On 5 July 1946, at the Piscine Molitor in Paris, Louis Réard unveiled the bikini. Micheline Bernardini modelled it, and it was named after Bikini Atoll and made from about 30 inches of fabric. The swimsuit was the news, but the quieter consequence was on the skin: a two-piece finally made stomach and leg tan lines a fashion question. Nobody wanted a strap mark in the middle of a look anymore. The even tan had become a project.

Loving Tan is what that project turned into when it met a calendar. The brand was founded in 2010 in Brisbane, Australia, by a busy 28-year-old lawyer named Joanna, who missed her weekly spray tan appointment and could not find a self-tan with the same professional look. I love an origin story that is just a scheduling problem. The brand calls itself the original professional strength self-tan, and the promise is salon spray-tan depth and natural colour at home. Whether it lives up to that is what the rest of this is for.

The trick is to pick by how much time you have. The 8 HR Deluxe Self-Tanning Mousse is the flagship, in Medium, Dark and Ultra-Dark, and the brand says its colour guide rinses off after eight hours while the tan keeps developing for up to 24. The Platinum version is the one for the deepest colour. The 2 HR Express Self-Tanning Mousse is the fast one for a Friday plan, and the brand calls it its number one bestseller. Then the smaller pieces: an Express Face Tanning Serum, an 8 HR Face Self-Tanning Cream, a Gradual Lotion for anyone nervous about going dark, and a 10 MIN Express Smoothing Body Mask. The Applicator Mitt is the tool you need on day one.

Here is how I would choose between mousses: decide what you want to have finished by when. A fast formula is for the night you are getting ready. A slower one is for a weekend when you can sleep in it. Read the time on the label before the shade.

St. Tropez has two, the Classic Bronzing Mousse and the Express, so you can compare timelines inside one brand. Bondi Sands makes a Salon Quality Self Tanning Foam and an Ultra Express Foam, which is the same idea, a fast one and a slower one. Isle of Paradise sells a Self-Tanning Mousse, and Dolce Glow makes the Lusso in Medium to Dark, the one to look at if you want depth. Lux Unfiltered has On Holiday, a hydrating mousse in Blood Orange, and Tanologist keeps its Self Tan Mousse plain and simple.

A pairing I like: use your usual mousse on the body and a face-specific product on the face, like the serum or cream from the first grid. The face is where a heavy hand shows first.

What I would skip: trying a new shade the night before a wedding. Test any tan on a small area a week ahead, especially if you have ever reacted to a product.

Start with the prep, because every self-tan story begins there. The brand says to apply to clean, dry, exfoliated skin, and that advice is universal. Exfoliate the day before, not the hour before, and moisturize the dry patches, meaning knees, elbows and ankles, first.

Then the mitt. Msk Labs makes The Tanning Mitt, Isle of Paradise and Lux Unfiltered each make their own, and Dolce Glow has an Application Mitt for Self-Tanning. St. Tropez offers a Luxe Double Sided Applicator, which is the one to pick up if you like a tool with a second job. A mitt keeps the palms clean and makes the layer even, which is where most streaks are decided.

For prep, Agent Nateur's Body Scrub Gloves and goop Beauty's Ultimate Dry Brush are the dry, tactile options. Nécessaire's The Body Exfoliator mixes a physical and a chemical exfoliant in a single cleanse, the one for someone who would rather do one step than two.

A habit worth borrowing: after applying, wait the 60 seconds the brand recommends before dressing, and choose loose, dark clothes for the first night.

What I would skip: an aggressive scrub on the same day you tan. Irritated skin drinks colour unevenly.

One rule for keeping a tan: moisturize every day, and start the morning after. Dry skin flakes, and a flaking tan looks patchy. A good body lotion is the best thing you can do for it after the mousse itself, and the tanned areas that dry out fastest, like shins and forearms, deserve a second pass in the evening.

Nécessaire's Body Lotion Fragrance-Free has 5 peptides and 2.5% niacinamide, and it is the one for anyone who does not want a scent competing with a self-tan. Kiehl's Crème de Corps comes refillable, with squalane. AESTURA's ATOBARRIER365 is the barrier-minded pick, and L'Occitane's Karité Confort is the shea classic. PATTERN's Hydrating Body Lotion with shea and mango seed butter comes in Midnite Amber, kai makes a Rose lotion, and Salt & Stone has two with niacinamide, Santal & Vetiver and Bergamot & Hinoki.

A pairing I like: a fragrance-free lotion in the morning, a scented one at night. The tan stays even, and you still get the small pleasure of a nice smelling body lotion.

What I would skip: a heavy exfoliating body wash while your tan is fresh. Save it for the week you want it gone.

I think the best self-tan is the one you will actually apply, and that usually means a mousse, a mitt and a routine you can do in twenty minutes. Start with the Express if you are nervous, the 8 HR if you like to plan, and keep the Gradual Lotion for the days you want a hint.

Exfoliate the day before, use the mitt, wait your 60 seconds, moisturize daily. It is not glamorous, but it works. Micheline Bernardini had 30 inches of fabric and a lot of nerve. You have a mousse, a mitt and a free evening. Set a reminder to moisturize, and the tan will do the rest.