exfoliation prior to application works great for me, dream tan... I only use it as last coat only if I need some extra color, but I prefer the practical stuff. I tried Sublime Bronze in Deep color (loreal) not really a competition product and it gives me the tone of the 2 coats protan but in a nicer tone. Jan Tana gives the deepest tone, the only thing is that it takes a lot to take it off.