Testing the fake tan

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There is a fine line between golden brown and embarrassing orange and supermarket and pharmacy shelves are packed with creams and spray-on tans.

We decided to put the leading brands to the test with the help of some beauticians.

Ease of application, scent and appearance were noted with the products applied to one leg only.

They were also allowed to settle for three hours before final judging.

There were a few surprises, especially with the Priceline product.

The product was one of the cheapest and our testers said the colour was actually quite natural.

Beautician Dixie Holden was similarly impressed with the Ambre Solair and Banana Boat products, but the Model Co did not fair so well.

"It was really quite terrible, it's got a green colour to it which isn't very appealing," she said.

"It dribbles out of the can and it just didn't go on evenly whatsoever."

At $52 the high priced Jan Mirini was the most expensive product on trail, but it too failed to impress.

"It's actually got glycolic in it so there was a bit of reaction with the skin," Dixie said.

"I'd recommend it for someone who is a lot older, just because you get a lot of dead skin build up and things like that on your skin."

The Ella Bache product didn't win fans either.

"It took a lot of time to work it into the skin, it's a lot of hard to work to use, it's not an easy product to use," Dixie said.

"It just looks very unnatural I think, especially if you look around the knee area and the feet area."

The Clarins product also didn't impress our candidates, but it was a different story with Shiseido.

Dixie said it was very natural looking and easy to apply.

"It's very easy to apply and it's actually a very nice colour as well," she said.

"It's very natural looking so that's probably the one I thought was the best out of these.

"Don't worry about how much it costs because that has got nothing to do with it, just make sure it's easy to apply."

Products we tested

Priceline Sun Gel - $6.99
Ambre Solair Express Bronzer - $8.99
Banana Boat Sun Dial - $15.99
Model Co Airbrush In A Can - $32
Ella Bache - $39
Jan Mirini Sunless Self Tanner - $52
Clarins Auto-Bronzanate - $40
Shiseido Brilliant Bronze - $41

Our beautician liked
Priceline Sun Gel
Banana Boat Sun Dial
Shiseido Brilliant Bronze