Paula's Choice • Almost the Real Thing-Self Tanning Gel • Self Tanners
(77 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 3.9 |
| Would buy this product again. | 67% |
| Package Quality | 3.9 |
| Price | 2.9 |
| Ingredients | |
nicoleeverett on 2/6/2013 9:53:00 AM more reviews by nicoleeverett
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Tan Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
This self tanner didn't work for me at all. It had all of the qualities of the "cheaper" self tanners-- color was a little orange, it was kind of streaky and it smelled like 'self tanner'. It wasn't the worst self tanner I've ever used, but I ust think there's much better self tanning products out there.
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ashley92504 on 7/23/2012 11:19:00 AM more reviews by ashley92504
Age: 25-29 Skin: Dry, Fair, Cool Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine Eyes: Green
I got 5oz for $12.95. It was not on sale but just using powder bronzer on my face was not keeping up with matching my body. All self tanners seem to dry out my face like crazy or make it feel cloggy and slimy. I mainly bought this for my face since I can pretty much use any other self tanner on my body.
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This is a gel that has a caramel tint that disappears once you put it on your skin, it is not moisturizing but it is not extremely drying like other self tanners, and it is most definitely not going to make you look like some bronze babe who just came back from vacation.
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This gel is mostly for us glowing pale white skin ppl who need to warm up a skin a little bit. It is VERY gradual and very light.. in fact it is not even much of a difference where anyone besides yourself(or someone who really pays attention to you) will notice..
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pros: fragrance free, non irritating, no breakouts
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cons: very light/not dark enough, not moisturizing, no antioxidants
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I put that I would buy this product again because unless i find a magical antioxidant rich non slimy face self tanner, it is fine for my face without causing any reactions, feeling slimy, breakouts. This plus the powder bronzer is enough for some color on my face.
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*TOP REVIEWER* emmgill on 5/3/2012 11:15:00 PM more reviews by emmgill
Age: 19-24 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Neutral Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
I was a little hesitant to try this because I have tried 'gel' self tanners before and they have been horrible and sticky and streaky.mthis is like a soft gel. It sinks in so well andmhasma bronze color to it. No streaking at all!! I followed e instructions and got a lovely natural looking tan. Perfect, perfect!!!
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findmehelpful on 9/24/2011 2:23:00 PM more reviews by findmehelpful
Age: 30-35 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
My favorite self-tanner!!! Believable color, applies smoothly, not streaky, color stays, smells ok. I think that's all the check points......
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bluemymind99 on 9/24/2011 1:59:00 PM more reviews by bluemymind99
Age: 25-29 Skin: Very Dry, Fair, Warm Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Blue
I have tried so many self-tanners to take the glare off my legs. They all work just fine--that's not the problem. The problem is how unpleasant they are to use. Stinky, greasy, and generally a mess. Paula's Choice's offering is none of those things. It's an ingenious gel instead of a lotion, with a smooth, dry texture that imparts a natural glow. AND IT DOES'T SMELL!!!!!
So why only four lippies? It's really hard to get right. I follow the directions to a T--washing my legs with shampoo instead of soap, exfoliating, applying a thin layer of lotion, and then patiently applying the gel in small sections--and it doesn't matter. I still get an uneven application on at least one part of my legs. It's a frustrating problem plaguing this otherwise perfect product.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Seattlemama on 9/3/2011 1:47:00 PM more reviews by Seattlemama
Age: 36-43 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium Hair: Blond, Curly, Fine Eyes: Brown
I'm in love! I've used Jergens self-tanner for years but I just got a sample of this and it's amazing! The color is the perfect deep golden brown and looks so natural on. And it's basically scent-fee which is really unusual for a self-tanner. It's not expensive and I LOVE that you can try almost all Paula's Choice products for $.80 USD. Highly recommend and I can't wait to receive my full-sized product.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Banjos on 7/28/2011 7:34:00 PM more reviews by Banjos
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine Eyes: Hazel
This was my last try in a long line to find a self-tanner that would work on my pale skin. I got uneven results just like all the other ones I have tried. No matter how much I exfoliate, I still get the uneven areas. Apparently, self-tanners and my skin are not compatible.
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*TOP REVIEWER* angellove1705 on 7/28/2011 5:08:00 PM more reviews by angellove1705
Age: 19-24 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair Hair: Blond, Curly, Fine Eyes: Blue
This seems to have mixed reviews. I for one did not like this. The smell was not bad and did not really smell like a normal tanner until several hours had passed. The application process was very long. It took quite a while to apply this and even after applying it took quite a while to dry. This had one of the longest dry times I have ever had to do for a self tanner. The next morning after I applied I did indeed have a tan, but it was horrible. The color was dark but had an orange tint to it. It also was so splotchy. I followed everything to a tee but I still had splotches. Those splotches were hard to get rid of. The lasting power on this was actually quite a bit longer then some others and that ended up being bad being it looked bad. This was alright, for me it just did not work well enough to keep trying with it.
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*TOP REVIEWER* agibeault on 6/22/2011 9:56:00 AM more reviews by agibeault
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Neutral Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Brown
:( I was so excited to get this, I bought two bottles before I even tried it. The self tanner does have some amazing qualities - first off, it is fragrance free which is rare for self tanners. The self-tanner smell does come after a few hours, but this is going to happen no matter what, or else the self tanner doesnt work. Definitely much more bearable than any other tanner I've tried. Secondly, your skin fees so incredibly soft the next morning. The problem lies with the results. I could deal with the gel taking over an hour to dry, however my results were very orange, uneven, and splotchy. I don't have this problem with my Life Brand cheapy drug store tanner, and I think it may be because the colour guide is much lighter with the PC version. I do blend very well and apply the same way, so I'm not sure why so uneven. My dry patches came out completely white, whereas with my other tanner they normally tan fine or go on the dark side, if not moisturized enough beforehand. I will continue to use the two bottles I have purchased but probably just on my face...I need something fragrance fee because my skin is extremely sensitive but I really do look fake. I'm very surprised...I thought I would at least get a better result than from drugstore, but no.
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tloul on 6/13/2011 1:44:00 PM more reviews by tloul
Age: 44-55 Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Green
Hallelujah, a self-tanner without an unbearable odor! While applying this, I didn’t smell anything. As the tanning ingredient began to work over the next hour, I did notice the self-tanning odor - but at a fraction of the odor generated by the many brands I've tried previously. With other brands, even after bathing I've had to change bed linens the next morning. This time after bathing, no smelly sheets. To me, application was easy because the product glides on. I applied a light to medium layer of tanner over Cervae body lotion. Like others have mentioned, the tint of the tanner is negligible. I felt sticky until I showered 4 hours later. Lucky for me, not dressing for an hour as recommended was not a problem. The results - a really natural looking tan, which is not always easy to achieve on my fair skin. My natural tan is a golden brown and honestly, I couldn't tell the difference. Other self-tanners I have used have had an uneven "speckled" look on my legs after the 3rd or 4th day or so as they wear away. This is the 7th day since applying PC, I still look like I have a tan and no speckles. I have ordered more tubes. Happy tanning!
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*TOP REVIEWER* SChiara on 4/28/2011 8:25:00 AM more reviews by SChiara
Age: 19-24 Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine Eyes: Green
I love this self tanner and I don't even know how many tubes I've gone through. I understand this self tanner doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me. It's the only one I use.
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PROS:
- It gives me a lot of colour, even after the first application (for referance; I'm about an NC20). Other self tanner I've tried barely seemed to show up even after 4 or 5 applications. When I use this self tanner two days in a row, I look more tanned than I would if I'd been on a sunny vacation for 2 weeks. I've never been able to tan easily, and now I don't tan (naturally) at all anymore. I only use this self tanner; way easier and way way less damaging than laying in the sun for days in a row.
- It CAN give you a lot of colour, but if you use just a very thin layer, the results will be more subtle. This self tanner thus works for people who want a more subtle hint of colour, and those (like me in the summer time) like to see some obvious results.
- I can use it on my face without irritation.
- It doesn't smell bad in my opinion. Not as bad as other self tanners at least. It doesn't smell particularly good through either. I smell a hint of coconut, I think.
- Once the product is soaked in, it makes your skin feel pretty soft.
- The price is reasonable in my opinion. Especially because I love the results - my tan is better than ever before!
- It immedietly gives a hint of colour; the gel itself is slightly tinted. I don't find this useful to prevent streaks (it's not THAT tinted). But it's nice to get some immediet results.
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CONS:
- The application process is a little time consuming. You have to put on a thin layer of body milk, wait for it to dry, and then apply this self tanning product. I use sunscreen instead of body milk (if I apply in the morning of course).
- I have dry skin, so I have a tendency to put on a lot of moisturizing body lotion and sunscreen. When applying this product over all that, it can take a while to soak in. My skin does need it though; if I put on too little moisturizer, my skin gets dry after a few hours.
- I use less of my chemical exfoliants, because my tan will not last at all when using these products every night. This isn't a bad idea in the summer though, because eventhough I don't sunbath, I'll still get more sun than during the winter time.
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I will buy this product again and again. I haven't found a self tanner that gives such good results. Some people say that this product gives you streaks. Honestly, it's the application that gives you streaks, not the gel itself. Just scrub in the shower, apply a thin moisturizer first, let that dry, and then really rub this product in. I use a pretty thick layer when I want to see fast results (bikini time for example). As long as you take your time and rub it in, there will be no streaks. I've never had streaks with this product. The trickiest part in to get right in my opinion is my lower arms, because of the crossover from tan to white that you have to mimick with the gel. Ah well, I just scrub the little mistakes away!
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I love the results I get, but I still don't give this a 5/5. I wish it was moisturizing in itself, so I wouldn't have to use a moisturizer underneath. But I guess this is also what makes it work for oilier skin types; you might not need a moisturizer.
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*TOP REVIEWER* reallychelseawow on 3/27/2011 6:10:00 PM more reviews by reallychelseawow
Age: 19-24 Skin: Dry, Fair Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium Eyes: Hazel
I loathed this product, now I love it.
The first time I applied it I only applied it to my one leg which I like to do so I can get a good idea of how much change/colour etc. I am extremely pale with neutral undertones and I do NOT tan (I burn to a little crisp).
First application: I was nervous to try it because it said wait an hour to dress. I enjoyed how it's coloured so I didn't end up streaky. But I turned out one weird orangey brown colour. It also took forever to soak in. It lasted long so I had a weird orange leg for almost a week :(
The second time I used it (on my whole body too!) I did it totally differently. My mom loves this so I used some tips from her. I applied a thick body butter a bit before applying this (not a light lotion). I wore rubber gloves and I used the tiniest pinch (two pea sized drops for my whole leg) and rubbed like mad. I used so little I couldn't see the colour of the product, I could only tell because it felt tacky. Instead of doing long strokes to avoid streaks I just rubbed in every direction to spread the product as much as possible.
And it turned out AMAZING! Plus I was totally dry to the touch in about 20 minutes. I noticed a nice golden colour after a few hours. No streak, no oompa-loompaness, nothing bad.
It doesn't smell bad for a self tanner either. Because I use so little it's cheap for the cost. The bottle is great. The application did take quite a bit longer than other tanners but it was definitely worth it! Me mom and I just repurchased 6 bottles for $10 (on sale), which will last us ages.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
gottatryit on 2/17/2011 10:25:00 AM more reviews by gottatryit
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Blond Eyes: Blue
This is the only self tanner I will use on my face. The color on me is a golden tan, not orangey.
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GoldenGrrrl on 1/5/2010 8:49:00 PM more reviews by GoldenGrrrl
Age: 30-35 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine Eyes: Blue
I like a lot of Paula's Choice products as I have very sensitive acne-prone skin (on my entire body). I sampled this product and although I was impressed with how quickly I saw color results (within a couple of hours), I wasn't impressed with the color I saw. It was a yellowish/orange color and didn't look natural at all. I also found it to be really sticky after application and that didn't go away for about an hour...and I noticed the packaging says to wait AN HOUR do dress! Unfortunately, it's no exaggeration. It really took that long to sink in. Who has that kind of time??? The only positive aspect of this product was that it was lightweight and didn't break me out.
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*TOP REVIEWER* sophie_lapin on 1/1/2010 6:07:00 PM more reviews by sophie_lapin
Age: 30-35 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine Eyes: Blue
I love PC products and ordered 5 samples of this with my last order (free sample deal). It took a day for it to show up on my pale skin. The color was just OK. Slightly orange but not too bad.
I much prefer Hawaiian Tropic Daily or Savage Bronze from Sally's to this product.
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ShailahJade on 12/26/2009 3:26:00 PM more reviews by ShailahJade
Age: 25-29 Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine Eyes: Blue
I love Paula's Choice products, so I had high hopes for this self tanner. Unfortunately, my hopes were too high. I did a road test of this self tanner on my forearm (instead of my whole body) and was glad I did. The color turned out very orangey/yellowish. I spent two days scrubbing, scrubbing, and more scrubbing trying to get it off. I guess the one positive part about this self tanner is it has staying power! The smell was terrible, and the only time it looked somewhat natural is after I scrubbed my skin raw trying to get it off. Ugh. This product is not for me.
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Mollybad on 10/20/2009 12:46:00 AM more reviews by Mollybad
Age: 44-55 Skin: Normal Hair: Blond Eyes: Hazel
Price increase warning: Paula's Choice has significantly raised the prices of its product samples while SIGNIFICANTLY reducing their size. If you're thinking about taking these with you on a trip, then you'll pay a LOT for that luxury. It's terribly disappointing. I could see raising the prices on the same-size samples, but to then make the samples SO MUCH smaller (from 4.4 ml. to 1.77 ml., for example) is just agonizing.
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*TOP REVIEWER* mapn on 10/7/2009 12:00:00 PM more reviews by mapn
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool Hair: Red, Straight, Coarse Eyes: Green
I haven’t tried a self tanner in a really long time. The last bottle I used up was Liquid Bronze by Clarins, which was a great product. Because I have virtually no pigment (:D) and I don’t tan at all, I decided to try a self tanner again this past summer, and went for Almost The Real Thing. The tube is generously sized and I like it that it doesn’t contain fragrance. It has that self-tanner smell to it, but it’s not that bad actually. The gel is very thick and I find it quite hard to spread evenly. I’ve also tried mixing it with a moisturiser, and it spreads much better then. However, with Clarins I got a nice natural-looking glow, but Almost The Real Thing makes my skin look slightly orangey. *sigh* I needed to give up all fragranced skincare products after I was diagnosed with fragrance allergies, so I can't go back to Clarins.
Ingredients: Aqua, Butylene Glycol, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Propylene Glycol, Dihydroxyacetone, Cyclohexasiloxane, PEG/PPG-18/18 Dimethicone, Diazolidinyl Urea, Caramel, Sodium Metabisulfite, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
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RuKa on 8/9/2009 8:46:00 AM more reviews by RuKa
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm Hair: Red, Straight, Medium Eyes: Brown
This is a great self tanner. I've only used a few other brands, but they were awful. Streaks, orangey and I've always had a problem with self tanners settling into follicles and making my legs polka dotty. This one is great though, I have no problems at all with it. I won't repurchase because the colour isn't right for ME.. I have more of an olive complexion and although the tan comes out a nice shade, it just doesn't look right on me. It's a really pretty reddy brown.. very realistic for people without the olive undertones. Or maybe it's just me. If someone who didn't know me saw me after using this, they would think I have an awesome colour.. but I know me lol.. so it's off to the bin with this one. It's very easy to use. I used a few very light layers (let first dry completely, add another etc) with only one application, you won't get much out of it in the way of colour unless you're on the paler side. I had no irritation, didn't detect much of a smell and the next day my skin was very soft (used it before bed). Very nice product all around.. I just need something more realistic for my own skin, which I doubt I'll find.
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ladyofpaint on 7/23/2009 12:46:00 PM more reviews by ladyofpaint
Age: 56 & Over Skin: Other, Medium Hair: Red Eyes: Brown
This one is a true winner! My lily-white legs have never looked so good! There's no smell, no streaking, no mess. The colour is a nice natural tan shade that doesn't look orange on the skin. Even when it starts to fade, there is no obvious discoloration. It's the best brand I've ever used!
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