The most important element of a great dinner grilled on the patio, an afternoon at the playground, or even a greatly needed vacation at the beach is not the beverages, bikes, or even the bikini. The one thing you need for all of your spring and summer activities needs to be slathered on and then packed up -- yes, it's sunscreen.

Just in time for all of these sunshine-savoring activities, Consumer Reports has released its list of the top four products to protect your skin. Surprisingly, several of the sunscreens that rated highest in Consumer Reports' testing are not only budget-friendly but are store brand. And surely to the delight of parents, teachers, and camp counselors to wiggly, sweaty kids everywhere, all are sprays rather than lotions or sunscreen sticks.

Consumer Reports tested 12 brands of sunscreen at an outside lab. There they assessed how well each blocked UVA and UVB rays and if actual water-resistance matched up with the product's claim. Volunteers with the sunscreens

Summer is making an impressive showing in New York today. The sunshine and 80-degree temperatures are making us wish that a) we left our cropped denim jacket behind this morning (one less thing to carry home, you know), and b) we remembered to apply our SPF this morning. Luckily, the jacket isn't that bulky and MD Skincare's new Daily Sunscreen Towelettes have just arrived on our desk. We typically rely on a moisturizer with SPF 15 year round, but we always feel the need to step up the sunblock factor around June, to try to keep the inevitable freckling from getting too out of control. Dr. Dennis Gross' new individually packaged towelettes boast broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection, vitamin C and green tea for ozone protection, and antioxidants to prevent premature aging, but their real selling point is their easy on-the-go, single-application size and the fact that you can gently pat them on at any point in the day to avoid messing up your makeup. We recommend throwing a few in your

June is a huge month for graduations and reunions. Patients should connect with a friend as D-day gets closer: There's nothing worse (for skin or mood) than being alone with that stress.

Two Months to GoDougal Waters/Getty Images

Tame big issues now, while there's time for multiple treatments. Acne-prone? Get an oral antibiotic prescription or line up a laser treatment like Isolaz ($300 to $500 per session, four to five sessions). Super-sweaty? Consider Botox for underarms, palms, and the soles of your feet ($1,500 to $2,000); insurance might even help cover it. If you have tiny eye or forehead lines, try "baby Botox," a mini dose, to soften them ($200 to $700).

One Month to Go

Using a new product: fake lashes, self-tanner? Test it now. It's easy to break out, especially with added stress, by irritating your skin with something new. For lingering acne, scarring, or post-breakout pigmentation, try a chemical peel, or microdermabrasion for dull skin.


One Week to Go

Brides always think they look thinner tan, but

From Stealth Health

Beauty, the saying goes, is only skin-deep. But the importance of skin goes a lot deeper. Most of us think of skin as just our body's visible outer layer, but doctors consider skin an organ, meaning that it is very much alive and charged with many important duties.

In particular, the skin is the first layer of your immune system, serving as a shield between you and legions of germs such as viruses and bacteria. It also protects your insides from sun, cold, scrapes, cuts, and moisture. And, of course, your sense of touch is crucial for everyday function.
Like any part of your internal body, your skin can be healthy or ill. It can be well nourished or malnourished. It can be exercised, and it can wear down with age or abuse. In particular, as we age, our skin becomes thinner and drier. Plus, other, more unpleasant things happen to our skin. Things like wrinkles, age spots, dark circles, and large pores, which tend to turn up like uninvited guests at a wedding.

Cannes Beauty Winners! Who Do You Think Looked Best?



Are You Wearing the Right Makeup For Your Skin Tone?

Skin can be anything but easy to maintain - and it's unfortunately the first thing people see when they meet us. On those days when all you want to do is hide because you have a huge pimple, horrible under eye bags or blotchy cheeks, but you are forcedto face the world, there's hope to be had.

We've asked top dermatologist and founder of the skincare line by the same name, Peter Thomas Roth, how to break down the basics of our skincare routine and get it under control - if anything, for a girl's sanity. Check out the beauty tips below and make that summer beauty transition all the smoother.

StyleCaster: For a person with "normal" skin (an occasional breakout) what should their daily skincare routine consist of?
1. Cleanse with an anti-aging cleanser (like Peter Thomas Roth Anti-Aging Cleansing Gel) twice a day.
2. Scrub/exfoliate one to two times per week.
3. Treat with a spot

We know you're short on time these days, so we'll be brief: fast ways to make your skin look prettier, even in the most unforgiving restaurant bathroom light-no $300 miracle creams required. (Phew!)

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Before you know it, Memorial Day Weekend (MDW, as some of us fondly call it) will be upon us, and your bathing suit will become part of your weekend wardrobe.

You've worked out, changed your diet to some healthier options and are ready to face the sand and waves. But what about a beach beauty blunder that happens after all your hard summer prep work? Fix your skin woes with these lifesavers to keep your flawless, glowing skin all summer long.




Related: See yourself a size smaller with our Virtual Weight Loss Simulator!



Beach Blunder #1 - Beach Feet

The sand feels great under your feet, but after a weekend walking around on top of it, it doesn't always leave them looking great. Calluses, blisters from the hot sand, polish chips, you name it your poor feet will go through it this summer. Treat them to a little tootsie TLC with The Body Shop's Peppermint Purifying Foot Mask. The mint-infused treatment refreshes them after a weekend of abuse and restores them to their sqeaky clean

We know vanity can be a great motivator. Just look at the popularity of boob jobs , the Finnish airline whose frequent flier miles are redeemable for plastic surgery, and the persistence of tanning beds.

Dermatologists looking to keep women from tanning, however, just may have a new trick up their sleeve: Research out of East Tennessee State University suggests that tapping into a narcissistic streak may have the potential to keep women away from tanning beds, even when health warnings, including the risk of deadly skin cancers, have proved ineffective.

The study, which included 420 students who frequented indoor tanning salons, found that women were more likely to stop tanning if they contemplated the long-term effects it would have on their looks (i.e. leathery skin and wrinkles)-rather than the fact that basking in the sun (or fake sun) could kill them.

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