St Tropez’s speedy tan took me from deathly at dawn to bronzed by lunch (2025)

It’s that time of the year when the sun finally shines and summer no longer feels like a glimmer in the far distance. It’s also the moment when you dash excitedly to the shops to refresh your spring wardrobe, only to realise exactly how washed out your complexion looks against anything pastel or pale. Eek. But here to save us from our shudders comes St Tropez Sunlit Skin Bronzing Tint + Tan, a new face self-tan drops-meets-makeup hybrid that promises to have you good to glow in just three hours.

The fake tan brand has taken note of viral wash-off bronzing drops like Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi, and combined that instant effect with what it calls its “fastest-developing self-tan ever”. The formula goes on as a bronzy makeup tint and then, says St Tropez, builds into a long-lasting medium tan over the next three hours. Like all the best self-tans out there, it promises a believable, no streaks colour, but to add to the “elevated” effect, you can buy a separate St Tropez Tantour brush to apply the product.

As a skin-conscious beauty editor who loves a safe, sunless glow and has tried every single fake tan St Tropez has ever made, I was keen to see how this new arrival measured up.

When I’m not faking it, I’m wearing one of the best bronzers on the market, be it liquid or cream, to skim off the winter pallor. The immediate effect of St Tropez’s tint was, I’d say, a little lighter and less glowy than Drunk Elephant’s makeup tint, but it was definitely an improvement on what I’d woken up to in the mirror.

Having tried this a couple of times now, I found I got the best instant finish using the brush. It ensured the tint buffed seamlessly into my hairline and graduated away without an obvious stop/start line, while the softness of the bristles added a rather lovely self-care moment first thing in the morning. I felt like a happy cat being stroked.

St Tropez promises a rapid result, and the tint didn’t let me down. By the time lunchtime rolled around, my colour was coming along nicely, and colleagues commented on the “healthy” effect. The good news is that it’s a visible boost but not so dark that you’re going to see an obvious tidemark where the product application stops (always a concern when you’re using a face tan on its own).

The immediate tint gave me a good idea of how the final colour would develop, so I could feather it out down my neck and chest, tailored to the limited amount of flesh on show this time of year. Using the St Tropez brush made it even easier to diffuse the tan.

The self-tan itself is a light-medium shade, which I’d say if ideal as a starter tan for the season. Right now, I’m looking for “first rays of summer” rather than “went to the Maldives in March”, and Sunlit Skin ticks the believability box.

The speed is excellent. It’s quick to apply, there’s instant gratification from the tint and you don’t need to wait long to see a longer-lasting golden colour building. And when it comes, it’s in the realms of reality. If you wear it to work, you don’t need to worry you’ll pop to the loo mid-morning and be faced with an embarrassing, Trump-like reflection.

I didn’t find the tint rubbed along happily with all my makeup. I was happy to go foundation free when wearing the tint, but when I blended a little concealer to my dark under-eyes (there are limits to how barefaced I’ll go on a work day), there was a touch of pilling. Not ideal, although the brush helped smooth things over again.

Overall, it’s another worthy addition to the St Tropez tanning stable. I’d argue it’s not quite the “first to market” revolution they claim (there are other good tinted tanning drops already, like the ones from Collistar and James Read) although this has gives more visible immediate colour and is possibly a bit quicker-acting. And I’m a sucker for the swishy brush.

As well as helping to ease me into the new season, I imagine it will come in handy for actual summer as top-up for when my face fake tan fades quicker than anywhere else. Now excuse me while I go clothes shopping for pastels..