Adventurous entrepreneur levels up the spray tan industry.
Avid reality TV fans may recognize Julie McGee from her time as a contestant on Survivor: San Juan del Sur back in 2014, but in Atlanta, she’s known as the Spray Tan Queen.
The owner of True Glow Bronzing & Beauty Bar, McGee began her entrepreneurial journey in 2009 after the real estate market crash forced her to pivot from her career as a realtor. “I was 27 and had just purchased my first home, so I had to figure out a way to pay my mortgage,” she shares. “I have always loved spray tanning, so I got my business license and started going door to door with a mobile spray tan business.” That was in Athens, and at the beginning of spray tanning’s popularity, so while McGee was able to start her business, she wasn’t connecting with the right clientele.
So a few months into her business journey, McGee moved to Atlanta and began to make a name for herself with both her passion for tanning and her skill. “From the start, I stayed at the cutting edge of every technique and provided services no one else in town did,” she says. From her approach to blending the color on the hands and feet to being one of the first studios in the city to introduce drying powder after a spray tan session, McGee has a reputation for being at the forefront of tanning trends.
McGee also dabbled in acting after her stint on Survivor, and through conversations in makeup trailers, she developed a business spray tanning film industry A-Listers to get them perfectly bronzed for their roles. “It was like going back to my mobile tanning days,” she says. “I’d roll up to a hotel or rental home and find myself spraying the likes of Michael Douglas or Queen Latifah.”
In September of 2023, McGee moved into a larger space in the heart of Buckhead and expanded her team and services. “I train all my sprayers and only work with the best,” McGee says. “I pride myself on my reputation. A True Glow tan has to be perfect!”
She also has a retail shop and offers other body services. These include a full body exfoliation, but since spray tanning pros know you are supposed to exfoliate 24 hours before your tan, McGee has developed a system of closing the pores after the service. “We use hot towels to open the pores and help break up any old solution before exfoliating, and then we use a natural toner and ice roller (created and developed by McGee) to close the pores. Everything I offer is unique and has an incredible amount of thought behind it,” she says. Other services are non-invasive body contouring with a Lipo Laser, teeth whitening and eyelash extensions.
McGee now juggles her business with motherhood as she has two preschoolers. She’s also in the manufacturing phase of a patent-pending tool she says will change the industry. Anyone who has visited True Glow recently has seen it in action: The applicator flawlessly applies finishing powder to your spray tan in seconds. “My tool is something every spray tan studio and mobile spray tanner needs,” says McGee. “I’m going to be selling BloGlo to tanners around the world.”
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