best!

email lladuke @ comcast dot net; July 8, 2009 2:25 PM
ruthie said...: I studied abroad in Australia with my best friend who gets GOLDEN in the sun, while my skin gets freckled at best. It's something I've always been sensitive about, but something I'm trying to accept! We had just had this major conversation about accepting ourselves for who we are, etc, as we headed for the beach. As fate would have it, literally every person (complete strangers!) we saw along the way stopped to give me worried looks, and asked if I'd applied sunblock yet. The kicker - we spotted this older, leathery, pot-bellied dude sitting out on a dock fishing. As we walked past him, he goes "You put on sunblock yet? You're the whitest thing I've ever seen!" Needless to say I could use some products to help beautify my pale skin -- since even leathery fishermen think I need a tan.

ruthie (dot) gelber (at) gmail (dot) com.; July 8, 2009 2:29 PM
Houston Living said...: I'll tell you why I deserve it. Because in my most impressionable years as a teen, I was at the beach, during Spring Break, wearing a bikini. I was a junior in High School, trying to impress a guy, and I thought I rocked the house. We were outside all day long. I had sprayed some kind of weird hair highlighter on my hair and did not put an ounce of sunscreen on. I fell asleep lying on my towel. One side of my body was burnt so bad that it was declared a second degree burn. My eyelids swelled shut and I had to run into the beach water to cool off. When I did, a flying fish flew into my bikini bottoms, but I couldn't get it out because I couldn't see since my eyelids had swollen shut. I ran towards the beach with a fish flapping in my bikini bottoms (front), eyelids swollen shut, and then proceeded to get stung by a jellyfish. I screamed out in severe pain as I limped through the salty waves with a fish still in the front of my bikini bottoms, the front of my body with a second degree burn and no eyesight. The guy I liked hooked up with the girl who at the time was my best friend. Oh, and the stuff I sprayed in my hair to highlight it turned my hair orange. That's about it. That is why I deserve the basket.

danelle@houstonlivingblog.com; July 8, 2009 2:31 PM
Hayley H. said...: Oh lord, I am pale... so I've had many sun mishaps. The worst was probably a week in Key West.. On the first day I went out without sunscreen.. because i thought i was a badA... and got so sunburned that i sun poisoning and was throwing up for the next two days, while everyone else was having a grand ole time. Fail.

Also, once i feel asleep laying out with my arms behind my head.. and my armpits got soo burned that it hurt to even put my arms down, bahaha. Good times.

<3 hbrooke28@aol.com; July 8, 2009 2:31 PM
Sarah Bella said...: *WARNING this is kinda gross :)

When I was 21 my friends and I went to the beach in Guatemala for the weekend. What did we do... layed out in the sun for two days straight for probably 8 hours (until the sun went down)...no sunblock...and just OIL (stupid). In Guatemala the sand is black so you can imagine how hot it got plus I wore a BLACK bathsuit (on purpose to get more color). When we got back from the beach 2 days later I was to red it wasn't even funny. I woke up the next morning when we got back and I was so dehydrated from not drinking enough water that I passed out and threw up. I could barely move or put clothes on. When my burn was starting to settle down a bit I began to get water blisters all over my chest and if you touched them they pop (GROSSSS)and my skin started flaking and could be pulled off in 3 inch peices. NASTY. I'm 26 now and my skin has changed a lot because of my stupidity of not wearing sunblock. I can see signs of ageing on my forehead and eyes. I try to be really careful now. The point is... if you don't take care of your skin when you are young you WILL have to pay...and that payment will cost you a lot... botox, laser treatments... anything to reverse what you did when you were young... if you only wore a $10 sunscreen you could save your self $1000 in anti aging treatments.

Thanks!
saritadunstan@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 2:32 PM
Anonymous said...: my worst sun experience was in 1989 in arizona. being from oklahoma, im used to the sun, but with HUMID heat. so, if it gets to hot, i know to go inside after a while. Being in arizona with its dry heat i stayed out from morning till late evening at a water park. when i went back to the hotel room and showered i started feeling dizzy, got out of the shower and im a dark maroon color! (mind you, im native american - i generally DONT burn) the rest of the trip sucked because i was sick the entire time. i <3 stila btw! ;-)

gemini74434@yahoo.com; July 8, 2009 2:36 PM
Kasey said...: Well as someone who had never gotten sunburn my first ( and last) time getting sunburn has to be my most embarrassing story. I was fully aware that African American's did got sunburn but never someone as brown as me right....wrong! I was at an amuesment park with a sleeveless t shirt on riding rides, eating , and being merry. I go home hop in the shower and go to sleep. The next day I get up to go to work hop in the shower only to feel the tinest of daggers on the back of my shoulders I immediately jump out of the shower and realize I have been sunburned. I guess it was Karma because the week before I laughed at a coworker for his facial(sunglass outline) sunburn, and had to ask this same person how to treat mine!

killakali03@yahoo.com; July 8, 2009 2:41 PM
Anonymous said...: This is the ultimate turn-off to all considering a visit to the tanning bed...

I tan fairly easily and in the summer, my bathing suit line gets pretty intense. So before Homecoming, I decided to get rid of those lines with some fake sun. I opted to go the full time, thinking I had a good "base" so I wouldn't burn. Well, I did have some color -- but only where bathing suits don't cover.

I went into the bed in my birthday suit and came out looking like I has a red bikini on. Burned and red turned to stiff and awkward, turned to flaking and itchy-- how embarrassing. I had to wear silky granny panties for 2 weeks. It was awful, uncomfortable and taught me a valuable lesson -- tell tanning beds to stick it where the sun don't shine!

aehayes9@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 2:44 PM
EyezNBlush said...: A coworker invited me to a summer jam concert sponsored by a famous radio station. I didn't want to go but ended up being dragged there anyways. I didn't know that this was an outside event as I had never gone to a concert (I didn't know what to expect) so I didn't prepare with sunglasses, sunscreen or anything like that. When I got there we got the worst possible seats ever with the sun glaring straight on at me! We sat there for like 8+ hours. I tried to cover my face from the sun with a piece of paper (most uncomfortable situation ever). Finally when the event was over and I was home I looked in the mirror and realized I had the funniest sunburn ever I looked like a raccoon, I had a sunburn across my nose and on parts of my arms and shoulders from the way I was holding the paper trying to cover my face from the sun, it hurt and shed so bad and till today I will only go to concerts that are in doors I can truly say I was traumatized by my first concert experience....; July 8, 2009 2:52 PM
Elizabeth said...: I went to the Indiana Dunes (near Chicago) in June, on the weekend at the end of my freshman year of high school. It was a really hot day for June, and I stayed out way too long in the sun (I'm a strawberry blonde, ultra fair-skinned Scandinavian). Not only did I come home looking like a lobster, I was totally dehydrated. I was so affected that the next day, I fainted. In church. In the front pew. I had to be carried out of the sanctuary, and it was so embarrassing. Everything hurt because, of course, I was so sunburned. I kept half-consciously going "ow, ow, ow" - again, in church. It was not one of my finer moments.I would love the Stila basket because I LOVE the products. I also have learned the error of my ways, and sunscreen is my dear friend. It's worked so well that, at the age of 46, when I was buying wine, I was carded!; July 8, 2009 2:58 PM
Anonymous said...: One day, I went to the beach with my boyfriend and some friends, after a night of hard partying. My friends and I like to go to the beach early, because living in Miami, if you're not at the beach by noon, you can forget about a nice beach day. You wont find a parking space or a good space in the sand for that matter. We had gotten home around 6am from partying, so we only slept for about 5 hrs until we had to wake up again to get ready for the beach. Once we got there, I felt extremely sleepy, and was in such a daze that I just laid my towel on the sand, took off my shirt and shorts, put on my iPod and laid down face first on my towel, SANS SUNBLOCK.. I was too sleepy to remember to put some on. Meanwhile, my boyfriend, decides to do the same thing. He set up his towel, took off his shirt, put on his iPod and dove right into his towel face first. The only thing he did that I didn't was put on sunblock. While we're both sleeping like babies, my boyfriend decides to throw his arm around my back. He is the type of person who has to hug something when he sleeps. AN HOUR LATER, I wake up, burning hot, and decide to take a dip in the beach.. All of a sudden I hear people laughing, including my evil friends. As I am looking around to see who or what is so funny so that I can laugh too, I realize I'm the person everyone is laughing at. Only then did my friend decide to tell me that I had a my boyfriend's huge, white hand print, or arm print, because I had his hand, forearm and elbow marked on my bright red back. it was BRUTAL. The worst part? back then, I was a lifeguard at the community pool and I was required to wear a one piece bathing suit that exposed my whole back. The reaction from my fellow lifeguards? That whole week at work, my co-workers started calling me Hamburger Helper because of the little white hand! I laugh it off today, but back then, it was brutal!! My friends still bring it up at parties!

So, needless to say, I learned my lesson, and I am being a good girl wth sun protection. I think the Stila Summer Giveaway is perfect for me, because aside from the importance of protecting your skin while being exposed to the sun, it's always important to protect your face too, and look fabulous while doing it! I'm truly a HUGE HUGE fan of Stila. Some of the things in LIFE that I cannot live without is the Stila Sun SPF 15 Bronzing Powder, Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15, and Double Effect Mascara. I cannot leave home without them. Winning this will feel like I won the lottery! :)

Love,

Giovanna
ggiova@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 3:18 PM
Alexandra said...: One summer, when I was fifteen, I thought it would be really lovely and sexy to get super tan (I was really hoping to impress this lifeguard that I had a huge, hopeless crush on! He was a college guy, out of my league). Anyhow, I thought, "if I wear sun block or sunscreen, I won't get tan." So I didn't use sunscreen, or sun tan, at all during a scorcher of a summer day. After a week of this I was nice and very tan, but also very burned. The burn was so bad that my skin started to pucker and bubble on my shoulders. I think I gave myself a second-degree burn! So yes, I would love to enjoy the Stila makeup (which I LOVE) to look good, but avoid the burn!

tursita@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 3:33 PM
jackie said...: Several years ago, I made the mistake of laying outside with baby oil on. (Background: Normally, I tan pretty well, but this was the first 75+ degree day of the year and I had been hibernating in my Ohio dorm room for months. I looked a rather vampire-like shade of transparent white when I did emerge.) After several hours of sunscreen-less, baby oil-soaked sunbathing, I went inside to nap.

When I awoke, my entire body and face were as red as a lobster, except for the gigantic white area that my larger than life sunglasses had covered. There was no makeup, bronzer or anything in between that could attempt to camouflage my half red/ half white face.

In addition, I got a shot the next day, and like all shots, they put a bandaid on afterward. My sunburn was so bad that it actually peeled off a chunk of my skin when I removed the bandage! Then, in addition to looking like a lobster, having giant white goggle marks and being in terrible pain, I had a pussing, oozing, bandaid-shaped wound on my arm that left a lovely scar as a reminder to never skip the spf again!; July 8, 2009 3:38 PM
Megan said...: A couple of years ago, when I was about 16 or 17, I went to this local amusement park in Cincinnati where I live. We got there around 10AM and stayed for a couple hours, during which was when the sun was the hottest. I wasn't wearing sunblock or sunscreen at all and I ended up getting so burnt I couldn't move or anything. I had to go to the doctor because it was so bad, ends up I had 2nd degree burns. I learned from that and now I always wear atleast SPF45 if i'm going swimming or something.

meabell@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 3:49 PM
Anonymous said...: When I was in high school (I know better now), my family spent new year's at the beach. I did use the requisite spf15, however, I must not have reapplied often enough because I got a horrible sun burn on my chest and face. I had huge blisters and my father suggested that I put wet tea bags on them to dry them up. I dutifully followed his instructions and while they worked on getting rid of the blisters and swelling they stained my skin brown. I had dark brown patches on my cheeks and chest for several days!

I would put all the products in the summer giveaway to good use, and I would spread the love and share them with my BFF.

rebecafrohmader@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 3:53 PM
Sully said...: My blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin make for a deadly combination when it comes to the sun. I knew this but yet, at the age of 16, I was too stupid to listen. I was lifeguard for the better part of my high school summer vacations and the first week of every summer, I FRIED myself out of stubbornness. I kick myself every day for that now and find myself spending a lot of time with the dermatologist. While I learned my lesson a little too late, at least now I'm smart enough to never leave home without sunblock on.

sully.christian [at] gmail; July 8, 2009 3:58 PM
Melizard said...: In my younger days, when I was less bright about suncare, I went to the beach with a friend of mine, we were only there for about an hour before I felt that telltale tight skin feeling....you got it, I was so burnt, it didn't wait until later to show up, it showed up right there at the beach- and with a vengeance!! MY entire body was so burnt that I was a lovely shade of purple (mind you, I'm the girl at the beach that is so pale I'm almost blue, and can't find foundation light enough to match her skin). Anyway, I was scheduled to work that night as a cocktail waitress, which was extremely painful as I was melting hot skin temperature-wise but freezing cold body wise, since they had the air conditioner blasting arctic air through the bar... which, to my horror, caused goosebumps, which meant that I got to experience even MORE pain!! I slept for nearly a week wrapped in a sheet because it was too painful to sleep otherwise because my skin would stick to a spot if I stayed there too long, and the roughness of some fabrics was agony. I sported burn lines from that beautiful experience for over a year later...and haven't been that stupid since!

melosburngr@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 6:09 PM
Colleen said...: After my highschool prom a couple years ago, my group of friends and I went down to the beach in my town to watch the sunrise and hangout. Unexpectedly, everyone fell asleep on the beach and woke up at one in the afternoon. I was mostly covered when I slept except for the back of my legs. Let me tell you, I was BURNT! I have very pale skin (most makeup companies don't make colors that match my skin) For the next week, I couldn't sit, sleep, or move normal because pain resulting from the almost 3rd degree burns on my legs. I sure learned my lesson!
As painful as that was.. More painful was watching my mother this past month get spots of skin cancer taken off of her neck and chest. It was a painful long process for her and it really showed me how important using sunscreen really is!
I would enjoy winning the prize of the products with spf because I am very pale and need protection often but have trouble with most products with spf (they end up being too "sunscreen-ey"!). I have one of stila's products with spf and it works great!

cgartland42@newpaltz.edu; July 8, 2009 6:47 PM
drexalia said...: Ok, here's my story! I went to an outdoor, multi-artist concert with my then boyfriend (we were in high school). I live in So. Cal and it was soooo hot that day. After about an hour, and only one performer into the concert, I started to feel sick. We went to walk to some shade and I passed out! I awoke to some medics throwing cold water on my face...not pretty! Then I had to leave the concert. I was so upset- wasted money on concert tickets, embarrassed myself, and left looking like a drowned hot mess! Never gone to an outdoor concert again!
drexalia@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 7:27 PM
erikadon said...: Hello! oh I have so much stories with failed sun burns. This one time I went to Tenerife, Spain just to enjoy the beautiful sun and ocean there, I was on the beach one day with my girl friends. Everyone had shades on, yes they did! so I had one on too. Like everyone can imagine we were burnt like baked potatoes by the end of the day. Does everyone know how sable color ferrets look like? Yes, I was just like one of them. Looked like I had goggles around my eyes, dark skin color, with short legs. It was embarrassing. I thought the sun burns will go away soon...not at all, they stayed there for 2 summers. If I win this Stila Summer Giveaway, I will use this product to protect myself from the girls' never lasting enemy, the sun. Last of all, I adore stila's moisturizers!!! just wanted to say that. Thanks!

erikadon@hotmail.com; July 8, 2009 7:42 PM
heather said...: My family went to California a few years back. We are from Canada and we had just come out of a anther bad winter. So we were excited to go to sunny California and come back with beautiful tans and make everyone jealous. When we got there many people told us to use sunscreen. Since the weather was not that hot we did not think we really needed to put any on. Boy were we wrong. The last day we were there we spent a really relaxing day on the beach in Malibu. For about 7 hours we were outside playing in the water having a a really great time. Now we got in the car and my husband noticed that he was red. By the time we got home my husband was on fire. We were leaving for the airport the next day and my poor husband and everyone else was just in so much pain. Nothing could touch there skin. We got home and my husband went to his doctor and he told him that he basically cooked his skin. He gave him a tetnis shot and told him next time use sunblock! (all that time in the sun never gave him the look he was after either. His burn just peeled right off and he was left with white skin again....moral of the story wear sunscreen!); July 8, 2009 8:43 PM
photostylist said...: It all happened at my good friend Melissa Nordel's house in high school. We were young, thin and as white as they come. Both of us were English, Irish background. One of us came up with the brilliant idea that we could get tan faster if we used Crisco ( yes vegetable fat in a tub) instead of tanning lotion. 9 hours later I was covered in white blisters. I was in so much pain. I couldn't wear a bra for weeks.

lapdphotostylist@verizon.net; July 8, 2009 10:13 PM
Hallie said...: One year my friends and I took a much needed vacation to the beach so we could get tan when school started back up. Well one day we went to lay out and I happened to fall asleep (i'm a really hard sleeper) and my friends thought it would be funny to write my crush's name in sharpie on my stomach. They did not realize till after that once I took off the sharpie that I would have his name on my stomach with skin that didn't get burned! Till this day you can STILL see his name and where I was wearing my sunglasses on my face.

I really love Stilla products and would love to use them instead of having this burnt mishap happen again.

hallie.javetz@gmail.com; July 8, 2009 10:42 PM
Tamara said...: Oh how lovely it would be to be able to give these products a good home~

As an elated owner of a new Beetle convertible, I was anxious to take it for a drive. The type of drive that takes all day, like to go for lunch 2 hours away. Low and behold I was excited to have this new car but forgot the science involved in having black leather seats. Now, I was wearing an SPF tinted moisturizer (not Stila at the time) but with the distraction, I never re applied and my long drive turned into a whole day, traffic jam and 2 train delays which were not planned for.

I ended up with a red nose, forearms and a triangle on my neck/chest area due to the sun beating down off the interior and onto my skin.

Even being aware of the need for a hat and glasses that day, I never ever left home without 50 SPF in my bag. I even stashed a bottle in the trunk of my car, near the spare tire so that it too, did not overheat under the rays of the sun.

for_ladybug at yah o o dot com; July 9, 2009 1:39 AM
tamara said...: Oh how lovely it would be to be able to give these products a good home~

As an elated owner of a new Beetle convertible, I was anxious to take it for a drive. The type of drive that takes all day, like to go for lunch 2 hours away. Low and behold I was excited to have this new car but forgot the science involved in having black leather seats. Now, I was wearing an SPF tinted moisturizer (not Stila at the time) but with the distraction, I never re applied and my long drive turned into a whole day, traffic jam and 2 train delays which were not planned for.

I ended up with a red nose, forearms and a triangle on my neck/chest area due to the sun beating down off the interior and onto my skin.

Even being aware of the need for a hat and glasses that day, I never ever left home without 50 SPF in my bag. I even stashed a bottle in the trunk of my car, near the spare tire so that it too, did not overheat under the rays of the sun.

for_ladybug at yah o o dot com; July 9, 2009 1:40 AM
Mayra said...: THIS IS IT!!!!! We decided to go for a day to this Caribbean Island one hour away from mainland at 6:00am on a fisherman's boat for $20.00 a person (it was 6 of us) Ahhhhh, paradise fun!!!! At 3:00pm we were ready to go. We drank all our beer,almost out of H2O, we had to buried ourselves in the sand!!!!only 1 coconut tree for shade and no suntan protection!!!! All we had was the Hawaiian Dark Tanning Oil!!!!Oh Noooo!!!! It wasn't till 8:00pm that the fisherman showed up all drunk like a skunk with excuses and offering more beer. To top it off, we were heading back on tumultuous waters at night,sea sick,dark as charcoal,blistering white bloody lips and #$%^&*(*&^%....Forget about weird tan lines,water bubble skin peeling or looking like a lobster or leathery....It was AGONY..Years down the line I got a bubble on my eye due to sun damage(could it be that day?)and I screen every year for melanoma. Ladies, always use your sun protection all over your body before heading out(sun damage filtrates your clothes)and don't forget to ALWAYS moisturize before. Look fabulous using your Stila bronze creams and makeup!!!!
24KT GOLD INDIAN SUMMER COLLECTION!!! WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU.......

sailing4faith@aol.com; July 9, 2009 11:31 AM
Still Life in South America said...: When I was 15, I went to Spain with a high school group. All of the 17 year-olds and my teacher decided to lay out and soak up the rays by the seaside. Since I was so young and naive, I didn't understand the dangers in exposing white Midwestern flesh to the much stronger coastal sun there.

Needless to say, after a few hours of baking, I had a lobster bubbly complexion. My host mom had to rub aloe vera on my back every day I stayed at her home. She was such a sweetheart.

Even though I am not a sun worshipper, I still have a few sun spots from that "educational" experience. Now I'd rather be Dita von Teese white than subject myself to skin cancer!; July 9, 2009 12:19 PM
Alyson said...: Well, I sprayed myself with sunscreen while I was in Mexico praying that it would save my pale, pale skin. It worked...mostly. You see, by the time my boyfriend and I got back to the cruise ship, my skin was still as fair as ever...except for my decolletage. Oh, yes--my cleavage burned bright red. This, combined with the sweaty sunscreen beads around my neck was a nightmare!

alysonhoffpauir@gmail.com; July 10, 2009 12:16 AM
Ellen said...: My horrible sun mishap happened at a White Sox game in Chicago. I usually wear my Sox hat whenever I go to a game, but I forgot it at home. The game started at noon, and from what I learned now the worst time to be under the sun is between 11 and 3pm! Anyways, I sat and enjoyed the game. Around the 5th inning I decided to go get hot dogs for my boyfriend and I. As I walked up I noticed a girl point and laugh at me. I thought it was rude, but didn't think anything of it. As I was walking to the concession stand, I noticed some people staring at me. I knew something must be up, and headed to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror, and I HAD THE WORST RACCOON EYES EVER! I wore my sunglasses during the game, and had two pale white spots over my eyes! I looked horrible! I put back on my sunglasses to hide the embarrassing marks! I then was on a quest to find sun block! I bought a tube, slathered it on my face and arms and returned to me seat. My boyfriend asked, "Where are the hotdogs?" and I replied "Don't ask." I now always grab my hat and sunscreen whenever I go to games!

You can reach me by e-mail at EKroll@niu.edu; July 10, 2009 3:05 PM
Ladybug68 said...: When we were 14 me and my BFF went to Lake Tahoe with my mom. We stayed in a friend of hers cabin. Me and bff decided to get a little sun. Mom had told me to be carefull because they rays were stronger in the higher elevation. Well did I listen no! BFF is Japanise and I am very pale with freckles. A few hours later I had a major burn. The worst part was my face was blistered really bad!! I was misserable the whole time we were up there. Of cource mom had to rub it in she told me so. Lesson learned!

I would love to win this giveaway!! Stila is amazing and I want to teach my daughter the importance of sun screan!; July 10, 2009 6:53 PM
holly said...: I was scheduled to do some volunteer work at a school, running a games booth at a carnival fundraiser. I thought I'd get to be in one of the nice game tents so when I found myself running late, I skipped the sunblock. I was assigned the only game that did not have a tent, one of those smack the lever with the hammer and ring the bell things. I got burned, bad. Worse, I wore a tank top. It peeled later too
hollyollyberry@yahoo.com; July 10, 2009 11:27 PM
chanceuxj said...: I went to Jamaica on vacation. I thought that because I'm black I had natural sun protection. I ended up falling asleep on the beach and when I woke up my sunglasses had created a space alien like sun burn/tan with my eyes looking like hallowed out owl eyes. My entire body was red with my privates untanned so I looked as if my boobs and crotchita and eyes had been highlighted.; July 11, 2009 1:09 AM
stellaincognita said...: I have incredibly porcelain skin (I'm a redhead, and what my mom deems my "Casper skin" seems to come with the territory), yet I've only been really burned once. Let's just say I learned my lesson. . .
When I was five, my grandma took my twin brother and I to the park. Before we left, she gave us the bottle of sunscreen, which we demanded we could apply ourselves. Little did she know that he and I were really sick of wearing sunscreen, that sticky, slimy, smelly goop. So my brother and I apparently decided that we were going to bluff my grandma; neither of us put on sunscreen. My grandma says she meant to make us re-apply just in case we'd missed any spots, but she forgot. We headed off to the park, where we stayed, having a fabulous time, for hours. That night, however, we both had a pay the price for our little prank--my skin was so painfully burned that I can almost still feel it when I recall this memory! I can't believe we thought we were being clever, when really we were harming ourselves! And we caused my grandma to feel awful and irresponsible. I think it was one of the meanest (albeit unintentionally) things I've ever done. :(
Since that day, which gave me a sunburn that hurt for at least a week and lit up my skin like a tomato with a candle in its innards, I've been very careful to apply adequate sunscreen. It's my #1 beauty concern. :)
My email address is hannahactually@gmail.com; July 11, 2009 1:30 PM
graciefabulous said...: When I was in college during the summer I was a life guard at the local country club. Our boss wanted us to look professional and made us get matching suits, we did get to pick them out so atleast we got 2 piece. But they had huge thick straps and very wide t-back, so even though our tummies were tan, it was nightmare to wear a halter or strapless top/dress!
So every Thursday Friday and Saturday night after the pool closed we had an assembly line of bronzers and lotions and make up being applied to all of us so we could go out on the town...
We looked really silly, but by the end of the summer we had a great system down to ward off super pale skin against super tan!; July 11, 2009 4:58 PM
sam95bby said...: my name is sam and i just turned 14 years old on july 1st. One day last year there was a pool party[i have a pool] and i was with my friends in the pool all day and i put sunblock on.I felt fine..but when i got out of the pool my skin everywhere hurt badly and it was as red as a apple/lobster!!I thought it was just a little sunburn even though it hurt badly, so I went to Walgreens and got some aloe vera.When I got home I put it on immediately everywhere.Then i went to sleep.When I woke up the next morning it hurt so bad even with the aloe vera!The sad part was that i had school that day!!I was hurting that day so bad and my teacher didnt think i looked so good so they sent me to the nurse.When I got there the nurse told me that i had lumps/blisters on my chest!I didnt know what this was but she then told me that it could be the start of skin cancer=[.I had watery blisters all over my chest and on my back and it was discusting!It really hurt and my dad told me that if they pop I would end up in the hospital.These blisters didnt go away for about a month or two!!It was really painful and not only that, I have scars/white spots and uneven skin tone all over my upper chest,back, and arms.I would be so happy if I won this!!I think it would help me a lot!!Especially considering the fact that I dont have that much money to pay for all these sun-protection products.I think it would do a big deal for my skin and I really wish i put more sunblock on that day!!I would really like to help my skin out and make my skin look healthier and maybe even tanner without sun damage.Please Sephora if I won this it would mean so much to me!!
♥Sam♥
=]
p.s.
My email is sam95bby@aim.com; July 13, 2009 3:16 PM
Anonymous said...: my name is sam and i just turned 14 years old on july 1st. One day last year there was a pool party[i have a pool] and i was with my friends in the pool all day and i put sunblock on.I felt fine..but when i got out of the pool my skin everywhere hurt badly and it was as red as a apple/lobster!!I thought it was just a little sunburn even though it hurt badly, so I went to Walgreens and got some aloe vera.When I got home I put it on immediately everywhere.Then i went to sleep.When I woke up the next morning it hurt so bad even with the aloe vera!The sad part was that i had school that day!!I was hurting that day so bad and my teacher didnt think i looked so good so they sent me to the nurse.When I got there the nurse told me that i had lumps/blisters on my chest!I didnt know what this was but she then told me that it could be the start of skin cancer=[.I had watery blisters all over my chest and on my back and it was discusting!It really hurt and my dad told me that if they pop I would end up in the hospital.These blisters didnt go away for about a month or two!!It was really painful and not only that, I have scars/white spots and uneven skin tone all over my upper chest,back, and arms.I would be so happy if I won this!!I think it would help me a lot!!Especially considering the fact that I dont have that much money to pay for all these sun-protection products.I think it would do a big deal for my skin and I really wish i put more sunblock on that day!!I would really like to help my skin out and make my skin look healthier and maybe even tanner without sun damage.Please Sephora if I won this it would mean so much to me!!
♥Sam♥
=]
p.s.
My email is sam95bby@aim.com; July 13, 2009 3:17 PM
Nina said...: This post has been removed by the author.; July 14, 2009 1:43 AM
Nina said...: A few years ago my friends and I took a much needed vacation to Mexico. Being a Stila girl for more than 11 years, I made sure to pack my favorite products, especially the SPF tinted moisturizer. I not only wanted to look fresh faced in the hot and humid weather, but I wanted to make sure that I didn't get burned. While attempting to get a little color, we hit the poolside lounge chairs for what I thought would be a little while. I must have been burned out by all of the sun because I fell asleep while lying on my stomach. My friend thought it would be funny to write a message on my back in sunscreen, not knowing that I turn bright lobster red, instead of a lovely brown color like them. I did not even feel her writing on my back, needless to say, I slept for quite some time, which meant that the message was able to make a good mark on my back. Granted I could have laughed along with them and just made sure I covered up my back the rest of the trip, but I was so upset. You see, my friend wrote her name "S----'s" followed by the word "B***ch" very large across my back and then decided to take a picture of it. The rest of the trip she spent apologizing for it and even gave me her memory card so that I could delete the picture. When we returned home and I printed out the picture because I thought one day I may look back at this and laugh. My friend and I are still best friends until this day, but I will always remember having to come home and having to show my Mom why I couldn't go swimming at the family pool party. :-) The Stila basket full of beauty booty would be a great addition to my collection. Stila convertible color was my first piece of make-up as a teenager and I've been a faithful follower ever since. From the product to it's packaging, Stila is the best. What I like best is that it's good for the skin and has amazing color pigmentation.

ninaesquivel@gmail.com; July 14, 2009 1:46 AM
Lara said...: I don't know if this is still on but here goes my story...

I'm an avid fan of sun protection. I always put it on 30 minutos before and reapply constantly.

But once, I forgot to slather my eyelids. I fell asleep after lunch at the beach... and woke up with the reddest eyelids ever!! It hurt. A lot!!

Needless to say, now I always remeber my poor little eyelids when applying sunscreen and have been problem free ever since. :); July 14, 2009 7:54 AM
Lara said...: Oops! My e-mail is in my profile; July 14, 2009 7:54 AM
Christina said...: My parents don't believe in sunscreen, so I argued my way into a bottle of generic sunscreen because I had managed to burn every year during tennis tryouts.

I bought the sunscreen, dutifully applied it like it told me, and within 30 minutes, was itching like crazy. I decided that I was allergic to sunscreen and stopped wearing it, reasoning that dealing with sunburns was easier.
I ended up burning, peeling, and holding a tan for the rest of that year, and have rarely worn sunscreen since then until my dermatologist saw me and threw a fit. I wear sunscreen everyday now. The heavy stuff.

I would love to win this, I hate looking deathly pale.; July 14, 2009 4:01 PM
Cass said...: When I was growing up, my family lived on a lake so I always spent a lot of time in the sun during the summers. This was during a time when the girls that I looked up to used baby oil to accelerate their tans. I have very fair skin and no matter how much baby oil I used, I just could not produce a tan. I would only burn.

One really bad year, I spent so much time out in the sun without sunblock that I developed sun poisoning. I was sick for about a week, which was pure misery for a child during summer vacation. I developed blisters over much of my body and other not so fun things. I got better and my parents insisted that I started being more responsible when I was out in the sun. (No more baby oil for me!)

When I was 28 I developed skin cancer. I have had three related surgeries to remove lymph nodes and tumors. I am 32 now and have been clear for a couple years, but I still have to have cancer checks every 6 months because it was a pretty bad case.

Moral of my story - wear sunblock and hats! I cringe every time I hear a girl talk about tanning beds or sunbathing. Fake tans are just as pretty and so much safer! My husband insists that pale skin is prettier than a tan any day! ;); July 23, 2009 10:49 PM
Leticia said...: Once a very long time ago I decided to go catch some rays at the beach. I was having such a relaxing time that I fell asleep, needless to say when I woke up I had the most wicked sun burn. It was so bad that I had to go see my doctors because I had blisters on my back. The worst part I think was having to sit still while the doctor drained the blisters with a needle, ouch! I never sun bathed again after that.

I would love to try Stila's products to get my tan on!

lunitasmommy@gmail.com; July 27, 2009 2:52 AM
Leticia said...: Once a very long time ago I decided to go catch some rays at the beach. I was having such a relaxing time that I fell asleep, needless to say when I woke up I had the most wicked sun burn. It was so bad that I had to go see my doctors because I had blisters on my back. The worst part I think was having to sit still while the doctor drained the blisters with a needle, ouch! I never sun bathed again after that.

I would love to try Stila's products to get my tan on!

lunitasmommy@gmail.com; July 27, 2009 2:53 AM
Leticia said...: Once a very long time ago I decided to go catch some rays at the beach. I was having such a relaxing time that I fell asleep, needless to say when I woke up I had the most wicked sun burn. It was so bad that I had to go see my doctors because I had blisters on my back. The worst part I think was having to sit still while the doctor drained the blisters with a needle, ouch! I never sun bathed again after that.

I would love to try Stila's products to get my tan on!

lunitasmommy@gmail.com; July 27, 2009 2:53 AM
Leticia said...: Once a very long time ago I decided to go catch some rays at the beach. I was having such a relaxing time that I fell asleep, needless to say when I woke up I had the most wicked sun burn. It was so bad that I had to go see my doctors because I had blisters on my back. The worst part I think was having to sit still while the doctor drained the blisters with a needle, ouch! I never sun bathed again after that.

I would love to try Stila's products to get my tan on!

lunitasmommy@gmail.com; July 27, 2009 2:53 AM
AshLaf said...: I WON!!!! THANKS SEPHORA!!; August 18, 2009 1:16 PM
krreb said...: My 7 night Caribbean Cruise had just begun. We sailed from the port with perfect weather and not a care in the world. I packed 3 spray cans of sunscreen with 45 spf for the trip hoping for a nice tan to show off after I got back home. The next day we landed on an island that looked like Paradise. I applied sunscreen and floated in turquoise water on a tube most of the day. I sprayed on sunscreen, but apparently overlooked an important rule - re-apply sunscreen. A few hours later, I staggered back to the boat with the back of my legs and thighs on fire! Luckily my face didn’t burn, saved only by my STILA tinted moisturizer spf 15 that lasted all day. I never knew a sunburn could hurt this much, I had chills most of the day as my body tried to cool off from the burning.

Well I soon discovered the back of your thighs is a horrible place for a sunburn, especially if you want to sit anytime soon. I applied aloe day and night but found that it stuck to my pants and my thighs still burned every time I sat down. After trying on all my clothes I packed, I found I could only wear baggy shorts during the day and 1 pair of loose black cotton capris at night, everything else literally made my skin crawl. So much for the new clothing I purchased for the cruise, but hey I did stand out in the crowd with bright red skin. Two days later - I was on another island and the natives were gawking and looking with pity at my flaming skin. When we landed at the next island, I stayed on the boat, unable to go horseback riding or any other excursion that sounded so inviting.

A week later, I’m still applying moisturizer with aloe to my marbled red, peeling skin and wearing baggy sweatpants. I’ll be ‘re-applying’ sunscreen from now on.; August 26, 2009 4:25 PM
Suds Handmade Soap Co. said...: This brings up sad memories for me. =( It was Spring Break and I was 18 years old. After saving for over a year, my friends and I were finally enjoying the warm sun and sand in beautiful Cancun, Mexico. The water was crystal blue, the air was warm and we were all so excited. The first afternoon there, we lay on the beach for about 2 1/2 hours (from 12:00- 2:30). I am a very fair, blonde haired, blue eyed girl, but I was determined to come home with a sexy, tropicana tan. Needless to say, I spent the next 3 days throwing up in my hotel room because of sun poisoning! It was one heck of a lesson learned and I will never outlive the story!!; September 19, 2009 2:24 PM