For Vogue, by Monica Kim.
Photographed by Mario Testino, Vogue, April 2014
Tan lines are all but inevitable in summer--and can even lend your look a carefree surfer vibe. But when a cutout maillot draws awkward stripes across your torso, or a Bond girl halter leaves your neck ghostly pale, it can get a little weird. Yet there are still those It girls who are perennially beach-bound and even-toned--despite their own fashion-forward swimsuits. What, we wondered, is their secret to preventing, or rehabbing, an uneven glow?
For model Cami Morrone, a born-and-bred Californian, it's about making a point to pull down her straps and adjust her bottoms every few minutes without fail. "Even if you feel like you aren't getting color, you most likely are," she says. A slick of coconut oil provides a more subtle sun boost than traditional bronzers, along with a hint of natural SPF--though broad-spectrum sunscreen is nonnegotiable. "Do not let clouds fool you," Morrone adds. "Those guys will burn!" Fellow model and beachside babe Paige Reifler takes an equally practical approach: "Keep your bathing suit simple to avoid looking like a zebra when you get out of the sun, and when no one is looking--or you're on a beach in Europe--take it off!"
If you're loath to give up your avant-garde swimwear, look no further than designer Lisa Marie Fernandez, whose ruffled bandeaus and cutout maillots are favorites among the fashion crowd. When sunning on the beaches of Patmos, Greece, Fernandez makes sure to pack a handful of different styles, which helps to keep tan lines in check. "Do not wear the same suit two days in a row," she says. At night, a creamy self-tanner can "fill in the parts of your body that did not see the sun," she says, and the next day, a bit of Bain de Soleil Gelee SPF 4 in those same sections can help further even tone. Finally, Fernandez adds, a gentle nightly exfoliation will give the skin a lasting glow: "This keeps your tan longer--just the opposite of what one would think!" Who knew?
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