Finding the best express sunless tanner has been my mission lately.  Express sunless tanners are the ideal sunless tanner for busy women like us because who has time to be covered in a stinky, sticky product for eight hours?!  Most express sunless tanners only need to be worn for two hours, which is much more reasonable.  For me, as a new mom, I have to find a time when I know my daughter will be asleep for the entire duration of the time I’ll be wearing the tanner since I don’t want to touch her while wearing it. 

Prior to my hunt for a great express sunless tanner, I always used L’Oreal Paris Sublime Bronze in deep.  I liked it because the aerosol can made it so easy to apply and it’s very affordable.  Unfortunately, the smell isn’t great at all and it needs to be worn for eight or so hours before you can shower.  It no longer works for my lifestyle, so today I’ll be sharing a detailed comparison of the two express sunless tanners I have tried recently.

In today’s post I’m comparing a splurge option, Loving Tan 2 HR Express Self-Tanning Mousse, to a steal option, Ulta Express Tan Tinted Mousse. While I do have a clear winner between these two (and I’ll get to that part)… I’m still testing other options and plan to put together a huge comparison of everything I’ve tested on the blog in the future.

Splurge vs. Steal Sunless Tanner Review: Ulta and Loving Tan Express

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How I Tested The Products

I applied both products exactly the same way, using this Loving Tan application mitt.  I would squirt the product onto the mitt and rub in circular motions all over my body.  For my back and any hard to reach areas, I used this lotion applicator which isn’t technically designed to be used with sunless tanner. I will say those areas weren’t quite as even as others… but not bad enough that I wouldn’t do it again.  I did later find that Loving Tan has a back applicator for tanning products, so it might work even better.

I wore both of the tanners for exactly two hours and then showered to compare how effective they were when worn the same amount of time. 

Criteria

As a pretty frugal person, I want everything I buy to be a good value.  While I love a bargain and always hope I can find an inexpensive product that gets the job done, I am willing to invest a bit more if I find a product that’s truly worth it.  With regards to express sunless tanners, I also wanted to ensure that the product didn’t smell terrible, that the tan was a dark but a natural color on my olive skin, that application was easy and not messy, and that the tan was pretty long lasting.

• Price
• Scent
• Color
• Application
• Long-lasting

Products Tested

I tested Loving Tan 2 HR Express Self-Tanning Mousse Dark and Ulta’s Ultra Dark Express Tan Tinted Mousse. Both products have 4.1/5 star reviews on Ulta.com.

About Loving Tan 2 HR Express Self-Tanning Mousse Dark

Loving Tan 2 HR Express Self-Tanning Mousse is available in two different colors, medium and dark. It is available in both 4 oz and 6.7 oz packaging for $39.95 and $59.95 respectively (at the time of publication). The product is recommended to be worn for two hours; however, upon reaching out to Loving Tan, I was told that leaving it on for three hours is recommended for a darker tan. Reviewers say it creates an even, natural tan, that it is easy to apply, and it dries quickly.

This product was the first of the express sunless tanners I tried.  I was very impressed with the scent during application along with the lingering scent after showering.  I would say this is the least stinky sunless tanner I had ever tried to this point.  Application was very easy and even.  It didn’t dry so fast that it was difficult to rub in but it also didn’t stay wet for a long time.  Honestly, the color payoff was a bit disappointing to me, especially for the price tag.  My frustration is that the Express line from Loving Tan only comes in dark, not ultra dark.  If it came in Ultra Dark, this would be my holy grail product.  I did reach out to Loving Tan inquiring about the option to get Ultra Dark, and they told me that I should try wearing the dark for longer than their recommended two hours to get the results I’m looking for. 

By the time I had gotten that information from them, I had already returned it.  I wish I hadn’t hastily done so, because I would definitely like to give that a try. I find it odd that the packaging didn’t mention wearing longer than the recommended two hours as an option. I will consider re-purchasing this product in the future.

About Ulta’s Ultra Dark Express Tan Tinted Mousse

The Ulta Express Tan Tinted Mousse comes in two different colors, with each being customizable by leaving the product on the skin for shorter or longer. The product can be left on for as little as one hour and as long as three hours. I chose the darkest option, Ultra Dark, and left it on for two hours. The product contains 6.76 oz and contains no parabens or sulfates. At the time of publication, the product is $14.99. Reviewers say there are good color options available, that it’s not orange, and that it dries fast.

After testing both Loving Tan’s product and Ulta’s version, I was blown away by how similar the two products are. Essentially everything I said above about all of the things I liked about Loving Tan are also true for Ulta’s brand.  The product doesn’t smell badly at all and it’s very easy to apply.  Although maybe slightly less pleasant smelling than Loving Tan, the difference isn’t very noticeable, and I doubt I would have have noticed a difference at all had I not been closely analyzing the products for this post.  I would also say that the Ulta version dries during application slightly faster than the Loving Tan version, so it’s important to move quickly to get everything rubbed in well and avoid streaks. 

In two ways, I think the Ulta product is superior to Loving Tan.  It’s available in Ultra Dark, which Loving Tan isn’t AND it’s much, much less expensive at $14.99 compared to $59.95.  Additionally, every time I’ve gone back to the Ulta site to look at the product over the past several weeks, it’s been buy one, get one 50% off making the product less than $12/bottle

Comparing Ulta vs. Loving Tan Express Sunless Tanning Mousse

Splurge vs. Steal? Which is better?

Ultimately, both products are very high quality. But given how similar the products are, I would vote that the steal, Ulta’s Ultra Dark Express Tan, is the winner. For $14.99, it’s less expensive than most tanning options and works as well as or better than its much pricier competitor.

After reading this article on Cosmopolitan.com about sunless tanners, I definitely want to try Australian Glow’s 1 Hour Express tan next.

I’d love to hear from you… which sunless tanners would you like for me to compare next? Are there any other categories you’d like to see as a splurge vs. steal comparison?