A make-up artist was left mortified after a fake tan fail left her resembling a ‘loaf of tiger bread’ for two weeks.
Ellena Brice, 18, decided to give herself a makeover to restore her summer glow and cheer herself up as the winter months rolled in.
However, she had never fake tanned before as she had always gone to a professional, so the teenager asked friends for recommendations and picked up the darkest shade available.
When she returned home, Ellena followed the instructions and smothered herself in the tan, leaving it on for the recommended time before washing it off.
The make-up artist said she ‘didn’t even think’ about how the colour would look on her, saying she was ‘so pale’ and wanted to make herself feel better.
Expecting a golden tan, Ellena was horrified to see the end result, stating:
When I got home I put it all over the place but was shocked with what I saw when I washed the initial layer off. It looked disgusting – it was all in my pores, I had a brown hair upper lip – I was literally a walking Dorito!
Thinking she could get rid of the tan by washing it off, the teenager, from Orpington, Greater London, immediately tried to exfoliate the remaining tan off.
However it wasn’t to be, as Ellena was left with the tan for an entire two weeks and even had to wear darker make-up in an attempt to cover up the dodgy tan.
She explained:
The worst part was, it took another two weeks for it to completely disappear so I had to wear darker make-up and try not to touch things as I was staining everything.
I was exfoliating my skin until it bled but then I was starting to look like a loaf of tiger bread as my skin started going crusty. It was more annoying because the next day I was going out. I tried everything to cover it up.
The make-up artist said everyone looked at her skin in a ‘weird’ way following the incident, and only stopped paying attention to her when she explained what had happened.
While her friends thought it was hilarious and ‘typical’ of Ellena, the teen said her family and mum’s friends weren’t as understanding. ‘[Their] reactions were the worst as they’re older, so they were mortified,’ she explained.
Ellena said she’s not using fake tan ‘ever again’ following her mishap, and will instead learn to ‘accept [her] English rose skin’ so she doesn’t end up looking ridiculous.
As much as I feel for her, Ellena, if you’re reading this, could you just try it one more time so we can have another chuckle?
Please and thank you.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).