Keeping your glow in the winter can be a challenge. You've finally decided to step your game up with a glowing tan, but you've hit a wall. There are tons of self-tanners out there, and it's easy to get lost in the sea of choices. To add to the stress, you need a facial self-tanner to keep your face from looking pale against your new savage tan. After an exhaustive search, we've picked our favorites for body and face to give you a jump start on picking what's best for you. Don't worry, no matter your preference, there's something out there for you. No longer do you have to make time for the tanning bed with these amazing choices!
This is a fan favorite for so many reasons! The scent is nice and light. They offer different depths of tanning, so even the fair skinned can have a natural looking tan that adapts to your skin tone. The best part is that you choose how deep your tan develops by deciding how long you let it set. You can count on even, long-lasting color for around 10 days, which is much longer than most others. The price-point is a little higher at around $40, but the bottle will last you through the season. It's 100% vegan and cruelty free, which we love! The consistency is a dense, fluffy, tinted foam that makes it so easy to apply and see what you've missed.
The two most notable types are Classic and Express. St. Tropez Classic is perfect for those who have lighter skin that are looking for a golden glow. St. Tropez Classic is meant for a lighter tan. If your skin has a little bit of a tan to it, you'll likely be much happier with the Express line. For those who want a deep, darker tan, St. Tropez Express is an amazing choice. One of our favorite products in their line is something we could all use: Self-Tan Remover. If you don't like the color or if you feel you let it set in too long and developed a tan deeper than you intended, just apply this miracle product and you can start on a fresh canvas! The icing on the cake is the St. Tropez self-tanning applicator mitt. It's undoubtedly the best on the market. No longer do you have to deal with self-tanner leaking through your mitt! St. Tropez truly covers all the bases.
Isle of Paradise has so many options! Choose your self-tanning product from a line of mousse, self-tanning water, oil mist, lotions, self-tanning butter for more hydration, or facial serums. It comes in at a price point of around $25. This line is also 100% vegan and cruelty free. Its fast-absorbing technology is definitely a plus. With nourishing oils and hyaluronic acid, it also gives your skin a boost! Unlike St. Tropez's week and a half, it's estimated the Isle of Paradise tan will last for up to seven days. For those who don't mind refreshing, this is a pretty good choice.
Their uncontested best product is Happy Tan: Gradual Tanning Lotion. Most of us can get behind gradually getting to that perfect level that works. It's also great for beginners. Our close runner-up is their Disco Tan: Instant Tan, which only lasts for 24 hours, but it's perfect for that special event or outing where you need a quick tan. This instant formula adapts to all skin tones and can be layered for a deeper bronze color. It also boasts zero-transfer to clothes! Their oil mists are supercharged with hydration and used for a natural looking glow, which arguably lasts longer than lotions. It's equipped with color-correcting technology for a more even skin tone. The mousse line has three color levels, tinted mousse, white mousse, and a 30 minute mousse that's great for those in a hurry. There's truly something for everyone.
Get a gorgeous, sun-kissed glow with Sublime Bronze tanning wipes, sprays, and lotions. They offer instant, wash-off color or a gradual, longer-lasting bronze tone over time. With Sublime Bronze, you can achieve a streak-free, natural-looking tan all year round. It's recommended to use 1-2 times per week, which involves a little more maintenance than the other brands. This line carries everything from a one-day bronze to a flawless facial self-tanning serum that lasts all week. With the lowest price point, around $15, it's a practical choice for any budget.
The top products are the self-tanning water mousse and their salon-quality, super fine airbrush self-tanning mist. The water mousse gives a medium-depth tan and is recommended to use three times over 12-24 hours to last longer, which may not be attainable for some schedules. However, the result doesn't disappoint. The self-tanning mist has a super fine 360° continuous mist that coats skin evenly with its angled applicator, leaving you streak-free, even in the hard to reach places like the back of your legs. It's also buildable and enriched with vitamin E, leaving you with smooth skin. L'Oreal is a great budget-conscious choice.
We couldn't find a better product on the market for facial tanning. Unlike many of the other highly praised brands, it has a reasonable price of around $25, available at Tan-Luxe. You can see your results in 2-4 hours. This may sound a bit high at first for a facial tanner, but the bottle will last you much longer than many of its competitors. Mixing just a few drops with your moisturizer, the bottle easily stretches through the colder months. It's also better than its competitors when it comes to the amount of time it stays on your skin. The high-end brands promise amazing results, and they deliver, but they don't mention that they only last for two to three days before having to reapply. The Face lasts an amazing 7-9 days before needing a touch-up. You can also rest easy when it comes to the worry of streaks or orange tones. By mixing it with your moisturizer, it gives you a perfectly even application and strikingly beautiful glow that you can build to your preference. It comes in three different colors to keep you from going too dark or too light. The only downside to The Face is that a small portion of people don't care for the smell. However, we found it to be a muted scent that wasn't overpowering and barely noticeable. This product is not recommended for people with extremely sensitive skin. It's been reported that some people with very sensitive skin found it to dry out their face. Overall, Tan-Luxe is our pick for the best facial self-tanner on the market!
We love this brand as our favorite high-end facial tanner. It's fragrance free and compatible with all skin types. This seems to be the top pick for those with sensitive skin. With a price tag of $45, it's a reasonable choice, but it does need to be applied every three days or so. With stunning results, we can't find anything that touches this tan, and the length of time it lasts is the only drawback. It's also buildable, which isn't the case for many of the facial tanners. You'll see a flawless change in color with no streaks or orange tint. Just a few drops in your moisturizer will put you on the road to a jaw-dropping glow. For those that are ready to splurge and don't mind reapplying every few days, this is a fantastic choice.