I tested instant fake tans – the best was just £7 & wipes floor with expensive brands… pals thought I’d been on holiday
THE sun may finally be out but this unpredictable British weather has been dampening hopes of beautifully bronzed skin.
The good news is that you don’t need to go abroad to get a glistening tan because you can get it out of a bottle – and many Brits have been doing just that.
Sales of tanning products shot up 16 per cent in June, to a staggering £2.3million a day.
While there are a lot of expensive brands out there, some of the cheaper fakes are just as good.
Hayley Minn – often referred to as “Casper” by friends because of her pale skin – headed to Boots to test eight fake tans for under £15.
Incredibly, she found the best were among the cheapest…
Cocoa Brown 1 Hour Tan Mousse – 150ml, £7.99
Although Cocoa Brown isn’t technically instant tan, it may as well be.
As soon as I put it on my stomach, it looked a gorgeous bronze colour that I was very happy with.
I was actually quite scared it was going to get too dark, seeing as the bottle says it takes an hour to develop, but I needn’t have worried.
What I really liked was how easy it was to apply evenly, thanks to its mousse consistency, and I was left with zero streaks.
It’s also dark enough that I could see where I’d applied it and light enough that I wasn’t terrified of dropping it on to my carpet.
It dried really quickly and wasn’t sticky at all. But the best part? There was no smell of biscuits!
5/5
St Moriz Advanced Pro Formula Express Tan Foaming Water – 200ml, £7.33
While this advertises itself as an express fake tan, it’s more like a gradual tan.
After more than two hours, I really couldn’t see much difference in colour but probably would have noticed if I’d been more patient before washing it off.
I also found the application quite tricky, as it was a clear liquid, so I wasn’t sure whether I’d put on too much or too little, and whether I was going to go streaky.
After a while, I did notice that it was clinging to my dry elbow more than the rest of my arm but maybe I should’ve exfoliated more.
What I did like about this St Moriz tan was that it had no scent, even once it had been applied.
2/5
Garnier Ambre Solaire Natural Bronzer Quick Drying Dark Self Tan Body Mist – 150ml, £8.33
With this body mist, Garnier promises a golden glow with no streaks or orangey tones but I found the opposite.
As it’s a spray, which you don’t have to rub in with a mitt like a usual fake tan, I had absolutely no idea which parts of my body I’d already covered when I was applying it.
It also says results take an hour and the tan lasts a week but it took much longer than that for me to see any difference.
I can attest to it lasting though. I really had to scrub to get it off once I realised how streaky I was!
1/5
Bondi Sands GLO Matte One Day Tan Mist – 97ml, £10.99
At first, I was very confused and worried when I tried Bondi Sands, as it seemed to be very thick and dark, and actually turning my arm green rather than brown.
But then I realised I’d accidentally picked up Bondi Sands’ developing tan, thinking it was instant, which I’m wearing on my right arm in the pictures.
Despite this, I washed it off after an hour or so, and my arm was actually a very lovely brown shade with no streaks.
I later picked up the instant one to try and I was even more impressed.
It goes on smooth and evenly with a mitt and was the same bronze colour, with not a hint of orange.
4/5
Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Self Tan – 125ml, £6.99
With this bottle costing just £6.99, I really didn’t have high hopes for Rimmel’s fake tan, but it was honestly incredible, especially for the price.
It was so easy to apply, and it didn’t go streaky or too dark. It just gave a lovely bronzed glow.
In fact, it looked so natural, I got loads of comments in the office asking me where I’d been on holiday!
On top of that, the smell of the fake tan was really nice, even after it had dried. If you’re looking to get a tan just for one day, this is the perfect bottle.
Just don’t wear it when it’s raining – as it immediately washed off in the shower!
5/5
No7 Perfectly Bronzed Self Tan Quick Dry Tinted Lotion – 200ml, £11.96
No7’s tanning lotion was very easy to apply, thanks to its colour and liquid consistency, leaving no streaks and no biscuity stench.
It developed really nicely and left me with a natural, golden tinge but I definitely had to apply more of it than some of the cheaper ones in order to get a good colour.
What really impressed me about this fake tan was that it didn’t come off at all when I went in the shower and actually lasted for quite a few days after without getting on my sheets.
I really liked this lotion. I just think there are some others I tried that I was just as big a fan of, but were much cheaper.
4/5
Olivia Bowen's tanning tips
Former Love Island star and Cocoa Brown ambassador Olivia Bowen gives her top tanning tips…
- Exfoliate 48 hours before you start fake tanning.
- If you want to shave, do it 24 hours before you plan to fake tan.
- Don’t rub too hard with the tanning mitt – just make sure you’re using enough product and rub gently, not like you’re really trying to scrape it into the skin.
- Put Vaseline or moisturiser on your knees, ankles and wrists before you start fake tanning, because fake tan likes to cling to dry skin.
Vita Liberata Body Blur – 100ml, £15
Considering Vita Liberata was the most expensive fake tan that I tried, I was really disappointed.
The first thing I noticed when I was applying it was how bad it smelt – almost like off yoghurt and coffee had been mixed together and I was having to slather it over my thigh. It was very unpleasant.
Once on, it was actually one of the best in terms of colour on my skin, but it started to smell like stereotypical fake tan after a while.
It also came off onto my sheets, and turned them yellow, which my partner wasn’t best pleased about.
2/5
Skinny Tan 1 Day Instant Tanner – 100ml, £7
This was by far the most disappointing fake tan I tried, as it just didn’t work on me.
My body didn’t even change colour with it on. I was still as pale as a ghost and may as well not have been wearing any at all.
I even tried three layers of it before giving up.
The smell was also quite overwhelming, as it had that classic fake tan stench, which made it off-putting to use too. Skinny Tan had a bit of a Tango-no here, unfortunately.
1/5