TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 6.3*
Why to avoid it: "[The] label should read: Warning you may be mistaken for a pumpkin. [It's the] worst tanner I have ever used -- turns you a fake orange color. Don't waste your money!!!" -- Katie, Total Beauty reader
TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 6.2*
Why to avoid it: "It smells like copper and did not build a tan for me whatsoever. It washed off right away and I was back to my medium skin tone. It makes my face too shiny, which makes me look greasy, and I have some acne and it only accentuated the redness of the pimple." -- crazy4tennis, Total Beauty reader
TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 5.7*
Why to avoid it: "UHM! EWW? Built me a tan using this product every other day. My legs turned orangey. I went to a party wearing white shorts, it was hot, when I got home I saw streaks. I was able to SCRUB the tan off. Thank goodness for that!" -- suzy_ishtar, Total Beauty reader
TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 5.1*
Why to avoid it: "This product was very hard to apply evenly, mostly because the color develops over several hours and goes on clear. I had splotches of dark tan show up hours after I applied the tanner. The color looks fake on my skin -- it has a yellow tint. It also smells bad. It does, however, stay on longer than most spray-on tans, which in my case turned out to be not-so-great." -- gustavi7, Total Beauty reader
A bad faux body tan is the equivalent of an obvious toupee: everyone knows it's fake, whispers and snickers abound, and serious judgment is made about the wearer's
taste and maybe even their character. Harsh? Perhaps, but if you've made a snide remark about Lindsay Lohan's orange glow or been on a blind date with a man wearing a rug on his head, you know what we're talking about.
With that comparison, hopefully we've convinced you that a bad, streaky, or orange fake body tan is something to avoid at all costs. This should not, however, scare you out of actively seeking a natural looking glow -- it should just warn you that not all self-tanners are created equal.
Some do what they promise, giving you a UV-free week's worth of fun in the sun conveniently packed into one little bottle, while others leave your body striped, orange and stinky. To help you steer clear of any potential faux tan disasters, we've combed through thousands of reviews to find out which self-tanners you should avoid with a ten-foot limbo poll (sorry, the promise of a perfect tan always makes us think of rockin' beach party).
So before you reach for what sounds like Bahamas-in-a-bottle and slather it all over your body, make sure it didn't make this list of the 7 self-tanners women say stink.
