How to Make Swimsuit Shopping More Bearable
By Jean Godfrey-June, Illustrations by Lauren Friedman, Lucky magazine
Q: I hate bathing-suit shopping. How do I make it more bearable? -Taylor
A: Dear Taylor, Self-tanner! This works only for the pasty, but for them (me) it really does work. Those with gorgeous alabaster or dark, tawny-perfection skin probably enjoy bathing-suit shopping much more than I do. This self-tanner is tinted so you see any mistakes right away, you get an encouraging, instant glow, and the color is just the best, most realistic one in existence. Apply the tanner the day before your shopping excursion, and you will notice many fewer flaws-scars, blotches, veins, cellulite, etc.-reflected back at you in the unforgiving mirror. The self-tanner kind of airbrushes them away (and makes you look a tad slimmer in the bargain).
Read more:Spring's Must-Have Nail Colors
The other thing: Do your hair, do your makeup. Shopping While Attractive, for me anyway, is 100 percent more likely to end in a purchase. Shopping While Hideous, on the other hand, invariably yields zilch. If you're not feeling it, cut your losses and return when you feel hotter. One way to feel super-hot, if you happen to be in New York or L.A.: Shop at the aforementioned Malia Mills, where they are both wildly yet believably encouraging and stop at nothing to find you the perfect fit, so you leave full of a confidence that returns every time you put your new suit on.
Read More: The 50 Best Pairs of Jeans Under $50
Q: After spending a day at the beach, how do I dress up my beach cover-up for a casual dinner? -Carmen
A:
Dear Carmen, The summer cover-up of choice for the Lucky fashion department is the caftan/tunic in a relatively filmy, perhaps Indian-print fabric. It is adorable during the day over a bathing suit and is very easily dressed up, says executive fashion director Alexis Bryan Morgan: "What I love about beach to evening is the beachy hair!" she says. "You have the hair and your skin is kind of glowy and all you need to step it up is a little extra: some gold bangles, maybe some small gold hoops and some flat or low-heeled sandals with a bit of gold in them too. If you like your legs bare, it looks gorgeous, and if you don't, add some white jeans and you're done."
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