Product Reviews Rated 4.08 out of 5 stars
254 Reviews
Most Helpful Positive Review Best self-tanner I've bought This product is great and made my skin tan immediately. Only con is the smell because it smells like your typical spray tan/self-tanner. Other than the smell, this product is very effective and only streaked on the back of my arms which I could not reach. This tanning lotion kept me tan for a few days after just one use.
Most Helpful Critical Review Returning ASAP I'm new to self tanning and was looking to try something different after using Jergens foam tanner. It left me a bit orange and I wanted something more natural looking. After reading great reviews about the Ulta Express Tan I picked up a bottle to try. I was diligent about exfoliating, shaving, exfoliating again and even blasted my legs with ice cold water to help close my pores. I dried off very well, applied lotion to areas like my knees, ankles and elbows, etc. and used the Ulta brand one sided mitt to apply. The mitt was horrible, it ripped on me before I finished one leg. The tanner was extremely tricky to apply. It was streaky and splotchy. It took me forever to finally get it blended in. If I would go over an area that was already covered it would pull the product off. The color was strange and it left my skin looking dirty. It almost immediately sunk into all my pores. Once I was satisfied with my application I allowed it to dry, got dressed and went to bed. When I woke up I wasn't happy with the depth of color so I decided to apply one more coat and let it develop for about an hour. I hopped in the shower to rinse off and it seemed like more than just the color guard rinsed off. My legs soaked up almost no color at all, but the areas that I applied moisturizer were streaked and patchy with super dark brown pigment. Honestly, my legs and feet just looked dirty. I don't know what I did wrong because it seems like people love this stuff. I'll be returning it today and buying Loving Tan instead.
Reviewed by 254 customers BEST TANNER 5
Danielle S from Las Vegas, NV
I worked at a tanning salon for 3 years and used to do custom self tans and have used literally dozens of self tanners on the market and this has the perfect undertone for my skin. I have a pinky-neutral undertone if that helps anyone. I usually leave it on for 6-8 hours and then if I want to be even tanner I'll apply it again the next day. This doesn't leave your skin looking patchy when it wears off.
Broke out bad, loved it at first 1
kaytlin from Fort Wayne, IN
I LOVED the color at first! It was such a deep, dark, beautiful tan and I couldn't believe it for the price. It says to only leave it on for 1-3 hours but I was lazy and slept with it on overnight. The tan lasted for a week without fading! But once it started to fade, it broke my skin out in terrible hives and it burned and itched so bad. I'm now on day 5 of the tan fading and my skin still has hives and bumps of where the tan is fading and it won't come off. I've tried several other self tanners (St. Tropez, St. Moriz, b.tan, etc.) and my skin never once broke out. I've never had any allergic reaction to a self tanner or any beauty product so I find it shocking that my skin is doing this to a self tanner. I wish it didn't though, because I loved how the tan turned out!
Best Self Tanner 5
Rach from TN
I naturally have very pale skin that's dry everywhere except my back and chest that stay somewhat oily. This is the BEST tanner. Not only does it not break me out, it also doesn't look orange, doesn't stain everything, and has no stink!
I've tried every brand of self tanner. Rodan and fields is too expensive and streaks, jerkins streaks, you have to use a ton of product, it takes forever to develop a tan, and doesn't tan well. Fake bake is nice but expensive. This tanner hits everything on my list.
THE ONLY DOWNFALLS are that it fades quickly and you have to use a mitt. You have to apply this either every night or every other night. I keep this in my bathroom and an extra bottle in my closet because I don't want to run out of this! For me, the downfalls are worth dealing with because it's such a good self tanner
10/10 would HIGHLY recommend 5
jules from seliensegrove
i've never used self tanner before cuz i usually get fairly dark in the summer but in the winter i lose all my tan so i decided to try some out. the lady in the store recommended this to me because i didn't have a lot of money to spend. love how my color turned out i waited 3 hours to get the darkest tan. the only downside is having to wait for so long and the smell is a little strong. i recommend this product but use a good mitt. definitely purchasing again once this one runs out!!
will not come off 2
anonymous from Arkansas
I have used many self tanners before and when i first used this i really liked the color until it WOULD NOT come off. It makes my skin look scaly and i have scrubbed and scrubbed and even used tan remover and nothing will make it come off. Do not buy unless you want a cracky, splotchy tan.
Will purchase again 5
Taylor from Cincinnati OH
I bought this item because it is fairly cheaper than the other self tanning products at Ulta. Given it was cheaper I knew I ran the risk of it not being as effective / not having good results. When first putting it on the color looked a little questionable, however I sill went through with application over my whole body. The next morning it had dried and looked amazing! I will be purchasing this again, reasonable price and does an amazing job!
This is the worst tanning product ever. 1
D from Ny
This stuff is awful. Left on less than an hour because it was stinging my face. After showering , my face looked like I had tons of blackheads. It sticks in pores and I had to scrub to remove it.
itchy 2
Faith from Birmingham, AL
A friend recommended this to me, and when i tried it i was in love!!! the color is not orange at all!! However it does come off very quickly and depending on how tan you want to be it might take more than 1 layer. After a few nights of wearing it i started itching so bad that i was waking up in the middle of the night. i loved the tan so much that i tried convincing myself there had to be another reason. but after 2 weeks i had actual bumps showing up on my skin that was itching non stop. It was making my skin so dry that it felt like it was burning!! Overall the tan is great for the price, but if you have dry, acne prone, or sensitive skin i would hold off and spend the little extra money on something with better ingredients; the itching and burning is not worth it.
SLEPT ON TANNER 5
Megan from PA
Steps: Shower and exfoliate, put on with mit, wait 1-3 hours, rinse off no soap.....in 8 hours you have a natural tan! Okay the only "con" you can give this is the in-between stage of waiting before you shower it off. However, I just sit around and relax in a robe and work on homework. I don't know if it's because it's ULTA brand but this tanner is so good and I love it.
I would not buy this again! It goes on even but was green 1
Ami from Morristown, Tn
If the color was better I would buy it. The actual formula went on fine.
It tans but stains 1
Crystal from Colorado
I would not buy this product. Yes it's inexpensive but not worth it!
BUY IT 5
Tay from Minneapolis
This is the best self tanner I've ever used. I bought the shade ultra dark. I apply one coat, let it dry for about 30 minutes, then I apply another coat and go to sleep & rinse off in the morning. I've tried bondi sands, loving tan & tanologist express tan and none of them last as long as this one. It lasts for about 2 weeks and doesn't get patchy as long as you moisturize everyday. This gives you that perfect glowing tan that makes you look like you've just been on vacation. No orange color at all. I am obsessed with this tanner!!! for the price, the results are shocking!
Best Tanner 5
Princess Meg ❤️ from Wi
I loved this tanner! When I started doing self tanning I was using Coco and Eve Sunny Honey Bali mouse and I hated it . It faded so ugly and patchy . I bought this tanner I was skeptical about it but omg it's amazing! The color is also on spot . In my own opinion it smells better than the coco and eve one . This one is also so affordable. It looks so good on my skin!
Great price & quality 5
Angelica S. from FL
This product was so easy to use however make sure buy an application mitt for this product. I do not recommend using your bare hands to apply any type of self tanner. Using the mitt made the application extremely simple and makes for an even tan. If you notice a streak while applying the tan with the mitt you can use a circular motion with the mitt to blend it before it essentially stains your skin over the next few hours. I totally recommend this product and you can't beat the price!
Wouldn't buy again 1
Maddie from Mankato, MN
I followed the instructions shaved, exfoliated, and put the product on waited 3 hours showered and there was no difference in my original color.
Love this product! 5
Lori from Aurora, IL
I love the color!
No smell, no orange color, very natural looking 5
Jenny from Northern Virginia
I am almost all Irish, which equals, I burn badly being in the sun for more than 10 minutes. Therefore, I never tan. I've tried lots of different brands, but this one has been the best! No bad smell, no orange color, and looks natural. I recommend applying it with a mit, moisturize beforehand, and shave your legs when you rinse it off, not before. Will definitely keep purchasing this!
Love this product!! 5
Kiki from Shreveport, LA
I am very impressed with this product! I am very pale, so I ALWAYS have on fake tan. I have been wearing the St. Tropez Express Tanning Mousse for years. However, I am tired of paying $45+ for a bottle of tan so I decided to try the Ulta brand. Here are my initial thoughts:
1. It smells soooo good- better than St. Trozpes.
2. It has a creamier texture than the ST mousse- similar to lotion. Because of this, it took longer to dry.
3. Once it finally dried, however, it was not sticky AT ALL. I fedora I had it on. I have always found the ST tan to be kind of sticky, and I wasn't a fan of that.
4. The color is dark down- no orange or greenish undertones like other tans. Once I rinsed it off, the color was very natural.
5. I don't think it continued to develop/darken after rinsing off as much as the ST tan does. Because it is so cheap, though, I don't mind apply more than I usually would with the ST brand.
With any tan, my number one concern is how long it lasts. I am excited to see how many days I can stay looking golden brown with the Ulta tan! I will also be trying the ultra-dark formula soon!
All in all, I love this product and will be switching!
Great If you're very pale! 4
Chelsea from New Jersey
First time ever trying this product and gotta say I was a little skeptical because of the price and it being a generic brand, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It goes on nicely and left my skin very soft. I left it on for an hour for the lighter tan since I didn't want to look too dark as I'm very pale. I'm glad I did this, the color is subtle but looks natural.
I'm super pale 3
Haylee from Oklahoma City, OK
I'm super super pale, I never been able to tan so I decided I would try this self tanning since I have never tried one. I followed all the instructions including the exfoliating & shaving directions, it literally just washed off. My jergens tanning lotion works better then this.
It works but is not for beginners 3
Anne from Orlando, FL
It's a good self tanner however it is messy! You have to devote 3 hours to staying in the house letting in dry and not touching anything and then once you rinse it off the first time you can't use soap so it can/will still stain clothing. You need someone to help you put it on your back too so it's very tough to do alone. Use gloves or a mitt to apply because once it stains your palms you won't be able to get the stain off!
Also it will not make you super dark, but it will give you a glow. It's an ulta brand of a more expensive product (loving tan) so I didn't expect perfection.
Recommend 5
Corrie from San Antonio, TX
My favorite affordable self tanner. I typically leave this on overnight even though it's a 1-3 hour tan. Tends to come out with a better tan when it sits.
It was good 3
Rena from Iowa
One thing I will say about this product is unlike other self tanning mousse is that I've tried it does not stain my skin for a long period of time I showered maybe twice since applying and it's basically gone. Have not used any tan remover's yet and it's not too blotchy either. The best use for this products ; a subtle tan .
New to self tanning 5
Alliek from Akron Ohio
I usually go to a tanning bed or lay out but during the winter didn't want to have to leave my house. I really like this product especially for the price. I usually put it on before bed and sleep in it then wash it off in the morning. It leaves me with a nice bronzed not too dark color.
The absolute BEST 5
Mary from North Carolina
This stuff is the greatest self tanner I've tried yet. It hasn't stained my clothes, literally ZERO streaks, it's got tint to it so you can actually see what you're doing, it hasn't collected weird around my wrists/ankles/elbows/etc., and it's a beautiful color. TRY IT you will love it.
