We tried 5 fake tans for under £15 – the one that went on like butter gave us change from a fiver & it smells delicious
FINDING the perfect fake tan isn’t easy…especially when some brands can set you back way over £40 a bottle but don't always deliver what they say on the label.
Rosy glows can soon turn into annoying shades of orange, which is why the team at Fabulous team have done the hard work for you to see which deliver the best results, at the lowest prices.
Fake tan is a convenient way to achieve a tanned look without the damage of sun exposure and it isn't just safer, but it's also faster.
The early Noughties saw a surge in its popularity, and over 20 years later, fake coverage has come a long way with a huge amount of options to choose from.
From British teen classic St Moriz to the under-rated Superdrug own-brand mousse, the team tried out five from the high street with just one rule - they all cost less than £15 a pop and some even come in at less than a fiver.
Each tester followed the instructions included and used the mitt provided to give each one a fair shot.
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Here's how they got on...
Superdrug Solait Self Tan Mousse Medium - £3.98 (was £5.99)
Tester: Abby Wilson, Senior Fabulous Digital Writer
On first impressions, I wasn’t keen on the scent - at all. It has coconuts on the label so I was expecting a delicious summer aroma, but unfortunately, I didn’t get that with this tan. It's difficult to describe but far from fruity, it had an almost metal smell.
Not only this, but I found the pump quite naff and the tan itself was much harder to blend in and spread than others I’ve previously used.
And compared with my usual favourite go-to tan, this didn’t dry very quickly, and when I accidentally lent against my white bathroom wall it left a brown bum cheek shaped mark.
The first thing that hit me about this tan was the “juicy watermelon” scent - it’s delicious.
The mousse, which you can buy in Primark, applied so smoothly and had a buttery texture that became so creamy when I started rubbing it in.
It dried super quickly and wasn’t streaky at all, meaning I was able to get on with my day pretty quickly without feeling sticky.
As for the colour, I was left with a natural bronze hue rather than orange glow - something I was very happy about.
This fake tan has a very heavy, sweet, sickly caramel scent, which I'm not a fan of.
However, it had a light brown guide colour which really helped with application and ensured my tan was even instead of patchy - I don't like tans without a guide colour because it makes application so tricky because it's hard to see which areas you've covered.
The tan's texture is a light, whipped mousse which is dappled with dark splodges of tan - very unusual.
I found it fairly easy to blend as it glides over skin and doesn't dry down or stick too quickly.
I’ve been using fake tan religiously for over a decade - so it’s safe to say that I have my firm favourites and ones I swear by.
It's clear to see that this tan is formulated with aloe vera because it doesn't stick to dry patches.
It glides over the skin really nicely and has a subtle mango scent which I really liked - it beats smelling like biscuits, a scent left by some other brands.
However, I found that it dried almost too quickly - and I felt like I was sandpapering my legs trying to blend it if I didn’t work quick enough.
That being said, it doesn't leave annoying streaks and lasted a good few days before it started to fade.
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Even though I tried , the result was more of a medium tan so I’d suggest lathering on two layers for a more dramatic transformation.
Tan-tastic rating: 7/10