Ines: 8 Hours for the Best Tan

I’m not into extremes. I like subtle colour, light makeup, clean lines, and products that don’t try too hard. That’s always been my style, which is why self-tanning has never really worked for me. The few times I tried it, I either ended up patchy, too dark, or smelling like burnt sugar. It just felt… unnatural. Like I was pretending. And every product I tried seemed designed for someone chasing that just-got-back-from-Mykonos bronze, which was never the look I wanted.

My skin is very fair, and it reacts quickly. I get redness if something is too fragranced or heavy, and I’m always nervous about new ingredients. So I stopped trying. I just told myself self-tanning wasn’t for me.

But then my flatmate started using Oleyra.

I didn’t notice at first. She just looked really healthy, her skin had this soft glow, not like makeup, more like she’d been walking outside a lot. When she told me it was from tanning drops, I was surprised. It didn’t look fake or too warm. It looked like her, just better.

She let me try it. I mixed two drops into my regular gel moisturizer at night. I was skeptical, but it absorbed fast and didn’t feel heavy. There was a faint coconut scent, nothing intense. I forgot I even used it.

The next morning I had this quiet warmth in my skin. Not a tan exactly, but like my face finally matched how I feel when I’m rested and calm. It looked natural in daylight, even in class under those awful fluorescent lights. No orange, no streaks, no weird patches around my nose or hairline.

Now I use it maybe three times a week. I still keep it light. just one or two drops in my moisturizer or body cream, depending on the day. It builds gradually, and I never have to guess how it’ll look. If I want more, I add more. If I don’t, I skip a day. It’s simple, which makes me trust it more.

The thing I didn’t expect was how soft my skin feels. I think it’s the aloe and glycerin in the formula. It doesn’t just sit on top of my skin. It sinks in and feels like part of my skincare, not something extra. I don’t get that tight, dry feeling like I did with other tanners. And because it’s drops, it mixes with whatever I already use, so I don’t have to change anything.

Oleyra fits with how I live. No drama, no heavy look, no pressure to go darker. Just a light touch of colour that makes me feel more put together. Some people use tanning to make a statement. I use it so I don’t have to.