Bondi Sands Instructions: Foams, Gradual Milks and a Mitt

In 1907, two groups of swimmers on Sydney's Bondi Beach formed lifesaving clubs, the Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club and the North Bondi club. Bondi's club claims to be the world's first surf lifesaving club. A beach that organised itself around looking after people in the water is a good place to start a story about tanning, because the smartest thing any self tanner does is let you skip the sun.

Bondi Sands took that beach for its name, though the company itself began in Melbourne in 2012, created by Shaun Wilson and Blair James. The brand calls itself expert in the Australian glow and sells in more than 30 countries. It reached the US in January 2019 and was bought by Kao Corporation in August 2023. My case for a bondi sands self tanner is boring in the best way: the range is clearly sorted by how fast you want colour and how dark you want it, so you can choose without a consultation.

The trick is to decide on speed first. The Light-Medium Self Tanning Foam is the plain, sensible start. Salon Quality Self Tanning Foam Liquid Gold is the one with the coconut scent, and the brand says it gives a golden tan in as little as two to three hours. Technocolor 1 Hour Express, Aero Aerated 1 Hour Express and Ultra Express are for the night before a wedding, when patience has run out.

For something quieter, Everyday Gradual Tanning Milk comes as a body moisturizer and a face lotion, and the Dark Self Tanning Face Drops let you deepen the face without touching the body. Every one of these says plainly that it is not a sunscreen, so keep your SPF where it is.

Orange palms are the giveaway of a tan done without a mitt. Put a little of any new tanner on the inside of your arm 24 hours before the big application, then use the mitt on the day. It sounds fussy. It has saved me more than once.

The mousse shelf is where the personality lives. St. Tropez Self Tan Dark Bronzing Mousse is the no-surprises deeper option, and the Express Bronzing Mousse in Tropical Colada adds a holiday name to the same idea. Isle of Paradise Express Self-Tan Mousse suits a first timer who wants a fast result. Dolce Glow comes in twice, the 2-Hour Express in Ultra Dark and the Lusso mousse in Medium/Dark, which tells you the brand is thinking about deeper skin tones, and it is about time.

Saltyface makes both a Tanning Foam and a Tanning Water, and Tan Luxe's The Water is a hydrating self-tan water. Waters are the option I reach for when a foam feels like a lot of product for a light wash of colour, especially on the face and chest.

A pairing I like: a Bondi Sands foam on the body, a self-tan water on the face, so each area gets its own depth.

What I would skip: applying a dark mousse for the first time the morning of an event. Do your trial run on a quiet Sunday.

Gradual tan is the only kind you can do while the kettle boils. Apply it at the same time every evening, right after the shower, and stop when you like the shade. You are steering, not committing.

Tan Luxe's The Gradual Illuminating Gradual Tan Lotion is where I would begin, and The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops go into your usual moisturizer for the face. Self Glow by James Read has Endless Summer Gradual Tan Moisturiser for the body and Golden Nights Sleep Repair Tan Drops, which are made for night use. Lux Unfiltered's Summer Skin Hydrating Gradual Self Tanning Cream in Rosewood is a good one for people who already have a cream-heavy routine and do not want another step.

Dr. Dennis Gross makes Alpha Beta Glow Pads in a body version and a face version, and they are the tidy option for travel, since you are wiping colour on with a pad and not carrying a bottle of foam. Tanologist Face + Body Self Tan Drops are the one bottle that covers both, a handy trick if you want to mix into lotion.

Layer it like this: the gradual lotion all over, the face drops only on cheekbones and forehead, exactly where the sun would have hit you.

What I would skip: drops poured straight onto dry skin. Mix them into a moisturizer, or you will get patches.

Smooth skin takes colour evenly, and it fades more evenly too. That is why I exfoliate the day before a tan, not the same day, and why this step decides how long the colour lasts.

CYKLAR's Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Body Spray is the easiest way I know to reach your back. Glossier's Body Hero Exfoliating Body Bar is for a person who wants one step in the shower, and Soft Services' Smoothing Solution AHA Chemical Peel Body Exfoliator is for knees, elbows and ankles, where tan grabs hardest. The goop Beauty G.tox Ultimate Dry Brush is the old-fashioned option, and I like it for a few minutes before the shower.

After the tan, moisture is the maintenance. Dezi Skin Body Gloss Ultra-Rich Body Lotion and Nécessaire The Body Cream Fragrance-Free are the two I would pick for dry skin, the second being a good choice if the tanner's own scent is enough for you. Drunk Elephant Sili Whipped Body Lotion is the lighter one, and CYKLAR Rose Bud Nutrient-Rich Body Cream with Niacinamide is what I would put on after a bath.

What I would skip: a glycolic exfoliator once the tan is on. It will take the colour off faster than anything else in your cabinet.

For most people, I would say, the Bondi Sands foam is the right first tanner, because the range tells you what it is for and the shade names do not hide anything. Buy one foam in your depth, one mitt and one moisturizer, and keep the gradual milk for the weeks between. If you want a second colour for your face, add the Dark Face Drops and stop there.

Exfoliate, patch test, apply in the evening, and wear your sunscreen the next day. The lifeguards of 1907 would approve. They were more interested in getting you out of the sun anyway. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Tanning Lotion Without the Sun and Bondi Boost.