Jessica Turner Celebrating international cinema, the Cannes Film Festival played out between the 17th-28th of May. Set against the backdrop of the French Riviera – it was certainly a fitting destination for sporting just-holidayed skin.
And, many stars on the red carpet did just that. With leg-baring hemlines and shoulders skimming necklines, most were right on-trend, flaunting easy, natural-looking tans.
Noting the sun-kissed limbs on show, celebrity tanning artist, Kim Oliver, shares her tips for colour matching fake tan to skin tone with SPA+CLINIC:
“Dihydroxyacetone (aka DHA, the active ingredient in all sunless tanning products that produces the colour change) reacts with the skin in a similar way to the sun,” says Kim.
“This means you can use the same skin-grading method when determining how much and which type of tanning solution to use.
“The Fitzpatrick Scale can also help us decide which base colour to choose, and how long you should let the develop for, before washing off.
“Even if you are using the best solution on the market, you can still turn someone orange if you are using the wrong product base colour for their skin tone.”
In its collection of sunless tanning solutions, Mine Tan boasts four base colour options.
- Green-base – is the most common base colour in all fake tan products and is suitable for many skin tones. It develops to a warm, olive-brown.
- Violet-base – Replicating the European sun by throwing red and violet highlights, it counteracts warm undertones and delivers a golden finish. It’s perfect for typical Scandinavian colouring and red-heads.
- Caramel-base- This develops to a classic, sun-kissed golden hue, so it’s perfect for someone seeking a classic tan that’s neither too subtle or too dark.
- Dark Ash-base – develops to a deep, ash-bronze colour. It counteracts both red and golden undertones tones for an intense finish.
How to get a Cannes Tan:
Lily Collins: The British-American model and actress has naturally red hair and porcelain skin with a dusting of freckles.
“With the variety of bases and formulas on the market, nowadays, you can enhance the colour of even the most pale skin with sunless tan.
“Lily is a number 1 on the Fitzpatrick scale, and in her case, I would layer two base-colours. Violet to block out the blue undertones on her skin and her freckles, with caramel to add a hint of warmth. I would leave them on for just the minimum amount of time, an hour so it doesn’t develop to its full colour.”
Bella Hadid: The American it-girl with Dutch and Palestinian Heritage has naturally fair skin with olive undertones.
“She is a number 3 on the Fitzpatrick Scale,” says Kim. “To achieve a similar warm, golden-brown colour opt for a green-base solution and leave it on for 3 hours.
“The Moroccan sunless tan from Mine Tan fits this profile – and it is also infused with hydrators like Argan oil that achieve a glowing finish like Bella.”
Fan Bingbing: The Chinese actress has naturally pale skin, yet she sported a hint of golden colour on the red carpet at Cannes this year.
“Like most east Asian women, she has yellow undertones and she is also very fair – she would be a 2 on the Fitzpatrick Scale,” says Kim.
“To achieve this subtle glow, mix caramel-base colour with violet-base colour – the violet will counter-balance the yellow and tone down the bronze in the caramel – wash off after an hour so the colour doesn’t over-develop.”
Eva Longoria: The Mexican-American actress flaunted a shimmering intense tan on the red-carpet.
“She has naturally olive skin that would rarely burn – she is naturally a number 4 on the Fitzpatrick Scale,” says Kim. “To achieve that deep, bronze finish, I would use a green-base self-tan solution.
“Formula wise, I would opt for the Mine Tan Liquid Bronze which has a green-base and is also packed with hydrating dry oils to add that glossy sheen.”
Hailey Baldwin: Model and it-girl, Hailey, has medium-toned skin and is a natural brunette – although she sported platinum blonde locks at Cannes.
“She is a 3 on the Fitzpatrick Scale, and I would replicate the look by using the dark-ash-base,” Kim shares.
“This gives depth of colour and helps balance out the harshness of her dyed locks. I would leave it on for 3 hours and choose a matte-finish texture.”
Karolina Kurkova: The Czech-born former Victoria’s secret model sported an understated golden glow on the opening night of Cannes.
“If you look closely, you can see blue veins on her décolletage, so she’s probably got much fairer skin than this naturally, and her skin is pink-toned,” explains Kim.
“She is a 2 on the Fitzpatrick Scale, and would burn easily, so I would choose a Mine Tan violet-base solution that develops into gentle golden hue, and will compliment the colour of her dress.”
[Header Image Credit: WetPaint]
