Blog Review of City Tan Solutions
By Tammy Ireland, review of her Aviva Labs spray tan:
I’m not big on spray tans. I’ve had too many Oompa Loompa moments to trust the spray tan system. However, when the option to test out the AVIVA City Tan Collection at Darlinghurst’s new The Nail Lab, the spray tan seemed too good to be true.
There’s no need to avoid clothes, showers or perfume for eight hours. There’s no horrible smell. And there’s a way for the tan to gel to your own melanin, resulting in a natural finish. Sounds perfect, right?
They say: “With Miami a favorite of Mel B and Vogue Williams, you can choose from three sunless tanning formulas: HOLLYWOOD, MIAMI and VEGAS, and take yourself on a US odyssey without leaving the salon! This new line-up of professional sunless tanning products allows you to shower after 30 minutes (most sunless tanning solutions require waiting 8 hours before showering). Depending on your preferred depth of color, try 30 minutes for a nice natural tan in the City of your choice, 60 minutes for a medium tan, or 90+ minutes for a darker tan.”
Monika at The Nail Lab welcomed me and had a chat about what tan would suit me best. Do I tan or burn in the sun? Slight tan. The best shade for me was a 3/4 Miami — 1/4 Vegas. After applying a little moisturizer on the knees, feet, elbows and hands, Monika sprayed me all over within 15 minutes. The color grabs to your melanin and the immediate look was as though I had been really sunburnt on the legs – pinky-red. By the time I got home thirty minutes later, I was Megan Gale dark. (This is my dream. I was thrilled. THRILLED.)
As suggested, I hopped in the shower after 45 minutes. The color ran off so fast and dark (like it does after you dye your hair) I turned my original lily-white shade in an instant. To say I was disappointed was an understatement — I thought I’d washed the AVIVA Tan off prematurely and had lost the results.
That thought was dispelled when I woke up as Megan Gale the next morning (…kind of). The tan was perfectly even, extremely natural in shade and didn’t smell at all. Three important ticks!
It lasted a week perfectly before I had to exfoliate to keep it even, and even then, I was browner than usual for the full fortnight.
Whether you’re into spray tans or not, the truth is they make you look (and feel?) instantly healthier. I had a cold on the day I had the tan, and didn’t even notice it the following day -coincidence?
