Love it: St Tropez for We Are Handsome MBFWA 2014

Every year at MBFWA I look forward to the We Are Handsome  swim show. You can pretty much guarantee that you’ll see the cutest suits, the hottest bods and - most importantly - the best tans. The label has had an association with faux tan specialists St Tropez for a few years now and it shows, with models sporting the perfect glow for their individual skintone.

“We wanted to have fun with the makeup,” said Maybelline’s Nigel Stanislaus of the popping colour look on the model’s faces, which was reportedly inspired by the tropical prints in We Are Handsome’s resort-ready collection. Stanislaus looked back to the colours of 1950s and ‘60s – and makeup of stars such as Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren - to come up with three coloured eye looks, and lips got the colour treatment too in a shade of coral, orange or pink. KMS Hairplay Dry Touch Up gave hair a matte effect rather than the wet-look hair so popular at the moment, and the overall effect was killer.

But about the tan. Michael Brown, working for St Tropez, created a look that was inspired by the much-anticipated St Tropez Self Tan Luxe Dry Oil, which launches in Australia in August. “We weren’t actually allowed to tan the models’ skin, so we faked it,” he said. Models were coated in St Tropez Instant Tan Wash Off Lotion in Medium/Dark, while the Skin Illuminator in Gold was daubed along shins, arms, collarbones and shoulder blades. “The girls are mostly wearing high-cut swimwear,” noted Brown. “A tan helps.”

How To: Michael Brown, St.Tropez Skin Finishing Expert

1. It's crucial to prep the skin, especially in a show like this - it's swimwear - there is nothing to hide behind, so the skin needs to be perfect. The models have all been sent the 'St.Tropez Tanning Commandments' before the show, so today we just needed to use the St.Tropez Tan Enhancing Moisturiser on the dry areas of the body like the elbows, feet, hands and of course the knees.

2. St.Tropez is all about customising your colour and so the Instant Tan in Light/Medium and Medium/Dark are perfect for layering and tailoring shades. For the lighter models we used the Medium/Dark to bring up their overall colour, and for the girls and guys with a natural base colour and more olive tones we used the Light/Medium Instant Tan.

3. To even out the skin while adding a little extra warmth and healthy glow we finished with St.Tropez Illuminator in Gold. I used this to highlight, define and sculpt the bodies - following the lines of the muscles to create definition and shape. The show was outside so the Gold Illuminator also worked perfectly to catch the light.