brand background: After working in the tanning industry for over a decade, The Shady Sun’s founder Amanda Arnold opened the doors to The Shady Sun Cabana in Salisbury, MD and launched The Shady Sun professional sunless solutions and retail tanning line all in 2019. The professional line features six different solutions; four standard development time solutions ranging from 6 - 16% DHA, and two rapid solutions. All solutions are vegan with 100% natural DHAs, cruelty-free, and paraben-free for the safest tan possible. The at-home tanning range features products to exfoliate, bronze, and prolong a tan all from the comfort of your own home. When it comes to The Shady Sun’s wholesale program, the brand doesn’t require a dollar spending minimum — so you are able to purchase just one solutions or the entire professional and retail range.

solution applied: playa hermosa brilliance, a standard development time, 16% DHA solution

professional solution price:

standard development time solutions: $45 for a quart, $160 for a gallon

express solutions: $55 for a quart, $200 for a gallon

product call-outs: cruelty-free, 100% naturally-derived DHAs, paraben-free, and vegan

texture: a light, fine mist with a subtle bronze guide color

dry time: five minutes

scent: unscented

(hot) take on the tan: The Shady Sun’s founder Amanda Arnold tanned me using the brand’s darkest solution, playa hermosa brilliance; a standard development time tan with 16% DHA. The spray tan artist did two coats of the solution which then dried almost instantly. In addition to the pleasant smell and the quick dry time, the solution’s immediate finish was a subtle sunkissed bronze that looked natural without using too many bronzers. According to the founder, not going overboard with a ton of bronzers in the guide color is done so clients can get a tan, then go about their day without looking too bronzed, because yes, there is such thing. In my opinion, having just the right amount of bronzers in the guide color also helps clients to judge the development of the actual tan, so then they’re not disappointed after that first post-tan rinse thinking that their entire tan just got washed down the drain.

I let my tan develop for about 15 hours before rinsing and the result was a bronzed tan that cancelled out my skin’s yellow undertones and was a solid four shades darker than my natural skin tone. How long did the tan last, you ask? I am writing this review four days post-tan and my tan is still very much in tact. In fact, my hands and feet are still completely bronzed — and as any avid-tanner knows — those are the areas that start to fade first. I’m obsessed with the Shady Sun tan, would recommend to any professional looking for a solution that is light on bronzers and heavy on the long-lasting tan, and can’t wait to try the products in the at-home line.