11 best fake tans for a rich, believable bronze in 2026 – tried and tested

An instant sell-out, Isle Of Paradise have become a cult tanning range. This dark mousse has colour correcting actives to help even out and brighten sallow skin tones and create your most natural looking colour ever. It's also packed full of organic botanicals to care for your skin, including chia seed, coconut oil and avocado.

The creamy lotion-like tan gives an instant colour pay-off that's water-resistant and smudge proof. Plus, at only £6.99 it's so budget friendly. This also doubles up as a cream bronzer, just buff along the cheekbones with a kabuki brush for smooth application.

Tanning drops can be surprisingly divisive in beauty routines. Some avoid them altogether in fear of patchy streaks, while others swear by them for delivering a healthy, bronzed glow. Personally, when I find the right formula, I’m in the latter camp.

St. Tropez’s Luxe Tan Tonic Glow Drops deliver a subtle wash of colour without clinging to fine lines, settling into pores or turning muddy around dry patches. You can apply them directly to the skin, but my favourite way to use them is by mixing a few drops into my moisturiser before bed. By morning, my complexion has that sun-kissed glow that makes me look instantly fresher.

Infused with unique jewel-inspired colour guides — specially designed to counteract tell-tale orange tones — this foam seamlessly blends into a believable bronze tone. Bondi's innovative Technocolor dreamcoat (for that, it is) provides a tailored experience for results with unique results. The cutting-edge research, development, and laser skin analysis technology behind this formula deliver a perfectly match every time.

This clear foam is a firm favourite of mine. It’s one of the few formulas that delivers my ideal bronze – rich and golden rather than orange, with the kind of glow that looks like I’ve just come back from two weeks in Spain.

Because the mousse is clear, there’s no guide colour to show where you have (or haven’t) applied it, so my best advice is to work one pump at a time and massage it in thoroughly for the most seamless finish.

And while the bottle is slightly smaller than most at 150ml, the tan itself lasts incredibly well before fading evenly and naturally, so you do get your money’s worth.

Milk is having its moment in beauty thanks to its creamy texture and other benefits. And now we have it in our tan bottles, too. Easily applied with a mitt, this majorly hydrating formula with cascading levels of hyaluronic acid, ceramides and vitamin C provides one universal, natural-looking bronzed glow. The best part? It doesn’t need to be rinsed off. Lazy girl beauty at its best.

Finding the right tan for olive skin is about balancing the undertones. Look for formulas with olive, violet or green bases as these help to counteract orange hues, giving you a rich, deep and Mediterranean-esque glow. Rose & Caramel’s Velvety Dark Olive Self Tanning Mousse has a subtle purple undertone so it’s designed to deliver that naturally olive-toned bronze rather than anything too warm.

It also has a really pleasant fruity scent, which makes the application process a lot more enjoyable. That said, it’s probably best avoided as an overnight option if you’re sleeping in white bedding as it does transfer slightly while developing.

There are so many express tans out there, but something I’ve noticed is that a lot of them claim to ‘develop in an hour’ only to leave behind the faintest hint of colour. This one, on the other hand, actually does what it says on the bottle. After just two hours, the tan develops into a rich, believable bronze that genuinely looks like you’ve spent a weekend in the sun. I regularly reach for it as a last-minute solution before an event when I need reliable colour, quickly.

Enriched with shea butter and aloe leaf juice, this tan is hydrating AF. Plus, the tropical scent is an added bonus and will remind you of your summer holiday.

Keeks Reid, our Beauty Director says: "As a Black girl who loves tan, having a brand that is literally made to work for our melanin is *chef’s kiss*. This has a great, dark guide colour for my medium-deep skin tone and immediately perked up my sun-deprived limbs."