Summer of Sexy

Published in Allure

Glistening skin, kissable lips, beach-tousled hair—the ultimate guide to looking and feeling sultry all summer long.

You know her when you see her: body like a felony. Walk as hot as a tango. That morning-after voice. Women who exude sexiness from every pore, especially the famous ones, tend to smugly assert that they never make the effort. “It's in you or it isn't,” said Sophia Loren, “and it really doesn't have much to do with breasts or thighs or the pout of your lips.” That's about as helpful as a billionaire saying that money doesn't matter.

For those who weren't born under the glow of Venus, a little help is always welcome. To that end, we scoured the science journals and consulted style and beauty pros to assemble the ultimate guide to what's sexy now. Turns out that there are plenty of ways for anyone to give her sex appeal a little boost. So go ahead and use a few tricks to make the most of what God gave you. Sophia Loren may not approve, but Nora Ephron will. “In my sex fantasy,” she wrote, “nobody ever loves me for my mind.”

HOW TO FLIRT
Short of sashaying into a crowded bar with a hip swivel like Jessica Rabbit's, how does one attract a stranger's attention? We asked David Givens, author of Love Signals: A Practical Field Guide to the Body Language of Courtship (St. Martin's Griffin), to break down the moves:

TURN TOWARD THE PERSON YOU'RE ATTRACTED TO. Keep your knees and shoulders facing him, even if you're looking in another direction. “It's a clear cue you're interested because animals tend to align their bodies with what's most important,” Givens says. “Even fish do it.”
WEAR RED. “Though it has no effect on women, red can be a powerful aphrodisiac for men,” says Givens. Researchers at the University of Rochester reported that men are 56 percent more likely to ask out a woman in red than one in blue.
TALK WITH YOUR HANDS. To show off your conversation skills from afar, “gesture with your palms up as you talk,” Givens says. “Across cultures, it's a friendly signal.” Just keep it natural—or you risk looking like you're auditioning for a Sopranos spinoff.
DON'T WAIT FOR HIM TO COME TO YOU. That's because he probably won't: “Men tend to hunker down and physically occupy the space around them, setting their drink and iPhone down,” Givens says. “It's a way to claim their territory—they don't want to give that up.”
BE COY. “Don't make intense eye contact right away,” Givens says. “That can make him feel challenged or uncomfortable. Look around, occasionally glancing back at him.”
TILT YOUR HEAD AS HE'S TALKING. “It's an approachable cue that you're receptive and not threatened…or threatening,” says Givens.
BLINK. A LOT. “You blink more often when you're aroused,” says Givens. “So batting your lashes telegraphs to his brain that you're interested.”
TOUCH HIS FOREARM. “Reach out with two or three fingers and touch him lightly, just for a second, between the wrist and the elbow,” says Givens. “It makes you seem warm and establishes an instantly positive bond.”
CHECK OUT HIS SHOULDERS. They'll be his “tell,” since “the upper trapezius muscle is an unconscious indicator of interest and sexual arousal,” Givens says. If his shoulders are raised and slightly hunched forward when he's talking to you (think of a shy little boy), you've got him.

Feeling It
When Jennifer Love Hewitt wants to feel sexy, she gets vajazzled—and good for her. We scoured scientific journals to find other, research-backed ways to feel saucy.

Get a gay-guy posse. The more gay male friends a woman has, the better her body image and feelings of sexual attractiveness, according to a study from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And don't worry (worrying: not sexy) that if all your boyfriends like other boys, you'll wind up a spinster; the study found no correlation between number of gay friends and a woman's relationship status.
Get out. More specifically, go out when you're ovulating—that's when you're more likely to be noticed. Researchers at the University of New Mexico even found that female lap dancers make more money then. Pasties aside, men find a woman's voice to be sexier when she's ovulating, say scientists at the University of Albany.
Get it on. Perhaps the most obvious-but-pleasurable way to feel sexy is to have more sex. Each session raises a woman's testosterone levels, which researchers at British Columbia's Simon Fraser University say can increase her chance of orgasm and how sexy she feels. When you're not in the mood, at least cuddle—scientists say it has practically the same hormone-boosting effect.

ON THE SCENT
American men may have some worrisome Oedipal issues, judging by the scents that turn them on. According to a study published in the Journal of Neurological and Orthopaedic Medicine and Surgery, penile blood flow increases the most when men are exposed to some of the trappings of Mom's kitchen or garden: pumpkin pie and lavender (a 40 percent, um, rise), doughnuts, and licorice. But also of note: Every scent the scientists tested was found to increase penile blood flow to some extent (eye roll—did they employ hot nurses to take the measurements?), so it's not like you have to walk around smelling like pie to get some attention.

HOT HAIR
For sexy summer hair, focus on raw styles that still look elegant, like you did your hair and then went for a roll in the hay (or on the beach). Here, the key elements:

Volume. To get the right amount of height, think loosely piled updo, not anything even slightly reminiscent of a bouffant. Get it by back-combing the hair at the crown in two-to-three-inch sections using a narrow comb. Why tease? “If you use gel for volume, it can fall flat when you start to sweat,” Ryan says.
Thickness. We've never met a sex kitten with thin, stringy hair. First, apply a light mousse, such as Garnier Fructis Style XXL Volume Thickening Mousse, to roots. On the ends, scrunch in a thickening spray like Bumble and Bumble's. Blow-dry and fluff hair with your hands or a brush to roughen up the texture.
Waves. “Stick-straight hair looks overworked, and ringlets can be too little-girlish, which is cute but not sexy,” says Orlando Pita of the Orlo salon in New York City. Waves are the perfect middle ground. Tousle with your hands instead of a brush, which turns waves into a frizzball.
Softness. You want someone to want to run his fingers through your hair, right? Make it more inviting by steering clear of anything sticky, waxy, or shellacked.
Texture. To get that easy, tousled look, mist damp hair with a surf spray like Fekkai Coiff Océanique Tousled Wave Spray, then blow-dry upside down with a diffuser. Or simply mess up your hair with dry shampoo (in spray form, not powder). Hairstylist Chris McMillan of Chris McMillan, The Salon in Los Angeles loves Rene Furterer Naturia Dry Shampoo, “which absorbs oil at the roots but also roughs up your allover hair texture.”
Loose wisps. When you pull your hair back or up, be sure to release some light wisps around your face, “like you just came in from the beach,” Pita says.

SIREN SHADES
Where there's smoke, there's fire. Here's how to add heat to your makeup.

Mix up your smoke. The classic black smoky eye is great with an Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo, but a little too heavy for summer. “I put a lighter spin on lids by adding blue, violet, or taupe,” says makeup artist Tom Pecheux. Or go more Greek goddess by using golden or coppery shadows with smudged brown liner.
Choose creamy formulas. Though they don't stay put all day, creams are great for the evening because they won't cake like powders can. Apply a cream shadow (or blush) with your finger rather than a brush. “You'll get a wash of color, but it will look blended and not severe,” says makeup artist Makky.
Banish bad bronzer. Choose a powder formula (yes, here powders work better) that's a light brown with golden undertones. Or, even easier, switch to peach or coral blush. “Apply a bit to the apples of your cheeks, and your whole face will get a slight sun-kissed glow,” says makeup artist Gucci Westman.

Under Cover
“Lingerie”—the word alone is sexy. Noey Uychutin, manager of the Los Angeles boutique Coco de Mer, explains what's sexiest now.

HIGH-WAISTED KNICKERS. “This style is a return to 1940s glamour,” says Uychutin, who especially likes the ones by Lascivious, a U.K. brand. To avoid granny-panty territory, they should show more of the cheeks than a pair of boy shorts.
GARTER BELTS WITH CLIPS. Unless you're Dita Von Teese, garters are not for every day, but they're a sexier way to wear thigh-highs on a special occasion “without leaving groove marks,” Uychutin says.
LACY TRIANGLE BRAS. “The sexiest ones are black lace over a champagne-colored silk lining,” says Uychutin, whose favorite is from Mimi Holliday by Damaris. Because this style doesn't have molded cups or underwire for support, it may not work for those bigger than a B-cup.
BALCONETTE BRAS. “These half-cup bras make breasts look fuller at the top, and have underwire and soft molded cups for support,” says Uychutin. The halter version from Mila by Lascivious is so popular, she can barely keep it in stock.
SOFT SLEEPWEAR. “Something between a mini nightgown and an oversize tank is best, in a pastel pink silk or superfine mesh, like the ones from Stella McCartney,” says Uychutin. “To keep it from looking matronly, make sure it's short enough to show the bottoms of the cheeks.”

THE SEXIEST FRAGRANCES (EVER)
Scent is so closely tied to sex that when people lose their sense of smell, their sex drive often disappears, too. But it doesn't take a degree in science to know that some scents evoke love (er, make that lust) more than others. We asked Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, the professional sniffers behind Perfumes: The A to Z Guide (Penguin), to pick the five sexiest-smelling perfumes of all time.

CHINATOWN BY BOND NO. 9 NEW YORK. Smells like: spice. “If wearing Opium is like walking around with a bullhorn shouting, ‘Come and get it!’ Chinatown is like discreetly whispering the same thing.”
INSOLENCE EAU DE PARFUM BY GUERLAIN. Smells like: tuberose amber. “One of the few fragrances built to work for three stages of a successful encounter: to draw someone's attention from across the room, to make flirtatious conversation for a few hours, and to still smell fantastic the morning after.”
BULGARI BLACK BY BULGARI. Smells like: rubber plus leather. “With those notes...you do the math.”
31 RUE CAMBON BY CHANEL. Smells like: floral amber. “The ultimate fragrance of the unattainable blonde, as incarnated at various times by Grace Kelly, Cybill Shepherd, and Betty from Archie.”
SÉCRÉTIONS MAGNIFIQUES BY ETAT LIBRE D'ORANGE. Smells like: floral bilge. “This frightening perfume, which smells like you're wearing Dior J'Adore while on your period, is so sexy no one at all should ever wear it, because randy dogs might chase you down the street.”