We Tried Cult Face Self-Tanners To Find Out Which Reigns Supreme
I’ve had a long and fraught relationship with fake tan.
My dalliance began when I hit my teens: it was a testy romance, at times I was far too over-enthusiastic, leading one classmate in high school to ask me if I had an addiction to carrots because “your skin is orange”.
Thankfully, that was a fair few years ago now. Since that time, formulations have improved and I’ve learned that sometimes less is more. Plus, now there are tools that I didn’t have back then, like tanning gloves, mists, booths and (most importantly) products actually made for your face.
What a time to be alive!
But do they all work? Well, I decided to put my body on the line to test them out.
We tried cult face self-tanners to find out which one was the best:
FYI: I tried all these products during the winter when my skin was at its neurotic worst. Apart from being at its blemish-prone best, it was also more sensitive than usual, leaving me with patchy dry spots and wind-chapped lips.
Needless to say, it provided the perfect testing ground.
Bondi Sands – Self-Tanning Face Mist 1 Hour Express
Lots to love here! This is fast-acting tan with a one-hour activation time, making it perfect for minor touch-ups before heading out. I royally stuffed up, however, when applying the spray because I assumed it was more of a soft mist (given its actual name WTF) and closed my eyes while pumping the product way too close to my face.
Huge mistake. I opened my eyes to see big patches of brown droplets and ended up having to chuck on a tanning glove to rub it all in. Definitely not ideal!
COST: $19.95.
APPLICATION: Because it’s a liquid, it’s much harder to really make it spread across the face. I found it quite tacky and without much give. I ended up needing to use a little moisturiser to help make it cover my skin.
COLOUR: Dark and very concentrated which isn’t such a bad thing. Because it goes on dark, you get an idea of what the finished product will look like, as it doesn’t develop any (or much) darker than the first application. That’s also helpful because if you find it’s a little too dark, you can work on easing it back a bit without having to wait for it to fully develop.
BLEMISHES/BREAKOUTS: No breakouts but this grabs like a MF’er: it will accentuate every crevice, every dry spot… even those spots you didn’t know about.
LASTING POWER: The overall colour fades pretty evenly by day three.
SCORE: 5/10.
James Read – Sleep Mask Face with Retinol
OK kids, this is considered the Mack Daddy of face self-tanners by a slew of celebrities (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is said to be a big fan) and coming in at over $50 bucks, it’s the most exxy of the lot.
It also sells itself as much more than just a fake tan, with things like added retinol, the product bills itself as a kind of a wonder cream, claiming to banish wrinkles and soothe skin all the while creating a healthy glow. Phew, lots to take in there!
COST: $59.
APPLICATION: Creamy but clear. Because it’s a sleep mask, you need to apply it like the final moisturiser (or serum) in your night routine. Also, because it’s clear, you’ll need to spend a few extra seconds really rubbing it in to avoid streaks.
COLOUR: A really soft glow, the kind of glow you get after sitting out in the afternoon sun with a couple of rosés. Not a hint of orange. I did expect more of a rested glow, given all those extra exxy ingredients, but alas, it was all pretty underwhelming.
BLEMISHES/BREAKOUTS: By far the worst product of the lot when it came to breakouts. I woke up to red spots around my chin which ended up taking at least a week to clear. It also grabbed along the creases of my nose and above my eyebrows.
LASTING POWER: I noticed the colour starting to fade after around two days. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the places it had grabbed onto with the colour around those patches hanging around at least four days later.
SCORE: 2/10.
Bali Body – Face Tan Water
Bali Body really made a name for itself on the ‘Gram with plenty of influencers quick to showcase their tan from a can. It really is one of the better over-the-counter (or computer) body self-tanners IMO — no streaking, solid colour, and lasting power.
Now that’s all great for your legs but it’s absolutely not advised to use it on your face (just take my word for it). Thankfully, they’ve also got a range specifically for the face – including a hydrating face cream, a BB cream, and face water – which I tried.
COST: $29.95.
APPLICATION: With a consistency more gloopy than watery, the product is clear and easy to apply, spreading evenly over the face. Because it’s light (like a very, very airy moisturiser), you really can massage it into all those little grabby problem places.
That said, because it is clear, you’ll need to make sure you give your hands a solid wash afterwards to avoid the dreaded tan hands. No need to use a glove though — it spreads perfectly well without one.
COLOUR: A really solid light brown tint. It’s darker than I had expected (probably given the liquid is clear so I wasn’t really sure what to expect), but it’s not orange.
BLEMISHES/BREAKOUTS: None. Zilch. Nada. As for grabbing on those pesky dry bits … OK, yes. But it definitely didn’t leave any aggressive marks like Bondi Sands did.
LASTING POWER: Between three to four days.
SCORE: 7/10.
La Mav – Bronze Anti-Ageing Face Tan Serum
I had wanted to try the La Mav tanning serum after seeing it pushed on a few influencers pages. Like the James Read, the La Mav fancies itself as a kind of wonder serum: boasting anti-ageing properties thanks to fancy-pants ingredients like aloe vera and co-enzyme Q10 (aka a powerful antioxidant).
COST: $29.95
APPLICATION: Creamy and light, it goes on easily and one pump really will be enough for a solid all-over-the-face application.
COLOUR: Probably my favourite colour of the entire group. It left me with a really gentle and light bronze tone.
BLEMISHES/BREAKOUTS: Because it bills itself as an ‘anti-ageing’ serum, I assumed that it’s probably really meant for older, drier skin and would ultimately wreak havoc on mine. Not so! My skin was left clear and blemish-free and those annoying dry patches didn’t look any worse for wear.
LASTING POWER: Three days but that could easily push out to four.
SCORE: 8/10.
MooGoo – How Now Brown Cow Gradual Tanning Cream
Unlike the other products tested, these guys don’t make a specific formulation for the face. It’s both a good and bad problem to have. Good because you only need one product, but bad because you really shouldn’t put the same cream you use on your ass on your face.
I braced myself for the worst, ready to grapple with a string of new spots around my chin, as well as deal with that general mucky feeling you get when it feels like a product is just sitting on your skin. Thankfully, none of that eventuated.
COST: $17.90.
APPLICATION: The product is light and odourless and absorbs super quickly. It’s also colourless, so you need to really rub it in across all creases (nasal folds, jawline) to ensure there’s no nasty streaks the next day.
COLOUR: A very light sun-kissed brown with an even all-over glow. No hints of orange.
BLEMISHES/BREAKOUTS: Zero. I was in awe. Given how moisturising the product is, I was standing by for some epic zits to pop up but they never did.
LASTING POWER: I got around three good days out of the tan before it started to fade. It was a pretty even fade, too, and not patchy at all.
SCORE: 9/10.