Hi friends! I, like all other white girls of western European descent, love a good self tanner. In real life, I am white as the driven snow. I burn within minutes in the sun, and have no interest in developing skin cancer. For the longest time I thought I was simply destined to live a life of translucency, but around 5 years ago I discovered self tanners, and I haven’t looked back since. Over the years I’ve tried about everything on the market, and I’m confident these are the 5 best self tanners out there.
While I definitely have my favorite, I wanted to share with you my top five self tanners that are perfect for different occasions, based on what you might need. Read this post to find out the best self tanner for you!
First things first, lets talk application. I plan to go way more in depth about this in a future post, but just so you know, I apply all self tanners with a velour tanning mitt. I don’t care for gloves, cheap foam ones do the job, but my overall go-to is a soft, plastic lined tanning mitt like this. For my back, I absolutely swear by this back applicator (it’s one of my top 10 Amazon favorites), and for my face and hands, I like to use a big fluffy kabuki brush like this one.
If I’m feeling particularly lazy, I will literally skip my face and my back and just go with the tanning mitt for whatever I can reach. I’ve accepted a certain level of mediocrity with my tan at this point. If you prefer flawlessness, those tools will get you there!
Second of all, I always go with the darkest tan available, and you shouldn’t be afraid to either. I know when I first started exploring self tanners, I would always buy light and medium products because I didn’t want to wake up one day looking like a pumpkin. In reality, I’d apply those tanners and wake up the next day looking exactly the same. I feel like more often than not, a tanner is going to get you less dark than you’re thinking, so don’t be scared! I don’t think I’ve literally ever used a tanner and woken up the next day being scared it was too dark. Especially with the tanners listed below, it’s always come out too light or just right, never weirdly dark or unnatural. That’s just my experience!
Anyway, on to the best self tanners!
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you shop through these links at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me through these links! For more information, check out the disclaimer here.
Best Self Tanner for Beginners
Tanologist Extra Dark Self-Tan Mousse – $16.99 at Ulta
Tanologist is a fairly “new to me” brand but I really do like this product. Currently, this is my go-to tanner for when I don’t want to think too hard about applying it perfectly. They say this is an “express” mousse, meaning you only need to wear it for 2 hours, but I like my tan dark and usually only apply it at night anyway so I just sleep in it like any other tanner.
I think this one is great for beginners for a few reasons. First, the color guide (the color the tan appears when you’re applying it) is super dark, so you’ll be able to see exactly where you’re missing coverage. It’s a mousse, which is definitely my preferred method of application for a streak-free tan. The tan itself is definitely dark and long lasting, which can be hard to find in a “drugstore” tanner. Finally, it’s affordable. The worst part about self tanning is that it used to be such a financial commitment to give it a try. With this, you can grab a bottle for $17 and if you’re not crazy about it, you didn’t lose out on a fortune.
My one critique about this tanner though is that it is very tacky for a while after application. It never seems to fully “dry down” which is a major annoyance of mine when it comes to self tanners. Other than that though, I love it!
Best for Experienced Tanners
Tanceuticals CC Self Tanning Body Lotion in Ultra Dark — $26.95 at Tanceuticals
This is my holy grail tanner, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Keep in mind I’m a pretty experienced self tanner, but more than that, I truly don’t care if I’ve botched my tan job. This is the perfect tan for me.
This tan is a lotion, and it does not come with a color guide. That’s the number one reason it’s going to be more challenging to apply; you won’t be able to see where you’ve already put it. For me, I just do my best to rub the lotion in everywhere I can, and use the sheen on my skin in the light to tell if I’m missing any spots. It’s not perfect, and I do have patchy application sometimes.
That aside, this is one of my favorite tanners for so many reasons. It doesn’t have a color guide, so you don’t have to worry about it staining your clothes. You can keep it on for hours (sometimes I literally forget to wash it off, oops) without looking like you rolled in dirt, which is how mousse self tanners tend to look on me in the morning. I love that I can put it on at any time of day because it won’t affect my appearance or the clothes I can wear like other self tanners do. I can literally put this on at the beginning of a workday, go about my business, and come home tanner. It dries down and absorbs into my skin so easily. Most of all, the smell is amazing! It smells so summery and coconutty, and I love it. Eventually, it will become that signature “self tanner smell” but for me that usually only happens if I leave it on for like.. 12 hours.
My biggest gripe about this tanner is that I have to order it directly from Tanceuticals. It’s not a huge deal, as they do run coupons and their shipping is fast, but I like the convenience of being able to find it in a store if I want to.
However, they do sell the Tanceuticals Dark Lotion on Amazon, which I’ve used and loved as well. I just prefer an ultra dark tan! In a pinch though, I’ve used this too and loved it just the same.
Side note, I’ve tried the mousse version of this tanner as well and I also love it, but I love the lotion more. If a lotion intimidates you, I absolutely recommend picking up the mousse.
Best Self Tanner Splurge
Loving Tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse in Ultra Dark — $39.95 at Ulta
I’ll be real with you. The hype on this one is worth it. Loving tan provides such a beautiful, rich, dark color that’s so gorgeous and not at all orange. It has a nice deep color guide to help beginners. It smells freaking amazing. It dries down incredibly fast. If I were a millionaire, this tanner would be my holy grail.
Alas, I am not, and simply cannot bear to swing the $10 an ounce for this tanner. I tan probably once every week and a half, and the amount of tanner I go through makes committing to loving tan a colossal investment. However, if you’re an occasional tanner and don’t mind spending more for a better product, this is the one to get. I really do adore it.
Best Drugstore Self Tanner
Bondi Sands Self Tanning Liquid Gold Dry Oil Spray — $24.00 at Walgreens or Amazon
This was a sleeper hit I discovered in a pinch one day when I needed to be tan but didn’t have time to wait for an online order. It’s a unique product that’s definitely not for beginners. It’s a liquid spray that can be runny and hard to apply. It has a very light color guard. But much like the Tanceuticals, I love it because you can throw it on and go. You don’t have to wait until bedtime to apply this tanner. The color is deep, natural and beautiful, which I wasn’t expecting from a dry oil. I love that the bottle is compact but you get a lot of uses out of it. Most of all, I love that I can just run down to Walgreens and grab it. Whenever I’m running low on tanner and don’t want to place an online order, this is the one I grab.
Side note: I’ve tried a couple other Bondi Sands products from Walgreens as well. I gave the liquid gold tanning mousse a shot but found it nowhere near as deep and dark as the dry oil. I also tried their regular ultra dark tanning mousse and found that while the color on my skin was great, it had such a strong red undertone it turned my sheets pink when I slept in it, which I didn’t love. If you want to get a Bondi Sands product at Walgreens, go with the liquid gold dry oil.
Best Temporary Self Tanner
Tanologist Insta Glow — $14.99 from Ulta
Sometimes you have those days where your tan just needs a little boost. You don’t want to go through the hassle of a full body self tan but your legs are looking a little pale and you wanted to wear a skirt tonight and you’re wishing you looked a little more sunkissed and yadda yadda yadda. This is that product.
I’ve tried Loving Tan’s temporary self tanner in the past and liked it, but I decided to pick this up and test it out recently and here are my notes.
First of all, I like it. A little goes a long way and it dries down nicely, which is the most important thing when it comes to any temporary self tan. It definitely gives a nice glow that looks healthy and smooths your skin like makeup. The one thing I will note is that this stuff looks orange as hell at first! Trust me when you rub it in it looks a lot better, but really be careful with your application or you will turn into a pumpkin. I never had that problem with loving tan (their color is always the most flattering shade), but their option is more expensive and rubs off easier, so I’ll sacrifice a touch of orange for the trust that I won’t leave brown legprints wherever I sit down.
My overall favorite?
The Tanceuticals lotion in Ultra Dark is my holy grail self tanner. For price, quality, ease of application, and basically any other metric, it’s perfect. While others have come close, this tanner is the best performing in the things that are most important to me, and I will continue to repurchase again and again.
Did your favorite tanner make the list? Let me know in the comments!
