My Self-Tanning Must Have: Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops
/bought by me, affiliate links
I love to sport a faux-glow, otherwise known as a self-tan or fake tan as soon as the weather turns warmer. Now that it is May, I have been self-tanning with a new self-tanner and in two words, it is a MUST HAVE for those of you that self-tan, too.
I have been using the Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops and this product makes getting a customized faux glow super easy. It’s nothing short of genius!
First thing is first, I am going to describe the Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops itself, then I will share which formula I am using (it’s obvious from the photo above), why I’d pick a different formula next time, how I am using the product after testing the drops a few times and my best advice on how to use them to get and maintain a beautiful, natural looking self-tan.
Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops are
A bottle of custom-made self-tanning drops that allow you to control your glow.
Simply add these color-correcting Self Tanning Drops to your moisturizer for a natural, sunkissed glow with no streaks, smells, or orange tones. Isle of Paradise has combined a color corrective approach with a tanning-know-how to bring you your best glow ever—whether that's for the beach or brunch. All drops combine organic tanning actives with avocado, chia seed, and coconut oils for a happy, hydrated glow.
The peach drops are formulated with Oxy Glow™ complex, which is clinically proven to brighten your skin, the green drops are formulated with Super Balance™ complex to reduce redness, calm the skin, and improve your karma, and the violet drops are formulated with Hyper Violet™ complex to reduce orange/sallow tones and raise your tanning game.
Isle of Paradise’s products are made with color-correcting technologies to help even out skin tone for the most real looking, natural tan ever. This product is cruelty-free, 100 percent vegan, organic, and made using certified organic ingredients, actives at low pH levels, non-sensitizing ingredients, hypoallergenic ingredients, and pure oils. It does not contain mineral oils, petrolatum, gluten, GMO, or toxins.
As it explains, the drops are made to let you customize your self-tan, or glow. I selected the green drops, as I figured a medium tan would be a good place to start.
I bought the drops in person at Sephora, and the beauty advisor there, well, multiple advisors, suggested that I buy the violet drops. Looking at my skin tone and knowing that I usually color correct for redness, I decided to stick to my choice and buy the green drops.
Top 10 Self-Tanners for a Perfect Faux-Glow
The tanning drops are simple to use, You mix the drops into any moisturizer that you have. For my face, I mixed them into the night cream that I have been using, and for my body, I mixed them into this lotion.
It took a bit of trial and error to get “my formula” just right, but from prior self-tanning experience, I knew that I needed to apply with a self tanning mitt, to clean exfoliated skin, and to apply it three times, about twelve hours apart.
I basically applied at night, the next morning and then again that evening.
So my self-tanning routine goes something like this:
Exfoliate - Saturday in the shower, moisturize
Moisturize - Sunday morning as usual
First application - Sunday evening
Second application - Monday morning
Third application - Monday evening
I showered in between my first and second application, but not between my second and third. I did not moisturize any more in between each application as moisturizer is applied with the drops. I have done this “three times in a row routine” with all of my self-tanning applications to get an even, long lasting result. I usually have to reapply to my face, every three days, then exfoliate again on Saturday, then reapply on Sunday and Monday to maintain my self-tan through the season.
After trial and error, and to get the color that I like for me, I mixed the following; think of it as a recipe.
Face and neck with face moisturizer: 2 drops with the amount needed to cover face and neck
Chest and top of back: 4 drops with 4 pumps of moisturizer
Arms: 4 drops with 4 pumps of moisturizer
Hands: 2 drops with 1 pumps of moisturizer, only on top AFTER washing hands, clean up with makeup wipe
Stomach and back: 4 drops with 4 pumps of moisturizer
Legs: I divided into top and bottom, and as I like my legs darker, I used 6 drops with 4 pumps of moisturizer
It is important to note, again, that I used a self-tanning mitt, and I mixed the lotion and drops right in the palm of my hand, then applied the dollop onto the mitt. I tried mixing directly on the mitt, but too much of the drops absorbed into the mitt. This takes practice, and I wish I could figure out a way to mix on the mitt, or body part, but to ensure even application, I will continue to mix in the palm of my hand, wash my hands, then apply to my arms and top of my hands last.
Cleaning up with a makeup wipe is very helpful.
The only thing that I will do differently in the future is buy the violet drops. The color I get is pretty perfect, but I am using a lot of the drops and I think I would use less, if not half, if I used a higher concentrated formula. I think that is where the beauty advisors were correct in guiding me to buy the violet drops in the first place.
I do want to try the Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Mousse for my legs. I am not sure about dry time with those. The drops dry as fast as your moisturizer does, so that is product dependent.
I like how hydrated my skin is all-in-all, and that is so important in maintaining an even, and realistic looking self tan, especially as it fades. I should have mentioned above that I moisturize each day, as normal.
The only time I noticed the tell-tale smell of self-tanner is when the product was actually on my body. Once I showered, that smell was gone. I did not notice any staining, not even on my white sheets, and that is a huge plus. There are no bronzers in the product, so while it may be tricky for a first-time self-tanner to apply, it is nice to know that clothes, furniture and sheets are not left with stains.
The Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops are not only a must have for me, but they are a game-changer for the self-tanning industry.
Buy Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Drops for $29 at Sephora. They are constantly sold out online, so get yourself on the email list and look for them in stores at Sephora.
