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 […]

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Navigating through self-tanning products can be a tricky process. With so many options on the market — from mousses to lotions and even in-shower body washes, it can be difficult to figure out which is best for you, especially if you’re new to the sunless tanning world. But perhaps the trickiest part is finding the […]

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Discerning beauty fanatics know what the essentials are—and have the Sephora loyalty cards to prove it—but sometimes you come across an unexpected new beauty product with such a specifically genius purpose that you don’t know how you once lived without it. You may not have even heard of the latest batch of must-have beauty products, but you’re […]

The post 5 weird beauty products you’ve never heard of (but will totally change your life) appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

I’m packing a carry-on bag for my next trip and don’t want to have too many liquids. What can I cut back on? Packing a carry-on means every bit of space is considered precious real estate, but that doesn’t mean you need to compromise as much as you’d think. Deciding what you put in your […]

The post Beauty fix: 5 innovative products that’ll make you rethink bar soap, solid shampoo, self-tanner + more appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

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 or ask away in the comments below. I have so little time to take care of my nails. What can I do at home to make them more […]

The post Beauty Fix: 5 new products that are going to save your skin this winter (really!) 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.