Bondi Sands fake tan review: A questionable guide colour for pale skin, but the final result was worth it

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The days are getting longer, the weather is (slightly) warmer, Love Island is back and Aperol spritz’s are being ordered in bulk at the bar, which can only mean one thing – summer is finally here.

With the change in seasons, we’re shifting our attention to some essential buys, with sunscreen, summer dresses, barbecues and fans topping the list. When it comes to skincare, fake tan is a must-have in many-a-beauty-cabinet for the summer months.

St Tropez, Skinny Tan and Sienna X are just a handful of home tanning brands currently dominating the market. And with everything from one-hour instant glow creams to face drops and gradual tanning lotions all on offer, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start.

Finding the right product, shade and consistency is incredibly important, as you need to work within your natural skin tone range in order to achieve a post-holiday boost rather than an inauthentic, patchy finish. Which is why (spoiler alert) we fell in love with this option from tanning heavyweight Bondi Sands – keep reading for our full review of the aerated foam formula.

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After smothering themselvces in fake tan for close to ten years now, our tester has become somewhat of an expert in the stuff, trying everything from the cheapest bargain buys to luxury lotions. So it’s safe to say they know what they’re looking for when officially reviewing.

Ease of application is first on the list, followed by guide colour, smell and drying time, all very important factors before seeing the final result. And, when it comes to washing it off, of course we’re looking for a streak-free, smooth and even colour that’s a golden-looking natural tan with no orangey hues.

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Rating: 8.5/10

For reference, our tester is incredibly pale, with white pasty skin that shows every vein, pore and slight redness, as well as having a considerable-sized red scar in prime position on the front of their leg. So, while she uses fake tan to mask an Edward Cullen style gleam, it also helps blur any less desirable features too.

Any eagle-eyed IndyBest readers may remember that we have in fact tested this tan before, naming it best for quick absorption in our fake tan round-up, but what’s better than one tanning-obsessed tester? Two. And this time we’ve done a full deep dive into the application, formula and result to tell you everything you need to know.

Read more: This fake tan applicator is the secret to a streak-free finish

When applying any form of self-tan, preparation is key. 24 hours before applying, our tester waxed their legs with the Veet wax strips (£4, Amazon.co.uk) – rated best overall in our wax kit round-up – and moisturised their whole body with the Sol de Janeiro Brazilian bum bum body cream (£19.90, Feelunique.com).

Just before tanning they showered, exfoliating with the So Eco 2-1 exfoliating glove (£5.20, Lookfantastic.com) – named best overall in our exfoliating mitt round-up – and added moisturiser to any dry patches such as feet, knees, elbows and hands.

Of course, we opted for the Bondi Sands reusable application mitt as the application method of choice, not only because it seemed ‘on brand’, but our tester has actually been using it for years with a whole range of different tans (£3.49, Lookfantastic.com). Firstly, it’s double-sided which makes it so much easier to reach your back without needing to turn it around or doing contortionist yoga. And secondly, it’s reusable, meaning you can wash it (hand wash with warm soapy water) and re-use for many months, or even a year or more depending on how much you use it.

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Starting from the legs upwards, we applied the tan directly onto the mitt and then rubbed it into the skin, reapplying when needed and using the residue on the mitt to dab onto the face, feet and hands, making sure to go right into any creases or bends. Top tip: make sure to shake the bottle really well first to ensure the product comes out thick and foamy rather than a small dribble.

After applyinh, we then left it on for eight hours overnight as we slept and rinsed off all of the guide colour in the morning.

A cross between a mousse and a foam, this tan is best described as having the consistency of sprayable whipped cream – the nozzle on the bottle even the same design too. This makes it incredibly quick and easy to apply with just a small amount of product covering quite a large surface area. It smells like pina coladas too, which can only be a good thing.

It has a great deep guide colour which absorbs into the skin within minutes, although we were left with a body print in our bed linen, so that’s something to consider for anyone who has white sheets.

OK, now for an important point: the formula has a definite green tinge which had our tester frantically googling after they started morphing into Shrek. Luckily, this is normal when it comes to fake tanning, yet not commonly spoken about. The tan is actually developed with a green base to combat any orange hues and the pH of your skin will determine whether you experience the green tinge or not. So, you may be lucky and avoid the whole princess Fiona thing after all.

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And, despite all of that, the guide colour washes off and leaves a streak-free, natural-looking golden glow without a green or orange hue in sight. While we loved the beautiful result this gives, you may not want to head into work, do your weekly shop or go to the pub while waiting for this tan to develop, just in case. Stick to your nighttime tanning routine and you’ll be safe.

Said to hydrate while developing in colour, this tan includes moisturising ingredients such as vitamin E and Jojoba which helps the tan last longer and fade evenly rather than going patchy or clinging to dry areas.

The brand also uses dual-action tanning ingredients with the core colour stemming from DHA (Dihydroxyacetone), the most common active ingredient in any self-tan. It’s actually a sugar molecule that reacts to the amino acids on the surface of the skin, temporarily darkening any dead skin cells.

Read more: We tried Chanel’s £90 sunscreen in Mexico to put it to the test

When wearing fake tan, our tester tends to avoid spending too much time in water – opting for showers rather than baths, not spending too much time in the sea or a swimming pool and making sure to pat dry instead of rub. While following this method, this tan lasted for over a week, gradually fading until it was mostly gone. Of course, if you do wish to have a soak or a swim it could just speed up the rate of fade, so you may want to exfoliate and re-apply sooner.

Despite the initial shock at our green appearance – darn our pH levels – we actually fell in love with this tan and received a huge number of compliments from friends and family who thought it was au naturale. Unlike other fake tans we’ve tried it did fade evenly, and a good scrub with the exfoliating mitt did the job of removing any last remnants and left us ready to go again.

It does rub off on any areas of tight clothing – think bra straps or elasticated knickers – and in our tester’s case, two white rings were left where their boots rubbed. But, we’re yet to find a tan where this doesn’t happen and it seems rather unavoidable.

We left it on for eight hours overnight which gave a perfect natural colour. The brand recommends re-applying 30 minutes after the initial application for a deeper tan, but our pale skin tester felt that would have left them with a bit of an unrealistic colour. Other shade options are also available for darker skin tones, including dark (£18.99, Bondisands.co.uk) and ultra dark (£19.99, Bondisands.co.uk).

Just remember that most fake tans, including this one, offer no protection against the sun, so please don’t forget the importance of a good sunscreen when outside.