The Best Self-Tanning Products for Summer 2023

Tanning mousses, tanning lotions, and tanning creams are all familiar formulas in the world of fake tan, but in the last few years, tan has become one of the most innovative beauty categories out there. With something now available for everything from dry and sensitive complexions to skin that’s a little breakout prone, you can now get your glow on with the help of tanning mists, gels, 1-hour express mousses and more. Whether you’re looking for a subtle everyday glow or a full-on tan ahead of a night out or (fingers crossed!) a holiday, there are plenty of glow-giving options to choose from.

Scroll down to discover the top 17 self-tanning products we’ll be reaching for this summer.

A few drops of the Coco & Eve Bronzing Drops turns your favourite night cream or body moisturiser into a bespoke self-tanner that builds colour subtly, giving you the kind of tan you can pass off as your own. Providing all the results with half of the effort, it’s ideal for beginners and gives skin a noticeable glow in just one use. In fact, it happens so fast we’re quite convinced that Coco & Eve’s secret ingredient is sunshine.

Gone are the days of biscuit-scented self-tans thanks to The Fox Tan’s Tropical Self-Tan Mousse. Lightweight and non-sticky, this tan leaves your skin with the most delicious, tropical, pineapple-scent, that’ll make you never want to wash it off! Perfect for pro-tanners and first timers, this one needs to be on your radar.

Ever used a self-tan that just does not compliment your skin tone? Meet Bondi Sands’ Technocolour 1 Hour Express Self Tanning Foam. Not only does this formula develop in just one hour (perfect for those last minute plans), but each shade works to enhance your natural skin tone, not change it. Choose your best shade and get to work!

Name something better than a personalised tan? Adding the Bondi Sands Self Tan Drops to your existing skincare and body care routine is the easiest way to achieve that glowing finish we all crave, in just one easy step. Lazy tanners, listen up!

Gone are the days of messy mousses thanks to St Tropez’s Self Tan Express Mist. With a 360 degree nozzle, this mist evenly and weightlessly applies onto the skin, even those hard to reach areas. The formula can also be left onto the skin between 1-3 hours, depending on how dark you like your tan to be.

Healthy, glowing and bronzy skin starts and ends with the Rose & Caramel Tanning Foam. If you’re looking for a tan that hydrates, moisturises, glows and can be built up to your desired colour, this mousse is for you.

Into a gradual formula? Meet Loving Tan’s Gradual Tan, a lightweight, luxurious lotion that can be used to extend or enhance your existing tan for up to 2 weeks or used on its own to build your perfect shade. You’ll definitely be loving your tan with this top pick…

One of a kind, the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Self-Tan Gelée For Face And Body is a nourishing, tinted, sheer self-tanning gel formula. Use once or build for a deeper tone, for a streak-free, bronzed summer vibe all season long.

A nourishing, radiant glow is all we want this summer. Luckily, we’ve got The Glow Illuminating Body Oil from Tan Luxe to help us. Boasting a non-greasy, fast-absorbing formula, this illuminating body oil is the perfect tool to help enhance your tan and keep you glowing for longer.

Skincare meets self-tan with the Isle of Paradise Express Tinted Mousse. Enriched with a blend of hydrating hyaluronic acid, encapsulated DHA molecules, vitamin C and glycerin, this express self-tanning mousse works to deliver a fast, flawless and streak-free finish to the skin, while caring for it.

Get flawless skin with the By BEAUTY BAY Future Bronze Body Base. This blurring, lightweight and instant body makeup gives an instant tint of tan whilst evening out skin tone. With a matte finish and moisturising formula, enriched with hyaluronic acid, castor oil, vitamin E, jojoba oil and sweet almond oil, you won’t want to be without it.

Not a huge tan of a mousse? Bare By Vogue’s Self Tan Lotion is the perfect alternative. For a glowing, radiant finish that lasts up to 7 days, this lightweight, quick-drying, smoothing formula is a name to know.

Get instantly glowing skin with SOSU Cosmetics’ Skin Sheen. With just one spritz, this bronzing mist leaves your skin feeling soft and hydrated and looking bronzed and photo-ready. It’s a yes from us.

Pro-tanner Jules Von Hep broke onto the tanning scene in 2018 with a revolutionary line of products designed to use colour correction to deliver the best colour tan possible. The stand-out in the range is the tanning water, which comes in three shades. The refreshing, weightless solution reaches everywhere (including those hard to get areas), dries down instantly, and develops in record speed.   

Tan addicts all over the world rate Aussie brand Bondi Sands as their go-to for tan without the dreaded orange tinge. The brand’s latest range, Pure, features five products which harness vitamin C, vitamin E, and hyaluronic acid to leave skin bright and hydrated, and to prevent patchiness. Our favourite product is the Self Tanning Face Mist because it’s totally effortless to use. 

Tan-Luxe are favourites on the tanning scene and are constantly releasing innovative new products. That said, we’re still obsessed with one of their long-term bestsellers, The Gradual. Formulated with a lower pH than most tans (which results in a more natural-looking tan and less of that nasty DHA odor), the formula also does more than just tan – it contains ultra-hydrating raspberry seed oil, glycerin, and vitamin E to keep skin hydrated (which helps your tan to stick around for longer). 

If you’re still feeling loyal to old-school mousse formulas, opt for this one from Tanologist – it’s a water, but it dispenses in mousse form rather than as a mist. There’s no need to rinse off because there’s no residue – so you’ll have an even, streak-free, golden tan in 1-4 hours. One coat will give you a subtle, natural wash of colour – just layer on daily to build the intensity.