It’s no secret that I wasn’t born with naturally tan skin, but I have been striving to achieve a golden glow ever since I was a teenager. I foolishly spent many years “worshiping the sun” at my local beach in Florida, which has totally come to bite me in the ass now as a 30-something. I do my best to be religious about sunscreen application and careful about my time in the sun nowadays, but that hasn’t stopped me in my quest for the perfect shade of lightly bronzed skin. I have tried dozens of self-tanning products as well as had professional spray-tanning done, but none were the perfect routine solution. They all ended up being: too dark, too splotchy/uneven, were too expensive for routine applications, took forever to build with daily applications, inconvenient to schedule, and worst of all: would TRANSFER to my clothes, bedsheets, towels, etc. (much to my husband’s dismay… Sorry, babe! Love you!).
Then along came tanning water! I was skeptical that this clear water would be an effective way to give myself the appearance of a natural tan, but I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. While I am certainly on the fairer spectrum, I’m not SUPER pale so I didn’t think that the “Light – Sun-Kissed Glow” would give me enough of a tan, but the “Dark – Bronzed Glow” would probably be too dark in comparison to my normal skin color and look super weird / unnatural on me. I determined that I would order the “Medium – Golden Glow” because it seemed like the option that would best complement my natural skin color and provide my desired look.
After using the solution for a few months now, I can honestly say that Isle of Paradise’s Tanning Water totally delivers on their product description and it’s bar-none the best self-tanning solution I have ever used. It goes on easily, gives you a smooth, natural-looking tan that’s totally buildable, is long-lasting (for reference, my tan usually lasts for about a 7-10 days with proper maintenance before I need to re-apply), and the ABSOLUTE. BEST. PART. is that it’s transfer-free, you guys. I was truly shocked when I applied it before going to bed (first allowing it dry, of course) and woke up to a beautiful golden glow the next morning with zero hints of staining on our white bedsheets!!!
GAME-CHANGER.
Now I can be the sun-kissed golden goddess I’ve always wanted to be, without any of the sun damage (or grief over ruined towels 😜)!
after tanning water || before tanning water
To use: spritz directly on skin and use a mitt to gently spread the product and apply evenly (use sweeping motions); allow to dry for about 5 min before putting clothes on; don’t get wet (or sweaty) while the product develops on your skin (4-6 hrs)… for this reason I like to put it on right before bed.
>> A few things to note:
- Be sure to exfoliate your body ahead of time to remove any dead, dry skin as you would prep for any other self-tanner application. I like to use this product on my face. (my full tanning skin prep guide can be found here)
- To extend the life of your tan: avoid using hot water in your showers (turn the temp down a bit) and be sure to apply lotion/moisturizer all over after every shower.
- Use a glove/mitt to apply the product. I can’t stress this enough. The instructions on the bottle don’t specify whether to use your hands or a mitt to apply the solution directly to your skin, but mentions that if you do use your hands to simply wash your palms after use. I must not have scrubbed my hands hard enough because I had DARK palms after using the tanner for the first time — and the product has such amazing staying power that I wasn’t able to remove the tint even after MANY repeated hand-washings or even from using a homemade lemon juice scrub! Just be warned. Learning from my mistake, I used a mitt when I applied the product the next time and it worked like a charm!
Have you ever tried tanning water? Let me know in the comments section below! I’m completely obsessed and a total tanning water convert!
xx, Natalie