BRONZE AGE

Faking "vacation glow" has long meant a hit of bronzer— for some. Now, Rihanna is redefining sun-kissed skin for all

Vanities/Beauty

Marjon Carlos

Rihanna, as we know, hides from nothing. Fashion statements. Big business. The sun. The Barbadosborn artist chases it, as the name of Fenty Beauty's debut bronzer suggests. Sun Stalk'r boasts eight shades—a category-redefining breadth in line with the brand's inclusive approach. The campaign shows a golden RiRi in the desert. Unfazed by the scorching heat, she turns her face into the light.

We've come a long way from the age of one-shade-fits-all bronzer, that orange-tinged brick designed to suit, say, a freckled Lindsay Lohan. Sephora alone stocks nearly 200 variations and counting (Marc Jacobs's Olmega bronzer now comes in a burnt caramel). Priscilla Ono, Fenty's global makeup artist, spent two years on Sun Stalk'r, with a close eye to undertones: rich reds for darker skin; cool taupes for fair. Simulating a baked tan is not the goal, "it's more to give you this beautiful bronze effect," Ono says, "where it looks like you've been in the sun in a healthy way."

In other words, "vacation glow." That notion rocked Europe in 1923, when a sun-kissed Coco Chanel stepped off a Mediterranean cruise and caused a stir. "Since antiquity, white women were supposed to be pale because it suggested that they did not have to work outside. That was a symbol of higher status," says Lori. L. Tharps, author of Same Family, Different Colors. But even as the suntan craze spread, she notes, there was pressure for women of color to stay lighter—so today's full-spectrum glow is a pivotal shift. Call it the Rihanna effect: when an icon relishes her burnished skin, it's validating for so many others.

Paloma Elsesser is taking a shine. The Afro-Latina model grew up indifferent to tanning (and dermatologists point out that UV exposure poses a danger to all skin tones). Now, with an itinerant life unfolding across Instagram— Nigeria, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain—Elsesser embodies a fresh kind of vacation glow. "When I look at photos from summer, I'm like, ' Damn,' ''she says with a laugh, describing a honey-hued warmth boosted by a swirl of bronzer. " I really feel myself."

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