James Read

James Read is a British sunless-tanning brand built around the work of James Read, a London-based tanning specialist who spent more than two decades in the self-tan industry before putting his name on a product line. The brand pairs self-tan with skincare ingredients and is run from London by Beauty Group London Ltd. Its current incarnation trades as Self Glow by James Read, the name adopted after the founder closed his original company and relaunched in 2024.

The lineage has two starting points, and sources disagree on which counts as the founding. Read launched his first eponymous range in 2012, an approach described as the first to combine skincare with self-tan [6]. After thirteen years he dissolved that company and introduced a new brand, Self Glow, in May 2024 — the business that the official site now represents. One trade interview dates the brand's founding to 2024, treating Self Glow as the brand proper [7], while the brand's own about page presents an unbroken story stretching across "over two decades" of the founder's career [1]. This article treats 2012 as the founding of the James Read product line and 2024 as the relaunch.

James Read began his career spray-tanning customers at a London department store for the tanning brand St Tropez more than twenty years ago. He built a reputation working with magazine editors and went on to count Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Ellie Goulding, Lara Stone, Lady Gaga and Rita Ora among early clients. Before the product line, he opened a standalone spray-tanning residency at the Sanderson Hotel and later the Studio by James Read at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.

Having established himself as one of the United Kingdom's better-known tanners, Read launched his own range in 2012 [6]. The company says he was the first to fuse skincare with self-tan, and credits him with several product firsts, including the BB Tan Pen, the Sleep Mask Tan, the Tantour Contour Palette and a water-based tan mist for the face. The business is registered as Beauty Group London Ltd, based at 84 Eccleston Square in London.

The original James Read Tan brand began on QVC UK, where the Sleep Mask Tan reportedly reached one million pounds in sales within a month [6]. From there the range expanded into Sephora in the United States and Canada, along with Saks, Bloomingdale's and Mecca in Australia. In 2013 the founder opened a tanning salon, the Studio by James Read, at Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.

After thirteen years trading as James Read Tan, the founder dissolved the company to start again, launching Self Glow by James Read in May 2024 [6]. Read has described the shift as a deliberate reset, saying the new brand "led with skincare, formulating it like a skin treatment first." In 2025 the brand introduced what it calls the world's first Self Glow Facials — professional sunless facials — debuting in Space NK stores and at The Hotel Chelsea in New York [7].

Self Glow by James Read is operated by Beauty Group London Ltd, a London company that handles the brand's trading and returns. The available sources record no outside acquisitions or sister brands; the business has remained tied to its founder across both the original James Read Tan venture and the present Self Glow operation.

The brand positions itself as skincare-first sunless tanning. On its about page it states that "skin comes first" and that it does not "believe in changing your skin, only enhancing it" [1]. Each formula, the company says, is built to work with the skin and adapt across different tones, and it frames the range as something that fits into an everyday skincare routine rather than a one-off cosmetic step. Self Glow describes its three guiding priorities as skincare, sustainability and inclusivity, and uses the trademarked line "A glow that isn't just seen, it's felt." In interviews tied to the relaunch, the founder has framed the brand as more than cosmetics — calling it "a daily ritual of empowerment, self-expression, and confidence" — and described a deliberately slow approach to releases, saying he will not launch anything "unless it's perfect" [7].

Inclusivity is presented partly as a formulation choice. Rather than the green or yellow colour guides common to self-tanners, the brand uses a natural cacao extract that it says warms the skin evenly across complexions. A "Glow Dial" printed on each product is meant to help users build a chosen depth of tan gradually — from a single application for subtle warmth to repeated use over several days for a deeper result. The brand suggests preparing the skin with an exfoliating cleanser and then layering the chosen product into a normal skincare routine. It states that its aim is to "redefine sunless tanning" by putting skincare, sustainability and inclusivity first, and presents the formulas as suitable for sensitive skin and wearable with or without makeup and sunscreen.

The current range is sold as a set of skincare-led tanning products for the face and body, combining the cacao-based colour guide with active and fermented ingredients. Named products include the First Light Tinted Tan Serum, the Sunrise to Sundown Tinted Tan Serum, the Sunbright Tinted Tan Drops, the overnight Dusk to Dawn facial and the Break of Dawn glow mask. Products are grouped by how quickly they develop, ranging from instant tints to gradual, build-over-time formulas, and several are designed to be worn overnight without transferring.

The Sleep Mask Tan, an overnight tan carried over from the original brand, is the product most often cited in coverage; it was featured in American Vogue and, on QVC UK, is reported to have passed one million pounds in sales in a single month. On ingredients, the company highlights plant-based DHA — the active that develops the tan — alongside hyaluronic acid, squalane, shea butter, apricot oil and fermented extracts of mushroom and aloe vera. It explains that its DHA is derived from renewable plant sugars such as sugar beet and sugar cane, and that the active reacts with amino acids in the skin's surface to build colour gradually, without sun exposure.

The brand also lists ingredients it says it avoids, among them parabens, sulfates, mineral oils, silicones and synthetic dyes. Several proprietary names appear in product copy, including a "Sharohyal Matrix" hydration complex and an ingredient the brand calls Synchronight, which it describes as clinically proven to reduce the appearance of crow's feet, boost hydration and improve the quality of sleep [3]. Its formulas are described as vegan and cruelty-free.

Sustainability is presented as part of the brand's stated ethos. On its sustainability page the company commits to "100% recycled and reusable plastic bottles and glass jars," responsible sourcing of ingredients from the United Kingdom and Europe, and reduced foil packaging for fuller recyclability. It says its packaging materials are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and the World Land Trust, and that its product boxes are made by Curtis, a company it identifies as B Corp certified [4]. The brand also describes using plant-based inks and recycled gold foil, and presents its packaging as designed alongside the formulas rather than as an afterthought.

Self Glow won the New Brand category at TheIndustry.beauty Awards in 2025, an award presented by the formulation and packaging firm Orean [7]. The brand cites press coverage including Vogue and The Sunday Times Style, and quotes Condé Nast Traveller calling one of its products a strong choice to take on holiday [2]. A reviewer for the retailer Space NK described its results as leaving the skin "looking so healthy with minimal effort required" [8]. The founder's roster of celebrity tanning clients, named in trade coverage, has been part of the brand's public profile since the original venture.

The brand is active. Its present form, Self Glow by James Read, relaunched in 2024 and has continued to add products and formats, including the Self Glow Facials introduced in 2025 and newer items such as the First Light TT Serum and Golden Nights Sleep Repair Tan Drops listed on its site. The official website carries a 2026 copyright and remains operational, and the company continues to sell through prestige retailers including Space NK [8].