Orange. Blotchy. Streaky. Miserable. That’s usually how spray-tanning goes. You enter a booth, get misted by some funky-smelling solution that you never know when is going to pop out of the little nozzles because the tech didn’t explain it to you…so you end up getting no solution on your front, and four times the correct amount on your back. And then you try to frantically rub it in before it dries, but you still feel sticky, and then it smears all over your clothes. Why do we do this to ourselves just to get a safe tan?
Philly ladies, it’s so much easier — and less stressful — at Surf City Tan in the Manayunk neighborhood of Philadelphia. Linda, the owner, is the sole technician at this small studio, and she knows what she’s doing. She offers 4 hand-blended shades: Natural (light sunkissed tan), Beach (glowy medium-bronze), Indian Summer (Beach with red undertones), and Island (a rich copper). All formulas contain a cosmetic bronzer, which gives you that instant toasty glow, and DHA (dihydroxyacetone, the active ingredient in self-tanners that reacts with your skin to tan you), so your color deepens on your skin as it sets.
Linda custom-mixes the shades and applies the solution by hand using a professional-grade airbrush gun. She’s a perfectionist, and makes sure you leave the studio happy and bronzed to your liking.
In case you have any discomfort with nudity, here’s how your appointment works. Before you go, exfoliate, shave, and remove makeup, deodorant, lotion, and jewelry. Once you arrive, Linda will give you the lowdown on how to prepare, then she’ll mix your solution while you’re disrobing. She comes into the private room, sprays on 2 coats of tanner, and then sets up 3 fans aimed at your front and back sides to speed along the drying process. She’ll leave you to dry for about 10 minutes. You put on your dark, loose-fitting clothes, and you’re bronzed, beautiful, and out the door! The solution needs 8 hours to set before you can shower or sweat; your true color will emerge after your first shower.
The next morning, don’t fret when you see orange waves cascading down the drain when you shower. You’ll think your whole tan is washing off, but it’s not. When you step out of the shower and look in the mirror, you see the prettiest, bronziest, glow – the shade your skin would turn after spending a week on the beach. But with no sun damage!
There’s a reason why nearly everyone who goes to Linda is a repeat client: they love the way they look.
Surf City Airbrush Tanning Studio, 100 Levering St., Philadelphia, PA, 19127; 215.482.4826.
I love products that serve more than one purpose. MeMeMe’s Goddess Bronzing Rocks ($20) let you get a few different uses out of them. There are several shimmery shades of bronze “rocks” tucked into this tiny pot, ranging from pale taupe to deep copper. Use them as a bronzer by sweeping a fluffy brush over the rocks’ surface and blending into your skin; you’ll get a flush that’s a nice mix of all the shades of the rocks. Or, for a wash of nude shimmer on your eyes, drag an individual rock in your choice of color across your lids, or pick up the color with a fluffy brush and blend across the lid. Finally, looking to amp up your gloss? Take a chip off the old rock and grind it into a fine powder, then mix into your gloss or pat on top of your lipstick with your fingers. It’s like getting 3 products in 1, all for $20. I’ll take it.
