Allure Exclusive: Bronzing Secrets of the SI Swimsuit Models
by Elizabeth Siegel
The cover is hot. The spread inside is hot. Everything about Sports Illustrated's 50th anniversary swimsuit issue is, in a word, hot. Makeup artist Allen Avendano, a spokesman for St. Tropez self-tanning products, gave us an exclusive look at the tricks he used to bronze (and bronze some more) scantily-clad models like Kate Bock, Genevieve Morton, Ariel Meredith, and Emily DiDonato.
First he gave the models an assignment. "We all flew to Switzerland for the shoot," says Avendano. Once there, in the hotel lobby he passed out bottles of body exofliator (St. Tropez Prep & Maintain Body Polish) like they were welcome gifts. "They all had to shower after the flight, so getting them to exfoliate was a no-brainer," he says.
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Then he gave them a tan. "I tanned the models late, late, late the night before the shoot in my hotel room," says Avendano, who finished up around 1:30 A.M. "They had to be really dark, because the photos would be taken in direct sunlight, which makes you look much paler then you are." To get the richest color, he layered two self-tanners--St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse and St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Lotion--which he applied in circular motions using a mitt. "You can't even tell how tan they really were," he says. "But I even used self tanner on Ariel Meredith, who is African-American, to make her muscles look more toned and her skin seem richer."
He didn't get in the way of any natural assets. "Sports Illustrated likes the models to look voluptuous, and not so thin," says Avendano. "So I wanted the girl's bodies to seem soft and natural. I didn't add any definition to their stomaches or breasts. The bikinis do that on their own." He didn't cover up tan lines, either: "A tan line around the breasts looks so sexy," he says.
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But he did use golden highlighter to make the models look radiant. "I used St. Tropez Skin Illuminator in Gold on their shoulders, collarbones, and calves, and then kept adding more to areas like their hips and legs to make their bodies look toned in every pose," says Avendano. "I used so much that it built up on my fingers, and I had to stop using my hands to rub it on and start using a mitt."
Finally, he applied the secret ingredient. "Clear, sticky, glycerine beads up the second it's on the skin, and gives the illusion that you're wet," says Avendano. "Even though a lot of the poses are in water, the models don't actually jump in to get wet all over."
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