The Self-Tanning Round-Up: What’s Good and What Isn’t?!

I think I have mentioned it before on my blog, but somehow my skin does not tan. It doesn’t burn easily either, it just doesn’t really react to the sun. I have had this all my life and therefore I’ve given up on sunbathing a long time ago. Instead I do occasionally like to self-tan. I don’t do it a lot, but every now and then I like to give it another try. Throughout the years I have tried a couple of self-tanning products and today I’m going to talk about all of them and give you guys a mini-review on them. So, if you’re on the hunt for a great self-tanner, make sure you continue reading!

Let’s start of with one of my most recent tanning-purchases. I have had this for a couple of months now, but it’s the newest of all four I’m going to show you right now. I’m talking about the Collistar Magic Drops Self-Tan. I have the 50 ml version, but I could only find the 30 ml version on the internet to link here.

Anyway, I bought this because a friend of mine recommended it to me and in my opinion she was right. This is by far the best self-tanner I have tried so far. First of all because it just smells amazing. I can’t describe what it smells like, it’s a bit like sunscreen but also like a cream. It’s just really nice.

The texture of it is really nice as well. It comes with a little dropper which means that it’s a rather thin formula. It’s liquid but also has a bit of a serumy kind of feel to it, which feels really nice on the skin. It’s extremely easy to apply and spread across the face. With most self-tan products I always struggle with getting patches and blotchiness, but with this product that has never happened.

Another thing I love about this product is that you can already see a bit of difference immediately after applying it. After an hour or two it has fully developed. You can build it up after that, but one layer is already enough to really notice the difference. Because it develops so quickly it’s easier to manage what shade you will end up being. You can easily control how dark you’re going to get.

The tan does stay for about a day or two, depending on how aggressively you remove your makeup. If I, for example, use my Visapure when removing my makeup, most of the tan will be gone. However, if I just use my hand it will still be there after the cleansing proces.

Collistar Magic Drops Self-Tan 30 ml – €31,50

Moving on to a more affordable product. This is the Sun Dance Self-Tanning Milk. This is from the DM Drogerie brand and therefore it’s super, super affordable. It comes in a pretty basic bottle and it does have that typical self-tanning scent to it. I have to admit that I do resent that scent a bit since it is pretty strong and after smelling it for a while I was just over it.

I have to say that the application process of this self-tanner is quite easy and not as much of a hustle compared to some other self-tanners. It still requires some time and focus, but it doesn’t really streak easily. And you can wear your pyjama quite quickly after the application, without it becoming tanned as well. Although I would still be careful when it comes to that.

The result of this self-tanner is pretty good. It doesn’t give as dark of a tan as the St. Moriz one does, that I’ll be talking about soon, but it does add a nice tan to my skin. The tan does last for about a day or two, but if you continue using it will obviously stay for longer. It will also become more intense if you build it up.

Overall I do think that this is a very good budget-proof/affordable self-tanner. For just 2 bucks you get a proper self-tanning product that is easy to use and gives you a proper tan! I like that!

Sun Dance Self-Tanning Milk 200 ml – €1,95

Moving on to the Dove DermaSpa Summer Revived Body Lotion for Medium to Dark Skin. I bought this back in Germany, but it’s available in the Netherlands as well. This is one of those body lotions that has a bit of a tanning effect. Because it is a body lotion rather than a full-on self-tanner it isn’t as extreme and it won’t get you as much of a tan as quickly as some actual self-tanners will, like the other ones I’m reviewing today.

However, I do like that. This one is more of a gradual tan and therefore it won’t be too extreme too quickly. If you use it a couple of days in a row you will build up a nice and natural tan and you will definitely be able to notice some different.

What I like about this product is that it doesn’t have a very strong self-tanning scent, like the Sun Dance and St. Moriz one do have. I also like that it’s not as much of a hustle too apply. Because it’s a lot less strong you don’t have to be as careful when it comes to putting clothes on and stuff. This product doesn’t transport onto other things or anything like that, so that’s a big plus for me personally!

When it comes to streakiness you do have to be very careful with the Dove Dermaspa tanner. It does get streaky very easily, even if you do spend a proper amount of time on working it in. I usually get some streaks on the ends of my legs and arms. Because the tan isn’t that dark you can barely tell it’s there, but you can tell. So that’s something to be careful with when it comes to this tanner!

Dove DermaSpa Summer Revived Body Lotion Medium to Dark Skin 200 ml – €7,50

Moving on to the last self-tanning product for today. This is the one that I have had the longest. It’s the St. Moriz Instant Self-Tanning Lotion in Medium. I bought this to use for prom a couple of years ago and I have to admit that I haven’t used it since. They reason why is because it was a big hustle to apply and it has a very strong self-tanner scent that really annoyed me after a while.

This is one of those self-tanners that do require you to be careful with what you’re putting on clothing-wise right after the application. It can transport onto other things. It’s also not as moisturising as they claim it to be, but you can’t use a body lotion right after, which is a big downside for me as well.

In terms of tanning I do think that this is the best one out of the four. This has given me the most visible tan out of the four and it did last for about 2 to 3 days, which is pretty okay. You can obviously use it a couple days in a row to make it a bit more intense, but I don’t think that’s really necessary. You can also use it on your face if you want, but I do prefer using my Collistar tanner on my face.

In terms of streakiness I think this one is pretty okay. The Dove DermaSpa can be a tad streaky even though it’s pretty light, but this one isn’t streaky at all. Obviously you do have to spend enough time working it in, but if you do so, it’s pretty even.

So all in all I do like this self-tanner. It’s the strongest one I have and I like the result it gives. The only thing I do not like about it is the strong scent and the fact that it’s such a hustle to apply, but that’s a common problem in self-tanners.

St. Moriz Instant Self-Tanning Lotion 250 ml – €8,19

And those are the self-tanning products I have tried so far. When it comes to tanning my face I prefer using the Collistar Magic Drops. For my body I do like using the Dove Summer Revived Body Lotion, but if I want something more dramatic the Sun Dance self-tanner works really well. Overall all four products are great, but they all have their own pro’s and cons!

And that will be it for today. I hope you enjoyed reading today’s post, and be sure to let me know what you think of using self-tanner and if you use some yourself, let me know which one you prefer using!