Miley Cyrus has invested in self-tanning brand Dolce Glow, partnering with founder Isabel Vita.
Vita has become the most in-demand tanning artist in Hollywood, with clients who include Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez and Katy Perry. Cyrus began getting Vita’s custom services about three years ago. She’s in Dolce Glow, in fact, in the music video for her current hit “Flowers” and also turned to Vita for her bronzed look onstage during her New Year’s Eve special.
“Miley’s partnership could not have come at a better time for Dolce Glow,” said Vita, who began her tanning company in 2015 — launching professional products, then a line of at-home goods in 2021. “We did have some areas that we lacked in infrastructure and connections and opportunities. When Miley decided to do this, she immediately the next day had her team working on it. When I say she is one of the most involved, yet creative, hardworking partners that I’m around on a day to day [basis], I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
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This is the 30-year-old actress and pop star’s first brand investment, according to Cyrus’ team.
“She has companies that approach her every single day, either product or endorsement investment, and we’re talking worldwide huge brands, and she just won’t do it,” Vita went on. “But she looked at me, and she’s like, ‘You’re the type of brand, you’re the type of person I want to be involved with, I want to help grow.’ I think that says a lot about Miley.”
In an exclusive statement to WWD, Cyrus said: “I am an official partner in Dolce Glow because I truly love and trust this product. Its high-quality ingredients and flawless color make it a must for me. Dolce Glow aesthetically aligns with my new album ‘Endless Summer Vacation.’ I am so excited to make my ‘glow’ accessible for my fans and support a female-founded company.”
“We just hit it off,” Vita said of Cyrus. “She connected with my story.”
Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Vita didn’t have an easy start in life. And yet, self-made, she built the business on her own.
“I’m a former foster child, and at the age of 17, I left my foster home because things just weren’t great,” she explained. “And I remember working literally three jobs, Jack in the Box, a janitor cleaning bathrooms — I literally was just trying to make ends meet.”
She was renting a room in a stranger’s house for $300, she continued, “I was in a really dark place, just going through tons of trauma as a child and teenager and didn’t know what my life was going to look like.”
She was 20 when she got her first spray tan, which turned out to be a momentous experience: “It probably was the worst spray tan of my life, but what I can tell you is, the morning after I woke up, it gave me this immediate confidence. It was this inner glow but an outer glow at the same that immediately took me out of this dark place and just made me feel good. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, what if I start spray tanning. The way it makes me feel I want other women to feel this way.’”
She used her last $2,000 to take a spray tanning class, she said, and became devoted to perfecting the craft. “My goal was to make my money back that I had spent on my class and my materials within the first month.”
Vita then had the idea of DM-ing the beauty community on Instagram, offering free tanning sessions.
“Because I came from literally nothing, I was like, the worst people could say to me was ‘no,’ right?” she said. “The first month I probably did, no joke, 200 free spray tans.”
Her big break came after a visit from Ariel Tejada, Jenner’s longtime makeup artist.
“Within two days, I get a call from Kylie Jenner,” said Vita. “From that moment on, it was like a domino effect.”
Vita fills a gap in the market, she said, giving custom, hydrating tans with a natural, buildable glow that doesn’t feel sticky or smell off-putting. For those unable to buy her service, her products provide the same experience at home. (The company is also tapped into the professional world, hosting virtual classes that attract a global audience.)
A tan is a confidence booster, she said. “It minimizes the appearance of cellulite, because we all have it, varicose veins, blemishes.”
Dolce Glow — dermatologist-tested, vegan and cruelty-free — offers a self-tanning mist, mousse and lotion for about $50 each; the tan is left for six to eight hours, given a quick rinse, and lasts between seven and 14 days. It’s available at Nordstrom, where it launched; Neiman Marcus, as well as online at Saks Fifth Avenue and Revolve. It’s recently been picked up by Ulta.com and QVC, with two to five new products coming this year.
“It’s just crazy that Miley chose us out of millions and millions of opportunities that land on her lap every single day, and I’m just beyond grateful for just what she’s already done and how much she loves it and believes in it,” Vita said.
“I built this from scratch,” she said of the company — now a core team of about 10. “I wasn’t handed a check to start this. I literally figured it all out, charging up every credit card until they declined, literally two years ago.…Before we launched, every single one of my credit cards was declining. I maxed them out. But after launching, we literally made everything that we have pretty much invested. We pretty much made that back within our first month of sales.”
Pausing, she said, “I took a chance on myself.”