WITH the much-anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey hitting cinema screens this weekend an Irish brand has set about exploring what makes people in Britain feel sexy.
A whopping 87 per cent of people surveyed by the TanOrganic firm claim the key to feeling sexy is having a good tan.
And 65 per cent of those believe it even nets them more action between the bedsheets.
TanOrganic’s Kildare-born founder Noelle O’Connor explains: “I’ve always believed that a good, natural-looking tan can work wonders on body confidence. So while running this survey was fun, finding out that people feel sexier as well as more confident when tanned made me smile and goes a little way towards proving my theory.”
The self-tan firm’s findings also showed that 44 per cent of those who feel they have more sex when they are bronzed believe that’s because they feel more confident in their bodies with a tan.
For O’Connor, bringing confidence to her customers is one of the founding principles of her business – which was launched after the entrepreneur made a successful pitch on Dragon’s Den Ireland in 2010.
With the €50,000 investment and ongoing support of Dragon Gavin Duffy, the young businesswoman, a mother-of-two who previously ran a chain of beauty therapy clinics in Ireland, launched TanOrganic - a natural, odourless, certified-organic, paraben-free and sunless tan product.
And as the brand, which now offers a range of products, continues to win fans across the globe, O’Connell has yet to look back.
But for the businesswoman it’s the natural look of her self-tan range that keeps her ahead of the game in the increasingly crowded self-tan market.
“With TanOrganic, people say ‘your tan looks great’ not ‘your fake tan looks great’. I think this shows that people are airing towards a more natural look nowadays,” she explains.
Just this month the firm welcomed its latest celebrity ambassador to the TanOrganic fold, when Irish drag queen and gay rights activist Panti Bliss – aka Rory O’Neill – signed up as to ride the Irish Float, sponsored by TanOrganic, at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in March.
O’Connell, who expanded the business into Australia last year, said: “2014 marked our first year in the Australian market, where the brand has been very well received, but I will be returning to Australia later this month to secure even more buyers, spread the brand message wider, and join Panti at the Mardi Gras celebrations.”
She added: “The TanOrganic brand is Irish through and through and we have always had huge support from the LBGT community, so we are really looking forward to being a part of one of the biggest street carnivals in the world”
