POV: You’ve headed on a long-haul flight to a tropical destination. You’ve broken away from the cold, dark British weather and are finally feeling the warmth of the sun on your (SPF protected) skin. You’re glowing from your head to your... er, knees.
That’s right. Your legs have stayed the same pasty vitamin D-deprived hue as when you began your trip, unchanged no matter the shift you’ve just put in on your sun lounger.
In the words of Sir Tom Jones: it's not unusual. It’s incredibly common, and there’s a scientific reason for it too: the skin on your legs don’t produce the same amount of melanin as the rest of the body. It’s thicker, harder and more challenging for the UV rays to penetrate, leaving them as anaemic-looking as the day you began your trip.
Fear not as you can still give your pins the TLC they deserve through a faux glow. Sunless tanning is the solution, giving your legs the appearance of two weeks in the Maldives from the comfort of your own home with no flight or the possibility of burning. You’ll be ready for shorts and skirts season in no time.
There are many different formulas for beginners and experts alike, including those designed specifically for the lower legs, tanning waters, mousses, tinted skincare as well as instant or gradual processes.
But if you’ve not found success in the fake tanning arena, we’ve consulted Tan-Luxe founder and CEO, Marc Elrick to walk us through his top tips for a streak-free, natural-looking glow.
- Choose your tan like your makeup: don’t choose the colour you want to be, but base it on your skin tone - if in doubt go lighter, you can always add another layer but if you’re too tanned it’s really hard to reverse it.
- Start light and build up with gradual tanners to get the colour you want.
- With tanning drops that are added to moisturiser, you can customise the formula and your routine to suit what you want.
- Have a hot shower and use glycolic if you’re too tanned or want to prep.
- Treat your self tan like a real tan and moisturise everyday and then it will fade more evenly.
- Moisturise your body first to prevent streaks - at least the hands, knees, elbow and feet, but ideally the whole body.
- Never tan your hands. Moisturise your whole body, wash your hands with soap and water and bring the excess of the tan from the body onto your hands once you’ve already moisturised. If you’re using a mitt, bring the excess onto your hands but don't physically apply the product.
- Use a kabuki or blending brush on the areas where your skin is really dry (hands, knees, elbow, feet). If it’s really dry and you’re using a darker product, I ground it with a flannel after I’ve moisturised and tanned.
Best fake tan for legs at a glance
- Best for a subtle glow: This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle - £40, lookfantastic
- Best for effortless leg application: Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Instant Tan Lotion - Medium - £16.99, Boots
- Best for dry skin: Isle of Paradise HYGLO Hyaluronic Self-Tan Serum for Body - £20.76, lookfantastic
- Best for a quick bronzing fix: Tan-Luxe Express Mousse - £37, Cult Beauty
- Best for an even tan: Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Oil Mist - £19.95, Boots
- Best for a sun-kissed glow: St. Tropez Gradual Tan Watermelon Firming Lotion - £18, Cult Beauty
- Best for rapid application: Vita Liberata Body Blur Medium - £30, Boots
- Best for fixing imperfections: Isle of Paradise Blend It Gradual Touch Up Stick - £10.95, eBay
- Best for a deep, radiant glow: Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam - £26, Cult Beauty
- Best for hydration: Tanologist Self-Tan Water - £8.25, Sephora
Best tan accelerators for sunbeds or outdoor tanning to help give you a sun-kissed glow
Best face tanning drops to make your skin glow
Best prep for fake tan: Products to get you ready for a perfect glow
Best fake tans for your face and how to apply to get the best results
Best anti-cellulite formulas for a sleeker silhouette: Creams, serums and oils
This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle
Best for: a subtle glow
This Works may be best known for its slumber-enducing pillow mists but don’t overlook the brand’s collection of corporal care. This serum-lotion texture is designed specifically for the pins with a subtle tint that blurs imperfections, evens out tone and imparts a natural radiance. It is enriched with brightening vitamin C and without any nasties to leave them silky soft. The product comes in a new entirely recyclable bottle.
Buy now £40.00, lookfantastic
Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs Instant Tan Lotion - Medium
Best for: effortless leg application
This is one of the only specifically leg tanning products on the market, creating an airbrushed appearance on your pins with an effortless application. It is described as leg makeup and so boasts a fuss-free process and a formula that can be easily removed with warm water if streaks occur or following an occasion. There’s palamaria extract included that works to counteract uneven tone and minimise the appearance of bruising and scars. Apply onto the legs, leave for one minute to dry and dress as normal.
Buy now £16.99, Boots
Isle of Paradise HYGLO Hyaluronic Self-Tan Serum for Body
Best for: dry skin
It is challenging to apply fake tan onto dry areas of the body. Tinted formulas have a way of drawing attention and excacerbating the situation, especially at the legs that are a typically parched part of the body. Enter this serum from Isle of Paradise that turns the process on its head.
It’s a bodycare product first and foremost with hyaluronic acid as the star ingredient to inject moisture into the limbs. This hydrating component locks in the moisture and combined with a complex of grapefruit, chia seed and avocado oils feels nourishing and radiant. But, as you can no doubt assume, there’s a gradual tan too. It’s subtle but buildable and remains lightweight and non-greasy.
Buy now £20.76, lookfantastic
Tan-Luxe Express Mousse
Best for: a quick bronzing fix
You may take a quick glance at this fake tan from Tan-Luxe and wonder how the see-through formula can: one, be a mousse texture and, two, have any dyes within the formula. Both justifiable questions but that’s part of the brand’s raison d’etre.
Tired of thick paint-like tan textures, founder Marc Elrick wanted to turn the formulations of faux glow products on its head with a skin-first approach. This is why you’ll find their products with ingredients you’ll recognise from your bathroom cabinet. For a quick bronzing fix, the new addition to the collection will give you a natural radiance in just 30 minutes.
The foaming texture is free from that traditional fake tan aroma (in fact, it’s actually rather pleasant) and contains hyaluronic acid and vitamin C for moisturising and brightening respectively. It continues to deepen the longer you leave it before washing it off but stops at around the four hour mark to suit your busy lifestyle.
Buy now £37.00, Cult Beauty
Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Oil Mist
Best for: an even tan
A spray or mist is a great way to even out your tan if you’re worried about streaky legs or arms. Just like a sun lotion, spray this new oil mist from Isle of Paradise, which applies easier, quicker and more even than a normal lotion.
It’s so hydrating too with hyaluronic acid, glycerin, squalane plus a vitamin-rich sea kelp that leaves skin feeling soft, smooth and tanned. Choose from three different shades - light, medium and dark, the mists come in pretty coloured bottles - adding to the aesthetics of your beauty counter.
Buy now £19.95, Boots
St. Tropez Gradual Tan Watermelon Firming Lotion
Best for: a sun-kissed glow
Skin looking grey, pallid and devoid of any healthy sun-soaked glow? Enter this gradual fake tan from St Tropez. The moisturiser-tan hybrid will help build a natural-looking luminosity to counteract ray-starved complexions - no “you’ve been Tangoed” moments here.
It builds in around four to six hours with a medium colourway that can be deepened with more layers and hydrates at the same time with hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Instead of that traditional biscuit aroma, the luxury tan label has enriched its product with a watermelon scent.
Buy now £18.00, Cult Beauty
Vita Liberata Body Blur Medium
Best for: rapid application
Your diary has unexpectedly filled up with plans and you need to get your pins prepped - stat. That’s where this formula shines. It’s a wash-off body makeup product for when you need a quick fix solution. The Vita Liberata Body Blur is a cult for a reason. The product has an instant smoothing and perfecting effect, evening out the skin tone, while also reflecting light so it provides some serious glow. Make it an even more effortless and even coverage by applying with a mitt and you’ll have a real-life filter with no biscuity aroma.
Buy now £30.00, Boots
Isle of Paradise Blend It Gradual Touch Up Stick
Best for: fixing imperfections
We’re only human. Mistakes happen. Areas reveal themselves as untanned despite the due care and attention that you paid to the painstaking process. Fear not. The Blend It smooths out uneven fake tanning with a nourishing combination of oils, including coconut, chia seed and avocado. Use on the body and face for streak-free perfection.
Buy now £10.95, eBay
Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam
Best for: a deep, radiant glow
After a long winter, you may be looking to call in the big guns and that’s the Coco & Eve Sunny Honey Bali Bronzing Foam. The pigmented product comes in mousse form for an immediate golden hue that develops further over the course of two hours. The formula is made up of a trademarked technology that you gives the tan you’ve been looking for, while moisturising the skin. Best of all, no one will second guess the realism of your sunless glow thanks to the mango and guava aroma that won’t give the game away.
Buy now £26.00, Cult Beauty
Tanologist Self-Tan Water
Best for: hydration
This is one of the best fake tans on the market for dry skin. The water texture means that, with each and every spritz, you are treating your limbs to a cocktail of hydrating ingredients, while also leaving you with a vacay-worthy bronzing. It’s not the easiest for beginners and you need greater care taken to see the areas that have already been tanned but it dries down instantly and shouldn’t transfer onto clothing or bedsheets. Spray directly onto the skin and use a mitt to ensure no area if left tanless.
Buy now £8.25, Sephora
