Return to Press Room

Editor's picks for sunless tanning products

Tanning SANS SUN

By Lauren Pauer
Dayton Daily News
August 20, 2005

I love summer. I love its warm, sunny days. I love the bronze glow on my normally pasty-white skin, the kind of tan that lingers into the months when leaves fall from the trees and the air is crisp.

Summer may be ending, but I don't need June, July or August to get a tan. (Which may be just as well. Too much sun can be disastrous, as my red noses of summers past have shown, and any at all can be dangerous.) To get a sun-kissed look any time of the year, and without the harmful effects, I recruited fellow intern Stephanie Call to help me try the latest sunless tanning products.

We tried four products — Coppertone Endless Summer Gradual Tan, Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun, L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion and Neutrogena Instant Bronze — and applied one on each leg. I should say nervously applied, as I was a sunless tanning rookie with deep fears of orange streaks and stained palms. Stephanie had tried a sunless tanning lotion a few years ago in the spring but was not happy with the unnatural look. But she agreed to try sunless tanning again.

After exfoliating, shaving and liberally moisturizing our legs, which had some lingering color from vacations in Arizona and Mexico, we kicked off our sandals and headed to the ladies' room. The results were a surprisingly natural look.

• Coppertone Endless Summer Gradual Tan I tried this lotion on my left leg. Because it's white and absorbs quickly, it was hard to see where I applied it. Still, the lotion didn't smell, and it was not messy to use. The color developed a few hours later, and by the evening I had even coverage and a natural-looking tan. The bottle says it can be reapplied daily or as needed for a darker tan, hence the product's name, so there's no fear of going too dark too soon. My Coppertone fake tan lasted about 4 days.

• Sally Hansen Airbrush Sun I was most nervous about using this spray on my right leg. Sally Hansen recommends holding the can 12 inches away from your skin, which I found a little difficult to do when reaching behind my leg. Get a friend to help.

Like the lotion, I couldn't see where I applied this product, so my fears of an uneven tan existed until color appeared a few hours later. By the evening, my right leg looked nearly as natural as my left, though a darker blotch on my inside thigh was evidence of holding the can too close or spraying that spot for too long.

• L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion Stephanie used a quarter-size dollop of this dark, glittery lotion on her left leg. "Though the bottle said it was tinted, it was still hard to see where I spread it," she reported. "After it dried it left my legs shimmery." Stephanie noticed the color develop several hours after application but said the most dramatic change in color came overnight.

• Neutrogena Instant Bronze Stephanie applied this foam on her right leg. Its dark brown color helped her see any spots she missed, and she was also pleased with its natural glow. Neutrogena's caveat, though, didn't have to do with how it looked. "This smelled gross, like Easter egg dye," Stephanie said. Both legs stayed dark for about 5 days.

Our sunless tanning experience didn't result in the obviously orange hues we dreaded. We both preferred the lotions for even, nose-friendly coverage and easy application, not to mention a great way to keep a healthy glow as the weather cools and the sun hides.

Faking, it turns out, can look just as good as baking.

Lauren's Tips for successful sunless tanning