Donald Trump has been warned he will pay the price himself after slapping a huge tariff on fake tan. The 78-year-old, who is renowned for his dark orange complexion, has announced massive border taxes on goods from all across the world – meaning US customers are likely to pay more for imported products.
British brand St. Tropez, the best-selling self-tan cosmetics brand in the US, is among the thousands of UK products now subject to a 10% tariff when imported to the country. The trade war could also spell bad news for fans of Bronx Colors, the fake tan cream Trump is rumoured to use to achieve his signature look. This likely to be hit with a staggering 31% increase, as it is imported from Switzerland to the US.
Manufacturers are likely to pass these costs on to consumers, according to experts.
William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, told the Daily Star: “Every bit of economic analysis that has been done demonstrates that prices in America are going to go up. It means higher prices and more costs, with weaker economic growth and demand as the shockwaves spread across the world.”
Donald Trump has repeatedly denied using any tanning products, and in 2019 one senior White House official claimed his complexion was down to “good genes”.
Photographs from throughout Trump’s career show him having a much lighter tone until relatively recently, with him debuting a more tanned look around 2012, when he was still the star of reality TV show The Apprentice.
As tension between the White House and Europe heats up, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you’ll get all the latest news from across the pond.
We’ll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in.
All you have to do to join is click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group.
We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Celebrity makeup artist Safia Cox previously told the Mirror that she believes Trump’s ‘orange’ hue comes from fake tan cream or a tinted moisturiser – rather than a sunbed. She said “I think he uses some sort of fake tan or tinted moisturiser with a bronzer.”
“I 100% do not think it’s sun beds as it would be a completely different tone. It’s definitely some sort of cream product that he uses and has probably mattified it after because it’s so orange. You can see the rim around his face. If you look closely at his hairline, it’s very pale, and that’s not from sunbeds; he’s slapping some sort of cream product on.”
The makeup specialist, from Hertfordshire, suggested he had started to use the tanning creams after growing more “insecure” about his appearance with age.
Safia added: “I think his makeup has changed over the years, and I think it as he’s got older and potentially a little more insecure. The ever changing orange hue has become the subject of many internet discussions and memes – with people wondering why he likes to be so orange.”
“He has pictures taken of him and cameras on him a lot, so he must think it’s a good look, and some people say when he’s stressed, he uses more tan. If you look at photos of him towards the end of campaigns, he’s much more orange.”
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
