Loving Tan: the honest verdict.
The most-requested self-tan in Australian salons, at a price most won't flinch at. Six weeks of daily testing across three formulas and two skin tones.
- Position
- Premium · Salon-grade
- Founded
- 2012 · Melbourne, AU
- Available at
- Adore Beauty, Sephora AU
8HR Deluxe Mousse Dark
Cult premium self-tan mousse. Develops in 8 hours. Beautiful warmth on olive and warm-toned skin.
Worth every dollar — if you're buying one bottle a year.
Loving Tan is the rare premium beauty brand whose premium is actually earned. The formulas produce a cool-neutral undertone that reads as genuinely sunkissed, not orange. The 7–9 day wear is real. The fade is even. The biscuit smell is polarising but gets better the more you use it. The criticism — $65 is a lot for a bottle of mousse — is fair. But this is the tan you wear to weddings and photo shoots. For everything else, Bondi Sands Pure is fine. For the moments that matter, Loving Tan earns its keep.
What they do right
- Most natural-looking finish on the AU market
- Three well-calibrated shades (Medium, Dark, Ultra Dark)
- Customisable wear via development time
- Even, even fade — no patches
- Aussie-founded, globally exported
What to know
- $65 is high relative to the shelf
- Biscuit scent while developing is polarising
- Not for sensitive skin without patch testing
- Mitt sold separately; bundle up for first purchase
The lineup
2HR Express Deluxe Mousse — Dark
The most-requested self-tan in Australian salons. Two hours for an evening tan, eight for holiday-dark. The shade most Australian skin tones land on.
2HR Express Deluxe Mousse — Medium
The cool-neutral medium. Best on fair skin tones (NC10–NC20) that go orange in everything else. Same formula, two shades down.
2HR Express Deluxe Mousse — Ultra Dark
For deeper natural tones, or fair skin holding out for end-of-day intensity. Eight-hour development, the deepest finish in the range.
Affiliate disclosure: Glow earns commission from qualifying purchases. Read more.
"I tried Loving Tan before my wedding because of Glow's review. Three days later, photos that looked like I'd just come back from Byron. Worth the $65."