The Big Night Out and the Fake Tan Routine.

We all love that feeling. We’ve got the occasion, we’ve got the outfit, the shoes, the bag, the hair appointment, the nails appointment, the false eyelash appointment and anything else that needs to be glued onto our bodies appointment. Now all we need is to look as if we’ve just jetted in from the Bahamas, a bronzed goddess ready to take to the dance floor and party like there’s no tomorrow!

Do guys realise that we ladies put a proper preparation shift in before a big night out? I doubt it.

I know everyone is different in how they prepare for a big night out and I do happen to leave the hair, the nails and the eyelashes to the experts. I’m useless at doing hair. My attempt at big and bouncy is a “have you been attacked by a cat?” hair-do. Nails are a no-go area as well. Well, I can do one hand not too badly but the other one looks as if I’ve done it blind folded and false eyelashes just end up being hilarious. They’ve ended up on my eyebrows, the side of my nose and there was one memorable evening that I was convinced I’d glued one eye shut.

But a fake tan? Oh yes, I can do a fake tan (well I’ve have had lots and lots of practice)

So here’s my timetable of tanning if I was going out on a Saturday night…

Wednesday – Hair Removal

Shave, sugar or wax. Whatever your weapon of choice is, all hair removal must take place 24hours before applying a fake tan. If you sugar or wax, give the skin 24 hours to calm before you scrub the life out of it with an exfoliator to remove any residue. You’ve just had your hair pulled out by the roots and trust us, your skin will not take too kindly if you torture it again on the same day. Similarly, if you shave and go straight to applying the tan, you can end up with lovely streaky lines which happen to be the exact width of your razor not to mention it will sting like a thousand nettles.

Thursday Evening – Shower, Exfoliate then Apply the Fake Tan.

I usually do this as late in the evening as possible to avoid any mishaps. I am one of the clumsiest people on earth and have been known to a) forget I’m wearing fake tan and decide to the do the dishes thus removing all fake tan up to the elbows. Not pretty! b) spill Cola on a bare foot c) blow my nose and end up with a white triangle right in the middle of my face or d) lean on my elbow with my hand on the side of my face resulting in, yup, you guessed it, a lovely hand print across my jaw PLUS fake tan all over the palm of my hand.

To limit any damage, I now head straight for bed. No dishes, no Cola, no tissues and no touching the face. I cannot be trusted. Then overnight, my lovely tan develops….

Or I’ll use our 60mins formula and wash off the colour guide before hitting the sheets.

Friday Morning – wash off the colour guide to reveal the tan and touch up where necessary.

I usually always have to do a second application on the shins of my legs to even things up a bit. They just don’t tan the same as when I was younger.( I think I must’ve nuked any melanin out of them through sunburn when I was a stupid sun-worshipping teenager. But that story is another post….)

Saturday – Apply plenty of moisturiser to keep the tan fresh

Then it’s just a case of donning the glad rags, pouring a drink and all systems are go! (Do you think pretending to be a bit jet lagged is laying it on too thick?)

What’s your favourite tanning routine? Come on tell us, don’t be shy!

Lots of love, Team fake Bake xx

Tattoos and Tan

So, we were asked if you can apply fake tan over a tattoo and the answer is, yes absolutely! It won’t affect it at all but if you are worried, do a little patch test to check for any irritation.

Can you put fake tan over a NEW tattoo? Well no, we wouldn’t advise it. Wait at least a couple of weeks or at least until its healed properly. Though the risk is low with our natural formulas, it’s still just not worth the risk of an adverse reaction.

Lots of love, Team Fake Bake xx

Smelly Fake Tan

Over the years and admittedly there have been quite a few now, we at Fake Bake (being the fake tan wizards of the universe) have been asked by seekers the world over – “Why do tanning products smell?”  We feel it’s time to enlighten those on that quest, those who have endured the funny looks in supermarket aisles, those who are like fly paper to Jack Russells and those who are fed up with being asked if they work at KK Donuts…..

*Drum roll please*…….. The answer is, indeed, within you……

No really. It’s true. Our skin is the largest waste disposal organ on our body and it expels what isn’t useful through the pores.  Those “less useful” items bubble up to the top of the skin and are washed away through time. We have to take into account not only what we eat, but any medications, any topical creams we use, our general health, our own signature pheromones so the list is endless and no two people are the same. Perfume is a great example – what smells great on my friend can be totally horrible on me. We each have our own unique signature smell if you will. And even that will change regularly too.

So now we’ve established that, what about that fake tan stench? Well, it would appear that DHA (which is the tanning agent in most self tanning formulas) can amplify one’s own natural parfum,, whether we like it or not!  As the DHA develops, it mixes with our own bodies’ chemicals and can produce a smell. It’s reasonable to say, that it’s different for everyone. Take one self tanning product and ask three ladies to apply it. One will experience no smell whatsoever, one may experience the faint smell of biscuits whilst the last one might experience a strong wet dog smell. Once the colour guide has been washed off properly, any remaining whiff has usually gone. If it’s not, jump in the shower again.

So are we saying that our own body is entirely to blame for a smelly fake tan? Not entirely as not all DHA is created equal, just as not all perfumes are created equal. Some are top quality and some are not and each will produce a very different result.

DHA is basically a product derived from sugar beets which are plants that look like large parsnips. The DHA that is used in Fake Bake products comes from organic crops grown in France. They haven’t been sprayed with insecticides or pesticides or genetically modified. The DHA that is extracted from them is as pure as possible and as a result, have more predictable results.  A longer lasting, more natural looking tan that is not orange or goes streaky.

And there you have it! A double edged sword it surely is. If you are one of those unfortunate people who produces “that” fake tan smell whilst it’s developing then the first port of call is yourself, your diet etc. etc and the second port of call is being very discerning about the quality of the fake tan, and subsequently the quality of the DHA that you are using.

The chances are that the cheaper the fake tan, the more questionable the quality of the DHA is and the higher the chances of you sporting “L’Eau De Chien”

Lots of love, Team Fake Bake xx

MTV EMAs 2016

Throwing it back to the MTV EMA Awards, did you see the ceremony? 

Back in November, Fake Bake smashed it and left a lasting impression as our Head of Business Development Victoria Halliday and Spray Tan Trainer for Scotland Emily Jacobs, worked wonders and tanned and gifted some of the world’s top celebs.

Here is a rundown of what went down in tinsel town!

Products were gifted to the make-up artists ensuring they used Fake Bake on their VIPs.

Victoria then gifted some of the world’s top influencers including Eleanor Calder (the ex of 1D’s Louis Tomlinson – check out her Instagram here and her blog here) and Betty Autier (check out her Instagram here). There’s gonna be some serious influencer inspo with some serious tan inspo when they get testing their new goodies…

Next up presenters and pop duo Jack and Jack.

Top blogger Debbie Zwiers (check out her Instagram here) was spray tanned and took away some Fake Bake.

Victoria and Emily then caught up with the organisers of everybody’s favourite brand: The Lad Bible.  They were gifted with the best Fake Bake goodies, imagine that going viral on their Facebook page!

Our Head of Business Development Victoria got involved in some filming backstage, check out the video here – this video was streamed across the MTV channels and also featured on some radio stations!  Go Victoria!

The gorgeous singer and top winner of the evening Zara Larsson was then presented with Fake Bake goodies.

Stunner and main presenter Bebe Rexha was spray tanned in Fake Bake Gold and she looked smoking hot all night!

Dancers were bronzed in abundance including Jessica Grist (who has danced for everyone from Beebs to Ariane Grande and Jason Derulo), the choreographer for the Kings of Leon (and the band’s dancers) and top choreographer Liam Lunniss was spray tanned.

Red carpet presenter Laura Whitmore, Nina from The Vampire Diaries and the world’s fave DJ Martin Garrix were gifted with Fake Bake goodies.

The girls got the chance to gift Jaden Smith (yes.. Will Smith's son!!) with some Cashmere Me goodies. 

Presenter Becca Dudley was wearing Shimmer on her pins (thank you to her gorgeous make-up artist Emma White Turle).

Emily caught up with the amazing Charlotte from Geordie Shore during the show and the lovely lass was raving about Fake Bake!

Victoria gifted the inspiring Winnie Harlow with Cashmere Me and got a snap with her before pack down!

What was your favourite part of the EMA’s?