Susannah Frankel: Ready To Wear

Ladies, ladies. You've read the warnings. You've seen the end results. But still, the minute the sun comes out, the British female (and male) population transforms, overnight, into an army of lobsters. An army of boiled lobsters. Time was, sunscreens were an inferior product. Anyway, we all thought, a couple of days looking and feeling as if we'd been exposed to nuclear fallout would seem like nothing once the burn disappeared and turned into a deep, mahogany brown...

Back then we had excuses like these. But that is no longer the case. Not only do we all now know the potential dangers of spending unprotected time in the sun but also the suntan is now, well, out. Just 10 years ago, the spring/summer catwalks were awash with lithe, bronzed young things – most notably Kate Moss. Now, though, a natural skin colour is preferred – just the colour you were born with, in fact.

When Coco Chanel – the woman credited with making bronzed skin de rigueur in the first place – was in her heyday, a suntan was a rarity, only achievable by those who could afford the luxury of travelling to sun spots – Biarritz, the South of France...

Now, though, travelling the world is accessible to everyone – both in terms of price and ease – and cheap and easy is never going to make it in the upper echelons of style. Worse: the fake tan. A five minute inter-change between a naked woman and a Saint Tropez spraying robot with a none-too-discerning mind of its own means anyone, anywhere, can be dyed a charming shade of orange in a flash. Buff, moisturise and cover cuticles with Vaseline all you will, the tell-tale streaks on feet, elbows and palms make this about as appealing as bad foundation.

So what's a girl to do? Far be it for me to push an eye-wateringly expensive product on unsuspecting consumers but while Boots, Nivea, Ambre Solaire et al all now produce highly effective sunscreens, the award for the finest suncare products in the world goes to (drum roll, please) Sisley.

Here's what the powers that be there claim of their lovely lotions and potions. They "protect DNA from UV radiation", boast "anti free-radical properties", "stimulate the synthesis of collagen" and have "anti-collagenase activity" (whatever that is). All you need to know, though, is that it smells like geranium (a natural insect repellent), is easy to apply and quickly absorbed. Oh, and it works. A sun-kissed glow – nothing whatsoever like George Hamilton's – will be yours.

s.frankel@independent.co.uk