James Read has launched a brilliant and stylish self tanning range. The range is beloved by celebrities and beauty writers alike. Read on to find out how he launched his brand to success and to learn his top tanning tips.
Tell us about the brand.
The brand has been out for eight months now. It launched in Vogue, since it has been out it has been in Vogue four times already this year alone. For a brand to get in Vogue four times in one year is pretty amazing. It has been in The Sunday Times five times this year, it has been in every monthly, It is the most written about self tanning brand. It has had the most press.
I have worked with a lot of celebrities around the world. They all use it. Mariah (Carey), Lady Gaga, Lara Stone. Jessie J used it for the Olympics. Ellie Golding and Rita Ora use it.
It has been a real labour of love, it took two years to develop. The packaging is all based on the 1970s. I was born in 1976. It is quite retro. The 1970s was all about gold.
I wanted something iconic that stood out on the shelf. We wanted something that people would be proud to have on their bathroom shelf. I wanted people to look at it and think, ‘That is amazing’ rather than just hiding it away. We wanted it to look nice and stylish.
We came up with a new concept, we have the liquid, the gradual tan, we have the BB cream which is a bestseller, It comes in a pen tube. It gives a really nice natural colour, and it has a BB foundation in it as well.
The liquid tan is really nice and natural. We have new products coming out and new products being made all the time. The thing with the BB is that we wanted to do something that had never been done. We don’t want to just bring out the same things every year. We are coming up with ideas and evolving it and stepping outside of the box.
We are bringing out things that actually had never been done before. We think of what we want, I speak to my friends and I do research. We love to incorporate skincare and tanning into one.
We are launching in America in January and then Australia in March.
Top tips for tanning.
If you want to layer on tan then apply it the same day. Don’t do it the next day. If you apply it the next day you get build up on your skin and it can get too dark.
This is a good trick: before you put tan on your face get a moisturiser and then put the moisturiser on your face and neck. The moisturiser will stop the face getting too dark. If you are applying tan on certain areas, like you hands and feet, always use excess tan from the arms. These areas go too dark.
One thing that people do is they wash their hands after a couple of hours. Don’t wash your hands for at least eight hours or you will get that tanned body, white hands look. You want it to all match.
A good one that I always tell people is to rub an ice cube all over your face to seal your pours and then you put the tan on. It stops your pours from blocking. It seals the pours.
James Read Self-tanning range is available from QVC
Blemish Balm Gradual Tan for Face Medium 25ml
Gradual Tan for Face Medium 50ml
