I love tanning.  I love laying out poolside with girlfriends and cocktails, I love stretching out under tanning beds' warm lamps in the middle of winter (call them Cancer Boxes all you want; you will not deter me), and I love self-tanning products.  Unlike most people (OK, everyone else I've ever met), I love the smell of self-tanners, I love the shimmer many companies throw in, and I love having a healthy glow.  When I received a sample pack from Tan Towel, I was excited to test it out.  Here's my review for all of you other glow junkies.

Included in my kit were packaged Exfoliator Cloths.  Exfoliation is the most important step in a good self-tan and these babies are not messing around.  I actually said "Ow" out loud the first time I rubbed one across my arm.  These would be great for the roughest part of your body, but you'll need a gentler exfoliator for your face and probably everything else except your elbows, knees, and feet.

I tried out my Tan Towels over the course of 2-3 weeks, after showering and drying off thoroughly.  The towels come in individual packs and were super easy to apply, much better than the spray bottles that shoot half the product onto your body and the other half onto the floor and walls, and better than the harsh gels I have to dilute with hand lotion so as not to turn completely orange.  A few hours after my first usage, I had a glow so intense it surprised me.  This product definitely takes less applications than most to apply and the color is only slightly more orange than a natural tan.  Layered over an existing real tan, this would give a fantastic boost.

As time went on, however, I learned that Tan Towel carries the usual self-tanner downsides.  The Tan Towel promises not to streak or to discolor knees and elbows.  Well, they are right about not staining elbows... because the stuff won't even color elbows, apparently.  After a few uses I noticed that my elbows were completely white in contrast with the rest of my arms.  I'm sure this could be avoided by more exfoliation on that area and purposeful application to such spots, but it still made me realize that the product wasn't as infallible as I first thought.  The same goes for streaking.  A friend's review of the product said, "You can't apply too much, but you can miss spots," and this was very accurate.  This is of course a human error, and my boyfriend is quick to laugh at me and point out the white lines on my arms are my own fault and not the company's.  Nonetheless, this particular annoyance does hinder Tan Towel from standing out among the competition.

Overall, I love that Tan Towels are convenient and drip-free, but the price - $58 gives maybe as many applications as the L'oreal Sublime bottle sitting on my bathroom sink - is way too steep for what they are.  If you're willing to pay sixty bucks for a tan, I recommend throwing in the towel on this product and instead buy a tanning package or a professional spray tan that is likely to be flawless.