FAKE BAKE goes logo’s a-go-go: the Baguette, the Saddle, from Fendi to Dior, the deep tan rules….

Here’s a little history lesson in style. If you want to know where our current logo

obsession dates back to, then all roads lead to Gisele. It’s the year 2000, and this

image in British Vogue caused a Louis Vuitton stampede . There was a new

feeling of glamour in the air, everyone was bored of minimalism and washed out

chic. Our favourite Brazilian, and Marc Jacobs, who was LV Creative Director at

the turn of the century, created a moment in time.

But it wasn’t just Louis. Logos were literally everywhere, and suddenly they felt more

youthful and energetic. Sports luxe was really born, and everything went big. From

heels to tans, subtle was left on the sidewalk, and opulence was the new Armani.

The age of the killer accessory was upon us, and it was about to blow up two iconic

pieces.

First up, Dior took centre stage and Gisele was, of course, in the mix, alongside

supermodel-in-training Rhea Durham . The Dior Saddle was born, created by John

Galliano , fashion’s controversial design kingpin. The S/S 2000 campaign, shot by

Nick Knight , was a huge talking point, too, and in the pre-Instagram age, attracted a

lot of conversation. But the images speak for themselves, and the wait list was

endless.

Over at Fendi, the Baguette had already been around for a couple of seasons, but a

few guest appearances on Sex And The City ensured its cult status. Whether

Carrie Bradshaw kept it simple with jeans, or Samantha lived it up with hers in the

Playboy Mansion, it was one of the few accessories that more than one of the

characters were proud to display. In life, and in handbags, the girls decided that

while they loved their logos, fakes of any kind, whether it be marriages ot Baguettes,

were definitely a no-no.

Fast forward to 2019 and the Dior Saddle and the Fendi Baguette are back.

In the Dior corner, we love how one of our Insta faves, The Real Fashion Blogger,

wears hers. Pictured here at a Dior event, tan by James Harkett for Fake Bake, of

course, it’s definitely an out-there and supercharged look. We love it!

In the Fendi corner, we have super-stylish Jess Flanagan , pictured here at the

Sir Thomas Hotel, Liverpool. We have worked with Jess a few times now and her

precise, tailored look is literally to-die-and-go-to-heaven-for.

The bags are literally flying off the shelves! Fendi have now sold over a million

Baguettes, and their recent #FendiFriendsForever campaign showed how to style

up the Baguette two decades after it launched. The campaign also features the

endlessly chic Sarah Jessica Parker , paying real homage to her contribution to the

label’s success and the Baguette’s everlasting appeal.

Our lead image of fashion blogger Patrycja was what inspired us here at Team

Fake Bake to talk about logos this week, as it reminded us of the of those original

campaigns, and the dark, edgy tans that rode style shotgun. She looks absolutely

sharp in her LV/Fendi/Fake Bake head-to-toe, and naturally that Dior look is one

we’d love to recreate.

Here’s the thing. In real life, you gotta do a subtle sheen as while that overblown

gloss looks great on camera, it will break down your Fake Bake tan quick smart. We

love how Rihanna has been rocking a molten skin finish this week, but how do

you achieve it without sliding down your car seat? How can you go Beamin’ in your

Beamer? We asked our lovely Claire at LV Spray Tanning, based in Derby, to give

us the lowdown….

“ Firstly, it’s all about the darker tan. There’s no point going golden here.

Our Fake Bake Double Dark 8oz Kit with Mitt is super popular right now because

our Double Dark pro formula has proved such a big hit. I am using the pro tan on

so many clients right now. The Mitt is a great new innovation, and ensures this

deeper hue glides on, if you choose to tan at home. If you love a gel formula, our

Fake Bake Double Shot Espresso Tan goes on smoothly and develops deeply. To

add a glow, go for our Beyond Bronze Wash Off Lotion in Shimmer - you get to

choose the shade, but I choose Medium on collarbones, shoulders and shins to

highlight and contour.”

We know that a Saddle or a Baguette are the bags of dreams. And while they are

not exactly budget friendly, we just love the vibe. And because they were so popular

first time around you can access some vintage, pre-loved ones online that add a real

touch of authenticity, for the fraction of the price of a new model. Because, really, the

only thing you should be faking is your tan.

This coming weekend is Mother’s Day, so whether your mum was a 2000 kinda girl,

or you remember it yourself, it’s the perfect opportunity to ignore the beige trend

that’s beckoning, and go for the full logo hit.

Go to Spotify. Search Blu Cantrell, Aaliyah, Ashanti. And remember it’s no longer

about hitting anyone up for anything, and more about depending on no-one else to

give you what you want.

Those words are definitely ringing a bell. Oh, hang on……

All products available at www.fakebake.co.uk

Find out more about Claire on Insta @lvspraytanningexpert or

www.lvspraytanning.setmore.com

You can follow The Real Fashion Blogger on Insta @therealfashionblogger

You can find Jess on Insta @jessflanagan

For more info on The SIr Thomas Hotel Liverpool go to

@thesirthomasliverpool on Insta

Follow Patrycja on Insta @egopatka

Additional images courtesy of Nick Knight, British Vogue, Dior ad archive and

Fendi

FAKE BAKE on another great season of Dancing On Ice….

Sunday nights just won’t be the same, but everyone on Team Fake Bake has literally had a ball (on ice) this winter. 2019 Dancing On Ice had all the makings of a classic season, and it did not disappoint. Between the GC/Jason drama, romantic tensions and an eclectic mix of celebs, it’s been the perfect way to get us from Christmas through to Spring.

For those of us on the team who have been working, and not just watching, it’s been a bit of a tougher call, but every moment of hard work has been worth of it. As viewers, you get to see a couple of hours of brilliant entertainment every week. For those BTS, we still can’t believe the amount of hard work that goes into the show. Think of it this way, when you’ve only ever been on ice rink for a laugh, suddenly learning a new routine each week to a professional level takes a lot of grit.

As our Victoria Halliday told us, “The final was spectacular this year, and the tension was just fierce, even though the competition is so friendly. Everyone on our own team from Fake Bake worked so hard week in and week out, getting the celebs and pro skaters ready, and the results were just impeccable. When we saw everyone dressed in costume, and ready to skate, we really felt part of something special.”

Ah, The Final. It was hotly contested, and even though Saara was first to leave on the night, she proved how talented she is. To us, she is just the warmest and loveliest girl, and we know she’ll take the limelight and run with it. As for the boys, we could not choose between them. James took an injured shoulder and a whole load of hope and ran with the opportunity. There wasn’t a dry in the house after his Bolero. And Wes proved what a superstar he has become. A novice in every way before the show started, he absolutely killed his version of Torvill and Dean’s famous show dance.

This year felt like a perfect storm. The judges were pulling no punches and the hosts had their hands full. Holly never disappointed on the dress front, and has gone from being girl-next-door to Hollywood red carpet worthy in just a few seasons. Chris and Jayne were inspirational and tough task masters at the same time.

The DOI Pro Skaters really are such a generous bunch. Their job on the show is to teach, cajole, counsel, support and drive their celeb partners and to ultimately let them shine, and they do it brilliantly.

And last, but not least, our Gemma. She went into the show as the celeb everyone was talking about, and left the same way, in a blaze of sequinned glory. And that Crazy In Love turn around the rink will go down in DOI history as the routine that got everyone talking.

And the Fake Bake tans that our team got busy with every Saturday evening? They  had to withstand cold, tears, layers of make-up, hot lights, costume changes and let’s just politely call a whole lot of perspiration. Our team were on hand to make sure everyone had the perfect shade, and were well versed in how to look after their tans. Our Fake Bake Coconut Body Polish was handed out regularly to everyone we tanned, to make sure they got busy exfoliating in between shows.

Spring is finally on its way, apparently, but we’ve finished off the cold snap with a body of work we are so proud of. The team at ITV have been a joy to be around, and there so many people who work on the show that you never get to see, who really make it so polished. Most of all, when we look back we remember the laughs, and while it was hard to pick a winner, we thought James deserved his big moment. He certainly provided us with some of the best entertainment our tanning tents have ever seen.

As for Sundays, well, it’s time to put our feet up and new season TOWIE is back to give us our reality fix every week. And as for Dancing On Ice, everyone asks if we we’ll back next year.

You already know the answer to that one. If we get the call, we’ll get our skates on.

A huge thank you to everyone at Dancing On Ice and ITV

Additional images courtesy of DOI/Instagram

FAKE BAKE talks building a pro tanning career and how to reach the top…..

Last week, we chatted to James Harknett, our Global Creative Consultant about his career and so this time we thought we’d talk about how to get into a pro tanning career with Fake Bake, and all of the possibilities involved. As the beauty industry is changing and growing so quickly, as the world’s leading independent brand, this means that we concentrate on creating the very best professional professional formulas on the planet. We are lucky that we don’t have a huge beauty machine to answer to do. By doing what we want, in the way we want to, and by having this pioneering spirit, this means we can pass our expertise and unique way of creating right on to you.

First up, we had a sit down with Emily Jacobs, Head of Fake Bake Training Scotland.

Emily, can you tell us a little more about Fake Bake Professional Training?

“First up, you don’t need any previous experience to either apply or attend, and of course, we welcome everyone! Some people attend with no other beauty skills at all, whereas many are beauty therapists upping or refreshing their skills set. I am involved in training here in Scotland and in the North East, and we also have courses all over the UK. Training is in two parts: the theory and then the practical. Everyone who completes their training successfully gets a BABTAC Accredited Certificate - this is really important, so that clients can verify your qualification, too! It’s also a really fun course where you get to meet a variety of like-minded people. Perfect!”

Without being completely obvs, why choose Fake Bake?

“As the world’s leading independent self tanning brand, Fake Bake are THE experts in the field. The professional side of the business is really important to us. We are always innovating so that we have a stable of favourite formulas, but we also love coming up with something new. Last year’s Double Dark launch was a huge success, for example. So when you decide to train and then trade with us, every single product has been tested and marketed rigorously. I have been a trainer for over five years and pride myself on ensuring all of our students leave our courses excited about growing their business and passionate about the brand. We are also really supportive in encouraging therapists to engage with us on social media, as it’s obviously a great place for self employed and small businesses to promote what they do. It’s also really inspirational to see how far you can go - as well as being a trainer I also represent the brand at events and in the media. I’m very a much a BTS kind of girl - but it is still great fun!”

  

Is tanning now becoming much more integrated into the beauty industry?

“Tanning always used to be quite separate but now we find clients consider everything when it comes to their image, and they know exactly what they want! We recently held an amazing Masterclass at our Glasgow HQ where leading MUA Stacey Toner at Artsy, gave a great lesson on how to apply make-up that really compliments a Fake Bake tan, and all of the artists who attended got training from us on how to perfect a Fake Bake pro tan, too. Clients now often want their beauty experts to really deliver, so we meet so many talented beauty experts now who also offer a range of services, whether it’s brows or nails or facials. It’s a growing market, so it makes perfect sense to jump on board!”

Our Elite Team of tanners work all over the UK with famous names and it’s an exciting part of the job to get them ready for huge events. Our Tan Expert, otherwise known as Eloise, works with a range of VIPs as well as her own regulars, and we love her dedication to the role. We often see her popping up in the Press as so many celebs now put our tanning tents on their Insta stories. Eloise recently tanned the gorgeous Megan Barton-Hanson for her stint on ITV’s The Real Full Monty, and the finished result was just, well, perfection. And she also recently tanned legendary beauty, Kelly Brook, for a magazine cover - talk about a glam VIP roster...

We caught up with Team Fake Bake’s Siobhan Coward, who is based in the Manchester area, and is a leading pro tanner and also part of our Elite Team, as well as one of our expert trainers. Talk about busy! Siobhan told us,

“I have been in the business for eight years now, and with Fake Bake for the last six. I’ve also gone back to education at Huddersfield, too, as I have always wanted to work as a pro trainer. Victoria Halliday, who is such an integral part of Team Fake Bake, originally asked me to be a part of the Elite Team, and it’s such an honour.

“I have my own regular clients, and also regularly run training days in the North West region, which I really, really enjoy. It’s great to see people starting off on their pro-tanning journey.”

“As an Elite tanner I also get to tan lots of celebs in the area - and there are many in the North West, from Corrie stars to the Real Housewives, of course! Everyone asks me about this part of my work. I treat all of my clients equally, because the relationship is based on trust, especially when you are going into people’s homes. I have some fab ‘famous face’ clients, though, who are so welcoming. I love tanning Paddy and Christine McGuinness, they are so genuine and down-to-earth, and upcoming star Charlotte Dawson is also a joy to work with - she’s brilliantly funny and even though she’s a high flying influencer, she’s just a real girl to me, and also to her Insta fans! I always welcome people contacting me to enquire about my work, and of course, our training courses. The next one is on the calendar!”

So there you have it. What starts off with you practising on your friends and family, and perfecting the art of the perfect Fake Bake spray tan, could end up with you getting superstars red carpet ready. Of course, there’s a lot of hard work goes in, but with a heap of ambition, a huge dose of spray gun expertise and commitment to getting your tanning absolutely spot on, over the last two weeks we’ve shown what you can achieve if you put your mind to it.

Career change, anyone?

You can follow Emily on Insta @fakebaketrainingscotland

For more information about our pro tanning go to:

www.fakebakeprofessional.co.uk/training

You can follow Siobhan on Insta @siobhan_fakebake

Follow MUA Stacey on Insta @staceytoner_artsy

Follow Eloise on Insta @thetanexpert

The Real Full Monty is launching soon on ITV1

FAKE BAKE talks pro tanning and Ultimate Career Goals with James Harknett

Our much loved and respected Global Creative Brand Consultant, James

Winner Best Wellness Experience GQ Grooming Awards 2018

How long have you been in the industry, James?

This year marks 20 years since I started in the business, and what an adventure it has been so far. When I started off, ‘fake tans’ as they were known then really only consisted of one product: a lotion, with a colour guide. Since then the products, and my life, have changed beyond recognition. I’ve gone from being at entry level to now being in a really lucky position, but it has been a bit of a rollercoaster. My one tip: the harder you work, the luckier you get!

How has the world of self tanning changed?

From that single formula, to just a few brands, the market has grown at such a fast pace. I think that reflects what has happened in the beauty industry as a whole. Twenty years ago, it was an extra to fashion, but now it is definitely an equal. Now we have a British Beauty Council, just as fashion has theirs. Our beauty ideal has certainly changed. When I was starting out, it was a really exciting time as names such as Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Gisele Bundchen were really getting noticed. Now self tanning is a really sophisticated business, and has left behind any criticism it used to receive. In 2019, fashion-driven clients want a portfolio of tanning looks for different occasions and they also want self tanning products packed with skincare benefits - brands have to bring their A game to keep up!

Fake Bake and you - the perfect match, natch?

I’ve always loved the brand and really respect what the team has done to create something bespoke, which is also attainable. I also admire the fact that Fake Bake has stayed an independent brand - this means they really do stay in control of everything from the drawing board with new products right through to the customer. Fake Bake is a really democratic brand. They really listen to customers and if a new formulation is tested, it has to be extra special to make the cut. I get to work with A listers, of course, but as such a fun brand I get to meet a really mix of names. I’ve loved working on Dancing On Ice, for instance, I enjoy giving masterclasses, and naturally, I use the brand with clients who come to see me personally. There is never a dull moment! I love that Fake Bake was the first self tan brand to really embrace the sun safety message, too, with their Save Your Skin campaign. As a message, it’s still vitally important.

Social media - your thoughts?

I know it has its drawbacks but I think it has been really beneficial to the industry. Now I don’t just collaborate with actresses and models, for example, but influencers and bloggers, too. One of my favourite names, The Real Fashion Blogger, is an absolute dream to work with, as young women really relate to her. Of course, I love my aspirational glossies, but I think social media gives beauty lovers a chance to connect, swap ideas and show off their work, too.

How has self tanning changed for boys, then?

The male side of the beauty industry is absolutely on fire right now! When I first started out, David Beckham simply changed how men saw grooming. He really did start something, and over the past two decades the industry has started to embrace the male further. I am really honoured to work with legendary model and designer, David Gandy, regularly, and also standout stars such as Oliver Cheshire. And I have to give credit to the reality guys, as they have really made it acceptable to take care of your appearance. Guys who get tanned for the first time are always pleasantly surprised with the results, and repeat book sessions. They now self tan as part of a whole regime. My thought is that everyone deserves to look and feel their best!

You were recently at Professional Beauty talking to guests about Fake Bake and your pro tanning tips - how did it go?

I relished every minute of it! I love going to Professional Beauty as the industry is always bringing out new innovations, and I can’t resist having a browse! The feedback I get from therapists is how trusted the Fake Bake brand is. The legendary Jim Doc, who has been with the brand since day one, is a huge part of that. He’s definitely my go-to guy when I want to talk formulations and equipment. For me personally, it’s great to meet new therapists who are just starting out, and to talk with them about the brand and their own aspirations.

Any advice for aspiring future industry stars?

It’s great to be competitive but try to concentrate on what you do, and do it well. Stay curious - it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and clients are so savvy now, they demand the very latest products and services. Work with a specialist brand who are experts in their field - Fake Bake provide back up every step of the way! Make sure you get the best professional training and refresh your skills regularly. Don’t do your job in a vacuum - it is great to stay current, and know what trends and styles are about, both in beauty and style. Your greatest asset is you - even superstars feel vulnerable in a tanning tent, so it’s vital to be warm, engaging and really take care of the details. Promote your work as much as you can and be prepared to put time and effort into your career - you have to be really committed, and don’t just take opportunities, go out there and actively seek them. And it helps to have ambition, too!

What do you love best about your work?

I know I work within one industry, but it’s such a varied career. I have loved being a part of the launch of the new Fake Bake Tanning Water - it’s so exciting to see an idea come to fruition. It has been wonderful to have my work recognised, of course, but as well as being a brand ambassador, I still enjoy working with clients. It might mean getting someone ready for the BRITs, it may be preparing a bride for her big day, or getting Mr. Gandy ready for a photoshoot. It’s a tough job, as the saying goes…

As we approach International Women’s Day, who is on your list of ladies you really admire?

Anyone who follows me will know I am a huge Madonna fan, which has been a lifelong devotion on my part. She really blazed a trail. I adore Kylie Minogue, who I also get to work with, as she’s also a super hard worker. I’m lucky to call Patsy Kensit a friend as well as a client - I grew up watching her on screen. Lady Gaga has broken down stereotypes and this year has really been recognised for her work. Oh, and her Oscars tan - my tip for the perfect summer look! I also love what Naomi Campbell is doing right now - she’s still a supermodel in every sense but her work for British Vogue is really inspiring. I could be here all day! I also love women who aren’t in the limelight but are out there, really doing a spectacular job every day. Where would we be without our mums, sisters, aunties, grandmothers and friends? Make it a day to celebrate them, too!

Follow James on Insta @jamesharknettofficial

You can catch James online at www.jamesharknett.co.uk

Keep up with Professional Beauty updates at www.professionalbeauty.co.uk

International Women’s Day is Friday 8th March