Golden Or Orange? I Tried Out Three Express Self-Tans

Can you really get a golden glow within just three hours, in fact maybe even one hour? I put three express fake tans to the test.

Now a bit of background first, I have used fake tan for a long time, in reality I’m very pale and always love to have a bit of a golden glow. I have tried my fair share of tans and it wasn’t until recently that I tried out these more express versions that promise to deliver bronzed skin within up to three hours. Long gone are the evenings of tanning, getting overly hot in bed and having orange sheets. These tans rinse off after your chosen number of hours, enabling you to choose the colour you would like. The tan will then develop after that, which personally I think is one of the best ways to tan. Whether you leave it overnight or want a quick tan for an evening out this is your go to.

Here are my thoughts on three from Model Co, St Tropez and Bellamianta.

Model Co One Hour Tan Mousse – Buy Now

Model Co Tan Mousse promises to deliver a light tan in just one hour, a medium tan in two and a dark tan in three. As I am very pale I do want it to be dark, so I left this on for three hours. The first time I applied it I found it really sticky and couldn’t wait to wash it off. However when I used it again, I never experienced the sticky feeling. I’m not sure why this was, but the second time I tried it, I much preferred it overall. It comes out quite light in colour, it’s definitely a golden brown colour on application and applies nicely, not streaky in the slightest. I rinsed it off in the shower after three hours and was already quite brown, but overnight this developed even more and I woke up with a beautiful golden and very natural tan. It also has Vitamin E and Aloe Vera to make sure your skin stays soft.

St Tropez Self Tan Express Mousse – Buy Now

St Tropez Express Mousse also has a three-way colour system, again one hour for a light tan, two for medium and three for dark. This tan went on easily, it was a light bronze colour and easy to see where to apply. It didn’t dry in too quickly which made it easy to blend. I also waited three hours for this one before rinsing off. It came out a lovely colour, but I feel I would need two applications of this if I wanted to be really dark. It was probably the lightest of the three and also seemed to fade the quickest also. It did however go on lovely on the hands and looked the most natural, leaving no orange knuckles or dodgy wrist lines. I did really like this tan, but I’m not sure it’s the dark colour I was hoping for.

Bellamianta Dark Rapid Mousse – Buy Now

I tried Bellamianta Rapid Mousse tan for the first time at the end of last year and it converted me to express tans. I loved how easy it was to apply and then wash off but still have a lovely bronzed colour. This tan out of the three is definitely the darkest colour, in application and also in final developed colour. I could probably leave this one for one or two hours and still be just as dark. It dries in very quickly which is great for dressing afterwards, but maybe not so easy to blend as the other two, so be quick when your blending. That said it has never came out streaky when I have applied it.

Now if it all goes horribly wrong for whatever reason then I recommend Bondi Sands Self Tan Eraser. This product will remove your tan with ease and yes it really works. Just apply the mousse onto dry self-tanned skin and wait five minutes. Then rinse and rub off in the shower with a wet face towel. I like to use it for a clean base for new tan and it has never applied better.