The Very Best Self-Tanners, Based On Months Of Testing

Self-tanners have evolved from the stinky, sticky lotions of the past into elegant products that make your skin look and feel bronzed and healthier. They go on without making a mess, don’t rub off onto your clothes and leave your skin uniformly tinted. After testing eight formulas over the course of several weeks, I narrowed down the best self-tanners. The St. Tropez Self Tan Express Bronzing Mousse is my top pick: Its tinted foam formula makes it a cinch to apply, and its deep yet natural-looking color outlasted that of its competitors. Plus, it works quickly, developing color in as little as one hour.

The following is a list of winners from my testing:

The Vita Liberata Tanning Mousse is my favorite self-tanner for beginners because it imparts a subtle, flattering and buildable color on a variety of skin tones. The Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads, on the other hand, are incredibly convenient for more experienced tanners because they’re so simple to wipe on. (You can also read my in-depth reviews of the St. Tropez and Vita Liberata self-tanners for more information on each.)

St. Tropez’s popular fast-acting self-tanning mousse has a sweet, floral scent that I actually liked. Another tester describes it as “a perfume smell, which I didn’t mind at all.” A third likens it to “strong perfume” and noted that it stuck around even after she showered. (Since the time of our testing, St. Tropez has also launched a Sephora-exclusive version of this formula with an island-inspired Tropical Colada scent.)

I’m super pale, and a deep tan doesn’t look believable on me; I just want subtle results so my legs won’t scare people. I used this product to prep for a spring break trip to Miami, and it gave me exactly what I was looking for—enough color that I didn’t look totally ridiculous in a swimsuit after the whole winter. It was the easiest to apply among the eight mousses and foams I tested due to its nice, thick consistency that doesn’t drip off the mitt or run on your skin. Compared with our best pick for beginners from Vita Liberata, I found that St. Tropez gave me a deeper color even when I rinsed it off after an hour during my second test (which is the recommended time for light results).

I appreciated that the rich lather goes on evenly without any mess (as did our other testers). It’s tinted brown so you can see where you’ve applied it and get a sense of what the final result will look like. The mousse dries quickly and doesn’t feel sticky or tacky. After three hours, only a tiny bit of color came off onto the cotton pad, and none transferred onto clothing overnight—even for the tester who forgot to shower after applying. The color that developed looked deeper than that of other self-tanners we tried, and it lasted for three or four days and beyond. That could be due in part to the aloe vera, which moisturizes to help the color stay strong.

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Vita Liberata describes this self-tanning mousse as odorless, and I can attest that it has barely any scent, which I really liked compared with the strong, perfumey scents of other contenders. Another tester describes it as “so light it didn’t bother me.” The fluffy mousse spread easily and evenly—no drips or runs here—and the guide color allowed me to see where I needed to apply more product without any guesswork. It dried quickly without feeling sticky or heavy, and not one of the testers experienced any color transfer. It also immediately looked even and subtle.

“Vita Liberata looked great after showering as well, and the color was very even,” says one tester. Another notes that the color was subtler than that of other finalists, which makes it ideal for people who have never tried self-tanner before. As a novice self-tanner, it’s the one of this bunch I’d feel comfortable applying to my whole body. All of our testers found that it lasted two to four days or longer. Its hydrating ingredients, including aloe vera and hyaluronic acid, not only improve how your skin feels but also postpone skin cell turnover to help your tan stick around.

After testing Vita Liberata a second time after my original round of testing in, I found that the Medium shade gave me nice, natural-looking results yet again. I didn’t get any streaks, but I did miss some spots due to user error. I went back and exfoliated that area of my leg to blend it, and because the color was subtler, my mistake wasn’t as noticeable.

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These large towelettes are like no other self-tanner I tried. There’s no tint, no strong smell and, best of all, no possibility of spills. While I found the scent to be a bit sweet, other testers called it “light,” “fresh” and “medicinal.” We all loved how you didn’t need a mitt, and there was zero chance of making a mess, as can happen with mousses or lotions. One tester says, “The large cloth made application super easy, and cleaning up was a breeze.” I find that one wipe is plenty for my legs, but the towelette feels a bit dry once I’m finished there—and I’m only 5 feet 3 inches with short legs. Having tested these a few times now on larger parts of my body, I think you need at least two wipes to cover your entire body.

The tanner wipes on clear and dries quickly—one tester even noted that it felt “soothing.” It takes less than two minutes to run the towelettes over both legs in a circular motion as recommended. They do leave my legs feeling slightly tacky after the tanner absorbs and dries, but not so much that it’s problematic or annoying. We also love the color that developed. “It faded to the perfect shade without any additional application, and was still there by the end of the week,” says one tester. Another describes her results as an “even and natural color.” This self-tanner lasted longer than any other contender for me personally.

As a bonus, the Dr. Dennis Gross wipes contain lactic and glycolic acids, which gently exfoliate skin to help perfect its appearance. These ingredients can help clear blackheads and smooth rough skin or scars. The wipes also have moisturizing vitamin E to keep your skin soft and your tan going strong.

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Other Self-Tanners I Tested

We tested five other self-tanning products that didn’t make the cut. Here’s why.

Bondi Sands Self-Tanning Foam: The scent reminded me of my dad’s tanning oil (artificial and too coconutty). I liked that the tinted foam dried quickly and didn’t feel sticky, but my results looked splotchy.

Coola Organic Sunless Tan Dry Oil Mist: The fine mist gave a very subtle tan that verged on unnoticeable for some testers. The spray format also felt unwieldy and a bit wasteful. Its coconut-and-pineapple scent had a chemical tinge.

Tan-Luxe Hydra Mousse: The scent of this self-tanner gave me a headache, so I set it aside. Scent is so personal, though. If you want a clear mousse, it’s a popular option.

Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam: I liked the sweet, cocoa-like smell of this dense tinted foam, as well as how quickly it dried. However, it faded more quickly than any other self-tanner I tested.

L’Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Water Mousse: This mousse came out of the dispenser as a runny foam; it ran down my arm and looked uneven from the get-go.

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How I Tested The Best Self-Tanners

For consistency, I followed a similar procedure when testing each self-tanner. I evaluated the products based on criteria including scent, ease of application and longevity. Then, I enlisted the help of panel testers to weigh in on my four top selections.

Preparation

I started by opening all the bottles and giving them a sniff to eliminate any that smelled really bad. (Only one didn’t pass my personal sniff test, but I’ve since found that some scents bother me and not other testers, and vice versa.) I exfoliated using a terry cloth mitt. You want to slough off dead skin cells beforehand so that you’re applying self-tanner to new skin, which will take days to turn over and allow your faux tan to last longer. St. Tropez ambassador Sophie Evans recommends exfoliating for several days leading up to your self-tanner application, with a final session eight to 12 hours before you plan to apply the self-tanner.

Application

Just prior to applying the tanners, in the early evening, I showered and dried myself off well to make sure my skin was free of lotions, deodorant or body oils that might interfere with the tanner. Then, I put a small amount of each of the eight tanners on my inner arm, where my skin is fairest, using a tanning mitt. I noted how each one smelled, if it was messy to apply, how quickly it dried and whether or not it felt sticky afterward. If the formula had a guide color (a brown tint that allows you to see where you’ve applied it), I noted if that color looked even on my skin. Then, I let them dry and get to work.

Longevity

After three hours, I rubbed each swatch of tanner with a cotton pad to check for transfer. (I wanted to see if any would come off on clothes or linens if I went to bed at this point.) After that, I slept in a long-sleeve white T-shirt to see if any product transferred. Then I showered and noted the developing color of each. I kept a close eye on the swatches over the next five days, seeing how quickly and evenly they faded. I continued using the self-tanners from St. Tropez, Vita Liberata and Dr. Dennis Gross over the course of three additional months to further evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

Panel Test

Finally, I sent my four favorite products to a panel of testers of varying skin types and tones to use on their legs in a side-by-side compa