Value for money: fake tan

This week, Value for Money tries on four varieties of fake tan

Dove Sunshie Body Lotion

€5.50 for 250ml, €22 per litre

This is probably the most widely available of the tans tried and it was very cheap. While many tanning lotions smell revolting, this is refreshing. It is very simple to apply and blends in beautifully so unless you are spectacularly clumsy in the application, blotchiness should be kept to a minimum. It takes about 20 minutes to dry and until it was dry, it was on the sticky side.

The fair skin colour was surprisingly subtle and impressively natural. It scores extra, um, brownie points, for fading naturally without leaving the testers with weird patches or dirty looking necks.

Verdict: Excellent value

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Garnier, Ambre Solaire Original

€10.32 for 150ml, €68.80 per litre

This company has been in the self-tanning business for a long time, so long in fact, that one of our testers recalled going an attractive shade of Oompah Loompah using one of its early incarnations of tan back when Kajagoogoo were too shy. More than a quarter of a century on and it still has a tendency toward orangeness. It has a distinctive apricot smell which was fine but the streaks it left, despite a promise not to, were less fine. It goes on easily enough and deepens over a four-hour period but it left at least one tester with orange elbows, striped legs and very dark lines at the wrist which was not a good look and meant that the long time it took to fade was something of a mixed blessing.

Verdict: A bit stripey

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St Tropez Self Tan

€29.95 per 120ml, €249.58 per litre

This is by far the most expensive option we tried and that expense would have increased dramatically if we had followed the company’s advice and exfoliated with St Tropez Body Polish and moisturised with its moisturiser before applying the tan. To its credit, it has a lovely fresh clean smell, a light texture and is very easy to apply. Leave it overnight and you’ll be left with a very natural light tan with no blotching. One application will not be enough for many people so a couple of passes might be needed. It does fade slowly and naturally, mind you.

Verdict: Pricey but lovely

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Tan Organic Caramel

€34.99 for 240ml, €149.79 per litre

Fans of RTÉ's Dragon's Denmight be familiar with this Irish-made product but they might be less familiar with its lovely fresh smell and excellent tanning effect. It is simple to apply and dries almost instantly which gives it the edge for last-minute applications. After a shower, it leaves a nice warm rich glow and if you moisturise daily, as instructed, the tan will last. Six days after its first application, it looked good and was fading naturally with no patchiness. It is essential to read the instructions carefully and follow them to a tee for a perfect tan but if you mess it up, it might all get just a little messy.

Verdict: Home grown and excellent

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Is there something you would like us to test? E-mail suggestions to pricewatch@irishtimes.com