'It's like magic': Vogue Williams on mess-free fake tan and the skin 'disaster' behind her brand

If there's one woman who knows a thing or two about fake tan, it's Vogue Williams. The mum-of-three launched her sunless tanning brand in 2019, and it's become something of a sensation. Even those who thought they could never convert to faux bronzing have found a must-have in Vogue's now-expansive tanning collection, largely thanks to her understanding of what consumers really want: a natural-looking glow that doesn't feel sticky, smell, transfer or stain sheets.

When I caught up with her, Vogue was full of tips, tricks and candid stories from her tanning life, which is perfect for someone like me, who always seems to be on the brink of a fake tan disaster. And as it turns out, she's been in a similar boat herself. One disastrous bronzing experience (more on this in a mo) turned out to be the spark for her entire business. “I wanted to create a tan that would fade naturally, that when you put it on you’d look like you’d been on a two-week holiday, and that was really moisturising on your skin," she tells me.

Her biggest secret for avoiding orange streaks on your pillowcase– one of my main gripes with fake tan– is also surprisingly simple. “Use the tanning water,” she says brightly. “It is like magic. It goes on clear and then develops throughout the day. If I was putting it on, I could wear a white top straight away and it wouldn’t come off at all. So it definitely won’t go on your sheets.” A quick glance at her page on Boots tells me everything I need to know about it, with repeat buyers backing up the sheet-preserving claims.

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When it comes to tanning, timing, as it turns out, is everything. Particularly in the summer. While many of us have been put off applying tan at night during hot, sticky weather, Vogue has it down to a glow-enhancing science. “I actually prefer to put it on in the morning. I usually wake up quite early, and because it develops quite quickly, in four or five hours, I’ll pop it on and just go about my day. By the time it gets too hot, the tan will be done. You’ll be cooked.”

She mentions how she's also dabbled in the trend of using fake tan for subtle enhancements, after I ask her how she feels about contouring and creating freckles with mousses. “You’ve just reminded me of the freckles,” she says. “I used to do them all the time, and for some reason, I’d forgotten about it.” Her technique involves a tiny paintbrush and a spritz of tanning mist sprayed into the cap. “I just use tiny bits of that and dab on little freckles.”

For contouring, she leans on her , £26, as a base, before reaching for a deeper shade to add dimension. “If you’re using a medium tan overall, contour with a dark. If you’re using a dark, contour with an ultra dark. I’d probably use our tanning brush to blend it in.”

When it comes to prepping for a wedding or major event, she goes all in. “I’ll even do and take all the tan off,” she says. “Sometimes I put it in my bath because it smells delicious and it really helps lift any leftover colour. Then I’ll exfoliate with my glove, shave my legs, do all the bits and pop on my tan. Then I’m good to go.”

Despite her expert routine now, Vogue admits her own wedding tan predated the birth of her brand. “It was pre-Bare by Vogue. What would I have been wearing? I honestly don’t know. I don’t even remember the names of any other fake tans.” Ever the loyal founder there, Vogue!

What she does remember is the moment everything changed. A product she once loved – Vogue is far too classy to say names, unfortunately – suddenly left her skin dry and flaky, a familiar tale for many a tanning devotee. “It was probably my favourite tan at the time but it really dried my skin out and made me go scaly. Like lizard-y skin. And getting it off was so tough.”

Bare by Vogue was designed to offer just the opposite of that. A tan that delivers glow without compromise. “I’m really obsessed with safe tanning,” she says. “I just want people to love their skin. You can still have that gorgeous holiday glow without damaging it.”

I'll just be off to order the whole product catalogue, then.