Banana BoatSelf Tanning Spray for All Skin Tones, Airbrush Color, Reef Friendly, 5 Ounce - Pack of 3

I am Irish with fair complected skin and I burn when I am in the sun or tanning beds, I try to avoid this like the plague and I know that it is much safer to fake and bake with lotion....I have used a few different self tanners throughout the years (the cheap ones and the more high end) and I have been using Banana Boat Summer Color Self-Tanning Lotion, Deep Dark Color, For All Skin Tones for the past year and that is the only stuff that works for me on my very light fair completed sensitive skin... it gives me a tan where I look like I am Brazilian vs. IrishI did venture out because I had heard such great things about the "Fake and Bake" brand and heck the price was right at $13.30 a bottle regularly $42.74 a bottle (Yikes). At any rate, foolish me.... I tried "Fake and Bake" and what a mistake!!When I got it and applied it, I was really disappointed. I did the the proper prep work IE moisturize, moisturize, moisturize a few days prior... Shower, exfoliate, shave, completely dry off, put my hair up and apply with the gloves.HOLY HECK that stuff was messy and dark, it actually scared me to the point I had to call my husband in to help me apply it as quick as possible. His exact words were "honey this stuff is a nightmare, I sure hope you don't wake up disappointed and looking like a train wreck And I think that you need to stick with your Banana Boat"The dry time took Forrreverrrr with "Fake and Bake" too and when I was finally able to go to bed, I slept a full 8 hours and woke up ready for a shower. When I took my clothes off, my clothes were stained and the color completely came off in the shower. - What a waste of time and money... No one has time for that!Lesson well learned.... Stick with what you know works and don't try to recreate the wheel!More about Banana Boat - Bedtime is the best time to apply...Banana Boat works well on my face too, pull your hair back and apply a dime size and let dry. I always moisturize on my off days and then I shower, shave, exfoliate, dry off really well and apply (rub in well) and let dry for 10 mins. Once dry get ready for bed and go to sleep, 6-8 hours later... shower off - it takes two-three separate applications to see a really nice Golden tan but you know it is working after the 6 hour mark from 1st application. Keep in mind... Slow and Steady Wins the Race with this stuff, but once you're there... You will be VERY happy :)Once I have a really nice tan - I use this product faithfully every other night IE. Monday, Wednesday, Friday taking the other nights off to moisturize and exfoliate to avoid build up etc.I ALWAYS apply it at bed time so it sets in longer and avoid any smell in public. And I always shower, shave and exfoliate BEFORE applying. ALSO.... if you are not going to use gloves... wash hands in-between applying, I always start with the top half of my body (wash hands / dry) and finish with my lower half(wash hands / dry) and apply a small dime size on your wrist and work in putting your two wrist together and gliding it across your top hands etc until dry. - this helps with evening your tan out.You really cannot go wrong once you figure out what works best for you and the price cannot be beat considering this self-tanning lotion offers the same quality tan that other high end self-tanners do, but better!Best of Luck,~ SkyLee :)

Based on the "glowing" reviews here, I purchased this Banana Boat self-tanner, and used it for the first time last night. I woke up this morning to a lovely, dark tan!In the past, I've used Jergens' gradual tanner and L'Oreal Sublime Glow, which both left me orange. Tan Towels have worked great, but they are expensive, which is why I wanted to give this BB one a try. My skin is pretty light (so light that you can see my blue veins peeking through), so I was worried that the color on this would look unnatural or too orange, but it doesn't at all. It's a very natural glow.Before using the tanner, I applied a bit of regular lotion to my wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles, since those areas tend to pick up too much color. Then I used Safe-Touch Powder Free Vinyl Exam Gloves, Medium - 100/Box gloves to apply the lotion in broad strokes, making sure to use the palms of my hands to rub it in since using your fingers leads to streaking. (I also used the vinyl gloves since I had read somewhere online recently that latex gloves may react badly with the ingredients in the self-tanner, leading to discoloration.) To apply to my back, I used the AquaBella Easy Lotion Applicator, which made it so easy to spread the lotion all over. I let it sink in a few minutes since it does feel a bit thick, before putting on my pajamas.This didn't discolor my pajamas or sheets at all, and was so easy to use. Also, it doesn't have that really strong self-tanner smell that other products have. It has a nice scent going on, and the self-tanner smell is barely noticeable.Great product!UPDATE ON 6/29/10: I've been using this for a couple of weeks now, and wanted to update my review to say how much I still love it. I've actually had people compliment me on how nice my "tan" is, which has never happened to me before. I've also found that this fades better if you use exfoliating gloves in the shower every two days -- it helps it fade more evenly.UPDATE ON 7/10/11: I've been using the tubes of this that I ordered a year ago since I didn't use them all last summer, and they are still fresh in case you're worried about getting three-pack. I was recently at Ulta (a cosmetics store), and the saleswoman there mentioned that this was was her favorite self-tanner of all that they carried. While there, I also picked up two of their self-tanning mitts, and the mitts work better than the gloves I've been using -- and left no streaks!