Where to get a spray tan in Paris
(and how to choose)

Whether you're visiting Paris, living here for a while or in town for Fashion Week, there are a few ways to get a tan without the sun: a professional spray tan, an automatic booth, or a self-tanner you apply yourself. They don't give the same result, and they don't cost the same. There's no single best spray tan in Paris: it depends on the result you want, your budget and where you're staying. Here's how to find your way around.

Spray tan, booth or self-tanner: what's the difference?

All three work the same way: a product applied to the skin colours its outermost layer. No sun, no UV. What changes is how the product is applied.

• A professional spray tan. A spray tan artist applies the solution as a fine mist, using a spray gun. Before she starts, she looks at your skin tone and undertone, and you choose the shade and depth together. She works zone by zone, taking extra care with the areas that catch colour easily (hands, feet, elbows, knees, neck and face), and guides you through the positions so nothing is missed. In Paris, you can find it at some beauty salons (what the French call an institut de beauté, a place for facials, waxing and body treatments), at private beauty studios, or with mobile spray tan artists who come to you. ambree offers both: studio sessions in the 9th arrondissement, and mobile sessions anywhere in Paris.
• The automatic booth. You step into a booth fitted with nozzles that spray the product over your body, while a voice or a screen tells you how to stand and when to turn. On French booking sites, it's usually listed as douche autobronzante, often in tanning salons. It's designed to be quick: there are usually two standard shades, often medium and dark, with no adjustment for your skin tone and no particular attention to the areas that mark easily.
• Fake tan at home. A mousse or lotion you apply yourself, by hand or with a mitt. It's handy for a quick glow when you don't have time to book. But a good result takes practice, both in how you apply it and in finding the right product: there are many on the market, and they don't all give the same colour or finish. Some areas, like your back, are hard to reach on your own, and without practice, hands, ankles and knees streak easily.

If you're staying in a hotel or a rental. A mobile spray tan artist can come to your room with all her equipment, usually including a pop-up tent so the room stays protected. You don't have to get dressed again or take the metro while the tan develops. It's how every ambree mobile session works.

What can make a sunless tan go wrong

• No exfoliation before the session. The colour fades quickly and unevenly, in patches.
• Moisturiser on the day. It forms a barrier on the skin and stops the product from adhering.
• The wrong shade. The result looks orange or unnatural.
• Uneven application. It leaves streaks or missed areas.

Five things to check before you choose

1. The shade. Is the same shade used for everyone, or is it matched to your skin? One solution doesn't give the same result on two different skins.
2. The consultation. Does someone take the time to look at your skin and ask what result you want before starting? If you don't speak French, check that the session can be in English. At ambree, sessions are in English or French.
3. The products. You can ask what's in them. ambree uses clean and vegan formulas.
4. The place. Salon, private studio, home or hotel: it's a question of comfort. With a mobile session, you don't have to get dressed and travel while the product sets.
5. The advice, before and after. Are you told how to prepare when you book? What to do while the tan develops, and how to look after it afterwards?

How much does a spray tan cost in Paris?

The prices below are all for the same service: full body and face.

At ambree, a full body and face spray tan is €50 at the studio: see the studio prices in Paris 9th.

Mobile sessions start from €120 at home. The exact price depends on where you are: enter your address (your hotel, your Airbnb or your home) in the estimate tool, and it works out a price based on the time the booking takes, travel included. The final price is then confirmed with you.

When to book

A session takes 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the areas you choose, from a single zone to full body and face. Afterwards, wait 6 to 8 hours before your first shower. The colour develops gradually and is fully there after about 24 hours. Hair removal is best done 48 hours before.

• Before an event, a shoot or a show: ideally two to three days before, so the colour has time to settle. The day before at the latest. If you're in Paris for Fashion Week or an event, the ambree Events page explains how mobile sessions are organised.
• At short notice: you can sometimes book in the morning for a session later that day, depending on availability. Just keep in mind the result is fully visible 24 hours later.
• For a first time: choose a period with nothing at stake, to see how your skin takes it.

Questions to ask before you book

• Is it applied by a spray tan artist or in a booth?
• How is the shade chosen?
• What should I do before the session, and how long before?
• How long should I wait before my first shower?
• What's in the product?
• Can the session be in English?
• How do I pay?

Booking with ambree

ambree sessions take place at a studio in the 9th arrondissement (Paris is divided into 20 numbered districts) on Wednesdays, by appointment only, or at your home or hotel anywhere in Paris, on request. Sessions are in English or French, and payment is in cash only.

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

• Studio prices, Paris 9th
• Mobile spray tan, at home or at your hotel
• Spray tan for Fashion Week and events
• The ambree brand