words by Yvette Willison Rock
On these grey and rainy Melbourne days, the crisp taste of gin and tonic, the rich smell of sunscreen and that feeling of warm summer sun on your now-heavily-covered bare skin seem but distant memories. We leave for work every morning and return each evening in the dark, feeling like we are practically nocturnal. Red wine becomes our self-medicating answer to seasonal affective disorder.
While we have months of this ahead of us yet, thankfully just two minutes out of your day is all it takes to bring back a glimpse of summer. The LMM team was recently invited to try a two minute tan from Glow Station, using their automated, bronzer-free tanning process. It made us feel like a healthy, radiant, sun-kissed goddess once more.
What to expect
There are no bright, unflattering fluoro lights or intimidating treatment rooms in the very chic Glow Station tan salon. When you visit for a treatment, you’re led to a cubicle where you strip off in privacy, follow your pre-spray instructions (think: barrier cream, shower cap, stick-on feet) push “green” for go and then step into the tanning machine to embrace your two minute fake tan future. You can have a good chuckle as you practice your Dance Dance Revolution moves while guided by a female American narrator telling you to ‘step right’ four times, ensuring you’re sprayed evenly.
The fact that you’re not being sprayed by a person does make getting your fake tan a more private, relaxing experience. If you haven’t tried an auto-spray machine before, the initial ‘whooshing’ sound resembles a light aircraft taking off in close vicinity while the particles in the air can leave a sour taste in your mouth if you don’t time your breathing very well. Our tip: take a deep breath in, hold, and breathe out as the stream runs over your face.
The result
The good thing about a two minute tan at Glow Station is that the product itself is clear and doesn’t leave you feeling sticky. It also won’t leave orange marks on your clothes when you get dressed, or on your bed sheets later on. Coverage and colour are natural and of a high standard – even my fake-tan-skeptic man-friend was impressed.
If you’ve got a special occasion coming up, or simply want to deny the presence of winter, a two-minute tan at Glow Station might be just that glimpse of summer you need.
And don’t worry; no counting Mississippi’s are required.
Glow Station
Shop 17A, 108 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Lovely Yvette was a guest at Glow Station for LMM, to try the two minute tan and share it with the good folk of Melbourne. Take that, Winter.