“You’ve gotta burn to shine.” True for creative excellence. Not true for your skin. That’s because sun damage is a very real problem, and melanoma is one of the most common cancers affecting women under 30.

Also affecting many women under 30, and over 30, too? The allure of a sun-kissed glow, as seen on celebrities, travel influencers, and supermodels like Ashley Graham, whose first-ever beauty collab is a partnership with St. Tropez on self-tanning products.

Is there a way to use them without looking orange? Is there a way to “contour” with self-tanner instead of makeup? And what happens if you want to try tanner but just know you’ll f*** it up?

We spoke with St. Tropez’s in-house expert, celebrity tan artist Sophie Evans (she / her), on how to safely use self-tanner like a red carpet pro… or at least a very successful contestant on Love Island.

You’re a tan expert, which is frankly an amazing job title. How do you create your career?
In England, where I’m from, self-tanning is such a big part of the beauty culture. It’s not always sunny here… so [getting] a beautiful, healthy glow is a really aspirational thing for many of us—definitely for my friends and I growing up, and still now. We love it! To me, it always felt like a really special, beautiful thing you could do for yourself… Especially because the alternative is to expose your bare skin to the sun, which we don’t want you to do! SPF always, please!

Did you go to a special tanning school?
I trained as an esthetician. In the UK, you learn to do everything before you get certified. We’re called “beauty therapists” and we learn nutrition, massage, skincare, all of it. I’m a qualified college teacher as well, so I train other women in the industry! But I met Judy [Naake], our original owner in the UK, and began working with her. Back then, St. Tropez was quite ahead of its time, because we kind of led the way with celebrity beauty endorsements. We would tan celebs for free, and use that exposure to build the brand. It was a great lesson to learn up-close.

True or false: Victoria Beckham helped start your career.
What happened was, Victoria Beckham was getting tanned by St. Tropez in a hotel in London. We gave her a bag of products to take away, and she was photographed freshly tanned and carrying that bag of products out of the hotel. Our sales went through the roof, and they never really stopped!

Could there be a reality show on botched self-tans?
Well, I’ve certainly seen disasters! The best advice I could give anyone is that you should test the self-tanner first to get a feel for it, and also, obviously I’m a little [biased] but a brand like St. Tropez is foolproof. It doesn’t have to go on evenly. The product does the work for you, and if it’s on your skin, you’re covered. The way a good self-tanner like ours is designed is that your skin can only absorb a certain amount of tanning agent to begin with. You can’t mess it up!

What’s the best way to apply self-tanner?
Always follow a 3-step rule: Exfoliate your body. Then wash your body. Then always moisturize your elbows, knees, hands, and feet. They go 7 shades darker if you don’t. You moisturize those areas first because moisture dilutes the self-tan.

Do most celebs want tan lines so it looks natural, or do they go nude for a self-tan session?
Tan lines are so American! [Laughing.] You see, in Europe, tan lines are such a no-no that you go to beaches in Spain and France and even the grandmas are topless. Americans, you guys like your tan lines. I remember tanning models for a Dolce & Gabbana runway show in Miami, and they wanted tan lines. It looked very cool, but the models who were European were really surprised! I guess the reason against tan lines is that it breaks up your body, which might make it look less streamlined. But I think they can also look great, if you want them!

I heard some movie makeup artists use self-tanner to contour the stars, so they look more muscular or taller on camera. Is that true?
Ha! I cannot just “give” you a 6 pack with self-tanner… It’s not about changing the shape of your body, because your body is great, right?… But you absolutely can use [self-tanner] to help contour your tan to make it look more natural. It’s dead easy! For example, you could draw a “heart line” on your bum to emphasize where it catches the light—it’ll give you a really round, firm glow!—and you can also use a really good foundation brush to help your cheekbones stand out, or the tips of your shoulders. Ashley Graham made a really beautiful whipped body cream with us and it’s my favorite thing to contour with… And if you change your mind, about the tan lines or the contouring, wait a day, then go in with the same product and a good foundation brush the next day and fill in the spots that need more coverage.

What’s a rookie mistake that’s easy to fix?
Everybody’s skin naturally exfoliates over 10 days, so that’s how long it takes for a self-tan to fade. But if you’re always at the gym, your sports bra will take your self-tan off a lot more quickly, because of the rubbing against your skin! So you might need to use a body polish and gently exfoliate your whole body every few days to keep it even. But I promise you’ll look beautiful no matter what! Just have fun with it.

Last and most important: If we self-tan, should we still use SPF at the beach?
Absolutely. Absolutely.