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[title]Summer has come and gone, so you might be thinking that your opportunity to get a natural sun-kissed glow has passed, too – especially if you've had bad experiences with self-tanners leaving your skin streaky, stinky and orange. We get it, but there are some fabulous products out there, and to help you out, our team risked looking like Oompa Loompas to separate the wheat from the chaff.
We trialled products from Spray Aus, St Tropez, Isle of Paradise, Three Warriors and EleEffect – scroll for before and after photos and read about factors like ease of application, scent, longevity and colour outcome.
Spray Aus Clear Self-Tan Mousse
Leah Glynn, Melbourne editor
Ease of application: I used the Spray Aus mitt and it was the perfect buff for applying the thick and fluffy mousse. Despite my husband (and go-to tanning support person) being unavailable, I still managed to evenly apply the tan to some hard-to-reach sections of my back – mostly because the mousse spread so smoothly. The only tricky part is because the tan solution is clear, you can’t actually see on your skin where you’ve applied it. This leaves you at risk of missing spots or creating streaks, but I just made sure I was super thorough in my application: when in doubt, just go over your skin again with another layer.
How did it feel on your skin: Really nice and light; I’ve been fake tanning (both at home and in-salon) for years now, and hate anything that leaves my skin feeling sticky, wet or slimy. This tan dried super quick, so much so I was able to pop my white (yes, you read that right!) dress on within 45 minutes of application. I wasn’t worried about leaving residue on my clothes or furniture, because the tan truly felt as though it had soaked into my skin. And in case you were wondering, there wasn’t a tan mark to be seen when I took my dress off.
Colour outcome: If it’s a sun-kissed goddess vibe you’re going for, this is the tan that delivers. The bronze hue was rich and streak-free, and there was no hint of an orange undertone to be seen. Best of all, the colour started appearing within an hour of application. I ended up leaving it on for ten hours before showering – probably a little bit longer than recommended – but the results were near-perfect.
Was there a smell: I got the faintest whiff of a scent, but it wasn’t that typical sweaty smell (if you’re a frequent tan fan you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about) you might normally associate with other self-tan products. With aloe vera and native kakadu plum as key ingredients, the mousse had a light and natural scent that – dare I say – was actually really pleasant.
How long did it last: The overall glow lasted a solid week, and I wasn’t even sticking to my usual post-tan routine of frequent moisturising (shameful, I know). As I entered the second week it got a teeny bit patchy, but that’s to be expected. With the right aftercare routine, I would expect the tan to last at least ten days – now that’s impressive.
Rating: 9.5/10
Eleffect The Tan
Ania Majdan, social media executive
Ease of application: I won't lie – I wasn't sure if I wanted to participate in this experiment. I had never used self-tan before, but as the product says, good things happen to babes who tan, so I took up the challenge. It turned out to be a straightforward process, even for me, a newbie in a self-tan world. I exfoliated the day before, and the soft mitt helped to apply the mouse evenly onto my body. As per the instructions, I repeated the procedure twice to get a deeper tan. The whole process took me about 15 minutes.
How did it feel on your skin: I hate sticky body lotions and knew I couldn't shower for at least four hours to get the tan right. It was a little bit sticky initially, but then it absorbed into my skin. After I showered, my skin was pleasingly soft and hydrated.
Colour outcome: I had never been so tanned before, and I really liked it! I thought it would be a disaster and I would look like an orange carrot, but it was a light brown colour, almost like I had just holidayed in LA. Best of all, I received good feedback from people.
Was there a smell: It was a mixture of rose oil (apparently roses from LA) and a specific self-tan odour.
How long did it last: I enjoyed this beautiful tan for about a week. What I didn't enjoy was that after a week, I could notice different colours on my skin. I probably should have topped up (already a self-tan addict, clearly).
Rating: It's a strong 8/10. I will definitely use it again.
Three Warriors Tanning Mousse
Saffron Swire, arts and culture editor
Ease of application: You can’t go wrong with a good mousse, and this quick-drying and easy-to-apply tan does what it says on the tin (and this is coming from someone who had tan dysmorphia at university that left her 50 shades of orange). After taking a much-needed hiatus, it was time (for the sake of fellow recovering tanoholics and the Time Out readership) to put the Three Warriors mousse to the test. After exfoliating the night before, I dispensed a fair amount of the mousse into my mitt and rubbed it all over in circular motions, which felt pretty seamless.
How it felt on my skin: Free of nasty preservatives, chemicals and toxins, the tanning mousse felt light and non-sticky.
Colour outcome: I left the tan on overnight for eight hours, and it must be said I woke up in a mad panic. I had a very deep tan, and there were noticeable streaks; a price to pay for my lax application the night prior. However, once I had washed it all off, I was left with a naturally tan complexion and, get this, my bedsheets were left unscathed?! For those who want a light hint of a glow, Three Warriors recommend leaving it on for 1.5 hours.
Smell: Apparently, the smell in the Three Warriors products is a combination of lime oil and vanilla fruit extract, but it smelt more like a coca-cola Espresso Martini to me – and who can complain about that?
How long did it last: It lasted for a solid week.
Rating: 8/10
St Tropez Luxe Whipped Crème Mousse
Ashleigh Hastings, branded content writer
Ease of application: The bottle is reminiscent of a hair mousse bottle i.e. you have to shake it and then hold it fully upside down to get the mousse to dispense properly. The guide colour was easy to see, but the formula was thick. This meant I needed to use a fair bit of elbow grease to blend away streaks with a tanning mitt.
How did it feel on your skin: The mousse felt lovely and moisturising when it first spread across my skin, likely thanks to the hydrating hyaluronic acid on the ingredients list. There wasn’t too much stickiness as it dried, either.
Colour outcome: The tan produced was quite deep (by my standards) and evenly distributed, apart from some patchiness on a few dry areas – that’s probably on me for not moisturising or exfoliating thoroughly enough. The colour is a tad on the orange side, but we’re nowhere near Dorrito territory.
Was there a smell: The mousse had a pleasant, clean smell that I enjoyed, however it did morph into a typical tan smell as it developed on my skin.
How long did it last: This tan stuck around at full strength for around four days before fading gracefully until around ten days.
Rating: 7/10
St Tropez Self Tan Express
Joshua Hauville, account executive
Ease of application: The application was seamless. The product came with a cute little mitt and I enjoyed caressing the foamy, tanny goodness into my formerly pasty skin. It further allowed space for some serious household bonding, as I demanded that my housemate undertake the joyous task of lathering up my back and hard-to-reach places, which she found equally as easy and straightforward.
How did it feel on your skin: As a first-time tan-applier, my expectations were a big fat zero. However, it felt surprisingly smooth and even nourishing for my skin. The manly body hair covering my arms, chest and legs did not interfere with the application and I was streak-free – yay!
Colour outcome: I had a gorgeous holiday-ready glow, not too obvious to be fake, not too faint to be unnoticeable. Friends commented on my tan with an undertone of jealousy, suspicious that I was leading a leisurely lifestyle rife with beach-side staycations. But they were sadly mistaken: it was the mere illusion of St Tropez.
Was there a smell: There was not not a smell, but I didn't notice a bad smell, just a slight hint of miscellaneous skin product.
How long did it last: The tan lasted approximately four to five days at the original tanning colour. I didn't even notice as it faded, given that the fade was natural and non-streaky.
Rating: 9/10. I may have been converted to a fake tan king. (I would give a ten, but I have nothing to compare it to, apart from the botched self-tans I have seen on other people's skin).
Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Butter
Adena Maier, lifestyle editor
Ease of application: I consider my beauty routine to be pretty low maintenance, so when it comes to self-tanning products, I’m a huge fan of gradual tanning lotions. This tanning butter is thick like a lotion, making it easy to spread across my body. However, the packaging wasn’t my favourite; the bottle isn’t super flexible, making it hard to squeeze and disperse an adequate amount of product without using significant force.
How did it feel on your skin: The butter is like a thick lotion, so it feels really nourishing and moisturising on the skin. Despite its thickness, it dries really quickly and after about a half-hour, I forgot I even had any product on; I just felt well-moisturised.
Colour outcome: It took two applications for me to get to the colour outcome that I wanted, but that’s pretty typical of a gradual tanning lotion. No brassiness or orange tones, just a nice deep bronze. To get the result above, I exfoliated and shaved the day before and then reapplied two days after the original application. Bonus: I went to an all-white outfit party after round two and there was no colour transfer.
Was there a smell: The scent was a bit stronger than I like, with hints of coconut and eucalyptus that were almost a bit medicinal – but it wasn't terrible.
How long did it last: With two applications, the deep colour that I achieved lasted around a week before fading, and fading was streak-free.
Rating: 7/10