Bangor business owner, YouTuber team up to create self-tanner

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - While she was working in Los Angeles, Jess Stuart gave spray tans to athletes, late-night talk show guests, and movie stars.

Now that she’s back home in Maine, Stuart is partnering with a local celebrity to give anyone a Hollywood glow at home.

“Last year, I had all of these brides that had come in to see me, and I had all kinds of people that were traveling from out of state and they kept saying, ‘I wish I could get your color back home,’” Stuart said.

Stuart, who owns Glowgetters Custom Spray Tans in Downtown Bangor, started looking for a self-tanner she could recommend for her clients to use at home.

When she couldn’t find one she liked, she made her own.

“I went to like four or five different companies with labs and stuff like that to make one. I had a million samples sent to me,” Stuart said.

Finally, Jess got the formula she liked.

“I was like, ‘This is it,’” she said.

Her inspiration for the shade comes from Bangor-area social media influencer Rylee Jade.

“I’ve had so many people come into the salon and say, ‘I want to look like Rylee Jade’s tan. I want Rylee Jade’s tan,’” Stuart said.

Between YouTube and Instagram, Miss Rylee Jade has nearly 100,000 followers.

It was the ideal collaboration for Jess. First, she needed Rylee to say yes.

“When I messaged her, you know, she was like, ‘I’ll try it. No promises, and I’ll tell you if I don’t like it,’” Stuart said. “And then I dropped it off at her house, and I waited, like, you know, two days, and then she messaged me, and she’s like, ‘I’m in.’”

“This formulation is the exact formulation that she uses on me when I go get my professional spray tans done by her, and the color is incredible,” Rylee said in a recent YouTube video. “It’s something I’m very proud of and very excited to be sharing with you guys.”

Rylee Jade by Glowgetter officially launched Tuesday morning. Jess says her website was briefly overwhelmed, and she’s grateful for all the support after a year of hard work.

“I’m very happy, very satisfied,” Stuart said with a laugh.

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