Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My 49 year-old skin is pasty and freckled. I've tried many different self tanners over the years but have never been completely happy with any of them - they streak, blotch, stink, stain, or are prohibitively expensive. But now I have FINALLY found a product that I absolutely love: St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse. The absolute key to this tanner is applying it with an applicator mitt. Without a mitt, your results will probably be better than most other products, but nothing to write home about. With a mitt, the mousse goes on smoothly and easily, covers and colors perfectly, smells pleasant, dries quickly into a natural, non-orangey tan, and, believe it or not, does not rub off or stain. No more ruined robes, stained bra straps, or embarrassing orange marks where tanner rubbed off on white or light colored clothing. It's a little pricey, but lasted quite a long time. There is one major drawback, however: the applicator mitt is not included with tanner purchase, and they charge a ridiculous price - $7.00 - for the inferior pice of junk they sell separately. This is a big mistake on St. Tropez' part. Fake Bake - one of their biggest rivals, and an excellent product, does include a mitt, and it's far better than St. Tropez's. ST's cheap throwaway piece of foam only lasted halfway through my first bottle (sort of my mistake - I knew it was junky, but was a little too rough on it when I rinsed it, and the plastic lining collapsed in on itself). Since there was no way I was going to waste another $7.00, and my equally-pasty sister was raving about the very highly-rated Fake Bake, I figured I'd try it out and would also be able to use the FB mitt for my remaining St. Tropez. I do like the Fake Bake (a pump spray), very much, and the mitt is very nice (the kit also comes with latex gloves). But definitively prefer St. Tropez over Fake Bake, which doesn't look as natural, leaves me with blotchy feet and ankles (always an issue for me), the bottle didn't last long, and it leaked. Also, FB doesn't absorb properly on my face (I have dry skin) and leaves little brown speckles on the surface of my skin, making my face look dirty. Fortunately, I was able to correct the problem with some moisturizer. This is not an issue with St. Tropez, which applies well and looks very natural on my face. St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse: A++ Fake Bake: A ST mitt (sold separately, $7.00): C- FB mitt (included): B+