There are alot of good ones these days.Banana Boat sunless tanner with a bronzer in it is good (and cheap at about 6 dollars)It gives an instant hint of color while waiting for the sunless tanner to take effect.(Most take at least 3 hours)

My personal favorite is Coppertone Endless Summer.It costs about 13 dollars,but is worth it because it tans you in only 30 minutes!
I also really like the spray on ones out like Neutrogena MicroMist,because they are hands-free.If I'm in a hurry I just quickly spray some all over when i get out of the shower.
I have tried nearly every single self tanning product i can find~even more expensive ones advertised on tv informercials,and they are all about the same,give or take.

The key to making it look like a real tan is in the exfoliating first.Get a loofah or a body scrub and get off all that dead skin.Then your sunless tan will go on smooth and even looking.

Any recommendations for sunless tanners that don't stink? Everyone I have tried has that horrible smell that gets in the skin.

Bud wi,I know,I totally agree with you! Some smell better then others,but still not really pleasant.I actually wrote to coppertone a few years ago about how I loved their product but the smell was horrible (it smelled like baby spit-up,only way I can describe it) They have since changed the smell,which is alot better,but still not what I'd prefer to walk around smelling like.
Banana boat isnt too bad,mostly smells like coconuts or something.

The chemical that creates the tan also creates the smell, so it's rather unavoidable, though some are better than others.
There is an entire website, sunless.com devoted to sunless tanning.

If you want to look orange, use the following: Neutrogena, Aveeno, Coppertone, Jergens, Oil of Olay and Loreal. I have yet to find one drugstore priced product that didn't honestly look orange. Also, the Clarins tanning products look very orange. Very pricey and yet they still look orange.

I have been using self tanning products longer than I care to recall. I've found that the mousse/foam products work the best for even application. The best products I've used are:

Model Co. available at Victoria Secret - goes on a greenish brown - that is what you should look for in self tanners. When the product has a greenish/brown/black hue to it, you don't get that orange look that so many self-tanners have. Model Co. is a spray and you have to rub it in. Not inexpensive, but worth the money. Great color. Lasts about a week if you moisturize and don't exfoliate between tans.

Fake Bake - available at Ulta, online and some of your better hair salons. It is the best I've found insofar as color goes. You will never look orange. Unfortunately, I am allergic. Buy the foam as opposed to the lotion for easier application. Product goes on brown so you can tell where it is going. Also, you will notice a little of the color comes off in your first shower after application. Approx. $35 bottle. Tan lasts about a week depending on whether or not you moisturize and with what.

St. Tropez -Step 3 Whipped Bronze - very good, also foam mousse. Color is really good - no orange. Same deal with the first shower after application. Don't be alarmed when you see some color come off. Approx. $30 bottle. Also lasts about a week if you use moisturizer daily. I use this during the summer months.

Whipped Chocolate Skin Drench - also mousse - great color, less expensive than first two - $10 at Sally Beauty. I use this one during the winter months. Nice light tan color - no orange tint whatsoever and a good bargain. Lasts about a week, but you MUST moisturize.

With the exception of the last one,Labmomma,those arent really "affordable" to some people. 35 dollars a bottle?
I wear Coppertone all the time and no one has ever said I look orange.They wont look orange if you get the right one for your skin tone.(for instance if you are very light skinned such as I'am,you dont aim for the deep dark tan.You get the light/medium tan and build it up a few days)

I have used all of the products I referred to above, and many more that I cannot recall the names of at the moment. I have used the appropriate shades for my skin color and they do look orange. The Clarins product is an expensive product that unfortuantely also gives an orange hue. I have never aimed for a deep dark tan as I am fair skinned as well. With the exception of professional airbrush tan, you cannot get a deep dark tan if you are fair skinned. No one ever had to tell me the products I mentioned made me look orange, I could see it for myself.

Sorry to disagree, but I see people all of the time using products that look orange. Of course, I wouldn't tell someone I didn't know that they look orange, I'd hope they could see it for themselves. I really don't think most people aim for the orange look, they just don't realize how orange the product makes them look.

With regard to the price, you get what you pay for. Affordable is a subjective term. I'd rather pay a little extra for a realistic "tan". Also, the realistic products usually produce at least 4 to 5 all over body coverage applications per bottle. The product only has to be applied one time unlike other products where you "build your tan". It works out to about 8.50 per week for a great color tan. I think that is a reasonable price, as there isn't any waste with the mousse products. They go on evenly, and you can see where you are applying them as opposed to the products that have no color to them upon application. The color only appears hours later, and if the application is not even, there isn't much you can do about it. If I couldn't afford a product that gave me a realistic "tan", I would not use a cheaper product just because it was cheaper, despite the result. If there were a more realistic and cheaper product available, I would be all for it! IMHO, there is nothing worse than a fake tan that looks orange. I'd rather be tan-free than look orange.

Yes, I too have tried the Coppertone self tanner, and it does look orange. You may have to go outside to see what your "tan" really looks like. If money is an issue and you want a good brown color "tan", buy the Whipped Chocolate, and you will get a nice light brown color. At approx. $10 per bottle, the tan works out to about 2.50 or less per application.

I have also found that the creme based products tend to look streaked and take much longer to dry. The mousse produts are completely dry within 10 minutes. I guess it really a matter of how you want your "tan" to look.

Also, if you only need to tan your legs for an evening out, the Sally Hansen spray product works well rather than wearing hose.

I was attempting to share years of experimentation with the orange-looking substandard products, and provide a list of tried and true great "tan" results.

Thanks,I'll look for the whipped chocolate skin drench myself...

This reminds me - Two months ago I used an inexpensive self tanner, and I thought wow, this stuff looks right. No orange! Then I developed the photos we took that day.

Ooompa Loompa.

I suppose photos don't lie. I'm going to quit using the cheap stuff and just be white.

I'd rather look slightly orange then cottage chesse white...but,that's just me.

This reminds me - Two months ago I used an inexpensive self tanner, and I thought wow, this stuff looks right. No orange! Then I developed the photos we took that day.
Ooompa Loompa.
I suppose photos don't lie. I'm going to quit using the cheap stuff and just be white.

Same thing happened to me about a year ago, and that's when I swore off self-tanners and decided to learn the love the skin I was born in. I still think it's a shame that a tan is seen as healthy, when (if it comes from rays) it's actually a precancerous condition. :-(

Not all make you look orange though...why not try one Labmomma suggested? Tanning is seen as healthy because it gives a "glow" (when sick people are usually pale) and because it has a lovely slimming effect. Nothing makes you stick out worse looking like a big old marshmallow then being stark white.
I for one love self tanner because I have some stretch marks left over from pregnancy that it helps hide very well.
So,to eaches own I guess.