Faking It

Cult Beauty – Tantastic

After vowing to spend winter looking pale and interesting, Spring has sprung and I’ve had a change of heart. Sweet summer dresses, itsy-bitsy skirts and teeny-weeny tops are appearing in the shops and I’m feeling an overwhelming urge to reach for the bronzer. Admittedly, it’s not just the emergence of flesh-baring fashion that has me pining for an olive toned complexion; I fear that if I get any paler I may well go see-through.

In light of this shift in tanning behaviour, I give you the cult classics of the fake tan world.

Fake Bake
The list of celebrities who have fake baked is an extensive one, ranging from bronzed Britney and golden-brown Girls Aloud to pretty much the entire cast of Hollyoaks.

As with all tanning products, to get the best results you need to exfoliate before application nd add moisture to dry areas so the colour will be even. The Fake Bake body polishes gently buff away flaky skin, prepping the body for the fake tan. Instead of using a regular cream or lotion moisturiser for rough patches the Fake Bake system includes a nourishing oil, which is easily absorbed and intensely hydrating.

Take note, Fake Bake suggest applying their tanning lotion before bed and showering to remove the colour guide in the morning. Let me tell you, they aren’t joking! The colour of the formula is frightening when it leaves the tube; a deep, dark greenish brown. On the skin it resembles dirt and you’ll look like you haven’t washed for a decade and partake in regular mud-wrestling. So, whilst the colour develops you won’t be able to leave the house without a bag over your head. Most definitely one to sleep on.

Thankfully, post-shower the tan is even and mud-streak free, a gentle biscuit brown which isn’t drastically dark but can be built up with further applications until you achieve the desired depth of colour. It is, after all, better to build up subtle layers of colour than to slather on a dark chocolaty shade in one go and find streaks and smudges that can’t be hidden.