Summer Beauty Tips
You Want: A Bathing Suit Butt
Shape up your rear: Squats are an easy, effective way to tone your tush, says Enriquez. Stand with your back toward a chair, feet shoulder-width apart. Sit back until your butt just grazes the chair (don't actually sit or let your knees go beyond your toes). Return to standing. Do three sets of 15 to 20 reps three times a week. (Bonus: You'll work your entire leg.)
Zap stretch marks: Catch them in the early stages (when they're red or purple), and they may be treatable — though it will take a few trips to the dermatologist. Dr. Goldberg recommends pulsed dye laser treatments to help fade the color. Sessions run $500 and up, and you'll need around five. Once stretch marks are more established, creams won't do much, but they may help keep new marks from forming, especially when you're dieting or pregnant, says Dr. Baumann. Try Bio-Oil ($12, drugstores).
Hide the evidence: The quickest fix for less-than-perfect (and hard to reach) posterior skin: tinted bronzing or self-tanner sprays. "They immediately conceal stretch marks and cellulite," says Hay. Try Victoria's Secret Bare Bronze Body-Perfecting Spray Tint ($18, Victoria's Secret).
You Want: Great-Looking Legs
Smooth and soften: Exfoliation is step one for prepping dry legs before you bare them. Try True Blue Spa Rice to the Rescue body polish ($17.50, Bath & Body Works). Once you've de-flaked, apply lotion daily (the best time: just out of the shower, so you seal in moisture). Or switch to a body oil, which softens and adds a sexy, summery sheen. Try Sephora Dry Oil Spray ($18, Sephora).
Self-tan like a star: For a just-back-from-Acapulco application, here are Los Angeles makeup artist Vanessa Scali's top fake-it tips: Exfoliate first with a scrub, then apply moisturizer an hour before the self-tanner. Any less and you risk mixing leftover lotion with the tanner, which can cause blotchiness. Can't wait? For immediate color that washes away in the shower, opt for body bronzer. Try Tarte Glam Gams Bronzing Leg Stick ($30, Sephora).
Best new self-tanners: Bottled bronzers are the safest way to perk up winter-weary skin, but which ones are tops? To find out, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested 10 of the newest gradual-glow lotions and traditional, one-application tanners. Here, the results of our faux-glow face-off: Nivea Body Sun-Kissed Firming Moisturizer ($7, drugstores) led the gradual group, with the highest hydration ratings in our lab test and a color that volunteers praised for looking natural. Guerlain Terracotta Sunless Tinted Self-Tanning Gel ($50, Sephora) was the winner in the single-application category. "It made my tan smooth and sun kissed," one woman raved. Budget-friendly Neutrogena Sun Fresh Sunless Foam ($10, drugstores) and L'Oréal Paris Sublime Bronze ProPerfect Airbrush Self-Tanning Mist ($10, drugstores) tied for second place.
