What are the best self-tanners on the market? I have tried an entire array of them, and the lesson I have walked away with is this: don’t waste your money buying the most expensive ones! Because believe it or not, you will find that the drugstore tanners are just as good, if not better, than department store ones. Let me discuss with you the ones I have tried and how they rate in terms of color, streaking, resistance to fading, and smell. Read further for great information!
Sunless Tanners for Body
Savage Bronzer: 3.5 stars
You can buy this product at Sally’s Beauty Supply and it comes as a mousse. It gives a great chocolate-y brown color; however, it fades away too quickly! And also, the smell reminds me of a wet poodle, and to be honest, it’s a bit repulsive. If you can get past the smell, and don’t mind reapplying often, you’ll find that for its price, it offers an unbelievably great color.
L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Lotion in Deep: 4 stars
This is a great self-tanner! The color is a nice dark brown and you even get an instant dark glow when you put it on. I love the shimmery effect! The smell isn’t horrendous, and is quite tolerable. I guess one con this product has is that it takes a long time for it to dry. I would recommend wearing shorts, and then slathering it on your legs and then go about your business with minimal contact. Within a few hours, you’ll have a nice brown tan. I haven’t had any problems with streaking with this one.
Fake Bake Self-Tanning Lotion: 4.5 stars
This gave me a great golden tan. It’s a bit pricey compared to the other ones, but I could tell that the quality is really good. At first you’ll look a bit muddy, but after you shower, you’ll love the color you get. There isn’t much of a repelling smell, so I find that it’s worth the extra money.
Neutrogena MicroMist Tanning in Medium (Two Shades Darker): 4 stars
This comes as an aerosol spray, and it dries so quickly! I love this quality, for I despise having to stand around waiting for my self-tanner to dry. Keep the bottle a half-foot away from your body to ensure that you don’t get any awful streaks. This is amazingly easy to apply and I actually like the color a lot! I was surprised, as I haven’t really liked Neutrogena self-tanners in the past. Plus, I like the one that says “Three Shades Darker” even better. The color is really good.
Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun for Body: 4.5 stars
This dries quickly, which is good. However, it dries so quickly that sometimes I’ll forget to rub it in. So now that I do it in sections, I have no problems with streakiness. In fact, it’s one of the most even self-tanners that I’ve ever tried and it has a great golden brown color! Plus, the smell is actually not bad. It smells of musky vanilla, which I actually love. That self-tanner smell hardly comes through. It claims to last 7 whole days, which is impossible to replicate in real life since we shave our legs, experience clothing friction, and take showers and/or baths. With so much activity, the color is bound to fade. However, it lasted a good 4 to 5 days on me. Plus, it faded rather evenly. This may be my favorite so far. It’s cheap (if you get it on sale; otherwise, it’s $9.99), easy to apply and relatively long-lasting.
Gradual Tanners
These are daily body moisturizers that promise a tanned glow in less than a week with continual usage. These are relatively new on the market right now, and offer the convenience of skin-softening properties with the addition of darker skin. Usually, these have less of that distinctive self-tanner stench, and also pose less of a risk of streaking or orange discoloration.
Jergens Natural Glow: 3 stars
At first the smell is a bit redolent of tropical beaches, but after it begins to develop, you will probably notice the self-tanner smell intensifying. It’s the slightest bit shimmery and that helps enhance the tan. The shimmers are not garish at all and one would have to look very closely to even be able to discern them. The tan was nice and even with no streaks and no orange tint. With daily usage, I was able to maintain a natural and totally believable tan. However, you have to keep using it every day, or it fades rather quickly. It’s a rather moisturizing lotion, so at least it keeps up that end of the deal. All in all, I feel that there are better ones out there, especially considering how strong this smell is. And let me add that I realize that in natural light, it makes me quite orange.
Hawaiian Tropic Island Glow Daily Moisturizer: 4.5 stars
Unbelievable! The smell is great, light and even aromatherapeutic! The color, though slightly orange, is quite amazing and not streaky at all. It’s much better than Jergen’s! I used the medium and I liked it better than the light. If anything, get it for the smell! Actually, the smell reminds me of green tea. It certainly beats smelling like self-tanner.
Olay Radiance Reviver (or Touch of Sun): 4 stars
This gave me a nice, subtle color. It smells like vanilla. I was looking for something darker and more dramatic, but if you simply want a skin-tone enhancer, then this would be great for you!
Facial Self-Tanner
These ones are especially formulated for the face, and usually claim to be non-comedogenic.
Jergens Natural Glow– Face: 2 stars
The smell was quite atrocious, the color nearly non-existent and I suspect that it did clog my pores! Plus, it’s not even moisturizing! Not good at all.
L’Oreal Sublime Bronze Dual Action Bronzer and Self-tanning Lotion: 3 stars
This gives you an instant bronze– nice! However, once you wash it off, you don’t get much of a color. I got a breakout from it, so I wouldn’t recommend it for acne-prone and oily complexions. It made my face feel really gross and greasy, and the color pay-off wasn’t even worth it.
Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun for Face: 4.5 stars
This is the exact same formulation as the one for the body! This also dries quickly and gives me a nice golden brown color. The musky vanilla smell, which I actually love, might be overpowering for the face. Sometimes too much fragrance is not good for the face. However, I have not had any problems with breakouts, allergic reactions or irritations. This is the only one Ifll use for my face. It lasts pretty long too. If you exfoliate once every two days, this will still last 3 or 4 days, which is great considering the lasting power of other facial self-tanners on the market.
Don’t go on feeling dissatisfied with your skin tone! Get rid of that winter pallor! Get into the spirit of summer. If you’re thinking of going to the tanning salon or basking in the sun, stop yourself. Get yourself a self-tanner and you won’t have to worry about getting cancer or other skin problems associated with the sun further on down the road.
