Marks, set, glow! It seems that summer has arrived and, knowing what we do about the British weather, we need to be ready to make the most of it while it lasts. So it’s with impeccable timing that Bondi Sands has chosen this moment to launch its fastest ever tan with a 'world first' rapid glow technology.
Bondi Sands knows a thing or two about making a great self-tan, winning the Good Housekeeping Institute’s ‘best fake tan’ award with its Liquid Gold Tanning Foam. For summer 2025 it’s picked up the pace even more, delivering a new Ultra Express Ultra Dark Self Tanning Foam – a name which sounds both exciting and slightly petrifying, particularly if you’re a pale girl like me.
The formula features a ‘world-first’ Colourlock Accelerator, which claims to lock in a ‘warm, rich tan in just one hour’ and enable you to be 'same-day ready'. The brand is aiming this product at ‘experienced, time-poor tanners’ who want to get maximum results in minimum time, particularly on days when the sun takes you by surprise. Which could be any time in the UK from now until October, basically.
As someone who a) only ever gets her tan from a bottle and b) is rarely bare leg-presentable in time, this sounds like a smart innovation, especially as it promises to keep the often-whiffy developing phase to a minimum. However, the ‘ultra dark’ wording does fill me with some trepidation. I’ve got form for fake tan blindness, and have vowed to move on from the dark-orange days of the past.
Will this be the time saver I need, or just an express route to scrubbing Tango-d knees with fake tan remover?
Bondi Sands Ultra Express Ultra Dark Self Tanning Foam: the GH review
Bondi is pitching this product at seasoned fake tanners, and I’m guessing that the, ahem, punchy guide colour is a huge factor in that. What a leap of faith. While the foam itself goes on just as easily as any express mousse I've used, the guide colour is incredibly dark, and would send novices fleeing to the shower in terror. On the plus side, there’s no chance of missing a bit. For heavens sake, do not use the product without a mitt, as the foam will seriously stain your palms.
Express tans have long been my formula of choice, partly for speed and partly because overnight self-tan is banned from the marital bed on odour grounds. I think my husband would have written NO FAKING IT into the marriage vows, if he could.
However, my experience has always been that ‘express’ is a little misleading. While you can wash these products off after an hour or three, depending on the depth of colour you want, I’ve always found the final colour takes a few more hours to emerge, as the formula continues to develop. Would Bondi’s ‘Colourlock’ tech make any difference?
On my first attempt, I kept a close eye on the clock and washed it off after 60 minutes exactly. The guide colour pooled an ugly terracotta in the shower tray, but the shade on my skin was.. fine. Definitely not ‘ultra dark’. It had taken the edge off my pallor, though, and I was pleased to see it was entirely streak-free around the ankles, even though the guide colour had looked suspiciously grainy, despite my best rubbing-in efforts.
After that, the tan hardly developed any further, so I can confidently say that if you use it for just an hour, what you see is pretty much what you’ll end up with. Personally, it wasn’t dark enough for me. If I’m going to the effort of self-tanning, I’d like a more noticeable, ‘ooh where have you been?’ glow at the end of it.
I tried it for a second time and, emboldened by the subtle first result, left it to marinate for well over two hours. This proved closer to my preferred result, but it took at a few more hours for the full, final colour to show up, as it did get deeper after being showered off. That’s worth knowing if you’re really counting on this product to give you an emergency glow-up.
What I really liked about this formula was how little odour there was. If I hadn’t looked like I’d been bathing in Bisto, this fake tan would have totally slipped under my husband’s nose radar. The foam was also easy and quick to apply, and the result was smooth around all the usual troublespots, sparing me the need to spot-correct rusty knee dimples. (What is it with those?)
Overall, I’d say this tan is a very worthy addition to the Bondi stable. The colour I ended up with was a nice, believable golden tone, and next time I’ll feel confident about leaving it on even longer. As for the rapid developing promise? I don't doubt it's Bondi's speediest ever formula, but on my skin at least, it’s not quite as speedy as Bondi would have you believe. I guess you need to remember the old maxim. Good things come to those who wait.
