Divine Shine; Is the tan passe? The prettiest summer skin just glows.

Byline: Sarah Brown

It's more than a little telling that of the 22 spring shows where makeup artist Pat McGrath masterminded the look, at only one-Stella McCartney-did she create the illusion of bronzed skin. And she wouldn't even call it a tan: "Stella was thinking about the real woman-'I don't want to look pale, pale, pale; I want to look healthy,'_" says McGrath, who complied by dabbing models' skin with foundation one shade darker than their natural skin tone.

The desire to look tan hasn't so much died as evolved. What's modern, what's fresh, and most important, what's pretty is a luminous suggestion of color-the look of sunshine hitting your cheeks, rather than the artificial, tip-to-toe terra-cotta hose-down made popular (and, at this point, seriously undesirable) by so many Hollywood starlets. It's refreshing, it's realistic, it's as simple as adding "a sophisticated touch of warmth to the skin," says McGrath. The important idea here is that this warmth-for body and face-is subtle and customized according to complexion. For some, it's a glimmer of gold; for others, it's a hint of pink or peach.

The starting point is healthy, hydrated skin-especially since summer is a time when the idea is to wear less makeup, not more. "The ideal is that velvety, polished skin with luminosity coming through-that natural sheen you see when someone just got a good facial," says makeup artist Nick Barose. Neutrogena's oil-free Illuminating Whip Moisturizer imparts an incandescent glow and is equipped with SPF 20; Clarins' brand-new Shine Stopper Powder, which Barose describes as "oil-blotting sheets in a powder," will surely be an indispensable makeup-bag staple for anyone with combination skin. "It has no color, so you don't see it. It disappears into the skin, and that is so key," he says.