Today, the cosmetic market is full of sunless tanning products. A few decades ago, people didn’t really have this choice, and they were limited to the few products manufactured at that time.

Looking at our situation, the advantages are obvious – we have a bigger choice, and there’s also stronger competition between manufacturers, making it even better for us.

However, quantity doesn’t equal quality, and some of the products on the market today are of very poor quality for their price.

This is why you need proper guidance in this jungle of products – and we’ve picked some quality ones and reviewed them for you below.

Jergens Natural Glow Daily Moisturizer

This is not actually a tanning lotion, but rather a moisturizer with added tanning ingredients. It works by applying small amounts of tanning agent gradually, building up the tan in a few days. The cool thing about this product is that it’s very hard to mess up the shading, or overdo it, as you’d need to apply an awful lot to overtan yourself. It comes in three different shades so you can adjust it to your skin’s color more accurately.

It’s quite cheap as well, so if you want a fool-proof and money-efficient solution, this is definitely one of the better sunless tanning products out there.

Neutrogena MicroMist Tanning Sunless Spray

Neutrogena MicroMist is one of the most popular brands of tanning sprays on the market right now – and there’s a reason for this. Unlike most other sprays, this one doesn’t have a color – it just gives you a tan, but the spray itself is 100% transparent, making it very friendly to your clothing. This is a common problem with many tanning sprays, as people are forced to wear dark clothes to cover up the stains left by the spray. With Neutrogena MicroMist, this is eliminated.

It costs a bit more than the Jergens moisturizer, but the price difference isn’t that great – and it’s well worth it. The spray acts quickly too, so it’s the perfect solution for spontaneous occasions, like an unexpected party.

Clarins Self Tanning Instant Gel

This product will cost you significantly more than most other tanning products on the market – about $30 per package, as opposed to $5-10 for the rest – but the price is well justified. The gel is DHA-based, so it doesn’t use any pigments to darken your skin. It acts very quickly, and produces an extremely natural color, which also lasts longer than non-DHA based products. So in the long run, the product pays for itself as you’ll need to apply it less frequently to get a good tan.

Definitely recommended if you want a high-quality sunless tan product, and if you’re comfortable with spending a bit more on cosmetics than the average person.

The only downside to this tanning product is the delivery method – gels can be a bit inconvenient to apply, especially in hard to reach spots, but if you can overcome that issue, you shouldn’t experience any other problems with this product.