Beach season is quickly approaching! As summer rolls in, so do the days leading up to swimsuits, shorts and a lot more exposed skin. For those not feeling quite so hot about baring it all, Nina Agdal and pro makeup artist Allan Avendaño give Us Weekly a crash course in preparing to look (and feel!) beach body ready in only three days.
Three Days Before:
Biore Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub ($9.99, drug stores)
To prepare for your first summer outing, Avendaño, who regularly works with Agdal, suggests using an exfoliator. “The Biore Baking Soda Cleansing Scrub is awesome,” he tells Us. “After the first time using it, my skin got so smooth. It was really amazing.”
Two Days Before:
St. Tropez Bronzing Mousse ($32, qvc.com)
If you want to look sun-kissed even before you step foot in the sun, Agdal suggests using self-tanner, which she says also has a bonus advantage. “You immediately look and feel skinnier,” the New Era brand ambassador tells Us. “It’s such a cheap trick but it really works.” The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, 24, who uses St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, adds that the easy application takes around an hour. “Put it all over your face and body, sleep with it, wake up and you’re good to go for, like, five days.”
One Day Before:
Lovers of Italian and Chinese cuisine, take note: before a big beach day, Agdal, who showed off her insane bikini-body on Instagram March 29, reminds Us that what you put in your body is just as important as what you put on it.“Cut down on carbs and salt,” she tells Us of the best way to avoid pre-beach bloating. “Don’t eat pasta and don’t go and have a ton of soy sauce.”
On the Day Of:
From left to right: Vita Liberata Self Tan Dry Oil ($52, sephora.com); Clinique Chubby in the Nude Foundation Stick ($24, clinique.com)
If you were hesitant to use a long-lasting self tanner (or just forgot) a few days before hitting the beach, Avendaño recommends using Vita Liberata Self Tan Dry Oil before you leave the house. With SPF 50, the marula oil-based product protects and treats skin while temporarily bronzing it. “Marula oil is really excellent for your skin,” he says. “It just gives you a really nice healthy glow. You won’t turn brown with one application. You will have a little bit of a tint, but once going in the water it’s going to come off.” An important bonus: “if you’re wearing a white bikini it’s not going to rub off on that.” While he uses the oil on both face and body, to be safe, he also recommends using the Vita Liberata Self Tanning Anti Age Serum, made specifically for the face. “It plumps and firms the skins while gradually building an even self-tan.”
For those not ready to go completely bare-faced, Avendaño suggests Clinique Chubby in the Nude Foundation Sticks because they’re “really sheer and easy to work with.” After applying an SPF-based product to the face, “You can just draw your contour lines and beauty blend the crap out of it,” he says. “It’ll leave a really nice, soft contour.” While he doesn’t recommend applying thick foundation before a beach outing, the pro warns: “It’s important to start with a super thin layer of a base. If you start just putting on a contour without any sort of tinted moisturizer to even out your face, I feel like it tends to look just a tiny bit dirty.”
