Getting Ready for Summer - 3 Things to Think About (With Product Reviews!)

Sure, summer means that we're all going to be tan by the end of it, but who wants to start the season off with those pale winter legs and arms? While some people are comfortable with UV-tanning and one-time fake-tan sprays or lotions, others can be understandably hesitant about such measures, especially since they could result in overdosing on the fake-bakes and coming out orange - not a good look.

A good compromise between the extremes of facing a self-tan gone bad and living with winter skin is a gradual self-tan. One good product for this solution is the Dove Energy Glow Beauty Body Lotion. This body lotion actually smells nice - as opposed to usually acrid smelling self tanners - and gradually enhances your skin tone over a few weeks rather than in one fell swoop. Although this measure takes more time than a one-time self tan, it allows you to see if you like what the lotion is doing and whether or not its color suits you, and therefore - most importantly - letting you decide if you want to keep with it or not before anything too drastic happens. To speed up the process, you could also just moisturize with it several times a day. This lotion is available in different forms both for body and face, and provides a range for fair-tone, medium-tone and dark-tone skin.

2. Being Safe

Doctors and laypeople alike are talking more and more about the dangers of over-exposure to the sun, so the smartest thing a skin-saving girl (or guy) can do in the hot summer months is to slather on some SPF. Neutrogena, in particular, has a good number of sun and skin friendly products that offer protection from harmful rays, even while helping you look and feel good. For example, the Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture SPF 15 is a great facial moisturizer for all-day wear. It's non-greasy, absorbs quickly into the skin, and is light enough so that it doesn't clog your pores. It leaves your skin free from dryness and flaking, and makeup also goes over it really well. And, since it helps block your skin from the sun's harmful rays, it'll put off the appearance of those sun spots and wrinkles!

Don't forget to care for your lips either - no one wants to have those puppies burnt and peeling from the sun! For daily wear, the Neutrogena Lip Moisturizer SPF 15 provides a good clear layer of healing protection that can be used alone or in conjunction with your favorite lip products. For something a little more dressy, the Neutrogena Moisture Shine Lip Soother SPF 20 is both practical and pretty - it provides defense against the sun and makes your lips look healthy, pink and perfectly glossy without the annoying stickiness that lip glosses so often have. This lip gloss glides on easily, cools your lips with Hydragel, and doesn't plaster your hair to your mouth when you're caught in a breeze!

3. Having Fun

No summer is complete without some trip to the beach, and so here are some things to make your getaway more fun and hassle free. If you're inclined to pack some lunch or a picnic, good containers are essential. To start off, Keep Your Cooler (www.keepyourcooler.com) sells a variety of light and affordable lunchbox coolers that keep your food fresh and at just the right temperature, no matter what the weather is like on the beach or wherever it is you're going. Alongside those sandwiches and smoothies, try packing some fruit or vegetable sticks with dip - cold and thirst quenching, it'll be both healthy and able to provide much needed energy boosts for those hectic beach volleyball games or Frisbee matches!