Our allies for pretty legs

Finally sunny days, and a terrible desire for mini-shorts and smooth, tanned and tapered legs. Good advice here…

Bag brush for more beautiful legs

Brushing on dry skin (without water or care) is not new, but still offers many benefits. First, it removes dead cells that stagnate on the surface and dull the skin. Then, it dislodges any subcutaneous hairs and awakens sluggish fibroblasts, thus stimulating the production of collagen and elastin, which guarantee the firmness of the epidermis. Finally, it accelerates blood circulation, improves lymphatic circulation and drains accumulated fluids. To do it right, choose your slightly flexible vegetable fiber brush, and rub with gentle pressure (so as not to irritate the skin) with quick, dry rotating movements starting at the ankle and going up to the top of the thigh. To be performed every morning before showering, or before a light or firming leg treatment, to maximize the effect.

• Our shopping selection: Faciology brush in bamboo and vegan nylon, €14.90. Tampico fiber brush, Doux Good, €39. Brush and cure 20 flat stomach detox vials, Atelier Nubio, €46.35.

Effectively remove hair

No more going back and forth between the bathroom and the microwave, and the risk of burns. The trend for perfect legs is cold waxing. Less traumatic for the skin, it leaves the legs clean for 3 to 4 weeks and is just as effective on short hair. As a bonus, the wax strips infused with restorative and anti-inflammatory argan, calendula, castor or aloe vera oils leave the skin feeling super-soft. To apply it: it is heated between the hands, it is pressed on the skin so that it adheres well, then it is pulled sharply in the opposite direction of hair growth. Also extra, the hair remover 3 in 1 mask version with clay and shea butter which, in 5 minutes flat, dissolves the hair, exfoliates and slows down regrowth.

• Our shopping selection: Evoluderm wax strips, €25 for 20 (legs-armpits). Laurence Dumont Institut, €3.50 for 12. Énergie Fruit, €8.90, for 32 (body). Caramel texture cold wax pot version + 20 strips, Jolly, €9.90. Depilatory Mask, Sublime Legs, Nair, €6.50.

The right gestures for legs on top

With age and hormonal upheavals, tissues relax and venous and lymphatic returns are capricious. The parade for restart circulation and smooth the skin : self-massage. Sitting on a chair, the right leg crossed over the left to reach the back of the ankle, the hand in the form of pliers, massage the saphenous veins (located behind the malleolus). Then we go up gently with medium intensity pressure slid along the calf with the flat of the hand to the back of the knee, at the level of the popliteal fossa. We continue the maneuver at the back of the thigh. Then we start from the ankle to massage the front. We continue with pumping pressures with the palm of the hand – we press and release – to reactivate the cells and the circulation. To be performed with a massage oil or a mentholated cream slipped in the fridge for the cooling effect. To be sure to perform the right gesture, we watch the video of the Story Challenge 60 days on Instagram @methode_annecalior you scan the QR code printed on the bottle of Magistral Massage Oil, giving access to easy-to-copy 2 or 8-minute self-massages.

• Our shopping selection:Magistral Oil, Elisabeth Nado method, €35 on elisabethnado.com. Anti-Water Nourishing Body Oil, Dr. Pierre Ricaud, €19.50. L’Or Rose Pretty Light Legs, Melvita, €22.50. Emul’gel Light legs, Aroma-zone, €35.

Self-tanner for sublime legs

It’s our best ally for quickly revealing golden legs when it’s hard to take color. It also allows to blur imperfections (venules, spots, pimples…). It is chosen according to your complexion: so-called “progressive tan” treatment with low concentration of DHA* (5%) for pale complexions, more dosed self-tanner for dark skin. There are self-tanners with various textures: mousse, milk, mist, serum… twirl in circular motions from the top of the feet to the top of the legs. The day before, do not forget: exfoliation + application of a good layer of moisturizing milk so that the treatment colors evenly and lasts longer. Afraid of crashing? Some institutes – Guinot, Clarins, Mary Cohr… – are responsible for applying it after exfoliation, so as not to forget any area. For Parisiennes, a good address: Chez Fatia, the queen of the Botan self-tanning gun, with the key to a perfect and luminous tan for 6 to 8 days, Paradis d’une Femme, 222, bd Voltaire, Paris XI (tel.: 0143486314), €15 for legs.

• Our shopping selection: Coco&Eve tanning mousse and applicator glove, €46 at Sephora. Magic Sun Mousse, Botan, €37. Progressive Self-Tanning Milk, Hawaiian Tropic, €14.99. Self-tanning spray Myriam K with brush and glove, €39.90.

* Molecule responsible for the coloring of the skin.

Our favorite treatments for glamorous legs

We put on a treatment rich in micro-pearls, gently tinted and which reflects the light. It sublimates the skin, refines the leg and, by optical effect, makes it much sexier.

• Our shopping selection: Divine Glitter Oil, Sephora, €10.99. Pure Monoï Tahiti Pearl Gold, Hei Poa, €8. Glow Edition Body Oil, Freshly Cosmetics, €29.

Thanks to Anne Cali, physiotherapist (06 47 41 07 46 – Paris VIIIe), and Élisabeth Nado, masseuse at home and expert in lymphatic drainage (06 60 21 16 01).