Get Great-Looking Legs

Catherine Piercy

Hanneli Mustaparta is thinking spring. "I'm looking for the perfect high-waisted skirt right now!" says the street-style photographer and model enthusiastically. "It has to be straight but not too tight-and not too 80s either."

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Once she finds it, she plans on wearing it with her new baby blue Acne leather jacket-and, of course, the smooth, bare, supernaturally great legs that are her signature. As it turns out, Mustaparta has a trick for getting her long limbs warm-weather-ready fast, "no matter how white and pale they are after winter."

First, she says, "if my skin is dry, I use a simple body lotion that's a little bit greasy, like Lubriderm, all over my legs and wait for ten minutes." Once it absorbs, she reaches for her favorite gloProfessional Pressed Base powder, dusting it all over her legs with a fluffy brush. "It's perfect because it's not shiny and it's not a cream, so it doesn't rub onto clothes or smudge once it's on. It just gives you a nice, even tone." Before finishing, she always spends a few extra minutes on her knees. "They get more sun and are always a little darker than the rest of the legs," she explains. "Plus, I love to skateboard and sometimes my board pops up and bangs them, so I have a bruise."

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The final step in her three-step leg-perfecting routine involves Benefit Cosmetics's Bathina body balm. "I blend it straight down my shin bone, rather than all over. You don't want to look like you're in a nightclub at a rave!" she says of the subtly reflective lotion with a laugh. "When the light hits your legs, it gives that glow. It's a small thing, but it makes a huge difference, just that little bit of effort."


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