Glow or no glow?

Self-tanning products elicit widely varying responses from our testers

Faux summer glow?

It's a hard sell with the N&O beauty panel. We asked them to spend the height of the summer out of the sun's harmful rays getting a safer glow by testing seven self-tanning products.

They were their typical picky selves, with most liking few, if any, of the products. They came the closest on agreeing with the Olay Touch of Sun daily UV facial moisturizer. But many of the products, the panelists said, didn't deliver what they promised -- either the color was off, was too gradual to notice or developed too quickly on the skin. A few of the products had directions that were simply too difficult to bother with.

But unlike sunless tanning products of the past, there were fewer-than-expected complaints about products smelling funny. And only a few panelists said the product turned them an orangy hue -- another sign the industry is working to improve formulas.

Even as more people embrace their natural color sans the sun or a bottle tan, the sunless tanning industry isn't going away. Dozens of new products were introduced this summer at beauty stores, drugstores and department stores. Expect more next summer too. U.S. sales of self-tanning products are expected to jump 20 percent to $273.5 million from 2005 to 2010, according to Euromonitor International.

ALMAY SUNLESS TANNING CREAM BODY

SPF 15, 4.2 ounces, $10.09, drugstores.

JEAN BAILEY | This one had too many "dos and don'ts," avoid contact with fabric for 20 minutes, don't swim for two hours, etc. Who has time to remember all that at my age?

Cary Edgar | As with many of the other products in this bunch, it's hard to find time post-application to "avoid contact with fabric for 20 minutes." I hope that I'm not alone in thinking that most people just don't have time to stand around naked and motionless waiting for their tan-in-a-bottle to dry. I used this on my legs and felt like the color was inconsistent and streaky.

Ilina Ewen | A neighbor humored me by trying out this product. Her goal was to get her stomach to catch up to the glowing tan on the rest of her. Alas, since having two children, she, like many of us, sports strange tankini tan lines due to the shifting of goods post-pregnancy. The product was easy to apply but amounted to no perceivable difference in the end. I guess the positive note is that she didn't turn orange, which would be way worse than tankini tummy.

Susannah Skiver | Although its stale-sangria smell was off-putting at first, this turned out to be the best of the self-tanners. It left my skin with natural-looking color after just a couple days - not only looking great, but feeling soft and smooth too. Oddly, I noticed that it rubbed off on my flip-flops, meaning I even had tan lines to add to the authenticity!

Art Stone | (Who enlisted his friend Julie to test) She said it was thick and difficult to apply evenly. It had almost no scent, just a little of the typical tanner smell. It took a long time to dry, but didn't stain her clothes. She could see a difference in just a few hours. It was a typical bottle-tan color -- slightly orangy, but mostly a warm brown. She reapplied the next day, which was a big mistake for her fair skin color! "Now my tan is a less natural looking color with obvious edges and smears when viewed in sunlight."

AVEENO CONTINUOUS RADIANCE MOISTURIZING LOTION

8 ounces, $8.69, drugstores

JEAN BAILEY | This had a pleasant smell, but I found it heavier and slightly sticky.

Cary Edgar | If I were ever to use a sunless tanner in the future (unlikely), this is what I would choose. The scent was clean and simple, and the click-dial near the applicator tip allowed a truly customized color. The resulting shade was as close to what I would expect from an afternoon in the sun, but I have to say that I'm surprised and disappointed that Aveeno chose not to include SPF in the formula. Isn't this the same brand that espouses healthy and protected skin in all their other products?