A reflective life jacket includes a buoyant body suitably sized and shaped for fitting over an upper thoracic cavity of a user. The apparatus further includes a plurality of disposable stacked reflective strips positioned along selected regions of the body and a mechanism for removably affixing the reflective strips to the body such that an exposed one of the reflective strips contiguously lays along a top surface of the body while a reserved one of the reflective strips lays beneath the top surface and remains hidden from ambient light. The apparatus further includes a water impermeable layer abutted directly to the diaphragm and removably housed within the cavity for preventing undesirable fluids and debris from penetrating through the cavity and contacting the reserved reflective strip seated beneath the water impermeable layer.