text: It had seemed fake tan was here to stay after becoming a beauty staple for many women who wanted to emulate their favourite celebrities’ bronzed looks. But their determination to achieve the perfect glow appears to be fading away in favour of adopting a lighter look. The number of bottles of fake tan sold in 2014 fell by nearly a quarter (24.1 per cent) from the year before, bringing the value of sales down by 19.3 per cent to £14.5million. The number of bottles of fake tan sold in 2014 fell by nearly a quarter from last year. The product used to be a favourite of many celebrities including Victoria Beckham (left) and Sam Faiers (right) Georgia Percy, of retail analysts Kantar Worldpanel, which gathered the data, said it suggests women are ‘tending towards a more natural look’. She added that artificial tanning products were the hardest hit sub-sector of the sun care market. And Sandra Vaughan, a beauty consultant for artificial tan brand Fake Bake, said the pale look is now more fashionable. Fake tanning had become part of many women’s regular beauty regime thanks to its popularity among celebrities such as former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, the stars on Strictly Come Dancing and the cast – both male and female – of reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex. But even the TOWIE crew themselves admit the look can easily go wrong. Sam Faiers, who was a brand ambassador for Fake Bake, has described her horror at looking unnaturally orange on occasion. Pale skin icons include the likes of Keira Knightley, pictured (above) at the 87th annual Academy Awards, Cara Delevingne and Gwyneth Paltrow . She said: ‘Just before Christmas I overdid it with the fake tan. I made my legs too dark and I just thought, what have I done?!’ Other TOWIE performers have admitted similar errors, including Lauren Goodger, who was a particularly vivid colour when attending a Woman’s Own event last year. Even the programme itself has ridiculed the dangers of fake tan. Charlie Sims became a laughing stock after emerging from a spay tan session designed to improve his appearance and self-esteem only to look like an orange extra from the famous Tango TV commercials. His sister, Chloe Sims, famously stripped off to be the face and body of Montana Tan’s Starship Range. Georgia Percy, from Kantar Worldpanel, said sales of artificial tanning products were the hardest hit sub-sector of the suncare market in 2014. ‘As with total suncare, the key contributor to decline was fewer shoppers, suggesting women are tending towards a more natural look,’ she said. Lou Ellerton, of consultants the Value Engineers, told The Grocer magazine: ‘Reality TV shows were effectively ongoing ads for fake tan but they passed their peak. 'It’s like fake tan has been off the air for a while.’ Pale skin icons include the likes of Keira Knightley, Cara Delevingne and Gwyneth Paltrow. The weather has also played a part, she said. ‘If skin is not on show, why dress it up?’
target: The value of sales fell by 19.3 per cent to around £14.5million last year .
  Pale skin icons include the likes of Keira Knightley and Cara Delevingne .