Here comes another golden summer. Bronzed, shimmery skin, coppery eyeshadows and caramel nail polishes are the essentials of the season.
THE TAN COMMANDMENTS
Nail summer beauty trends.
Photo: Stocksy• Do all your beauty maintenance first. Waxing or shaving, mani, pedi and hair-colouring treatments can remove existing fake tan.
• Exfoliate thoroughly, as fake tan grabs onto dry skin. Pay particular attention to rough spots such as knees, elbows, ankles and heels. Begin with a good exfoliator like Frank Body Shimmer Scrub ($25, frankbody.com) – we love the shimmery pay-off.
The bronze age.
Photo: Jennifer Soo• Dry off thoroughly and wait for at least five minutes before starting the process by dabbing a lightweight moisturiser around your nostrils, knees, elbows and ankles.
• Start at your ankles and work up to the shoulders, leaving arms and hands until last. Use clean hands (or latex gloves) and smooth on small dollops of self-tanner in circular motions.
• Three new fake tans to try: James Read Gradual Tan Coconut Melting Tanning Balm Face & Body (below, $52, mecca.com.au); La Mav Bronze Organic Self Tan Dry Oil (below, $45, adorebeauty.com.au); St Tropez Bronzing Mist ($50, sttropeztan.com.au).
• For the hard-to-reach back area, try ModelCo Self-Tan Back Applicator, $14, mecca.com.au. Add fake tan to the middle of the applicator and work back and forth to get even coverage.
• Extend the life of your tan with a rich body moisturiser like Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Whipped Body Cream ($80, esteelauder.com.au) to help lock in colour and prevent fade-out.
• For any fake-tan mishaps, try rubbing half a lemon on the area for two minutes before lightly buffing it with a damp towel.
THE SUMMER FACE
For a sheer summery face base, begin with a lighter-weight tinted moisturiser like Charlotte Tilbury Unisex Healthy Glow All-Year Hydrating Summer Tint Moisturiser ($50, net-a-porter.com). Next up is a new set of super-wearable brown-based eye shades ranging from dark chocolate to shimmery cinnamon. Get your hands on the fabulous new 12-shade Urban Decay Naked Heat Eyeshadow Palette (below, $83, mecca.com.au).
Every one of these hues is wearable, either on its own or blended. The beauty world is obsessed with illuminators, worn as all-over shimmer or as a precision-placed highlighter. We love M.A.C Cosmetics Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Oh, Darling! ($48, maccosmetics.com.au). And for artfully placed bronzer just below the cheekbones, try Ciaté London Bamboo Bronzer ($41, mecca.com.au). On lips, it's all about a pretty gold highlighted lipgloss.
Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss plus Top Coat in Excitation ($50, davidjones.com.au), slicked over the perfect nude lip liner such as Kat Von D Everlasting lip liner in Terra Cotta Nude ($27, sephora.com.au). Don't forget to colour in the entire lip to add depth and longevity.
NAILING IT
Our latest nail favourite is, you guessed it, anything tan. From top, try Sally Hansen Color Therapy in Glow With The Flow ($17, au.sallyhansen.com), a new take on pale bronze shimmer; O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in Sweet Carmel Sunday ($20, opi.net.au), the perfect coppery tone; or Napoleon Perdis Nail Polish in Taupe to Me ($19, napoleonperdis.com). These shades shine up a dream on fingers and toes. For summer, embrace short squoval nails – the perfect canvas for this new colour palette.
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