Who did you sample & who did you choose? (tanning)

Just curious really who did you all sample when first starting out and then who did you finally chose.

So far I've sampled Fake Bake, LA Tan, Suntana, Fresh Indulgence & Nouvatan. I'm still deciding and it changes daily . I'm also now curious about Brown Bitz after reading a few comments on here, does anyone know if they do free samples?

I think I should stop reading SG as I'm a bit of a perfectionist (and indecisive) and always think I could be missing out on something better, at this rate I think I'll still be sampling in a year lol

Gem x

Oh you must try Brown bitz it's amazing.It's £6.99 for a sample bottle free postage. no orange tinge just a natural brown tan, i love it and so do by clients.Use18% LA tan to mix with Brown bitz to get a darker shade.

tried Sienna x, fake bake.OMG, white to brown, crazy angel, suntana, nouvatan,wow organics, sunless solution, sun shadez, fresh indulgence, sol spa, etc...

i adore brown bitz look on my album for photos! xx

tiatia22 said:

Oh you must try Brown bitz it's amazing.It's £6.99 for a sample bottle free postage. no orange tinge just a natural brown tan, i love it and so do by clients.Use18% LA tan to mix with Brown bitz to get a darker shade.

tried Sienna x, fake bake.OMG, white to brown, crazy angel, suntana, nouvatan,wow organics, sunless solution, sun shadez, fresh indulgence, sol spa, etc...

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how do you mix it ect? i have 18% la tan here and brown bitz! i also heard that brown bitz are bringing out a darker shade think its in may i was told xx

I tried; Suntana, siena x puri tan couture & nouvatan.
I loved puritan, can't get it any more customer service, not so good.
couture, but doesn't go dark enough for my clients and it's more expensive.
Nouvatan, love it, my clients love it, the price is very good and the customer service is brilliant.

I tried fresh indulgence, fake bake, crazy angel, nouvatan and sienna x. It is a hard choice between sienna x and nouvatan but I think I am going to go with nouvatan

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll order the Brown Bitz, what would you say is the most popular shade?

Tiatia22 do you mean literally mix them or you use the LA Tan is someone wants really dark?

Gem x

Gem, as I've said before on salongeek, I'd also recommend thinking about branding, your own business ethics and so on.

Of course I prefer Fresh Indulgence, but let's be honest here - many solutions are (superficially at least), quite alike. If you showed me 10 people sprayed with different solutions, I'd probably be able to guess which 3 were likely to have been sprayed with Fresh Indulgence, but no way am I going to be able to pinpoint the exact one. Everyone's skins react differently and you'll never find the one solution that gives absolutely everyone their perfect colour.

So when you've narrowed it down to 2 or 3 that you really like, think beyond performance. You've already established that they're all good performers, or you wouldn't have them on your short list. You can keep trialling them on 50 more people and you're always going to come up with a few people who it won't develop on as well as everyone else. So think about what else is important.

As well as important concerns like how well the company looks after their customers, also think about what allergens the solution may contain. And what is the company's ethos? Does it fit with your own, and that of your business? Do you want an expensive looking brand, do you want a young vibrant looking one? Is endorsement from TOWIE cast important to your clients, or is a solution with a number of natural/green/eco credentials more important to them? Think about what you're going to tell them about your tanning solution when they first call up to enquire and you want that booking. Think about the conversations you're going to have with them during their treatments, the bond you'll make with them to retain their loyalty and their business.

You may be just starting up now, but think about the business you want to build. How are you going to set yours apart from all the others out there?

I think it's important to choose a solution supplier who can be a long-term partner to you and your business, and help you grow. One of the major reasons people used to (and to some extent still do) pick brands like Sienna-X is not because their solution is so much better than everyone else's so as to justify the massive price difference, but due to the boost they felt it could give their business in a competitive market place. Now many people are shifting away because to stock Sienna hardly differentiates anyone any more, it's just so common. But it shows how for these people, the brand was almost more important than the solution quality.

I personally believe solution quality should always be your #1 concern, but when you're stuck with a few you like and you need to differentiate, then it's time to start getting harsh with them and dismissing any that just don't compliment you in a business sense.

I use the coconut the most, i think it's around 12-14%.they dont come in percentages, light,medium,dark. They are working on a darker solution at the moment. I mix 1/2 brown bitz coconut and 1/2 18% LA tan to get about a 16% both tans nice and brown,so work well together.Will defo get the darker brown bitz when it comes out, as i prefer fade off and colour to all the others.xx

phew...this is what I have sampled:
Fantasy Tan, Nouvatan, white to brown, Sienna x, Minx, Bella d'ora, cocobay, laurens way, xen tan, and loads more!!
I have settled with Cocobay, out of all the tans this was the most popular with clients as the fade off was very natural. I did initially start out with Sienna X but the products are so expensive. Bella D'ora 10% also gives a lovely honey colour though, I like using that on myself and its also quite popular at my tanning room. But my overall vote goes to Cocobay. x

tiatia22 said:

I use the coconut the most, i think it's around 12-14%.they dont come in percentages, light,medium,dark. They are working on a darker solution at the moment. I mix 1/2 brown bitz coconut and 1/2 18% LA tan to get about a 16% both tans nice and brown,so work well together.Will defo get the darker brown bitz when it comes out, as i prefer fade off and colour to all the others.xx

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Thank you I've ordered a coconut one should be here tomorrow x

temperleytan said:

phew...this is what I have sampled:
Fantasy Tan, Nouvatan, white to brown, Sienna x, Minx, Bella d'ora, cocobay, laurens way, xen tan, and loads more!!
I have settled with Cocobay, out of all the tans this was the most popular with clients as the fade off was very natural. I did initially start out with Sienna X but the products are so expensive. Bella D'ora 10% also gives a lovely honey colour though, I like using that on myself and its also quite popular at my tanning room. But my overall vote goes to Cocobay. x

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I've never heard of Cocobay, god I'm not evening going to look I can't make a decision as it is lol.

I think it's hard because there are so many good tans out there and you want to get it right but until you've got customers you don't know what it is they want!

I've ordered my Brown Bitz (which is definitley my last sample) and then I will make a decision!!!!!!

temperleytan said:

phew...this is what I have sampled:
Fantasy Tan, Nouvatan, white to brown, Sienna x, Minx, Bella d'ora, cocobay, laurens way, xen tan, and loads more!!
I have settled with Cocobay, out of all the tans this was the most popular with clients as the fade off was very natural. I did initially start out with Sienna X but the products are so expensive. Bella D'ora 10% also gives a lovely honey colour though, I like using that on myself and its also quite popular at my tanning room. But my overall vote goes to Cocobay. x

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Where did you get coco bay from, cant find out where it's from, i like to try everything lol.xx Is it good colour and fade off?