I got the mini version (10mL) of the Isle of Paradise Tanning Drops from the Sephora Favorites Vacay All Day bag over April break. I decided to use them immediately because I wanted to look tan as the weather got warmer. They are highly concentrated tanning drops that you mix with a moisturizer to tan your face and body. There are three shades: light, medium, and dark. The mini size is usually $15 and the full size (30mL) is $32. The bag came with the medium shade which actually worked very well with my skin tone, despite the fact that I am very pale.
After washing my face with a cleanser and lightly exfoliating, I mixed three drops of the tanning drops with a small glob of moisturizer, enough to cover the middle portion of my palm (I measured with my heart). The bottle does provide instructions on the proportion of moisturizer to tanning drops, but that would have been too much for just my face and neck.
I mixed the moisturizer and tanning drops on my palm with my other hand. I then covered my face and neck with this mixture and rubbed it in well, being sure to blend it below where my t-shirt line was and also into my hairline. You do need to wash your hands after, just as in the case of using other self-tanners. I slept with this overnight (roughly 8 hours) and lightly washed my face in the morning.
I was surprised with how well these worked for me. I definitely looked tan. There was a slight orange undertone that you could really only notice if you looked at my eyebrows and lips where the moisturizer had gathered. They also didn’t transfer onto my clothes or sheets. There was a very slight self-tanner smell, but it didn’t bother me.
I also tried these drops on my arms. They didn’t look super even, but that was most likely operator error. For tanning a large portion of your body, I would recommend mixing the moisturizer and drops in a container of some sort so that you have an adequate amount that is evenly mixed.
To maintain the tan on my face and neck I mix one drop with the same amount of moisturizer as before. So far I’ve used these almost every day since getting them and I’ve barely made a dent in the bottle. I think these are good for what they are and they’re probably worth the price with how little I’ve used, but I wouldn’t rush out to get them if you have a different self-tanner that you love. That being said, if you’ve been on the hunt for new self-tanning drops, give these a try.