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9 best self-tanners for your body

Stay sun-kissed this summer, whatever the weather, with our pick to help you fake it

Monday 09 May 2016 16:04 BST

When it comes to faking it, it's all in the preparation. Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate and when you think your skin is buffed to perfection, exfoliate again and then moisturise. Do this 24 hours before you plan to apply the self-tan. Then moisture again 20 minutes or so before tanning, paying special attention to the dry bits: ankles, knees, elbows and wrists. Smooth over the body with long, even strokes (applying more lightly to dry areas) and wash palms. Exfoliate two-three times a week to ensure an even fade with no patchiness.

We’ve put a range of tanners to the test – from gradual ones you build up over time to products that will transform you limbs in one application – to bring you a selection that will give you an even, natural looking tan.

1. ESPA Naturally Radiant Gradual Tan: £34 for 200ml, John Lewis

Now's the time to go for a gradual tanner - the sun's out and these products just take the edge off milky white limbs over a few days. You can build up colour over a week or so, or add to your existing tan. This one is particularly brilliant if you tan slowly, or not at all. Slightly runny and very pale caramel in colour, you can just about see where you've applied it. You can tell this is made by a premium skincare brand as it goes on like a dream, smells beautiful (jasmine, rosewood and ylang ylang) and leaves skin nourished and supple thanks to sweet almond oil (rich in omega oils), coconut oil and shea butter. It takes about four hours to develop and if used daily, will intensify gradually over 10 days. Choose a nice sunny week to start and no one will ever know you faked it.

2. Lancome Flash Bronzer Transfer Resistant Self-Tanning Lotion: £22.05 for 125ml, Debenhams

The first and arguably the best from the Flash Bronzer stable at Lancome, this award-winning, self-tan was one of the first to make tanning at home easy. Transfer resistant, the tinted lotion dries so fast you can get dressed almost immediately and let the colour develop during the day. Vitamin E ensures the skin is left looking and feeling nourished and supple, and it delivers a delicate bronze glow that can be built up with more regular use.

3. Clarins Self Tanning Milky-Lotion: £20 for 125ml, Clarins

Rich and creamy, this is great for dry skin. It claims '24 hour hydration', and skin really does still feel moisturised, soft and supple into the second day. It's a non-tinted nourishing lotion, so you need to be methodical when you apply to keep track of where you’ve already put it on. It melts into the skin, absorbing easily so you can get dressed almost immediately. It gives a subtle, natural, sun-kissed look, but can be used regularly to build up the colour, and can also be used on the face. The fig fragrance means you don't have to endure any biscuity fake tan smell either. A good one for tentative tanners that don't want a full-on bronze look.

4. Tan-Luxe The Body Illuminating Self-Tan Drops: £42 for 50ml, Tan-Luxe

At the upper end of self-tan prices, this is also slightly trickier to administer - you need to add the drops to your usual body moisturiser or oil. However it does mean you have a totally adaptable colour spectrum (the more drops, the more tanned you’ll look). This has real staying power, so you only need to use it once a week to maintain colour. But what makes it worth the money? It's packed with skin boosters (vitamin E, aloe vera and raspberry seed oil) to improve the skin's condition, and toning technology (“Cellutone Complex”), which can stimulate skin firmness by breaking down fat cells. Plus, the golden, luminous glow delivered feels luxurious and so natural that no will know it came out of a bottle, rather than a Caribbean get-away.

5. Benefit Hoola Zero Tan Lines Body Bronzer: £19.50 for 147ml, Benefit Cosmetics

Not strictly speaking a self-tan, but it's so good I had to include. Unlike lots of wash-off tans, this one is completely transfer-resistant and stays put until you shower it off. It’s a tinted bronze gel that you squeeze onto the sponge applicator in the tube lid and buff onto your skin, so it’s mess-free. It's seamless and easy to blend away on awkward bits like wrists and ankles. If you want a deeper bronze, leave the first layer to dry and then apply a second. For novice tanners, this is a quick and easy route to sun-kissed skin without risking any streaky disasters – if any do occur, you can just scrub off in the shower and start again.

6. St Tropez Gradual Tan Tinted: £14.99 for 200ml, Superdrug

If your pins need a little perfecting after the winter cover-up, this gradual tanner contains blurring technology – a little like a BB Cream – to help hide blemishes. It's lightly tinted so you get an instant glow (and you can see where you've applied it), while the tanning agents get to work slowly bronzing underneath the glow. Apply in the morning – just wait until dry before getting dressed – and use daily to build up the colour you want.

7. Fake Bake Flawless Coconut Tanning Serum for Face & Body: £29.48 for 148ml, Amazon

Nourishing coconut oil gives this tanner a tropical feel and leaves skin looking and feeling beautiful. Don't be put off by the dark colour – it applies easily, is streak-free and once rubbed in, looks more natural. The colour helps you see where you've applied, but do wear the gloves provided as it stains palms very quickly. Flawless gives a really beautiful bronze glow that even on my olive skin looked quite dark. This is tanning at its most glamorous, delivering a two-weeks-in-the-Caribbean tan.

8. Rimmel Sun Shimmer In-Shower Self Tan Hydrating Lotion: £6.99 for 200ml, Boots

Want fuss-free, inexpensive, express tanning? Then this one's for you. Use shower gel as normal, rinse, turn water off, and apply like a body lotion all over – sweeping more gently over dry knees, elbows, ankles and wrists. After just one minute, rinse off and pat gently (no rubbing dry) and get dressed. The tan takes a few hours to develop, but was surprisingly streak-free and natural-looking. I was expecting to have missed a few bits, but it looked incredibly even. Use it regularly to build up colour, or just once a week to maintain a tan.

9. Legology Sun Lite Sheer Lingerie for Legs: £36 for 100ml, Net-a-Porter

One of the main reasons for tanning is pasty legs, which can be surprisingly slow to tan. So if it's just a bit of colour on your limbs you're after and if you suffer from heavy or puffy legs in the heat, this is for you. It’s a cool aerated jelly-cream to stimulate and increase circulation thanks to caffeine, centella asiatic leaf, golden rod and lemon peel, it also contains a wash-off tan pigment. It doesn't give an ultra-bronze look, but if you want legs with a natural hint of natural-looking colour, then this one's for you.

Verdict

Lancome's award-winning Flash Bronzer is a cult classic, Tan-Luxe is pure glossy luxury in a bottle, Clarins is great for dry skin and Rimmel is fool-proof. But for an easy to build-up, natural looking glow and a rich nourishing skincare/tanner hybrid, Espa came out on top.