Tan-Luxe began in a hair salon in Glasgow. The Daily Mail reported in 2017 that Marc Elrick, who owns the salon, kept overhearing clients complain about the smell, color, dryness and streaks of the fake tans they were using, and in 2015 he created the brand with Brendan Heggarty and Joanna Livingstone. It took five years of research, development and feedback before the first product was ready.

The idea was customization. Elrick has said that if you can choose the shade of your makeup, you should be able to choose your tan, and that The Face drops were the product that launched the brand. You mix a few drops into your own moisturizer, and more drops means deeper color. The brand's guide runs from about two drops for a little radiance to twelve for a real bronze, and it suggests starting low. That is what makes Tan Luxe easy for beginners. If you go too dark, you use fewer drops tomorrow.

The line has grown since then, from gradual lotions and butters to express waters, mousses and a mist. Elrick has said the formulas skip guide color, so what goes on is clear and the tan shows up over the next few hours. That takes a little trust the first time.

The first grid is Tan-Luxe, from the face and body drops to the mousse and mist. The second grid is seven self-tanners and one mitt from other brands I compared them with. My tip: exfoliate the night before, put plain lotion on your knees, elbows and ankles first, and wash your palms right after.

The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops are the most reviewed Tan-Luxe product here and the one that started the brand. Mix them into your moisturizer at night, and the color develops in two to four hours. The Body Drops work the same way for arms and legs, one to four drops in your body lotion, and they have the highest rating in this grid.

For a slow build, The Gradual Illuminating Lotion gives buildable color in one to two hours, and The Butter is a richer gradual body moisturizer with a soft sheen. The Illuminator is a gradual face serum with hyaluronic acid, though it has the lowest rating here from only a handful of reviews.

For speed, the Hydrating Self Tan Express Water is clear and transfer-proof and develops in thirty minutes. The Hydrating Express Self Tan Mousse is the fast route to a deep bronze, and The Future Airbrush 360 Mist is the at-home spray tan, which reaches your back without help but has a mixed rating so far.

If you are new to self-tan, start with drops. If you tan every week, add a gradual lotion.

What I would skip: the express water on your face. Use drops there instead, because a clear formula is harder to see and easier to miss a spot with.

St. Tropez Self Tan Classic Bronzing Mousse is the most reviewed self-tanner in this grid, quick drying with no self-tan smell and an even fade. St. Tropez Self Tan Suprême Violet is its ultra-dark sibling, for the deepest olive tan, and the St. Tropez Double Sided Luxe Tan Applicator Mitt is the tool I would use with any mousse here.

Isle of Paradise Express Self-Tan Mousse is tinted and develops in as little as thirty minutes. Dolce Glow Lusso Mousse has an olive, brown-based undertone that keeps skin from going orange, and it has the highest rating in this grid. The Dolce Glow Self-Tanning Mist is a 360 degree spray with a fine mist.

Lux Unfiltered has two here. On Holiday is an extra-dark, fast-drying mousse with hyaluronic acid, and Summer Skin is a gradual body cream in a santal scent.

If you are pale, start with a gradual cream. If you want a deep tan by tonight, choose a mousse. If orange is your worry, look for an olive undertone.

What I would skip: an extra-dark mousse the night before a big event if you have never used it. Test it on a weekend first, on your legs, and check the color the next morning.

I think Tan Luxe drops are still the easiest way to try self-tan, because you control the depth with your own moisturizer. Start with two to four drops on the face and a few more on the body, then build over a week. If you want faster color, compare the express mousse with St. Tropez or Isle of Paradise. Whatever you pick, use a mitt, wash your hands, and let it dry before you get dressed.