Review: Sugared + Bronzed’s FlexExpress Solution

brand background: If you live in (or have ever visited) Los Angeles, New York City, or Philadelphia, you’ve likely spotted at least one of Courtney Claghorn’s Sugared + Bronzed locations. The beige and pale blue exteriors and serene, beachy interiors provoke a quick mental vacation right before you walk out of your appointment looking like you’ve been on vacation. The salons include sugar hair removal and airbrush tans under one roof and have recently developed products to take the one-of-a-kind experience home with you.

For my spray tan (and brazilian sugaring!) I visited S+B’s brand new location in NYC’s Upper East Side neighborhood.

solution applied: The FlexExpress Elixir Four.

spray tan price: $59

product call-outs: vegan, hypoallergenic, and fragrance-free

texture: a light, fine mist with a dark brown guide color

ingredients: grapeseed oil to soften the skin, witch hazel to reduce inflammation, and jojoba oil to moisturize.

dry time: less than five minutes

scent: unscented

the spray tan room.

(hot) take on the tan: From the moment I walked in S+B’s (brand new) Upper East Side doors, I was obsessed. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t stepped inside an NYC salon since pre-Covid, or perhaps it was Amanda’s (the UES Store Director)’s warm personality that made me feel at ease from the very beginning. The lobby smells like a citrus-meets-lavender dream, and the beachy decor combined with the extremely clean space makes you feel at ease before you even enter your appointment room.

Now for the best part: the services. When booking sugar and spray tan appointments on the same day, it’s suggested to sugar first. And yes, this is a sunless tanning website but if you’re here, you’ve likely also had a wax appointment before too, so I’ll give a short recap on my brazilian sugaring as well. In short, Amanda made me feel super comfortable, we talked, laughed, and she would gently warn me before the more uncomfortable parts. But to be honest, considering my hair was pretty long (it had been almost two months since my last brazilian) the entire process was pretty painless, seamless, and most importantly: mess-free. The appointment took about 15 minutes in total, and the best part was that, since the sugar concoction is not hot, I did not walk away feeling like my privates were burned or chapped and there was zero trace of dry wax in my buttcrack (which is often the case after traditional wax appointments).

As for the spray tan appointment, it took place in a room that is similar to a very large bathroom, with space to get undressed, a glass door and a shower-like room on the other side. Taylor took the reins, checked on my tan goal, and had me get undressed (I go completely naked) and apply barrier cream in the chicly clinical spray tan room. Taylor was thorough yet pretty quick. I wore my mask throughout my appointment until the very end when Taylor handed me a face shield to hold in place until she was ready to spray my face. I was then handed a drying hose to dry myself (which took less than five minutes) before getting dressed, putting my mask back on, and exiting. The guide color was a dark deep brown shade, but didn’t look too unnatural like spray tans can often look immediately after. I slept on my spray tan and showered around 15 hours after my appointment. According to the FlexExpress instructions, you stop getting darker after three hours post-tan and can wait to shower up until 24 hours afterward. In true spray tan fashion, my tan looked the best on the second day, which was a natural shade of brown (a cooler brown versus a warmer bronze) and I was about three shades darker. I was surprised with how even the fade was, and as I write this five days post-appointment, my tan is still in tact, even, but about two shades lighter than the second day. All in all, 10 out of 10 would recommend the experience, tan itself, and the fade.

For those weary about re-entering salons post-Covid, rest assured S+B’s protocols go over and beyond local mandates but are also ran like a well-oiled machine. If extra sanitary precautions are going to be the “new normal” in salons, salons should take note of S+B’s super efficient procedures.