I used this last year. My only advice is WEAR THE GLOVES! It gets very dark and has this consistency where you really do have to work it in. It's very water-y but also very gel/lotiony and kinda on the thick side.. it's just alot of work rubbing it in, but the results are great! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the color. Don't get freaked out if the color rubs on super dark. When you shower in the morning, most of the dark part washes away and you're left with a very brown/realistic tan.
The cons are it's not really great for touch-ups. Make sure you get every spot before you go to bed. Another neg, as you can probably guess, is the application.. it's kinda a pain.
But I think that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The color is fabulous (IMO is worth all the trouble). It lasts much longer than other self-tanners. It doesn't "shave" off. I think the smell isn't bad and it also doesn't last past the shower.
Another thing is when they say use the bottle in 6 months.. use the bottle in 6 months! I opened my bottle from last year (there was only a little left).. it was ARMY MILITARY GREEN! Scary!
I bought it two summers in a row and used it only once each summer - it was that big of a pain in the ass. The results are nice, but I don't have the patience to sit around for over an hour trying to get a good application, then hang around buck naked while it dries for half an hour+. Plus, it sank in my pores and looked like deep freckles (only on application) so it freaked me out and I had to work out all the deep freckle looking things before it set for fear of having them when it did set.
I don't know much about self tanning though; this is the only self tanner lotion I ever bought. (I've used the wipes and they don't fade nicely, but this lotion did fade nicely).