It seems like every summer I begin with the goal of having a really good tan.  With the explosion of self-tanning options, I might actually have one this summer.   Besides making me look like I just came back from a leisurely vacation in the islands, a tan has the additional benefit of absorbing light which helps hide imperfections in the skin.

Ulta, it turns out, has a dizzying array of choices for self tanners - L’Oreal, St. Tropez, Bella Bronze, Neutrogena, Jergens, Aveeno, Glow Fusion, Olay, Coppertone, Fake Bake, Fruit of the Earth, Bullfrog, Ban de Soleil, L.A. Express and Solarcaine to name just a few.  My daughter and I visited Ulta this past weekend, and to be honest, the selection was a little daunting.  Not knowing which product was better, we ended up choosing a familiar bottle of Jergens Natural Glow before checking out.

Here’s a blog we should have read before we went to Ulta. The Beauty Addict spent the month of May testing various sunless tanners and reported their findings during their Fake Bake Month. 
Although not quite like a Consumer Report, they did use a rating system for each product and assigned points based on scent, color, texture, drying time and neatness.  After reading their reviews, I’m planning to try the L’Oreal Sublime Glow since it had very good color results and its scent is supposed to have less of the tanning (DHA) smell.

If you’re new to sunless tanning you may want to check out their beginner’s guide to self-tanning, which has some good tips as well. 

Many of Ulta’s sunless tanners are 25% off through June 9. 

Links: Beauty Addict  |  Ulta tanning special