Summer’s here which means, sadly, we have to get our legs, arms and collarbones out simultaneously. My legs are a 2/10 at best, and to make the best of a bad situation, I’ve recently been super committed to a full-body-glam routine. Usually I only care about the skin on my face, and like, maaaaybe my cuticles…?, but nowadays I’m applying this level of care to the rest of my body’s largest organ, and it makes such a difference. You can be feeling shitty about your body, but slap on some glowwy body products and BAM: you’re a shiny angel with a flower in her hair who belongs poolside at a beautiful Caribbean resort. Here are the best products to glow like a pro.
The Base Layer/Glowwy Moisturiser:
First of all, you need a gorgeously radiant body underneath all the shiny shiz. I know they say if you think nice thoughts you’ll glow on the outside but this theory is a scam and you need Body Hero. I bang on and on about Glossier Body Hero cream, but I truly love it. Before Body Hero, I was never committed to a body moisturiser, favouring whatever I had on hand/whatever I’d received in a Christmas gift set. But this is a game changer. You look HEALTHY when it’s applied. Like, you look like someone who drinks 5 litres of water a day, only eats raw food and gets up at 7am for morning yoga. Your skin feels moisturised and truly looks ‘lit from within’, aka, LIT. Don’t bother with the matching body wash, but you do need this body lotion in your life.
Amp it up:
For this of us who like to be extra (don’t be shy, raise your hand!), the grind doesn’t stop at beautifully moisturised limbs. I want to look like a greasy rotisserie chicken, or at very least like I’ve just got out the shower (a shower of vegetable oil). This is where I layer up Body Hero with something more shimmery, like Sol de Janeiro’s Ipanema Sunset Glow Oil. This came out at a similar time to Fenty’s body lava (which I admit, when I tried in person, was much nicer and less glittery than I was expecting), but this one intrigued me more. I love the packaging of this oil (if, a tiny bit smaller than expected, and I wish it came with a pump!), and I knew I’d LOVE the smell, being a fully fledged Bum Bum Cream addict. Seriously, I just sit there sniffing myself when I’m Bum Bum’d up. Even the lighter shade comes out a lot darker than my skin tone, which worried me initially, but it blends in nicely without leaving an orange hue. On the skin it’s a very similar colour to the Fenty ‘Who Needs Clothes?’, but with a nicer smell. If you’re looking for a cheaper option you should definitely check out the Cocoa Brown body shimmer.
Don’t forget those collarbones, girrrrrrrrl:
For real, you can use any highlighter you have to hand on your body. I always pop whatever I have left on my brush from doing my face on my chest and collarbones (if you can see them in the outfit I’m wearing), but if you really want to amp it up for a night out, made-for-body highlighters and shimmers are a great way to do so. Of course Rihanna has her Fairy Pom Pom (which I’m obsessed with aesthetically), but the rose gold colouring of the glitter was quite dark and therefore showed up in patches on my pale skin (but if you have medium to dark skin it’ll look stuuuuunning on you). It’s also pretty pricey, so as much as I wanted to buy it just for the pom, I found this Body Shimmer Dust in Primark for £4 as a compromise. It’s a white toned shimmer powder with gold reflects that packs some serious glow. It comes with a little puff (not quite as glam as the Fairy Pom Pom – but it was £4 remember), but to be honest I swirl a clean blusher brush in it, and apply it that way instead (which I find distributes it more evenly than the puff). I swipe it over my décolletage and over my shins (if I’ve dragged myself out of jeans, that is).
The pricier option is the Eve Lom Illuminating Radiance Powder shimmer brush; a retractable kabuki brush pre-loaded with subtle, translucent shimmer. This option is great for travel (as the powder is trapped within the fibres, it literally cannot spill), and when the shimmer powder inside is used up, you have yourself a travel friendly powder brush. The powder isn’t super in your face unless you layer it with other creams and powders, but I like it for a subtle something-something on the chest and shoulders for the daytime. I got this in TK Maxx for the bargain price of, like, £3, and I think it’s now discontinued (and I probably wouldn’t have recommended it to you at its full RRP anyway) – but if you can find one, snap it up!
Bronze! BRONZE!:
Okay, this definitely won’t work as a bronzer for anyone with darker skin than me (but the NARS monoi body oil will!). This Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Skin Highlighter in shade ‘Sunlight’ is a highlighter for medium/darker skin, that I use as a bronzer. I use this instead of traditional tanning products, as you can’t really ‘spot tan’ certain areas with normal tanner, otherwise you’ll look uneven – but this rubs and blends right in. It has a lovely, finely milled texture (no glitter chunks here), and comes off more light golden than orange. I rub a bit onto my arms to give myself a lil ‘been in the sun’ glow, and rub some on my chest and neck to match my body to my face.
If I were a true baller, I’d splash out on the Tom Ford Soleil Blanc shimmer oil, as not only does it give a beautiful glow, but it smells GORGEOUS (scented the same as my all time favourite summer perfume!). Alas, it’s more of a wet oil rather than a ‘dry’ oil (so not my favourite), and at £72 for a small bottle… issa no from me. I’m gonna just stick to liberally spraying my arms in it when I pop into John Lewis for the forseeable. #scammer
What’s your glow secret? Pls share with the class! Amelia xx
ameliaperrin 