GRADUAL TANNER - BODY
Gradual tans are a relatively recent introduction to the self-tan sector, giving a gentle golden glow that can be built up with daily applications rather than going bronze overnight. We don’t just trial these on existing converts to gradual tanners; they also go out to women who haven’t trialled this (or often any) type of self-tanner before. The scores for these four winners were all impressive, with not a lot between them - enough to convert any self-tan phobic with subtle, buildable products that deliver a hint of sun-kissed glow day-by-day. Although perception of smell is such an individual thing, most of our testers agreed that these either smell nice and subtle, or very slightly (and briefly) whiffy. Do remember though that none of these products protect you against the sun’s damaging rays; you need to apply an SPF too. Lastly, please do exfoliate for a couple of days first for the smoothest results.
GOLD AWARD Gatineau Golden Glow Gradual Tan
This fast absorbing cream-gel promises to instantly hydrate skin as it gradually tans it to a natural, sun kissed, buildable tan. From a long established and respected brand which, they say, ‘born in the salon’ and is still used by professionals worldwide, this claims to overcome the self tan pong with a fragrance of pear and mandarin over base notes of sandalwood and musk. Ingredients include moisturised coconut oil and nourishing vitamin E with DHA, the tanning agent, from sugar cane. The brand says the colour takes 3-4 hours to develop, which testers found was about right. Use daily for up to three days to get the colour you want then top up as needed. One thing testers particularly remarked on was that it faded evenly rather than going patchy.
£52 for 400ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘10/10. A holiday glow in a bottle. I love love love this product, it’s replaced my old favourite gradual tanning product. The benefits to the skin are ace too! Great all round product, Gatineau is one of my go to skincare brands and this will now be a staple in my beauty wardrobe as its easy to use, looks great on the skin and I wont be without it now! ’ • ‘Lovely texture, not sticky or tacky, absorbs straight into the skin. I used my hands to apply. The fragrance is Very subtle hardly noticeable. It only took around 4ish hours to develop and looked very natural not orange at all. After initially use on 2 consecutive days I went to using every other day and it maintained a really healthy natural colour. It didn’t go patchy when wearing off - wasn't really noticeable; this was a real plus for me’ • ‘I loved the size of the product as I would have happily taken it on holiday to use. And I loved this product. There was no awful fake tan smell. My skin looked healthy and slightly bronzed. I also felt that my skin felt soft and that not only did it bronze my skin but that it was doing good for my skin too’ • ‘The product has a slight colour but it spread so easy and into my skin fast, I wouldn't say there was actually a guide colour. So easy to apply with a tan mitt. I just dispensed it onto the mitt and then applied it to my skin. There is a very slight fragrance. It was not offensive and definitely no issues when I waited for it to develop. It wasn't like it had the famous 'biscuit smell'. It looked very natural as though I just had had a day in the sun - a very healthy look. I did two applications in three days to start with. It looked perfect. I felt healthy and I would say that it started to fade about 2 days after when I wasn't re-applying it. It faded very evenly. I was told I looked 'well'. I would 100% buy’ • ‘Fabulous! Lovely golden tan. I used this not expecting much but it's the best fake tan product I've ever used I think! No streaks, easy to apply’ • ‘lovely moisturising gradual tanner that feels like a skincare treat to use; nice packaging, nice natural skin tone, worked well even on my very fair skin with no orange tone.’
£52 for 400ml - click to buy
SILVER AWARD Vita Liberata Untinted Heavenly Tanning Elixir
Well, this really is gradual: the brand says that ‘breakthrough encapsulated DHA technology continues to slowly release DHA [the tanning agent] to deepen your tan for up to 72 hours after application’. The cocoa-scented formula promises a long lasting, natural-looking tan, that’s also super hydrated and smooth due to the nourishing organic ingredients it contains. It’s untinted – so you wont be able to see where you’ve applied it, which some testers found tricky – but that means there is minimal risk of transfer to clothing, they say. Use a tanning mitt, they advise, and don’t bathe/shower for eight hours minimum. It’s designed to fade over 7-10 days. This is actually suitable for body and face. It’s suitable for vegans/vegetarians.
£34 for 150ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘10/10. your skin but better in a bottle. A true natural tan colour. The pump action was super easy to dispense; A perfect amount came out per pump. The texture was lovely and silky, not tacky or sticky at all, there was no dragging just smooth application that absorbed straight in and felt highly moisturising. It had a very slight fragrance, kind of coconutty chocolatey but not overpowering at all - very subtle and pleasant. When developed it has a slight fake tan biscuity smell but again nowhere near offensive and very subtle. (Not as strong as my current tan.) I stayed undressed for about 15 minutes and there was no transfer to clothes after, due to having no guide colour. It took about 6-8 hours for an even glowy tan to show properly; however, over the next few days rather than fading like most tans it gradually got a little darker. It’s a very natural tan, very much like the colour I would naturally go in the sun, with no orange undertones at all - perfect for me. I was told how natural the tan looked and how glowy it made my skin’ • ‘I did top up on day 4 and the colour was slightly darker. With one application the colour started to fade about day 5/6; it faded really evenly, not patchy at all, and was easily scrubbed off leaving no unsightly areas of stubborn tan. With two applications, the colour started to fade into the second week and I found it a little harder to get all the tan off evenly’ • ‘I think personally it’s aimed at more experienced self tanners as it has no guide colour therefore could be a little tricky for a beginner, but as someone who regularly fake tans this was ideal for me as there was no transfer to clothes and I could apply and go quickly. It left my skin feeling highly moisturised and in no way dry like some other tans. I love the subtle scent as many tans can be overpowering. I will definitely swap from my normal tan to this’ • ‘I loved it! light in texture, really easy to apply, glides onto the skin and absorbs really quickly non sticky. Smelt like marshmallows to me smells slightly sweet on the skin then scent slightly faded after colour develops but still nice enough. Looked amazing, bronzed and beautiful, and I got compliments from my husband and sister. Absolutely I would buy – in a heartbeat. It’s 100% better than my regular self tan, everything from the bronzed shade to the no streaks and lovely fragrance’ • ‘It has a very nice cocoa butter smell when applying it, which was lovely. There were no guidelines around timing but I got dressed when it had absorbed into the skin, which it did quite quickly. Probably took about five minutes to absorb all over. I didn't notice any rub off on my clothes but tended to use it before going to bed and wear old pj's. It was a natural tan colour, which I liked very much. I repeated it a week later as the colour came out just right for me on the first application and I didn’t feel it necessary to top up until then. It started to fade about a week later and after another application deepened slightly but I was happy with the colour. It seemed to fade evenly. I was told I had a healthy glow! I'd recommend it, as it's a very easy to use tanning product that leaves you with a lovely natural colour’ • ‘I think I'm a convert now to self tanning, as I had a lovely natural colour and it was easy to use. No mess and I like the scent and feel of the elixir. I would recommend doing the test patch first which I did - I didn’t have any adverse reaction to the product and it gave me an idea of how it would develop on my skin.’
£34 for 150ml - click to buy
BRONZE (JOINT) AWARD and BEST NATURAL Tropic Summer Skin Gradual Tanning Lotion
A second Beauty Bible Award for this tanning lotion from a very popular ‘green and clean’ British brand started by entrepreneur Susie Ma in 2012, and one of the fastest growing skincare brands in the UK. Susie’s passion for plant-based products is evident in this formula which contains DHA from sugar beet plus a plant allo-melanin to give you a slow acting, even, natural-looking tan, plus skin-cherishing coconut oil and mango butter – to put you in the holiday mood whatever the weather. Tropic is ineffably sustainable so there’s advice on recycling ‘etiquette’, and a reminder that the paper wrap is sourced from sustainable forests and printed with vegetable ink. The Conscious Certificate reassures consumers that the ethics are verified: Leaping Bunny Cruelty Free, Vegan, Carbon Offsetting with Widely Recyclable Packaging. Tropic suggests using an exfoliating mitt to prep skin, then apply with your hands or a mitt from the feet up.
£20 for 200ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘10/10. Lovely product, texture and smell, nice to apply with my hands; delicate fragrance, not the typical fake tan smell. Nothing rubbed off on to my clothes; it dried almost immediately. Colour developed through the day, natural-looking light tan. I reapplied every 3 days through the summer to maintain the colour. It never went patchy. I exfoliated once a week’ • ‘Lovely big tube and very easy to get the product out. Texture was great, it applied very well and easy to rub in, absorbed very quickly and didn't feel like anything was being left on the top layer of my skin. No dragging at al’ • ‘A really lovely fragrance, not like other self-tanners/ gradual tans I have used - this was very pleasant and I enjoyed the scent. After the colour develops, the scent is not as strong and gradually wears off. I applied at night and by the next morning I could see the developed colour, which was very natural. I got dressed straight away after applying and did not notice any residue on clothes etc. Really enjoyed this; I can sometimes be a bit nervous about tanning products but this was very easy to use. It didn't leave you with a horrible self tan scent and made my skin feel lovely’ • ‘There was a lovely natural guide colour, which showed where you had applied and gave a really nice instant glow. It absorbed quite quickly but the first time I used it, it did take a long time to absorb so for the second application I applied less. I put my pyjamas on 5 minutes afterwards; there was some transfer but it washed out easily in the washing machine. The colour the first time was deep as I applied much more and this did not need re-doing. However, the second go I did apply on two consecutive days as the colour was very subtle the first day. I liked the versatility of this. It faded really evenly - I kept up with an intense moisturiser after I had the desired colour. It started to fade after three days (two showers) and faded really evenly until it was gone after about 8 days (4 showers). An easy to use, very natural, easy to personalise gradual tan’ • ‘From a renowned brand, easy to apply but a little effort to rub in, an even golden tone from day one. The colour remained natural and golden and in terms of fading I would say after 2 days of not applying it I was starting to feel pale. I felt it faded evenly.’
£20 for 200ml - click to buy
BRONZE (JOINT) AWARD That'so Gradual Tanning Moisturiser
This intriguingly named brand, which manufactures in Italy, focuses on great skin and a fantastic faux glow, they say. Products are vegan, cruelty free with no animal origin nor animal exploitation raw materials, no parabens or oxybenzone and free of the tanning component erythrulose because of the very strong smell. Along with dermatological testing, they check the amount of nickel in products because of potential allergies. So that’s what they leave out. Products are packed with vitamins, minerals and botanicals to give skin essential nutrients. (However, this does contain peanut oil so not suitable for those with an allergy to it.) This tinted body lotion gives instant glowing colour with sugar cane derived DHA (the tanning agent), plus pineapple to stimulate cell renewal, antioxidant vitamin E and protective aloe vera. The fragrance is blueberry, lavender and vanilla. Testers found it gave more of a lovely golden glow than a bronzy tan. Testers with pale skins very much liked that and the lack of biscuit smell - but two others protested strongly – and deducted points - because they couldn't read the gold directions on the dark brown bottle and there were spelling mistakes… Oops.
£24 for 200ml - click to buy
OUR TESTERS’ COMMENTS:
‘10/10. I love this product. It gave my pale freckly skin a subtle glow - usually I look like one of the undead. It made me feel confident about how my legs looked in particular. There is a guide colour, which is a pleasant metallic gold that goes onto your skin a pale caramel. It smelt like cream when it went on, quite sweet and pleasant. Once developed it did smell a tiny bit biscuity, but not half as bad as most fake tans. I only stayed undressed for about 20 mins after I applied it, and none got onto my clothes. It developed into a very light glow that was very believable for my skin. I applied the tanner for four days in a row, it didn't seem to deepen, but I am incredibly pale. The tan faded after a couple of days and did become a bit patchy - but was easy to even up by exfoliating. I got comments on how I glowed and looked healthy’ • ‘it's easy to apply just like using a good moisturiser, it didn't give be a full fake tan look just took away the white pastiness of my legs and gave them a natural glow, I was happy with this result as I would never want the full fake tan look. I used it every day for a week just to build up the colour; it never developed into what I would call a full on tan’ • ‘Lovely subtle tanning moisturiser, perfect for a quick fuss free tan. I liked this product, it was easy to apply, no messing around with a tanning mitt, wasn't essential to exfoliate beforehand either to avoid patches. It went on lovely and gave me a lovely natural looking colour. Something I appreciated given I'm super pasty. I was happy with the colour for a good couple of days before it started to fade and then around day 3/4 I redid it. 3 days or so was when it started to fade. It did fade evenly which was lovely, nothing worse than patchy!! Applying successively deepened the colour, but just one application was the perfect colour for me. My friend did notice - said my legs had a bit of colour, which was nice :) Really easy to get out. It's in a bottle you just tip it up and give it a squeeze. Problem is but the bottle is a brown/black colour with gold writing and it was very difficult to read the writing and the instructions’ • ‘Tan not as deep as my usual product but for me the winner is the lack of the horrible self-tan smell. The first product I have used where the smell is not there’ • ‘This is a lovely natural colour - best "fake" tan I have used on my fair skin. BUT the brown bottle with gold writing makes it hard to read the instructions - the gold lettering scratches off really easily too. And the spelling mistakes on the bottle were just awful…’
£24 for 200ml - click to buy