Guide To The Best Self-Tanners

Origins The Great Pretender smells like orange and peppermint, not that gross smell most self tanners have. It instantly forms a dark-looking tan that works with your skin so you never look orange and out of place.

True cosmetics aficionados know the DuWop brand for its award winning pout plumper Lip Venom. Now they’ve thrown their hats in the self-tan ring with DuWop Revolotion SPF 15 , a foundation-like formula that goes on sheer and slightly shimmery and also has SPF 15 for sun protection.

$29

Xen-Tan has a bunch of different self-tanning formulas, all with the line’s signature olive undertones (this prevents that orangey hue dreaded by faux tan fearers). But of their Dark Tan family of products , the Xen-Tan Mist is the easiest to use and the hardest to goof up.

If you’re a tad less confident in your fake bake application technique, take advantage of build-a-tan technology. You less experienced tan-in-a-tubers should start here and build up to the big guns.

Clinique is famous for its clean, classic products, and Self-Sun Touch of Bronze Moisturizing Body Lotion is no exception. The feather-light formula is close in texture and spreadability to Clinique’s yellow moisturizer.

Crisp, refreshing and packed with skin-friendly botanicals, Liz Earle Sun Shade Botanical Self-Tan Spray is like a spa date that ends in a suntan. With good-for-you ingredients like aloe vera, rosewood, vitamin E, and tree moss, Sun Shade couldn’t be more opposite of damaging UV rays.

If you’ve got a friend to fake tan with, there’s nothing better than Sex Symbol Aerotan Instant Temporary Tanning Spray. This glittery-glam aerosol can of self-tanner most closely replicates what you’d get in one of those fancy spray-tan booths, and once it’s on, it’s on for good—there’s little time for rubbing, blotting or blending.

Too Faced Tanning Bed In A Tube definitely wins the prize for best packaging. This funky, shine-infused sunless tanner has the grooviest golden tube, complete with swirly flowers and a silhouette of a beachy beauty.

A summer wardrobe stacked with short shorts and hiked hemlines calls for a little leg reinforcement. Get a gleam on your way out the door by slicking on Tarte Glam Gams Leg Bronzing Stick, a shimmery stick with a delivery method not unlike deodorant.

The ingenious bottle for Aveeno’s Continuous Radiance Moisturizing Lotion is split right down the middle, with soy-based moisturizer in one chamber and tanning agents in the other. Customize the deepness of your tan by twisting a dial at the top.

Hey, we all make mistakes, but with Clinique’s Self Sun Airbrush spray, tanning mistakes are few and far between. It’s super easy–the continuous spray is light and develops gradually over an hour; the whole color develops over 24 hours. Plus, it’s oil-free so it doesn’t clog pores.

“Hemp” and “Silicone” don’t have the best connotations, but when combined in SunSauce Moisturizing Sunless Bronzer with Hemp, they’re a power couple not to be taken lightly. Arguably the smoothest sunless tanner we tested, SunSauce is ultra-creamy and delivered a deep tan after only one application.