The Tamesis
Celebrities are actually just like us. Take Kylie Jenner, for example, who was on a recent episode of Jake Shane therapist The podcast declares, “Sometimes I feel like I’m depressed. And then I spray tan and I’m like, ‘I’m just pale.'”
While Jenner claims “nothing feels better than a fresh spray tan,” does it really? actually Boost your mood? A 2022 study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology noted that “the appearance of a tan is strongly associated with overall emotional and physical well-being, physical attractiveness, and improved body image.”
Jimmy Coco, a celebrity spray tanner for over 20 years and the Kardashians’ go-to, would certainly agree that the benefits of a bronzed glow are more than skin deep. “A great spray tan is sure to get a lot of compliments, which will also lift your mood,” he says. “A lot of times, I’ll ask clients to tan because they just need a little pick-me-up.”
Like Jenner, I am naturally pale. Since I’m a mix of Irish and Ashkenazi Jewish genes, I’ll never be more than pale, but lately I’ve looked completely translucent. So after a particularly rough week, I thought maybe a tan would give me the boost I needed. Less than 48 hours later, I was standing in a private, tiled booth at Sugared + Bronzed in Brooklyn, wearing nothing but a paper thong and a shower cap. The technician guided me through various poses while painstakingly spray-painting my body to look like a Coney Island T-shirt.
While many women of my generation have grown up with horror stories of skin cancer caused by tanning beds, sunless tanning has become a UV-free alternative. Sugared + Bronzed uses DHA, an FDA-approved compound derived from beets, as does Jimmy Coco. “This ingredient will tan you in two to eight hours and will continue to tan for the next 24 hours,” explains Coco. He added erythrulose from blueberries and the Venus skincare ingredient hyaluronic acid to the formula.
Back in the tiled room, my tech suggested I try a level two formula, comparing Sugar + Bronzer to a weekend at the beach (they offer a whopping level four formula, which is equivalent to a few minutes of spraying in the Hamptons for an entire summer). To get a tan, I was told to soak in the cocktail for one to eight hours and then rinse—at least three hours.
My next plan was to go to Fort Greene where many of my friends had gathered for our friends’ half marathon celebration. You may ask, how do you make your friend’s half marathon centered around you? Show up with a crazy, unwashed spray tan. While my old friends were shocked to see me wearing this tanning lotion, I knew something was a little scary when my friend’s new boyfriend said I looked “a little tinted” (guy-speak for “you look crazy”).
A few celebratory cocktails later, a nap in the park, a long-delayed subway ride — and six hours spent working on my tan — I finally got home and rinsed off my base layer. I’m very happy with the results. As my friend Dana says, “You look alive!” In fact, while I’m glad I don’t have to see an entire network of veins every time I look down at my body, I’ve also found that a tan makes me look more toned. In addition to my skin, the contrast makes my features stand out—my eyes look bluer, and my teeth look whiter. Some people aren’t quite sure why I look better, which is exactly what I want.
