Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess self-tanning lotion for face vs. Yves Rocher Soin lift self-tanner for face

These two face self-tanners looked similar so I figured we can have a little battle here. I tested them in July and here are the results.

Price: Estee Lauder face self-tanner costs around 30€ for 50 ml, you can buy it wherever they sell Estee Lauder. It may be sold only during the summer, I’m not sure. Yves Rocher costs 7,95€, also for 50 ml, in Yves Rocher stores or online shop. You can buy it cheaper during the sales.

Yves Rocher Soin lift self-tanner for face (left), Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess self-tanning lotion for face (right)

Smell:
EL: it has warm sweet scent. According to the packaging it has amber and coconut oil as part of the perfume. I don’t smell any coconut oil, rather amber, it is pleasant scent anyway. When the self-tanning product develops, it has its typical smell and it goes away once the skin is tanned.
YR: it also has warm scent; I smell some nuts in the perfume. It doesn’t have any self-tanner scent at all.

Application: it is easy to apply for both products. They have cream consistency so you can use it just like regular moisturiser. Avoid eye areas though and blend well down to the chest part to avoid difference in colour at the neckline.

Yves Rocher Soin lift self-tanner for face

Colour:
EL: after 2 applications, Estee Lauder tanned my face by 2-3 shades. Further applications didn’t make the colour go darker. Colour’s undertone was yellowish.
YR: after 2 applications nothing, so I applied 3rd and 4th layer as well and still nothing. I didn’t get any colour from this product (I’m NW15-20 in MAC).

Longevity and fading: since Yves Rocher didn’t give me any colour I cannot report on Longevity and fading. On the other hand, tan from Estee Lauder self-tanner lasted about 4 days and faded nicely without patches. You don’t need lot of cream for one application so I think one bottle will last you for good 2 months. As always, stay away from peeling, acids and other products that take upper skin layer off to keep your tan longer.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess self-tanning lotion for face

Final verdict: Yver Rocher is going to the trash as you could understand from the colour section. It didn’t give me any colour so no need to use it. Estee Lauder is a nice product; it reminds me Vichy self-tanning towelettes and I would use it during the winter season when I don’t ask for dark tan. During the summer I prefer darker brown colour that I can get from L’Oreal Sublime bronze for face.