Good natural self-tanners aren’t easy to find – but this has saved us from a couple of early summer bare-leg emergencies, in the last month or so.

From New Zealand naturals brand Trilogy – a brand we rate highly, as do our Beauty Bible testers – comes a gel-cream formulation that delivers an instant tint and also develops over the next few hours into a subtle, longer-lasting golden glow.

 It’s lightly shimmering and prettifying (we’ve only used it on legs, thus far), with hints of gold in the formula. And it’s caramel by shade, and by scent: there’s a vanilla-ish, caramelly fragrance that we’re rather liking – not overwhelming, but definitely ‘there’. The caramel shade is really, really natural-looking – almost olive-y, but definitely not orange. (There’s actual caramel in here; the active tanning ingredient is a cane sugar derivative.)

There’s plenty of ‘slip’ while you’re applying, which makes for an even finish – and the formula’s enriched with vitamin E and aloe, so it’s nicely moisturising. (You’d still want to top up the moisture levels on day and three in order to maintain smoothness. You can also build the colour, to deepen the effect, otherwise it’ll last for two or three days.)

Pleasingly affordable, too. Gold star, Trilogy, for this!

£12.50 for 100ml – buy here

Prize Draws