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The best self-tanners for face and body are chosen – and are listed in this post! They are easy to use, give a natural tan, and don’t smell.
When it comes to self-tanners, you want to know what’s good. Just prior to posting this, I tried a new product (well, actually an old favorite that had a new “improved formula”) and it was a disaster. The scent was horrible, the consistency was sticky and uncomfortable, the color it gave was mediocre and I had to shower a few times before I got the smell off of me.
But hey, I’m ready to take one for the team and test the products for you. So be assured: I take the topic of the best self-tanners seriously.
The best self tanners
A good self-tanner is like an invisible friend. Effortless and trustworthy. It gives you a natural-looking color, it’s comfortable to use and it doesn’t stink. It results in a beautiful tan that fades away smoothly.
I use different self-tanners for face and for body. If you have any skin problems whatsoever, I recommend choosing a different one for your face. Also: the face self-tanners you need to apply more often, the body self-tanners last about a week on the skin.
Most of these products are all natural, so if you’re about that organic, natural skincare, here are some good picks for you.
THE BEST SELF TANNERS FOR FACE
Here are the best self-tanners for face. Below you’ll find quick reviews on them.
*Vita Liberata Fabulous Self-Tanning Mist
*balance me Gradual Tanning Drops
*Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster
*Eco By Sonya Face Tan Water
Zuii Organic Gradual Tan Face Water
These are all very very light – either toners or tanning drops. Those are the best in my opinion, because they leave room for your regular skincare products. We all have different skin types and needs, but these work for all skin types, since you just add them to your routine.
Vita Liberata Fabulous Self-Tanning Mist
My new self tan favorite for face is the Fabulous self tanning mist. You can use it on your whole body, but I like to use it for my face, neck and décolleté.
Since it’s a water-based spray, I love to mix it with my toner or serum. One spritz is enough for me to use a few times per week, but you can build up the color by using it daily or using more product.
When I use it for my face together with my skin care products, I just use my hands to apply it. However, on my body I use the mitt.
The bottle is quite big, so this lasts a long time.
*Vita Liberata Fabulous Self-Tanning Mist
balance me Gradual Tanning Drops
The balance me gradual tanning drops are amazing. They are easy to use: just mix a few drops in your moisturizer and apply all over your face and neck. I love the fact that you can choose how dark you want to go, depending on how many drops you use. 1-3 drops gives you a natural tan whereas 3-6 drops give you a more intense color. This product is also soothing and moisturizing with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E. And it’s unscented.
The size that I have is a sample size, that I got from the lookfantastic 2018 Advent Calendar, but the normal size 30ml is still small and good for travel.
*balance me Gradual Tanning Drops (amazon)
*balance me Gradual Tanning Drops (lookfantastic US/CA)
*balance me Gradual Tanning Drops (lookfantastic UK)
Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster
Clarins Golden Glow Booster drops are another good choice for face. As with the balance me drops, you apply a few drops to your moisturizer and you can decide how deep of a color you want. Easy!
These drops also contain aloe vera, which is a great calming ingredient for summer (or throughout the year). As usual for Clarins, these are scented and come in a beautiful bottle. The small bottle is handy for travel also, to avoid the temptation to sunbathe even on holidays.
*Clarins Radiance-Plus Golden Glow Booster
Zuii Organic Gradual Tan Face Water
Zuii Organic’s Gradual Tan Face Water toner is great for beginners. You can’t go wrong with this one! The color it gives is not as intense and looks very natural. However, you can build up the color by using it more often, almost every day I’d say.
The consistency is a light, watery gel. It feels nice and light on the skin and has lots of natural moisturizing ingredients in it such as bamboo juice and jojoba esters.
This is a toner and I use it before applying my lotion. I apply this with my fingers on my face and neck.
Zuii Organic Gradual Tan Face Water
Eco By Sonya Face Tan Water
Eco By Sonya’s Face Tan Water is a classic. It gives a deep color and the consistency feels like a normal face toner. Compared to Zuii’s face water, it’s more watery and gives a darker color. This is also suitable for all skin types, even acne. Contains Aloe Vera and hyaluronic acid.
This I recommend applying with a cotton pad.
Pro tip: if you want to tone down the color a bit, wet your cotton pad with water before applying tan water in it.
THE BEST SELF-TANNERS FOR BODY
Here are the best self-tanners for the body. Below you’ll find quick reviews on them.
*Vita Liberata Foaming Tan Water Invisi
*Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir Tanning Lotion
*Eco By Sonya Cacao Tanning Mousse
*minetan Ultra Dark Violet Foam
Make sure to always use a mitt with them! I like *Vita Liberata’s mitt.
Vita Liberata Foaming Tan Water Invisi
Vita Liberata’s Invisi foam is an awesome product. It’s unscented and clear – almost invisible on the skin when you apply it. It dries super quickly and feels like nothing on the skin. Still it gives a beautiful, even, natural looking tan.
I apply the mousse in the evening and wake up with a perfect tan. After shower my skin feels wonderfully soft. Recently I’ve preferred a self-tan that does its thing during the night. Because even though some of the products give the color sooner (you can shower after a few hours), they will still keep developing.
The color that this gives is very natural – yet tanned. My shade is Medium Dark. I’ve used this throughout the year, because it’s so easy and quick to use. Definitely a holy grail product!
*Vita Liberata Foaming Tan Water Invisi
Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir Tanning Lotion
Vita Liberata’s Heavenly Elixir lotion surprised me so positively, I wrote its own review. Heavenly Elixir is a cream that gives a deep tan in just one night. It contains some wash-off color, which makes it easier to apply it evenly.
Besides the creamy consistency, this differs from the others with a sweet strongish scent, that covers any self-tan odour.
Every time I wake up with this on, I feel like I’ve just come from the Bahamas. Love it.
Since it’s a cream, it’s very moisturizing,. Good for dry skin.
*Vita Liberata Heavenly Elixir Tanning Lotion
Eco By Sonya Cacao Tanning Mousse
Eco By Sonya’s mousse is a lovely product. It’s the product that made me fall in love with mousses. The Cacao Tanning mousse is as good as it sounds. It’s easy to apply, it feels comfortable on the skin and it gives a natural looking tan. This would be beginner-friendly, because the color doesn’t develop as quickly as with the two other products.
I usually leave this on for 2-3 hours and I get about the same color I get with the other products during 1,5 hours. After that you can shower (without soap). The color will keep developing for a few hours, so you don’t want to accidentally rub off all the DHA off of your skin.
*Eco By Sonya Cacao Tanning Mousse
minetan Ultra Dark Violet Self Tan Foam
This I actually mentioned here briefly already, when I wrote about stretch marks. Minetan’s tanning foam gives a really professional looking tan (like I’ve been to spray tan).
I usually leave it on for 1,5 and that gives me a nice color. You can leave it on for 1-3 hours depending on how dark you want to go. After that you can shower (without soap). The color will keep developing for a few hours, so you don’t want to accidentally rub off all the DHA off of your skin.
*minetan Ultra Dark Violet Foam (amazon)
*minetan Ultra Dark Violet Foam (lookfantastic US)
*minetan Ultra Dark Violet Foam (lookfantastic UK)
I will update this list as I find new good ones. What’s your favorite self-tanner?
