In case you're just joining us, I'm attempting to fill in the blanks in my ever-expanding set of self-tanner reviews, in preparation for the big blowout that will be Beauty Addict's Ultimate Guide to Self-Tanners. Turns out most of the ones I skipped the first time around were the boring ones! But in the interest of completeness, if it's out there and I've tried it, it will be reviewed. And so we begin:

Here's the funny thing about Neutrogena Build-a-Tan: it's a gradual tanner that I remember seeing on the shelves before the Jergens Natural Glow craze. It got absolutely no hype, despite apparently beating Jergens to the punch. But does it work? Read on.

Build-a-Tan is an opaque white lotion of medium thickness (thinner than Clinique, thicker than Nivea). It smells rather unattractive right out of the bottle, and doesn't get better.

It provides a medium tan in about two applications. Unlike with other gradual tanners, you might find that a third application puts you over the edge and into unnatural territory. I suppose its closest analogue these days would be Jergens Natural Glow Express; it's somewhere in between a gradual and full-strength tanner.

I used to use this product pretty frequently before the gradual self-tanner market exploded, but frankly, at this point I'd never buy it again. There are plenty of better options right there on your drugstore shelves. Next!