So, for those of you not blessed with MS, let me tell you that the amount of bruises I find on my body are both intriguing and puzzling.  I don’t know if everyone with MS bruises easily, but what I’ve found is that a stiff breeze can color my legs purple and it takes weeks for them to fade.

The problem with this issue is that in the summer, my legs aren’t safely ensconced in pant legs, and therefore, the challenge becomes how to minimize the purple and blue.

A few years ago I got really serious about taking care of the skin on my legs.  It sounds (to me) a little over-the-top, but I was tired of having ugly, discolored skin all the time.  I researched exfoliators (I currently use Shiseido Body Illuminator, which I like a lot), tried out a bunch of moisturizers (I like Vaseline’s Cocoa Butter but my favorite is Johnson’s Baby Oil with Shea Butter) and got much more serious about using shaving cream.  I order from Harry’s, because you can get eight blades and two cans of shaving cream for $28.  Pretty decent compared to what the hubs spends for his razor blades.

But the product that changed the game was discovering Tarte’s Maracuja Rainforest Glow ~ a sort of tanner/body perfecter.  I guess it’s kind of like a tanner/foundation for the legs (or anywhere?, but I only use it on my legs).  It definitely hides the bruises, and it doesn’t take eight hours to kick in.  Sadly, Tarte discontinued it, so I desperately ordered the last three bottles I could find on eBay to buy me some time to find something similar to it.  Fingers crossed!

Hubs and I are heading to two Fourth Parties ~ one today and one tomorrow, so hopefully I can cover up the huge bruises on my calves (from what?, you ask ~ yeah, I have no idea.  I think the one on my right leg was from brushing into the car door too hard while unloading groceries … but the other ones?  Complete mysteries).

Anyway, Happy Fourth of July everyone!  May your parties be fun, festive and patriotic!