As a former all-natural bodybuilding champion, I am always chasing the perfect tan. I want a natural looking tan without having to cook my skin out in the sun or in tanning beds.
Like most of my peers, I have tried every sunless tanner known to man and received mixed results.
So I decided to gather 50 of the top fitnes models and bodybuilders in the business to put some of the top sunless tanners to a side-by-side comparison test. The judges were to award points from 1 to 10 (10 being the best) in each of the following categories:
The total possible points: 60. The following products were tested (listed in alphabetical order with their overall averaged score):
| Au Courant | 48 | Flawliss | 39 |
| Banana Boat | 37 | Frangipani | 39 |
| Fake Bake | 33 | Jan Tana | 42 |
| Instant Summer | 54 | Pro Tan | 31 |
| California Tan | 41 | Neutrogena | 39 |
| Clinique (Body Quick) | 42 | Sexsymbol (Aero Tan) | 42 |
| Coppertone (Endless Summer) | 34 | St. Tropez | 46 |
The clear winner from this text was Instant summer.
In fact, it was interesting to see that some of the better-known names and bigger sellers rated lower in most cases than some of the lesser-known brands.
Instant Summer consistently rated very high in all categories with an overal averaged score of 54. It provided very natural-looking color with the bonus of the color going on instantly for smooth application.
The pleasant scent was one of the most common positive comments from the judges.
In addition, it was one of the few tanners tested that could be used on the face and the natural moisturizers are a definite bonus. The price is on the high side but if used properly the cost per ounce and, more importantly, the cost of each application makes Instant Summer competitive with even some of the lower priced products.
I personally loved Instant Summer the best and now recommend it to my friends, my colleagues and my clients.
©2012 The Shades of Summer
