Gradual Tanners - Johnsons Holiday Skin Vs Garnier Summer Body

Whether you want to admit it or not our Summer weather has pretty much been and gone and there aren't many signs to show of it. Winter can leave our skin paler than ever, which is why I've compiled a mini series of posts with the best tips and ideas to bring about a wonderful post-summer glow to take you through to the winter. This post is a comparison between what I believe are the two best selling drugstore gradual tanners, a tool perfect for subtly faking a fabulous tan.

Garnier (Top), Johnsons (Bottom)

I'll give a few notes about each product before we get in to the comparison. The Johnsons Holiday Skin I will be reviewing is the Medium to Dark shade. It claims to have a 'subtle, fresh fragrance to avoid aftersmell' and says the tan will develop fully after 3-4 days. The Garnier Summer Body is one surrounded by controversy as many people said it left them with large rashes which were difficult to manage (if testing you should be aware of this possibility). The lotion claims to gradually build a tan with every application, but does not state a time period for when you can expect visable results. The apricot scented lotion appears to be advertised more as a moisturiser for 'deeper skin tones' than a gradual tanner as it doesn't mention very many details about the tanning element of the product.

Garnier (Left), Johnsons (Right) Top Photos (w/ flash) Bottom Photos (w/o flash)

 Sorry about the garnier flash exposure, was the best I could get!

And now for a few notes after:

You should note that I applied the same amount of each product to each arm and left the product for 4 days (the time period suggested for Johnsons) The Johnsons lotion has such a 'subtle' scent that when I applied it I had every member of my family walking upstairs asking what that 'awful' smell was! Although slightly orange at first, the Garnier tanner was AMAZING on most counts (as you can easily see in the table!) And so I think I can officially crown Garnier Summer Body as the winner of the Great Gradual Tan Off!

What's your favourite tanning product?