FASHION Magazine

Self-tanners sure have come a long way. Today, there are lots of innovative formats to dabble in—from mousses to sprays to overnight facial masks to mixable drops—and the best formulas are spiked with ingredients like hyaluronic acid, hydrating oils and encapsulated retinol. Many brands have also successfully masked that funky sunless-tanner smell—a natural after-effect of […]

The post Faux Glow: Pro Tips for Nailing Your Next At-Home Self-Tanner Session appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Summer means lots of things: barbecues, pool parties, pedicures, and a whole lot of skin exposure. Without the camouflaging comfort of jeans, suddenly ashy, scaly legs require some immediate attention. Ditto for limbs and other areas that could benefit from a bit of glow. With a mix of superstar new products hitting shelves and a […]

The post 9 Body Products For Glowing, Gleaming Summertime Skin appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

The journey to a streak-free self-tanning solution has been a long and winding road, one featuring unfortunate streaks, unpleasant scents, dyed-orange palms, and plenty of stained bathroom counters. But the latest developments make the wait worth it. Mists, waters and mousses that go on clear and develop gradually, over a few hours after application, make […]

The post These Self-Tanning Products are <em>Literally</em> Foolproof appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See our favourite self-tanners »

Growing up in my family, tanning was pastime, pleasure and competitive sport. Pale was pejorative. My parents, both great tanners in their youth, lived in East Africa in the early ’70s, before I was born. That time in their lives seemed to me fabulously glamorous—never mind the fact that my sister, a baby then, contracted malaria and nearly died—because for two years, they were tanned. Deeply tanned. Not the amateur-hour suntan you might obtain after a week in Fort Lauderdale, the kind of profound, layered tan that makes you look like another person—an exceptionally well-leisured one.

I remember the four of us in the ’80s, lying on a quartet of loungers and passing the Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 down the line like a familial baton. If my friends enjoyed splashing around in swimming pools and lakes, I liked lying down next to them, and nowhere in the vicinity of a sun-blocking parasol. Parasols were meant for other people, the ones who took long luncheons in the shade during prime UV time. (I preferred to feast on rays.)

When my sister and I had a productive tanning day, we’d high-five each other as the sun sank into the horizon and our freckles settled into our still-warm cheeks. A tan, like the travel that furnished it, was an escape from our regular selves, a gilded (if short-lived) costume.

Trying a self-tanner at home can be intimidating, to say the least. But if you’re coveting that back-from-the-South-of-France afterglow without the sun damage, a self-tanner is your safest bet. As any faux tan devotee knows, proper application is key when it comes to avoiding telltale signs of an at-home tan (you know the ones: orange palms and unsightly streaks). Whether you’re a pasty girl looking to achieve a deep shade of bronze or you’re just seeking a subtle glow, we’ve got a few pointers from St. Tropez’s Skin Finishing Expert, Sophie Evans, who gave us a rundown on how to achieve an immaculate faux tan at home.

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

How do I protect my hair from sun damage? I can’t really live in a hat all summer.
Hat hair is so not the look, but sun protection definitely is! It’s important to protect ourselves from UV damage year-round, but in the summer, our hair can take a serious thrashing. Excessive sun exposure without protection can fade hair colour and make hair dry and brittle. Step up your UV game with the L’Oréal Professionnel Série Expert Solar Sublime range ($20-29, lorealprofessionnel.com), which is a shampoo, conditioner and leave-in conditioning spray that all contain Mexoryl. This ingredient is a UV filter that forms a protective film around hair fibres to make your hair more resilient to sun exposure. A necessary addition to your sun protection arsenal this summer!

See the Kate Moss for St. Tropez campaign shots »

With countless campaigns under her belt, Kate Moss has just been announced as the face and body of international self-tan brand St. Tropez. Already a fan of the brand (and frequent user) today the British top model revealed her excitement to be officially working with St. Tropez. Via press release Moss said, “I’ve been using the products since they started and it’s a really trustworthy, cool brand. I always feel more confident with a St. Tropez tan!”

Hoping to connect with women of all ages, Moss’s iconic status, confidence and amazing attitude make her the perfect face and body for the brand’s first-ever global advertising campaign. And what a campaign it is! Renowned fashion and beauty photographer Solve Sundsbo has created super-saturated shots of Moss’s divine tanned body against blue skies and crystal-clear water. This campaign certainly has us dreaming about basking in the Mediterranean sun. (But at this point we’ll even take a weekend up in cottage country.)

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

Self-tanner seems like a serious challenge for someone as fair as myself. What can I do to build up some believable colour on my body?
There are so many iterations of self-tanner out there—Sprays! Mousses! Creams!—yet it can definitely be a bit of a challenge to find a self-tanner that will work for fairer skintones. If you’re apprehensive about committing to a faux tan since you’re more translucent than not (blame winter—we all do), try a gradual sunless tanner, such as St. Tropez Tanning Essentials Everyday Gradual Tan for Body in “Light/Medium” ($38, sephora.com). Not only will this lotion moisturize your skin with aloe vera, but it will provide a slight golden tint to your skin that will develop over time with 70 per cent less of the tell-tale self-tanning smell than standard self-tanners—meaning you won’t mind slathering this on daily to build up a glow without any of the sun’s harm!

Every week we take on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more and provide all the answers. This week we teach you a foolproof way to apply self-tanner to your body (who says you have to go on vacation to get a bit of a glow?) and share our top product pick for taming unruly eyebrows. Plus, two pretty lip colours to try and a new in-shower product that will allow you to skip moisturizer, even in the winter. Really! Have a question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com.

Read on for the full fix! »

Rumour has it that when makeup artist Pat McGrath set out to create her “living doll” look for Louis Vuitton’s Spring 2012 show, she and her team pulled an all-nighter (at the Ritz, of course!) to glue together 10 sets of false lashes for each model. When the show opened with models perched on a revolving carousel in candy-coloured frocks, their flawless makeup and dense, fluttery lashes momentarily created the illusion that mannequins were instead the stars.

Despite its high maintenance appearance, it’s really simple to recreate this Barbie-esque beauty look. And forget 10 sets of falsies—you can pull it off with just five products in the bat of an eyelash!

Ready to try this look at home? See how to do it!»

By Malena Harbers

Today, it’s all about customizing your tan,” says skin-care expert Nichola Joss, who created a variety of caramel tones for models at the Spring 2012 shows of British designers such as Issa and House of Holland. Designed to work with the spirit of each collection, Joss’s handiwork illustrates the idea that one hue indeed does not fit all. By adding, omitting or changing the way you apply a product, you can create a completely different-looking tan. Here, we break down the shades.

SUN-KISSED
Suntan equivalent:
A day out in the garden
Seen at: Roksanda Ilincic

MID-TONE
Suntan equivalent:
A long-weekend at the cottage
Seen at: Erdem

HOLOGRAPHIC
Suntan equivalent:
A week in the Mediterranean
Seen at: House of Holland

BRONZE
Suntan equivalent:
Weeks of sun-worshipping in Brazil
Seen at: Issa

With the long weekend just a day away, it’s official: summer is here! While you might be ready to bounce out of your office chair and hit the cottage/park/patio as soon as possible, we have a few suggestions on how to make your long weekend even better—beauty-wise, that is! From the newest trend in waxing to a sure-fire way to cure those Monday night “the weekend is over” blues, here’s your guide to getting ready for the weekend faster than you can say TGIF.

Count ’em down! 5 ways to get ready for the long weekend »