I have always been a sunshine girl—a lifelong beach lover who probably spent far too many years chasing the perfect tan.

As I began noticing what all that time in the sun was doing to my skin, I started looking for a better way to get the color I loved without the damage. That search led me to spray tanning, and what began as a personal interest eventually became something I genuinely loved.

In 2017, I moved from the U.S. to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and that chapter of my life changed everything. I founded SunKissed Playa and began working with clients from around the world, while continuing my education and training in professional sunless tanning.

Over the years, working hands-on with so many different clients taught me that a beautiful tan is about much more than simply making someone darker. Undertones matter. The formula matters. How the color develops and fades matters. And most importantly, you should still look like yourself—just with an incredible glow.

That experience is what ultimately led me to create Solea.

I wanted products that combined the things I had come to value most as a professional: sophisticated color, beautiful natural-looking results, skin-conscious ingredients and an experience that felt elevated from beginning to end.

Although I no longer live in Playa del Carmen, Mexico remains an important part of my story and the story behind Solea. What began there as a love for helping people feel beautiful has grown into a much bigger vision for what sunless beauty can be.

Solea is incredibly personal to me. I didn’t create it simply to put another tanning brand into the world. I created the products I wanted to use on my clients—and the ones I wanted to use myself.

And after all these years, I’m still a sunshine girl. I’ve just found a better way to glow.

-- Laura Carrizales, Founder, SunKissed Playa