Stars, they really are just like us. Take Kylie Jenner, who, on a recent episode of Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast, proclaimed, “Sometimes I think I’m depressed. Then I get a spray tan, and I’m like, ‘I was just pale.’”
While Jenner claims that “there’s nothing that feels better than a fresh spray tan,” can it actually boost one’s mood? A 2022 study in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology noted that “a tanned appearance is strongly related to a general sense of emotional and physical wellbeing, physical attractiveness, and improved body image.”
Jimmy Coco, a celebrity spray-tanner of over 20 years—and the Kardashians’ go-to—would certainly agree that the benefits of a bronzy glow transcend are more than skin-deep. “A great spray tan definitely welcomes many compliments, which will also uplift your mood,” he says. “Many times I’ll have clients reach out for a tan as they just need a little pick-me-up.”
Like Jenner, I, too, am naturally pale. With a mixture of Irish and Ashkenazi genes, I was never going to be anything less than pasty, but recently I’ve been looking downright translucent. So after a particularly tough week, I figured that maybe a glowy tan would give me the boost I needed. Less than 48 hours later, I stood in a private, tiled stall at a Brooklyn Sugared + Bronzed wearing nothing but a paper thong and a shower cap. The technician instructed me to hold a variety of poses as she painstakingly airbrushed my body like a T-shirt at Coney Island.
While many women in my generation grew up with scared-straight horror stories of tanning bed-induced skin cancer, sunless tanning has emerged as a UV-free alternative. Sugared + Bronzed uses DHA, an FDA-approved formula derived from a sugar beet compound, as does Jimmy Coco. “This ingredient tans you within two to eight hours and can continue developing over the next 24 hours,” Coco explains. He adds erythrulose, which comes from blueberries, to his formula, as well as gold-star skincare ingredient hyaluronic acid.
Back inside the tiled room, my technician recommended I try a level two formula, which Sugared + Bronzed compares to a weekend at the beach (they offer up to a level four, which is the equivalent of an entire summer in the Hamptons in a few minutes of spraying). To let the tan develop, I was told to marinate in the cocktail for between one and eight hours before rinsing—three minimum.
Next on my schedule is a trip to Fort Greene, where many of my friends had congregated at our friend’s half-marathon celebration. How can you make your friend’s half-marathon about you, you ask? By showing up with an insane, unwashed spray tan. While my longtime friends were shaken by the sight of me coated in this tanning solution, I knew that things were kind of dire when my friend’s new boyfriend remarked that I looked like I “got some color,” a man’s way of saying, “you look insane.”
After a few celebratory cocktails, a nap in the park, and a long-delayed subway ride—accounting for six hours of spray tan development—I finally got home and rinsed off the base layer. I was much happier with the result. As my friend Dana put it, “You look alive!” Indeed, while I appreciate not having to see my entire vein network every time I look down at my body, I also found that the tan makes me look more toned. Beyond my skin, the contrast made my features pop—my eyes looked bluer, and my teeth looked whiter. Some people can’t quite pinpoint why I look better, which is just the way I wanted it to turn out.
