Preview: Chocolate Sun Cocoa Lite/Enhancer

I don’t really like self tanners very much. In my experience, the ones that were less stinky and more pleasant to apply were the ones that turned me orange. The ones that were really gross to apply tended to give me nicer results. The cons always outweighed the pros. And I promise you that though I was really curious how the hell the color was deposited by self tanners, I never had the courage to review the ingredients.

A month ago, I saw there were clean self tanners (color from beet juice) on the market. I briefly entertained and then dismissed the idea of using one. I had a complete change of heart less than a week ago when I realized that I am about to leave for Cancun, that I haven’t exercised as much as I should have considering swimwear, and my legs are even paler than usual because they haven’t absorbed vitamin D from the actual sun since I got cold in October. The tipping point that made me decide to try a clean self tanner for my trip is that one brand makes a shade expressly for pale people.

I am testing the “Chocolate Sun Cocoa Lite/Enhancer: Sunless Tanning Cream for the Body [Light].” I transcribed this title from the bottle. Online retailers seem to use variations on this product’s actual name, and those variations are always improvements. clunker! 

The Chocolate Sun website is basically useless as far as details of these at-home* products go, so my expectations and research about these products was conducted completely via third parties. For instance, Spirit Beauty Lounge sells the Cocoa Lite Sunless Enhancer as “for anyone who wants to create a subtle, healthy glow. Even if you have the fairest, translucent skin or are new to self tanning, you can’t go wrong with this less potent formula.” Now that I have the bottle in hand, the Chocolate Sun packaging says that Cocoa Lite is “perfect for tanning light skin. It gives medium colored skin a beautiful glow and enhances/extends an existing tan.” Here’s what I’m hoping for: I want a bit of a glow and to take the edge off my blinding pastiness. 

Chocolate Sun makes two other self tanner products for the whole body. As far as I can tell based on the actual product labels, Cocoa Glow Sunless Tanning Cream is for medium skin and Absolute Sun Sunless Tanning Cream is for dark skin. I say as far as I can tell because the product write-ups are different everywhere I look. They also make two facial tanning products: Cocoa Illume Lite for Face is for light skin and Cocoa Illume for Face is for medium skin. I received a sample of Cocoa Illume Lite with my order, but I haven’t decided if I’ll try it yet. I’ll play that by ear.

The Cocoa Lite has an uphill battle with me. Please enjoy this terrifying swatch of “before” leg next to a piece of paper (provided for convenient whiteness comparison):

I exfoliated and then applied the Cocoa Lite for the first time last night. I’ll share a full review of this product in about a week and a half.

*Chocolate Sun is actually based here in Los Angeles, and they have a couple of tanning salons here. Both salons average five star reviews on Yelp. I have never had a spray tan applied to me, and I have no intention of trying one at this time, even if it is naturally-derived. I reserve the right to feel differently if I completely love the Cocoa Lite.

Cocoa Lite Sunless Enhancer ingredients: Helianthus annus (sunflower oil), prunus delcis (sweet almond oil), cocos nucifera oil (coconut oil), aqua (distilled water), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), aloe barbadensis gel (aloe vera gel), simmondsia chinensis oil (jojoba oil), dihydroxyacetone (derived from sugar beets), emulium delta (vegetable emulsifier), camellia sinensis leaf extract (green tea extract), theobroma cacao absolute oil), cocoa absolute oil), vanilla planifola extract (vanilla extract), glucono delta lactone (natural food grade preservative), calcium gluconate (natural food grade preservative). 94% organic ingredients, water not included in calculations

Comments

[Alexis]

I got the Cocoa Lite last year for my birthday and love it! I'm very fair like yourself and it takes the edge off of my paleness so it doesn't look like I've never seen the light of day. It gave me the perfect "kiss" of color. I hope your experience with it is just as nice as mine was.
=)