Surrey Homes | SH33 | July 2017 | Interiors supplement inside

Beach
Beauty
Josephine Fairley shares her essential cheats
for an instant summer body
I’m sure I’m not the only person whose heart sinks at
the sight of yet another ‘Get Yourself Beach-Ready’
magazine article. My idea of being ‘beach-ready’ is
ensuring there’s enough sandwiches, potato salad and
soft drinks to keep the family happy. (And quite often,
making sure we’ve got macs and a windbreak.)
That doesn’t mean we don’t want to look good for summer
– but it’s not all about prepping for two weeks in a swimsuit, is
it? One of the glories of living in these isles is taking advantage
of these precious few months of warmth and sunshine: all
the more special because they don’t last year-round. If you’re
anything like me, that means you’re outdoors as much as
possible – on walks, in the garden, at barbecues with friends.
Yes, we all want to look and feel our best – but why waste
precious time in the bathroom when we could be taking
advantage of the great outdoors? So: I’ve focused here on
great ‘cheats’, which will minimise your time getting ready
for the beach – and maximise your actual time on it.
StEP onE: buff with an oil-based scrub. These are, in my
book, just about the most body-transformative products
out there. They slough away dead, dull skin cells (and can
actually revive a tan, as a result), while leaving skin veiled in
nourishing oils. Any fake tan will go on more smoothly if
you use an oil-based scrub first. I prefer sugar-based scrubs as
salt can sting if you’ve any nicks and cuts (as a gardener, that
invariably means me). Top of the scrubs for me are VOYA
Effervescence Nourishing Scrub, £34 for 259g (it features
plenty of hand-harvested seaweed in a base of almond oil,
sunflower oil and seaweed oil – and who knew there was
such a thing?), and the perennially fabulous, deliciously
rose-scented REN Moroccan Rose Shea Sugar Body Polish,
£33 for 330ml. Both leave skin gleaming and nourished
and are so enjoyable to use – well, you’ll use them. And
at the end of the day that is the key, with all products.
StEP tWo: fake a tan. Who wants a body that’s pastrypale
on the first day of a vacation? Dita Von Teese, and that’s
about it, I reckon. There’s no need to go anywhere near a UV
tanning salon – the health risks of which become more and
more evident – with all the fabulous fake tans there are around.
My advice isn’t to go for a deep instant tan, but to apply a
gradual tanner a couple of evenings in a row, before you leave
for holiday. That’s all it takes to build up really quite a fabulous
skin tint, and it’ll look more realistic than one dark coat. Bathe
and exfoliate first, pat skin dry, and smooth body butter into
any dry zones such as heels, knees and elbows. These areas go
carrot-y because the dry cells take up more of the self-tanning
ingredient; if they’re well-nourished, that won’t happen.
Over the past few years I’ve slathered my way through
plenty, with three that I return to time and again. First off,
from an oddly-named brand called Eco by Sonya (available
from lovelula.com). Their Winter Skin, £25 for 200ml is
deliciously ‘slippy’, like a gel-cream – and is incredibly easy
to spread. ESPA Gradual Tan Body Moisturiser, £34 for
200ml, has an almost identical texture – and I can honestly
say I’ve never had better results from a fake tan. If you really,
really have a bare-leg emergency on Day One, nothing
fixes that faster than This Works Perfect Legs Skin Protector
SPF30, £40 for 100ml, which is a perfecting and blurring
product for legs that minimises imperfections and improves
appearance in a flash, with mica and natural caramel evening
out skintone – and with that SPF30, it protects while it gilds.
StEP tHrEE: protect your face before you hit the beach.
I walked along the sands in Dubai back in January literally
aghast at how almost every woman was lying there with her
face turned to the sun, in the midday heat. You know why they
call it ‘tanning’? Because skin turns to leather. L-e-a-t-h-e-r. I
honestly cannot counsel anything less than an SPF30 on the
face, beneath a hat, and preferably with your head in the shade,
too. I rely on another product from This Works, the fantastic,
weightless In Transit Skin Defence SPF30, £29 for 40ml,
for facial protection – and am delighted it’s about to become
available in an SPF45. Also brilliant for sun-sensitive skins
like mine is Green People Scent-Free Facial Sun Cream SPF30,
£16.50 for 50ml, which not only protects against UVA and
117 wealdentimes.co.uk