THE LOWDOWN
The pursuit of toned, glistening pins come summertime requires just a little extra legwork, writes Remy Rippon.
The pursuit of toned, glistening pins come summertime requires just a little extra legwork.
1. GET PREPPED
While the latest faux tans develop into a golden glow in as little as an hour, lasting, flawless pins require just a little extra prep work. “You can start preparing your skin weeks before applying self-tan by exfoliating every two to three days and moisturising daily to ensure your skin is in the best condition,” says St. Tropez tanning and skin finishing expert Jayne Cooper. Double down on dry zones like knees and heels by applying a generous coat of moisturiser right before tanning application to avoid unsightly build-up.
2. WORK OUT LIKE A DANCER
Loathe lunges and squats? No problem. While there’s no doubting they add definition and tone, to lengthen leg muscles as well it pays to introduce a variety of exercises that work a handful of areas. “With lunges, you tend to create bulk, but with different exercises in addition, you work the smaller, supportive muscles that give the appearance of lean muscles,” says Emma Seibold, founder of ballet-inspired studio Barre Body.
3. STOP WORRYING ABOUT CELLULITE
“There is no silver bullet for reducing cellulite. Genetics, age, muscle mass and a range of other factors play a role in the presence of cellulite on our bodies, and increasing or reducing a specific food or taking a supplement in the lead up to summer is not going to drastically reduce the visibility of it,” says Jacqueline Allwell, a nutritionist and founder of The Brown Paper Bag. Avoiding processed sugars and increasing your intake of anti-inflammatory foods and healthy fats such as salmon and avocado may go some way to easing water retention, with Allwell’s caveat: “Implement these aspects into your diet because they make you feel great, not because of the focus on a few dimples.”
4. CONTOUR BEYOND YOUR FACE
Make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury tends to the perennially perfect complexions and limbs of the world’s top models, so when she says leg contouring is a thing, we listened. Focus body highlighting formulas like her Supermodel Body on the centre of the legs to give the illusion of longer and leaner pins. “The precious-metal highlighter mix with silver, gold and pearl pigments gives a universally flattering, radiant glow for every skin tone and plays with light and shade to illuminate and sculpt legs,” Tilbury says.
5. BRUSH YOUR LEGS
If we were dishing out awards for the MVP of legs, it would inevitably go to the dry body brush. The strong-bristle hand-held brush not only sloughs away dead skin, it’s an effective lymphatic drainer and boosts circulation. Set aside a few minutes before you step into a shower for a top-to-toe brush (swift and always upwards towards the heart). If you want to see real benefits, brush daily.
6. UP YOUR SKINCARE GAME
If you’re a skincare aficionado when it comes to your face, afford the same attention to the lower half of your body. Daily sunscreen application is a given. Ditto some brawnier treatments. “Legs can be a challenging area to treat for uneven skin tone issues, like keratosis pilaris,” says Sylvia Down, co- owner of the Skin Renu clinic in Sydney. “The best way to work with them is with Pico Genesis Enlighten III. This laser treatment is both quick and effective and enables you to spot-treat areas of concern.”
“There is no silver bullet for cellulite … increasing or reducing a specific food or taking a supplement is not going to drastically reduce the visibility of it”