Mark's instant-tanning kit is just the ticket for last-minute travel.   (Photo: Peter Berson)

You’ve booked your flight and packed the bikini, but didn’t have time for a crucial element of holiday preparation—the pre-tan. The thought of roasting in a spa oven and getting premature crow’s-feet scares you to death, and on top of that, it’s too pricey. Luckily, Avon’s hipper, more youthful offshoot Mark sells its Instant Vacation Auto-Tanning kit (available at meetmark.com)—with a pre-tanning scrub, self-tanning lotion, and post-tanning lotion—for just $12. It’s cheaper and more convenient than buying each piece separately at drug or department stores—and convincing enough that no one will know you’re a closet fake baker.

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• Archive: “Sales & Bargains - Deal of the Week”
• Articles by Aja Mangum
• Table of Contents: June 28, 2004 issue of New York | Subscribe!