Ania Majdan

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 Photograph: Leah Glynn 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