If his zingers are as good as his tan, Senator Kerry will have a solid chance coming out a winner at Thursday night’s presidential debate. Mr. Kerry surprised campaign-watchers this week by turning up with a sudden, orangey-bronze glow – one that beauty experts say is highly unlikely to be the real deal.

“John Kerry’s tan is temporary – just like people say his opinions are,” said Cynthia House, CEO of Enhance Me, a brand of spray-on tanning products. “I don’t know what they tanned him with, but it’s an artificial tan. They went a little overboard.”

“Somebody’s probably putting too much bronzer on him,” said beauty therapist Kerry Lambert of the Clarins Treatment Boutique on Madison Avenue.

“It looks as though he’s been out in the sun. He’s probably also put some type of self-tanning lotion on,” said free lance make-up artist Travis Culberson, who’s not at all convinced it was a good move. “It looks like his skin is leathery.”

Self-tanning products – which take the form of creams, gels, and sprays – are designed to tint or stain the skin into a healthy, sun-kissed look. But it’s easy to use too much.

“If the tan is something you notice, you’ve gone too far. You should never look at someone and think: ‘Wow, that man is tan,'” said Jessica “Kayla” Conrad, a former stripper and author of the self-help book “Dance Naked: A Guide to Unleashing your Inner Hottie.”

Ms. Conrad argues that tans are a necessary part of any performance, political or otherwise: “Tanning makes you look younger, happier, healthier, and more fun to be around than you actually are.”

And in Mr.Kerry’s case, he’s going for a specific look. “It’s all about the sex appeal,” she said. “It lends him a Kennedy-esque, time-spent-boating quality.”

Indeed, with his suddenly tanned skin, Mr. Kerry appears to be trying to tap into the image-making power of television – just as John F. Kennedy did against Richard Nixon in 1960 during the first televised presidential debate. Kennedy showed up looking fit with a healthy tan and allowed his aides to apply light makeup. The pale, unmade-up Richard Nixon and his 5-o’clock shadow came across poorly on television.

But has Senator Kerry gone too far? He could be well on his way to “tanorexia,” an overdosing condition which, according to Ms. Conrad, occurs “when you look in the mirror and think you’re never tan enough.”

The risk, though, is worth taking.

Ms. House, of Enhance Me, has conducted focus groups in which she has found that tan people are perceived to be more successful than pale people. The focus groups were shown two photos of the same individual – with and without a tan. They were then asked who appeared more successful. “Invariably, with both men and women, they picked the one with the tan,” she says.

There are any number of products that the candidate might have used to get his quickie glow, but seeing as the presidential debate is going to be held at the University of Miami, why didn’t he get a little more creative? Makeup artist Scott Barnes created a bronzer called Body Bling for his longtime client Jennifer Lopez.

“Men love this stuff – for that bronze look or to upgrade your color a little,” said a makeup and color specialist at the Times Square Sephora Tony Balance. “You can control the coverage. It’s not a dye, it’s a one-time treatment.”

Even if Mr. Kerry doesn’t slather on the instant sparkle, he may still have a makeup artist at the ready for the debate – as may President Bush.

The 32-page agreement governing the debates includes a provision allowing each candidate to bring his own personal primper: “Each candidate may use his own makeup person, and adequate facilities shall be provided at the debate site for makeup,” the agreement states.

So what would the makeup artists do for the candidates before they prepare to take the television stage? Mr. Culberson, who has worked for VH1, BET, and Cosmopolitan magazine, says he’d use focus on contrast and a healthy look.

“In television everything is washed out,” he said. “I might use some clear mascara, just for contrast, to bring out the eyelashes.” He’d use some soft power to “warm up the skin” and lip balm to prevent any chapping.

On that note, Mr. Balance recommends a lightly tinted lip gloss by John Paul Gaultier Tinted – tawny, natural, or fair – which is matched to skin tone.

Marcus B., a makeup artist with Barbor Cosmetics, says he’d try to stay the course – no major changes like a faux tan. For Mr. Kerry, he says: ” I would keep him well moisturized, and I wouldn’t try to give him too much of a tan, as it enhances lines on the face.”

As for Mr. Bush: ” I would keep it simple, maintaining his classic look as much as possible. Altering too much, it would draw attention to the fact that something is different or changed.”

And when it comes to people who are under the watchful eye of the entire world, change isn’t such a good thing. As Ms. House points out, people who are aggressive with self-tanning will eventually revert to their natural state.

“They want a dramatic difference right away. And then after the next few days it fades out,” she says.

So what’s Mr. Kerry’s true hue? We’ll have to tune in to the next debate to find out.