Celeb Fake Tan Fails That Left Us Cringing

Many of our favorite celebrities are partial to the fake tan, and we can't blame them. As empowering as it is to embrace naturally lighter skin, a sun-kissed glow can be incredibly flattering. It can help camouflage blemishes and other imperfections, make us look healthier, and provide a big confidence boost. But, sometimes, famous faces take things too far, having clearly not read our Self Tanner 101: A Beginner's Guide To All The Types. As such, we've witnessed many celebs debut a tan that clearly went wrong — whether it resulted in an orange appearance, streaky patches, or a shade that was obviously too dark for them. 

On the bright side, many have their quick fixes for these failures. In 2018, supermodel Ashley Graham admitted she uses Windex to get her tan looking its best when it's streaky. The star shared before and after pictures of her legs with obvious water lines, captioning the after shot posted to her Instagram Stories (via People), "No streaks." Though we don't advise using the cleaning product on the skin (only use removers designed for the body to take off any excess, such as Bondi Sands' Self Tan Eraser or Rose and Caramel Purity Excel 60 Second Miracle Express Self Tan Remover), there are multiple other celebs who've had cringey fake tan fails that needed a creative, quick fix.

Vanessa Trump suffered an embarrassing tan mistake in early 2025 that was seen the world over after her daughter, Kai Trump, posted it to Instagram. Donald Trump's former daughter-in-law's face was noticeably darker than her neck and looked muddy thanks to the camera flash. What's more, the overly deep tone was made even more obvious when she posed next to Kai, who's complexion was brighter and far more natural-looking. But, then again, the women in the Trump family are used to big makeup mistakes.

Charlize Theron was honored with the prestigious Best Actress gong at the 2004 Academy Awards, but, unfortunately, her tan in her winner photos stole our attention. Though her overall glow wasn't so bad compared to some other celeb disasters, it was her hands that caught us off guard. As she held her new hardware, they were clearly paler than the rest of her body, which made it obvious her bronze complexion was fake.

Never one to take herself too seriously, Brookyln Decker proudly showed the world her seriously cringey tan fail. She shared an Instagram video of herself working out in her swimwear after admitting she didn't want to ruin her fresh spray tan. Only, that didn't really work out. The second slide in the carousel contained a photo that showed the product dripping down her neck and shoulders. "She failed," the actor captioned the all too relatable upload. Oops.

Selena Gomez's 2018 Met Gala fake tan disaster left her shiny and orange. The star applied tanning lotion before heading to the event, but told Vogue, "As the evening kept going on it was getting a little darker and darker." Gomez knew it wasn't her best look when she saw photos of herself on the red carpet while inside. "'I am completely orange!'" she recalled thinking. Fortunately, this down-to-earth beauty saw the funny side and shared an Instagram video of her running away, captioned, "Me when I saw my pictures from MET."

Chrissy Teigen is another star who has no problem poking fun at her own tan blunder. She posted an Instagram throwback snap of herself attending the 2008 Grammys alongside her husband John Legend where her skin tone was seriously deep. The model applied tan all over her body, including her face, and it looked extremely muddy. "This tan!!! Lmao," she wrote. In 2017 though, the former "Lip Sync Battle" star told People she'd given up on getting a good tan despite admitting, "I'm a spray tan addict."

In 2012, Kim Kardashian was snapped by paparazzi after a huge faux tan faux pas. The reality star seemingly didn't use a mitt to apply her product, as the inside of her left hand was completely covered in brown tanning lotion. To avoid the same mistake, use a mitt or brush, such as EcoTools' Good Tan Full-Body Tanning Mitt or Beauty by Earth Store's Ultra Soft Self Tanner Brush, and always wash your palms after.

We love when Carrie Underwood wears outfits that show off her killer legs, but that sometimes means she also shows a tan fail. At the 2021 CMT Awards, her pins looked far darker than her face, chest, and hands, which all had a more natural looking glow. Though her tan highlighted the hard-earned muscles we're so envious of, a slightly lighter shade or one less layer would have looked less harsh.

Christina Aguilera experienced one of the worst fake tan mishaps we've seen at one of the worst places; Etta James' funeral. Hard-to-look-at snaps showed the "Genie In A Bottle" singer on stage with two streaks of dark brown liquid dripping down her lower leg. It may have been that the star didn't blend it out before it dried, or sweat may have caused the product to trickle down her pins.

Lindsay Lohan made no secret of her passion for fake tanner in the 2000s and 2010s (she even launched her own line), though her repeated application made for some awkward mistakes. One happened in 2006 at a dinner party for the premiere of "Bobby" when her legs looked orange compared to her feet. Though it's unclear what went wrong, from the pictures, it looked like she'd been wearing socks, which may have rubbed off the product.

It wouldn't be a round up of celebrity fake tan fails without an appearance from President Donald Trump. While leaving the White House in 2020, Trump's hair blew in the wind and an unfortunate patch of much lighter skin around his hairline was revealed, which he'd seemingly missed with his faux tan. That clearly didn't stop him going for a glow again though, as Trump suffered multiple fake tan fails in 2024.