FAKE BAKE wants you to be one of our social media Filter Free stars….

What did we do before filters? Remember taking pics on your phone and printing them? Before phones, we had cameras. Modern social media is turning us into photography experts. You know your best angles, right? On a good day, taking a selfie, adding a little magic and uploading it can make you feel great. But you know here at Team Fake Bake we like to do things a little differently, so we are launching our Summer Sun Filter Free campaign, and we need your help.

It has never been easier to change up the way you look, at least online. But does it mean we need to get so serious about altering who we are? And we are realists. We know all the tricks, and we can spot when someone is bending the rules. We all recognise the tell-tale signs of an overcooked image. What if you are the most followed beauty on Insta? Luckily for us, Selena Gomez, who has 138 million followers which makes her the absolute Queen in our eyes, doesn’t take it too seriously, and the results are incredible.  Does someone that gorgeous use filters? Absolutely. But her make-up artist let us in on the secret, so we can see how she looks before and after.

What about the A-lister who’s been dubbed The Most Beautiful Woman In The World? What happens when you filter her flawless image? We think Angelina Jolie looks stunning no matter what filter is applied.          

We all loved the start of the campaign to take selfies without your make-up but come on, we all knew the rules. We were all busy putting on concealer and highlighters and by the time we’d put it through all these camera-ready tricks, we all loved basking in the glow of looking naturally gorgeous. But we had our fingers crossed, just the same.

So for 2018 we are launching our Summer Sun Filter Free campaign. Team Fake Bake are all about making choices. We love putting our best face, and legs and arms, forward to create something visually stunning. But we also love seeing who you are. And we also want you to become the stars of social media with your absolute realness. But we still want to give you a helping hand, so obviously we want you to get your fave Fake Bake self tan involved.

Over this season we are going to be awarding weekly essential prizes and, for one lucky follower, there will be an ultimate prize of a year’s supply of Fake Bake. Here’s what to do next. Share a filter-free image of you and your favourite Fake Bake product wherever you are this summer on our Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, and then tag us.

Get creative - we will select two of our favourite photos every week to win our fave Fake Bake summer essentials. We will also share your image with our followers, who are always on the lookout for travelling tan inspiration.

So here’s the thing. We all like a little fakery. If we didn’t we’d be in the wrong business. But we also want to see the real you. It doesn’t matter where you take the photo. It can be in your garden in Birmingham or on the beach in Barbados. You're a glam lot. You can make any location work. And we also love seeing your which products you like to use, and the amazing results you get.

If we want a filter effect without the filter, then our cheat’s guide always involves us using Fake Bake Amplify. It works gradually, so you can get build your tan your own way, and works three ways to intensify the colour and life of your tan, so it’s perfect for stepping out of the sun and letting us do the work of getting a glow for you. It helps to create your own version of perfectly prepped and golden skin by making your skin look luxuriously radiant and smooth. We created Amplify so that you could get a photo finish all on your own.

It’s over to you. If you are like us, you will always have your Fake Bake to hand, even on holiday. And, using our intel, we reckon the girls on Love Island are definitely at the self tan graft. Laura confirmed it. We just wish someone would tell Dr. Alex. We weep every night over his Fifty Shades of Pink approach to tanning. Someone needs to get him out of the sun and into our tan tent. We can all filter away all we like, but sometimes you have to get real.

We want to see you just as you would appear IRL, with no filter required.

Fake Bake Amplify is available at ww.fakebake.co.uk

Terms and conditions apply

FAKE BAKE talks best friends and beach bodies…

We had a brilliant time celebrating National Best Friends Day recently, with a little help from Lambrini. It certainly got us talking, and as well as testing our knowledge on what we know about each other as friends, it also reminded us that it’s that time of year again when everyone in the media is asking: are you beach body ready? We like to think here at Team Fake Bake that we are a stylish and beauty-savvy bunch but make no mistake. None of us on the team are in danger of being signed up to be a new VS Angel any time soon (although once we hear a bit of music, we all magically transform into Camila Cabello. Fact.)

Of course, the talk turned to Love Island (again!) and how we cope every night with bodies that are certainly poolside prepared. And, once we’d let our guards down, out came the endless list of what we want to hide inside our sarongs. Again. From bingo wings to cankles, flabby bits and wobbly rear ends, they are just but four. It also got us thinking that when it comes to ourselves, we are really critical, but when it comes to looking at the friends we love, their strong points shine. Just looking around our table we could spot glossy hair, gorgeous shoulders, elegant hands and luminous skin, and that was just a quick scan. Golden glows are standard. Natch.

We are absolutely in favour of making the best of what you have, and more importantly, who you are. Fake Bake has always been an all-inclusive brand, without a hint of beauty snobbery. We’ve featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Heat. We’ve tanned the Geordie girls, and the TOWIE girls, and the Chelsea girls. And that’s just the girls.

And yes, we are probably going to scroll through our Insta feed at lunch. We like a bit of inspiration but we do know that most of us, and most of you, are not living in Santorini, eating watermelons for breakfast and stretching our endless legs out by an infinity pool and classing it as work. But we’ve also noticed that times are changing a little, and that is fine by us.

We love the fact that during the Love Island breaks, the Missguided ads feature models of all shapes and sizes.

We adore that model Georgia Gibbs got her friend Kate into modelling and that between them they set up swimwear company, Anybody. Great name, girls, because the designs really do flatter everyone.

 We know that from talking to you one size doesn’t fit. And some of us are worried about being underweight as well as overweight. Our very slim sisters get no sympathy from anyone when battling to put on a few pounds, but feel insecure just the same. From pocket rockets to tall poppies, we all have hang-ups. Nothing feels better than when you have taken good care of yourself. A great haircut, a new outfit, some lush lashes, and beautifully groomed nails give you a real boost. And once we’ve been in one of our Fake Bake tan tents or got busy with our fave Fake Bake self tan, that’s the icing on our summer beauty cake.

It’s brilliant that curvy girls are in the spotlight, too, as supermodels and influencers and are becoming so much more visible in the media. The big thing is confidence. Callie Thorpe knows how to rock her Fake Bake tan with a cool LA vibe.

A certain Miss Collins is absolutely on fire right now with her cheeky brand of self esteem, her candy is now her trademark, and we’re definitely taking this poolside to check out her diva tips. Watch out Ashley Graham.

About this beach body thing. If you’ve had time to get to the gym and happen to look like Jas Tookes, good for you, girl. But if you have also had a sly Greggs under your desk again (hands up, you know who you are!), then that doesn’t mean you can’t feel and look brilliant, and more importantly, create lasting summer memories with the most important people in your lives. Whatever your body shape, you can enjoy life and keep fit at the same time. Life’s too short to hide too long under that umbrella.

Our advice to you, after having our brilliant day, where we forgot about work and worries for a little bit, is simply this: to be beach body ready, all you really need, most of all, is a body and then a beach. And if you add these three ingredients, then, a little fizz, a Fake Bake tan, and some gorge flip flops, you’ve got the perfect mix.

And before you hit the sand, look in the mirror and be your own best mate. Get your sunscreen. Go.

You can check out our full range at www.fakebake.co.uk

Many thanks to Gusto for hosting an amazing Bestie Brunch. You can follow them on Insta @gustorestaurants

Cheers to the team at Lambrini for making it a sparkling occasion. If you are over 18, follow them on Insta @lambriniuk

The featured book is available now on Amazon and at all major book retailers.

Other pics courtesy of @missguided @georgiagibbs_ @katewas_ and

@any.body_co

FAKE BAKE new launch: just in time to get Love Island tanvious…..

We couldn’t have picked a better time to launch our brand new Fake Bake wonder tanner. The weather is certainly telling us summer is here, our holidays are booked and we’re sorting out our sunscreen. And, of course, we are enrolled in the best vacation training school ever: welcome to Love Island.

Before you think we are jumping on the Love Island bandwagon, we are seriously not. Fake Bake and the show that now rules our screens have a long running history. Back in the day, we got to know, and tan, so many of the original stars of Celebrity Love Island. Remember them? It seems like eons ago that the likes of Calum Best, Bianca Gascgoine and supermodel Sophie Anderson battled it out. They were good times.

Now it seems like you have to be a celeb to get on any show, so the new Love Island, which is now three seasons in, is still brilliant because we don’t know who anyone really is. Team Fake Bake have been involved since day one. We still can’t believe John and Hannah didn’t get married, but we’ve been glad some of them have worked out, on paper. When Olivia and Alex get married, that will really seal the deal, and there are already two real life Love Island babies. We’ve been tanning cast regulars right from the start, and let’s just say, we are already discussing who we want to aim our spray guns at!

What is it that has us all hooked? It’s a chance to sit down, every night, and simply watch how we all behave, but on screen. And, of course, a chance to discuss who we would pick, and who we definitely wouldn’t. Then there are the looks. No, not the good looking type, but what everyone is wearing and, in particular, what’s going in with swimwear. We only wish we could give everyone a lecture about safe tanning, but we definitely can feel ourselves getting a little bit tanvious.

And it’s not just the cast who’ve got us wanting to go a little bit darker. Miss Flack always has those tanned pins out on Aftersun, and we want some of the tanning action.

Welcome to the world, Fake Bake Double Espresso Tan.

Sometimes, subtle just isn’t the answer. There are nights where you want to go big, go brighter and when it comes to your tan, you just want to go darker. We’ve always been inspired by a darker tan, but naturally, never with the sun, only with our help. We adore this darker tanned look on Jess Wright, courtesy of our VIP tanner, Rox Tans……

And when it comes to high fashion, the designers and glossies have a long standing love of the darker tan. We still covet this Roberto Cavalli look……

You agreed with us, but asked for a new formulation, and Double Espresso Tan was created to answer your requests. Firstly, it is super intense in terms of colour. You’re going dark. Next up, it goes on like a dream and is fast drying. You don’t have to hang around, and if you leave it on for up to 8 hours, you’re really going to be creating tanvy. It is packed full of our famous active ingredients to moisturise your skin, and also, a little goes a long way.

So during Love Island season, and all summer long, you can have a Double Espresso hit, relax, and get ready for some villa action. And to keep up with all the latest news, catch the Love Island Podcast, featuring our Fake Bake faves Kem and Arielle, which is currently riding high at the top of the charts, so you’ll be in good company. It makes The Morning After a breeze.

And we know how loyal you all are, so we hope you enjoy our latest launch. When it comes to tanning recoupling, we know we are your only One. We’ve been together a long time, but our Double Espresso is giving us both a kick start this summer.

Fake Bake Double Espresso Tan is now available from www.fakebake.co.uk

Follow Love Island on Insta @loveisland

Catch up with Arielle for all the latest podcast news on Insta @ariellefree

Love Island is on every evening at 9 pm on ITV2

FAKE BAKE ICONS: Airbrush makes a whole lotta history

As soon as Fake Bake had established itself in the U.K., fans were asking what was coming next. The era of the spray booth was about to really dominate the self tan market, and, of course, that infamous episode of Friends aired: The One Where Ross Gets A Spray Tan.

Horrific tanning disasters are now the stuff of GIFs and memes, but back in 2003, they could still occur if you stepped away from your Fake Bake. 

That same year, we seemed to all go into further bling overdrive. The World Cup the previous summer really kicked off our obsession with a certain type of sports-related girl, and then ITV’s brilliantly tongue-in-cheek Footballers’ Wives appeared. OTT doesn’t even begin to describe the outfits and storylines, but the team who had brought us Bad Girls did not disappoint. The look was sleek and streamlined, and Susie Amy kept it as classy as possible as Chardonnay. We can remember a lot of diamante encrusted halter necks and strapless tops with matching boot cut flares. Luckily, we’ve worked with Susie many times since both as an actress and beauty writer and she’s still part of the family.

That super-toned, tanned look was every fashionista’s style calling come the summer of 2003, and when Cheryl was Cheryl Tweedy originally, as part of Girls Aloud, Paris Hilton was, well, simply everywhere. The Simple Life launched and really created a new era for reality TV, paving the way for the Kardashians. Paris Hilton’s look was not one for the quiet beauties. It was all about colour and label splashing. In her own words… “That’s Hot!” Jessica Simpson was rocking it over on The Newlyweds on MTV, too. The era of the bag-in-the-crook-of-your-arm was upon us, preferably a Murakami Louis Vuitton one.

While our own pop princesses were battling it out, there was really only one solo star of the show: Beyonce. Crazy In Love stormed the charts all over the world, with an album to follow, and created many a rumour about her co-performer, Jay-Z, You may have heard of him. The video set a new standard as to how everyone wanted to look on screen: absolutely gleaming from top-to-toe.

Back to Footballers’ Wives. While the fake ones made us howl on screen we started to take notice of the real ones off screen, and for the next decade a new sport emerged: WAG-spotting. It took a few years to reach its peak in 2006, but straight away we wanted to know what the girls were wearing, who was dating who and were there any marriages on the way? It’s hard to believe then that Coleen McCloughlin had just left school, Alex Curran was training to be a beautician and Abbey Clancy was an aspiring model and pop star.

As always, Fake Bake was first when it came to giving self tanners what they wanted, and what they desired was the equivalent to a spray tan they could use at home. Fake Bake Airbrush was born. It was an instant hit. Our innovative team were on hand to provide a finely misted formula containing our famous colour guide, so you can see where you are applying your tan. Our clients told us they wanted something quick and fast-drying; we delivered. And the nozzle 360 degree nozzle means the backs and necks and knees are easy to reach. Airbrush is still one of our favourite go-to’s and since it’s first appearance, it’s been everywhere, from Amy Childs’ first reality show to the inside of the Celebrity Big Brother House.  It’s perfect for quick getaways and between salon visits, and so light and easy to carry. Sorted.

The 2018 look is as far away from Paris H’s overdone glow as you can get, and today’s Insta queens look far more relaxed, less preened but still with an inspirational skin finish. Much hotter and cooler at the same time, if you see what we mean.

Now self tanning is no longer about a particular look: today we want a whole wardrobe of products to suit every season and occasion. Everything is more subtle, fashion-led and couture-inspired. Coleen, Alex and Abbey are superstars in their own right now and since we first met, and worked, with all three of them, they are now household names without their famous surnames even, and all look effortlessly gorgeous.

Times change, looks moves on, and we are glad that we are probably never going to wear Mukluks or singe our fringes on old school hair straighteners again, but some things never go out of style: a gorgeous golden glow that’s even all over, the latest Louis must-have, and a bit of addictive reality telly.

As for Paris Hilton, she really was a phenomenon but we always thought her stylist, Kim, was pretty hot as well. Wonder what ever happened to her?

Fake Bake Airbrush is available from www.fakebake.co.uk