From 'Cole Cappuccino' to 'Katona Karrot'... Pippa Middleton's 'Royal Mocha' leads the celebrity tan tone scale as the most desirable shade in Britain

By Jessica Satherley

Last updated at 11:27 AM on 2nd August 2011

Choosing the right shade of fake tan can be a tough decision, but it has been revealed that Pippa Middleton is influencing British women to opt for a ‘Royal Mocha’ tone this summer.

Miss Middleton's glow has been named the most desirable skin tone by a new study which discovered the most and least desirable celebrity tans of 2011.

And as Pippa’s complexion came out on top, Kerry Katona’s ‘Karrot’ look left her at the bottom of the heap of the celebrity tan-tone chart.

Celebrity tan tones: Models walked down Oxford Street in central London to exhibit the definitive celebrity tan-tone chart

Cheryl Cole’s ‘Cappuccino’ tan was the second most popular hue, followed by Amy Childs’ ‘Essex Copper’, Christine Bleakley’s ‘Burnished Bronze’ and Katie Price’s ‘Pricey Pecan’.

And yesterday six bikini-clad women were modelling the celebrity branded skin shades at a pop-up beauty salon in London’s Soho area.

A team of experts, led by tanning guru James Harknett, studied over 100 female celebrities over a three-month period to identify the total of six distinct shades favoured by the rich and famous.
More than 2,000 British ladies then took part in the poll to vote on whose tan came out on top.

Live chart: The models became part of the world's first tan-tone window display boasting celebrity branded skin shades at The Really Buff Boutique in London's Soho

Pippa’s gorgeous glow dubbed ‘The Royal Mocha’ nabbed a whopping 60 per cent of the votes, closely followed by Cheryl Cole, who achieved 26 per cent of votes.

But although Christine Bleakley’s shade of bronze managed to come in third place, she only picked up eight per cent of the votes.

The Only Way Is Essex star Amy Childs didn’t prove very popular with only three per cent of British women wanting her copper colour, while only two per cent wanted Katie Price’s glow.

Meanwhile, Kerry Katona limped in last with only one per cent of the public wanting to emulate her skin colour.

The study, which surveyed women aged between 18 and 44, revealed that almost three quarters feel better about themselves with a tan, whilst over half said it makes them feel sexier.

Ready for summer: The bikini-clad models show off their fake tans for summer by holding beach balls with their celebrity branded shades

And 69 per cent of those quizzed said having a tan makes them feel healthier, while over half said it increased their confidence while socialising.

The research, commissioned to mark the launch of TV channel Really on Freeview, also found that the average British woman will spend £29,400 during their lifetime on a strict summer grooming regime.

That is the equivalent of the annual cost of living for a family with two children in the UK.

Really TV’s Channel Head, Clare Laycock, said: ‘Our study shows that while it’s tempting to go overboard on the beach or with fake tan, this August a more natural colour is most popular.

‘We all know people who come back from the salon more tangoed than tanned – now they have the perfect tan-tone chart to guide them on their tan choices for the summer.’

The Really Buff Boutique pop-up salon is offering a range of free beauty treatments to the public from 2 to 5 August and has installed the world’s first tan-tone window display to celebrate the launch of the new TV channel.