ISLE OF PARADISE

TAYLER:

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Hey there! Fall is here and winter is right around the corner. As we enter the colder season, many of us Honies may start relaying more and more on at home products to maintain some sort of tan. I know that I have already begun reaching for my self-tanning products at least once a week. Lately, the one that I have been reaching for the most has been Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Drops & Water Set.

Isle of Paradise offers light (pink), medium (green) and dark (purple) versions of their tanning products. You can purchase these at the Isle of Paradise website, Sephora and QVC (where I usually purchase mine since that is where you will find the best deal). Isle of Paradise how-to videos advise that you should make your shade selection based of which skin type you currently are (referencing your skin’s undertones) and not the shade you desire to be. So, the first time I ordered, I selected the light (pink) shade based off their info and did not get the bronzed look I was after at all. Since then, I have been using the medium formula and really like it. I also recently purchased the dark drops set from QVC and mixed them in a separate bottle with a little of my medium water and found my perfect golden glow shade for when I need a little more color!

I have been using some version of a self-tanner since high school, so I consider myself very familiar with the whole process. (If you are a newbie, check out Dez’s Loving Tan post for tips on how to prep your skin before applying any self-tanner.) The Isle of Paradise instructions advise that you should exfoliate 24 hrs prior to application. However, I know that I always get much better results when I shave, exfoliate, and moisturize right before I apply any type of self-tanner.

After doing my usual prep steps, I begin by applying the water to my legs and work my way up from there. Be sure to always work in smaller sections (i.e. calves first, then thighs, torso, and chest, etc.). I can usually apply about 4-5 sprays to each body part then blend the water in circular motions until fully absorbed with a tanning mitt. I like to use the drops on my face every other night or two to keep that golden glow. You can either apply the drops alone (3 drops) or mix in with a little bit of your normal facial moisturizer (4 drops).

The water does tend to run out before the drops do since you are using that product on a much larger surface area. From time to time, instead of using the water, I mix the drops in with my regular body lotion and am able to achieve a more subtle, gradual glow which actually helps extend the overall life of my tan, as well as my products, which is great. I mix in maybe 4 drops per body section and, as always, be sure to wash your hands after as to not stain them or wear a tanning mitt.

At this point, I should probably mention that I DO NOT USE THE ISLE OF PARADISE TANNING MITT. Sorry for “cyber yelling” that part, but I really feel like I needed to get that point across. I have used this glove once and unfortunately got the WORST results. Do yourself a favor and purchase one off Amazon like this one.

Also, there is an added fragrance to these products. I think it’s nice, and get sweet, tropical floral notes from it. Usually, I am very sensitive to floral scents- like I legitimately hate strongly floral or Rose scented anything- but this one does not bother me at all. I will say that just like 99% of similar products out there, you will still get that distinct self-tanner after-scent which is virtually unavoidable in my opinion. This is why is usually do my tanning routine at night, and then lightly shower in the morning. If you do shower the next day, DO NOT use body wash or soap on your body and DO NOT scrub or exfoliate your skin. This will remove a lot of your hard work and make your tan not last very long at all and/ or look streaky. This should just be a quick-rinse-off type of shower, if you know what I mean.

For me, the Isle of Paradise Tanning Water and Drops are a total Honey, Yasss! I think that if you follow the tips and tricks, I spelled out above, they definitely can be a Honey, Yasss for you too!

DEZ:

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Hey Honies! I’m back with another self-tanning review, but this time for the ultra-popular Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Drops and Water. I’m sure many of you have heard some of our favorite influencers speak highly of this line. Well, I went for it and purchased the Isle of Paradise Own Your Glow Kit in the Medium shade from Sephora. This kit includes: a 1.01 oz bottle of the Self-Tanning Drops, a 3.38 oz bottle of the Self-Tanning Water and the Tanning Applicator Mitt for $35. Honestly, I felt a mix of expectations with this line because I’m already attached to the Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse but given the hype around these products, I thought this could potentially replace my current fav.

The packaging advises you to exfoliate and shave the day before applying the products, but I knew my legs would already show signs of slight stubble if I waited 24 hours. Instead I exfoliated and shaved the day of application, which didn’t seem to be an issue. I knew I wanted to use the drops on my face/neck and the water on my body. The drops were extremely easy to apply as I simply mixed 5 drops with my moisturizer and applied it as normal with my hands.

I will mention that almost instantly, I was not a fan of this product’s scent. It has that normal tanning product smell (which honestly doesn’t bother me) but masked with some kind of perfume/light floral scent. I personally would just prefer the product to smell like a self-tanner. Although, I wasn’t a fan of the smell I was pleased with how even the drops spread when mixed with my moisturizer.

Next, I used the water on the rest of my body and as soon as I started to spray, I noticed that same unpleasant smell. However, I continued with the application and as normal, avoided my elbows, knees, and feet until the end. I used the applicator mitt that came with this set and again found it extremely easy to blend the water evenly into my skin, or so I thought.

I’m sure at this point you’re wondering about the results. Trust me, I was too. Well, if I had to base my review on smell alone, this would be a big Honey, No for me, but I was somewhat surprised. After about 5 hours I was pretty pleased with the glow and overall tan color that had developed on my face. However, I think if I had done another drop or two of the Self-Tanning Drops, the color would’ve been way too dark for my face. As for the water, I had more mixed feelings about those. Like the drops, the color of my legs and arms was a really nice tanned glow and perfect shade for my skin tone. However, I quickly realized that the water applied to my forearm was streaky and showed patches of darker areas (probably due to the Isle of Paradise Mitt*).

*Since my initial use, I have used these products once more and can confirm that the cause of my streaking was due to the Isle of Paradise Tanning Mitt. It’s just not the best quality and when replacing that mitt with another one, I found that I was able to avoid most of the streaking and dark patches.

After I was done with my second application, I realized that the Self-Tanning Water bottle was nearly halfway gone. This came as a shock to me since there was still so much product left in the bottle of drops. Now knowing how quickly I went through the water; I would definitely recommend purchasing the larger bottle, 6.78 oz., from QVC (the Sephora set that I got, comes with a smaller 3.38 oz bottle of the water). If you decide to purchase this product, I would look at QVC, as I know there are typically better deals for this line there.

As for me, I will continue to use these products until I run out because the color really is beautiful, but because you need to use so much water in order to achieve the results, I feel that this product is not a good value. Therefore, these products are Just, Meh for me. Needless to say, I will not be purchasing again and I am sticking to my Loving Tan products.

PJ:

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I want to start this off by letting you know, that in general, I am not an at home self-tanning product fan. We live by the beach and I spend most my time during summer outdoors and active which keeps my Middle Eastern skin golden brown for most of the year. In the few cold months that we have here, I use the JERGENS Natural Glow + FIRMING Daily Moisturizer which is really easy to use (goes on like any other moisturizer and eliminates the need for an extra step since it makes you glow and moisturizes at the same time), it also doesn’t streak or look orange and smells relatively okay. I realize how lucky this is and tried to keep an open mind as I tested the Isle of Paradise line for this week’s post for anyone who doesn’t live in a constant sunshine climate like Cali. I was also slightly excited because if it is all that so many influencers promise it may be a good solution to my lack luster and dull winter skin that is significantly whiter than it is in the warmer months.

I followed the instructions exactly and even relied on my fellow Honest Honies for some advice on proper usage since I was a first timer, and they had more experience with at home self tanners. I was nervous about being orange and streaky. To me that is a worst nightmare situation, and I would honestly rather be pale than streaky and orange. I had ordered the kit from Sephora, so it came with a tanning mitt, the tanning water spray, and the drops. As the instructions, and my Honest Honies advised me, I made sure to exfoliate very well 24 hours before application. I used my favorite coffee scrub by Maui Babe and my Billie razor and made sure to moisturize after as well. The next day I made sure my skin was still moisturized and had no dry spots then sprayed the spray all over (except my face as directed by Tayler) and used the mitt to blend it all in. For my face, I used the drops mixed in with my moisturizer. Then I nervously awaited my results…

At first they were kind of exciting. My skin looked tan, very glowy and was the perfect shade for me (I had picked the medium formula). However, my face did not feel dark enough, so I applied a second mix of moisturizer with the tanning drops the next morning. This time I was in a rush and getting ready and I completely forgot to wash my hands which Tayler had told me I needed to do after each application.

Well my face got darker but so did the palms of my hands, fingers and nail beds. I realize this is mostly my fault for not washing my hands, but it is certainly is an annoying outcome as I never have this issue with my Jergens. At the end of the day, I finally started to see the results of all my efforts. Unfortunately, the outcome was a very streaky neck, a face that had completely washed off after I had rinsed my face that night (it was literally my natural skin tone except for at my hairline), stained/ zebra striped under arms with orange wrists and ankles. I have since taken a bath and two showers to try and exfoliate and get the streaky mess off but it is still going strong.

I will say that the tan looked good on me for about half a day. After that it left me a blotchy, streaky mess and made me smell like self tanner. It also stained my hands, feet, knees, underarms if you do not wash immediately. It is definitely not something I will ever want to use again. For me, this one is a major Honey, NO!