It is time once again to pluck up courage and take a long and frank look at yourself after those substantial winter meals.
No matter how well the new season's swimsuits are designed, they won't flatter you if you have allowed yourself to become flabby during the cover-up months, or if your skin needs intensive care.
You need to take time to try on swimwear and be honest with your reflection; there is nothing attractive about a G-string that looks as if you are tying a tourniquet round your leg, or the ugly line that comes with some of the newest and briefest togs.
Modern technology allows manufacturers to offer you fabrics that stand up to sun, sand, salt and chlorine, and colours that stay. You can even avoid trims and fastenings that become uncomfortably hot in the sun.
And, more and more, the designers are producing sets of bikini, one-piece bathers and cover-up jackets and skirts to wrap around. Floral designs are popular, stripes are used to flatter figure-shapes, and of course the jungle look sweeps right down to the beach this year.
How to be pretty like a victoria's secret model
Make The Sun Your Friend
Wise sunbathing is a tonic that can make you look and feel really fabulous if you chart your beauty strategy and follow the rules from start to finish.
Every type of skin nerds special care on the beach; a slap of sun lotion just isn't enough, and a policy of trial and error usually leads to trouble.
Whether you tan or burn depends on your own good sense, the type of skin you have, and the kind of sun preparations you use.
Do you yearn for a deep, glowing suntan to keep you in the summer picture this year? Or would you be just as happy with a light and lovely touch of color on a hard-to-tan complexion? Both can be achieved only by exposing the skin in small doses to start with and keeping it pampered all along the line.
Ideally, your first sortie of the season into the sun should last no longer than eight minutes, divided up into two-minute spells each for back, front, right side, left side. Watch the clock closely if you don't really know how your skin will react and avoid midday sun.
Gradually lengthen exposure time as your skin becomes sun-conditioned. Be armed with enough sun lotion or cream to apply every hour or so, and renew each time you come out of the water.
Watch out particularly for sunburn danger areas: the lips, back of neck, shoulders, forearms, knees, calves, and, all too often, the first of all to catch the sun - the nose.
Sun preparations take the form of creams, lotions, oil, and even spray foams, and the question of choice is very much a personal one.
Don't believe that any oil will do. Anoint yourself with olive oil, and if your skin happens to be at all sensitive, you'll just fry like an egg.
No, you need an oil, lotion, or cream which contains one of the chemicals which absorb burning sun rays while your skin adjusts to exposure and begins to build its own tan.
Comments