Nicola Roberts knows a thing or two about self-acceptance.
Having shot to stardom at the age of 17 as part of the record-breaking girl group Girls Aloud, she's been in the limelight ever since.
PRETTY52 met with Nicola when she popped in to visit the set of our #OwnYourTone collaboration with Cancer Research UK to show her support for the campaign. The last video in the series features an assortment of influential young women who have come together in an effort to empower people across the nation to embrace their natural skin tone this summer.
We caught up with her around her past experiences with tanning, the pressures of the media on women's perceptions of themselves, and how she has managed to come full circle and find self-acceptance in owning her tone.
Nicola took to tanning after an unfortunate experience with a producer on primetime Saturday night TV when she was 17.
She explains: "The producer said to me that he wanted to get me a spray tan because I was too pale. So, I took the spray tan and I think I just liked how it made me feel. I always hated being pale in general, it was always a huge fear of mine. I would go to fittings with body make up on because I was so conscious of being pale.
"And I was aware of pale skin not being as favourable as tanned skin through little comments in the media like, 'She's so pale' or through the producer saying, 'Can we take the edge off? You're blending into the stage'.
"They say that you see yourself how you think other people see you. And in my head, I just think that I was so aware that pale was attached to such negative words. I took that on, and became obsessed with being tanned. I could never be pale. I had a deep obsession with it. It took me a long, long time to come out of that period."
As a result, Nicola had her fair share of tanning mishaps, as she reveals: "This is what's really bad for me - all my tanning mishaps are out there for the nation to see. In music videos, in photoshoots, in paparazzi shots. I grew up through that awkward stage in the public eye."
She laughs it off, adding: "But, yeah, it's just part of my life I guess. You could go onto Google and type in Nicola Roberts tanning mishaps and it would be there."
As someone who's had a rocky relationship with glossy mags in the past, we asked Nicola what effect she thinks they can have on women's appearances.
She says: "One week the media will fat shame, the next week on the same magazine cover they'll skinny shame. It sends a really confusing message to women. It's sad to me that it's a form of entertainment to talk about how a woman looks, but that is the world that we're in."
Nicola disagrees when we asked whether she thought that the media portray a certain idea of the 'perfect' woman, suggesting that glossy mags instead are driven by whichever star happens to be on the rise that week.
"It's important that we recognise that just because somebody is in the press a lot, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're the epitome of a perfect woman. Just because their profile is up with the media. That's quite dangerous."
Nicola's relationship with the media has changed somewhat in recent years. She mentions that she has seen that red hair and pale skin is being represented more, both in high-end fashion and on social media.
Whether you love or loathe social media, Nicola believes the influence it's had in changing people's perceptions and opening their minds up to new looks and skin tones is beneficial. The accepted ideal of how people think they 'should' look is being slowly chipped away, in her eyes.
She finds Instagram to be a great way for getting tips for her own porcelain look.
Nicola adds: "I'm constantly going through Instagram and following girls with red hair and pale skin. You identify with someone who's similar to you. Follow the girl with red hair to see how she does it, what make up she uses for her pale skin, because we're in a minority in terms of the mass market. When you can find somebody to relate to, go and learn."
About five years into her career, Nicola started to change her way of thinking, naming Dame Vivienne Westwood as a huge influence. "The look, her as a woman, being an activist, being a creative, the red hair, the pale skin, and how far she would push it. The imagination that she has, I was just so impressed."
As she began to feed this newfound interest, she dropped the glossies in favour of high end fashion mags and found it much easier to identify with the girls in them.
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Nicola explains: "I became more adventurous with what I would put on and then I would push and push and push - I want to be paler, I want to have the craziest hair - I had all of this confidence that I never had before. And it was such an incredible feeling to just literally feel confident in the skin that you are, in the colour that you are.
"I'd get so many positive comments, especially from the girls [in the band], the make-up team, and the creative team around us. I just felt like when I stopped tanning and I really embraced who I was, I found my place. I felt like I had more of a place. I think that authenticity counts for so much.
"The most important thing to me about my look is that it's authentic to who I am."When asked what she loves about her look now, the first thing she points out is that she looks younger that she is.
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"Older ladies used to say to me, 'You're going to be so thankful when you get older and you look younger than what you are'. And I used to think, 'I'd rather be tanned. I'll worry about that [later]'. But those ladies were right and I'm thankful for that. And I like being different. I don't want to be the same as everybody else and that's the difference.
"Before, I was feeling more comfortable merging in, blending in, and I don't want to feel like that anymore. I want to stand out for my skin. I think that if you're blessed with looking different and individual, that's only a good thing. You shouldn't want to blend into everybody else.
"I think one of the best things you can reward yourself with is really just to celebrate how you look and who you are, and that really is the gift that you've been given.
"So why would you be anything else? Embrace your natural skin tone."
We couldn't agree more, Nicola.
You can find out how to #OwnYourTone this summer by clicking here.
Featured Image Credit: CRUK - OYTTopics: Hair and Beauty, Real, Health