My Honest Review of 13 Different Self Tanners

The long awaited post about how I get tanner skin! The idea for the post came alive last summer when I found myself avoiding sun damage by seeking self tanning products instead of the sun. I’m a firm believer in using SPF and sun protection all the time. However, the ideal look for me is freshly bronzed, “just got off an island somewhere”. After hearing about the horrible damage UV rays can have on our skin, especially speeding up the aging process, I decided to achieve my glow from self-tanners that did the same work. Initially, I started the project without taking notes. As a special education teacher, I should have known better and started by keeping track of metrics and data! The project was started over, this time with a more organized system of rating the products, and thus, we are finally here with the finished product of my self tanner review!

Easiest to Use Self Tanner Product

Tansium Proactive (for face)

Most people might pass-by this product because of the store it’s located in. Not many would trust using a self tanner lotion from WalMart! However, Tansium Proactive wins the award for ease of use. The product also comes in as the lowest price of $14. Scoring an 10/10 in ease of use and 9/10 in the evenness of coverage, and a 9/10 in quickness to dry! The biggest negative about this product is that is has a strong scent of self tanner.

Norvell Venetian Gradual Self Tanner

The reason that this tanning product makes it to one of the easiest to use is because it can be used to extend the life of your tan! It scored all sevens in the ease of use, evenness, and drying ability. Although these are pretty average numbers, scoring a 6 in the color allows for the product to be used on top of a previous tan. The scent is a 4/10 and the tan lasts about four days.

Self Tanners with the Most Even Coverage

NKD SKN Pre-shower Gradual Tan

This self tanner lotion is unlike many of the others because of when you apply it! The gradual tanner sits and develops for 10-15 minutes before you are in the shower. Basically, it develops to a level 5 tan and the cream gets washed off your skin in a usual shower. The tan shows up 4-8 hours later. Due to the nature of washing off, the evenness and ease of use both come in at a 7/10. The good news, this product is under $20!

Self Tanners that Dry Quickly

St. Tropez Gradual Tinted Moisturizer (Face)

When it comes to self tanning products for your face, you have to choose wisely! I am always on the lookout for a great face tanner because they can really be hit or miss in terms of color, evenness, and not causing breakouts. This particular facial self tanner comes in the form of a moisturizing cream. It ranks 6/10 in smell, meaning it isn’t bad, but it isn’t a lovely scent either. Even though it is meant as a moisturizer, I found that I needed to add more of my own (non-tanning) cream into the mix in order to get this product spread out evenly. Due to this, and the guiding color being quite dark, I give it a 7/10. The good news is that once you use this self-tanner, you will look instantly bronzed since the guiding color has a dark purple undertone that dries quickly in under 3 min. This will give you a 6/10 tan.

St. Tropez Gradual Tan 1 Min

This tanning product was introduced to me in the summer of 2018. Before then, I had never heard the concept of pre-shower tanners! You apply the cream before you jump in the shower, allow for it to develop for one minute, and then wash it off. The smell is a 7/10 (not bad at all), the product goes on evenly getting a 10/10. You will have an instant tan (since this only develops for a minute before being washed off). However, I found that the tan level was only a 2. This product would best be used to extend the life of a tan you already have!~

Coola Sunless Tan Luminizing Body Serum

Recently, Coola came out with their new Luminizing Body Serum that is applied with a Kabuki brush. I am familiar with using a powder makeup brush on my wrists and ankles for an even tone, but this was the first time I used a brush to apply product on my entire body. Since this gives such a subtle (but believable) color, it scored 4/10 on the tan level. I would definitely recommend it for fair to medium skin tones. The product goes on fairly evenly (scoring 9/10) when using the brush, but it is hard to see where it was already applied because their isn’t a dark guiding color. In order to cover your entire body, you will have to use a lot of the lotion because it doesn’t give a lot of coverage per pump, ranking is a 5/10 on ease of use. Unfortunately, the smell of self tanner is strong in this product, ranking it a 5/10. The product dries quickly! BONUS: this product can be used on your face too!

Self Tanning Products with the Best Scent

Drunk Elephant Anti-Pollution Sunshine Serum (face)

This particular self-tanner has an interesting concept involved with it. Drunk Elephant separated the lotion and oil base of the tanner, and when you apply the three of them together, it is supposed to give a moisturizing, bronzy glow. Unfortunately, the three product mixed together feel heavy and were not my favorite. I tried out the bronzer with one of my other moisturizers and found that to work a bit better. It doesn’t have a smell, which is wonderful! Level 4 tan.

Coola Sunless Tan Firming Lotion

This was the first self-tanner that I ever tried. It is the product that converted me to self-tanning at home! It will leave you with a 5/10 tan. The smell is an 8/10 (Coola products all have an almond smell), ease of use 10/10, and evenness is 10/10, 10/10 for drying. I would recommend this product to fair skin tones and newbies trying to learn the ropes.

Self Tanners with the Best Color

Coola Sunless Tan Sculpting Mousse

This Coola tanning product will leave you with a tan level of 9/10, but you will be sacrificing a bit along the way to get there. First of all, the smell is getting a rating of 4/10, and secondly, it takes 10 minutes to dry. If applied with a mitt, it gets an 8/10 on evenness. I love the color, but would definitely recommend this product to those that have moderate practice with self-tanners.

Most Bang-For-Your-Buck Self Tanner

NKD SKN Natural Gradient Lotion

This product needs to be applied with a mitt, but gets a 10/10 on the evenness scale! However, it’s a bit stinky and I rate the smell a 2/10. Don’t be alarmed when the product comes out green, this is so that you get a nice dark color and get an instant bronze. It feels nourished, isn’t sticky when dry (and dries in 5 min). 6/10 tan level.

Longest-Lasting Self Tanning Product

Norvell Venetian Self Tanning Mousse

Norvell is known for their gorgeous colored faux tans, and this product is no exception! While you’ll have a beautiful shade of color, it only ranks 6/10 on the darkness level of tan. The smell is strong, earning a 4/10. However, the product gives an instant tan and has a nice guiding color so that you know where you’ve already applied the mousse. It feels a bit sticky at first, but dries in 5 minutes.

Overall Best Self Tanner for Face

Coola Anti-Aging Face Serum

Just like the Coola body product, this was the first self-tanner I used on my face. I actually love the smell of this product (again, it’s almond-y) and score it a 10/10. After a few hours, you’ll smell a slight self-tanner, but it is subtle. The evenness scored a 9/10 and the product dries quickly. This is perfect for everyday use. Just put a few squirts of the serum in your moisturizer!

Norvell Venetian Self Tanning Mist For Face

Yet another product that has an almond smell to it, but eventually it grows a bit stronger yielding a 6/10 in the scent department. The product has a nice guiding color, but should definitely be applied with a makeup sponge, getting a 9/10 in evenness. the face mist also dries quickly! You’ll have an instant tan (purple, not orange) due to the bronzer in the product. Eventually, the tan level gets to a 7/10.

Overall Best Self Tanning Product for Body

Norvell Venetian Self Tanning Mousse and Coola Sunless Tan Firming Lotion (see above)

Hopefully, you already read about both the Norvell Venetian Self Tanning Mousse and Coola Sunless Tan Firming Lotion above! These two products are the overall winners in my book. They are my go-to when I am looking for a dark, even tan in a matter of hours. I love the purple undertone color the Norvell Venetian Self-Tanning Mousse gives. The Coola Sunless Tan Firming Lotion gets high scores in my book because of it is almost impossible to mess up and it can be applied in a hurry since it dries so quickly!

As a result of my love for glowing skin and knowledge of the damaging effects of the sun, I found a compromise with at-home self-tanning products. Furthermore, I hope when you look at me you can see that using self-tanners does not always result in an oompa loompa orange color that is so often talked about. Take this knowledge with you to festival season: use self-tanners to get brown and SPF to stay protected! Remember to take care of your skin because what you do to it now has a lasting impact.