California-based spray tan artist, and owner of Obsidian Sunless Solutions and Spray Tan Class, Kelly Callaghan, recently acquired sunless tan remover brand X-TAN and will merge both Obsidian’s line of solutions and X-TAN’s remover and self tanning products under the X-TAN brand. To discuss the exciting news, The Tan Bible talked with Kelly about the merger, the most exciting part of the union, and what customers can look forward to over the next few months.

Separately, X-TAN is known for its hydrating and nourishing yet effective sunless tan remover, and Obsidian is known for its luxurious, easy-to-use professional solutions. Both brands are loved and used by thousands, so when joined together under one brand, the products are sure to become a sunless professional’s favorite. When speaking about her vision for X-TAN, Kelly plans to merge both of the already well-established brands under one luxury sunless brand. “To sum it up, X-TAN will be a sunless luxury brand for sunless artists who value high quality products that are simple and easy to use,” Kelly says. “Under the X-TAN name, you will find our top-selling solution, Obsidian Dark, all of X-TAN’s current sunless tan removal products, and will see our new products.”

From here on out, you can shop all of the aforementioned products as well as new launches on XTANSunless.com and follow on Instagram @XTANSunless.

Throughout the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, customers can expect to see the launch of X-TAN’s self tanning mousse, a face mist, a sweat-resistant professional solution, and a clear professional solution. When speaking about the most exciting aspects of acquiring X-TAN, Kelly says there are two highlights for her with the first being X-TAN’s upcoming self tanning mousse. “One, the proprietary self tanning mousse formula that Amy Staubitz [X-TAN’s founder and former owner] and her chemist created is to die for. She told me that this is the most hydrating mousse on the market, and when I did a side by side with a mousse that is also known to be very hydrating, I saw a huge difference,” Kelly shares. “Not only that, the color of the mousse is beautiful. It's perfect for those who want a medium to dark tan, or who want to use it as a tan extender. A little of this product goes a long way and I am here for it.”

And if you’re familiar with Obsidian’s already-existing mousse, Kelly says the light, buildable bronzing self tanner will now cater to the male demographic. “It’s easy to apply and we think it will be perfect for men to use as an everyday product. It will allow them to open up to the idea of using sunless products as a whole.”

The second most exciting part? The brand aesthetic itself. “I've had this nagging feeling that keeping Obsidian Sunless under the Spray Tan Class brand was just... off. I never felt Obsidian had a perfected brand or a concrete ‘home’,” Kelly says. “I've always been obsessed with X-TAN’s gold, white, and black aesthetic. The packaging, labels, and overall vibe scream ‘fun, professional, luxury, high-end, sexy.’”

“Amy has an incredible eye when it comes to brand creation and putting her vision in tangible form. She is a perfectionist in so many ways. Aside from the amazing products X-TAN offers, the brand was a huge factor in my decision to purchase the business,” she says. “I love the aesthetic so much we decided to adopt it as the Spray Tan Class brand as well. Now, everything seems to go together so perfectly and I couldn't be happier because of it.”

“Our goal has always been and will continue to be to do things differently. We've put a lot of thought into the products we want to offer and we want to cater to a particular type of audience. I see our industry growing in a way that is allowing us all to price a bit higher, value our services more and to create quality experiences each and every time,” Kelly says. “We plan on staying ahead of the game in terms of offering the newest, most innovative products and helping educate our artists more on things like ingredients so they can know what is going on with their clients skin and why. There is a revolution happening in our industry and I am here for all of it!”