It's disgustingly warm out there, the OC Fair's Ferris wheel is ready to go, and it's now time for about three more months of sunshine.
Stoked I'm not, but it could be way worse. (It could be humid. And we could be anywhere but in Southern California.) But when the temps rise and the clothing dwindles, things can get real awful. Here are three things to be wary of this summer.
SUNSCREENS WITH A SKY-HIGH SPF
It's not the sunscreen that's bad; it's what that high number makes you think—and I'm saying this as a person who instinctively reaches for the bottles with labels claiming SPFs of 60-plus.
Your latest trip to Target might have revealed something you've never seen before: SPF 100-plus sunscreen by brands such as Neutrogena. Is an SPF that high really all that necessary? Not really. If anything, wearers are often given a false sense of security that they don't need to reapply as often. But even triple-digit SPFs still need to be slathered on every two hours (or after getting out of the water). Insurance, see?
But what's really important here is making sure to choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen (protecting you against both UVA and UVB rays, both of which can cause skin cancer) and to apply enough of the stuff: About an entire shot glass worth of sunblock is what you should be aiming for. No, seriously—don't turn that SPF 40 into SPF 20.
And don't forget your face and neck. (Every. Day!)
CRACKLE NAIL POLISH
Crackle nail polish originated in the '90s—and like all those other '90s trends that have re-emerged (shoulder pads, acid wash, empire-waist dresses, A.C. Slater), it really should have stayed in the past.
The 2010 trend started out with black crackle polish from OPI, and now it's available in everything and anything you can think of—sparkles, metallics, mattes . . . neons. Yes, nail art is “back,” and yes, so is the ironically tacky thing that hipsters keep insisting on, but this might just veer too much to the repulsive side.
JEFFREY CAMPBELL “LITA” SHOES
While Jeffrey Campbell is usually (very) reliable for affordable trends in footwear, I never really got this one from the get-go. The Litas first started popping up around the “blogosphere” (sorry) about a year ago, and they haven't stopped since.
Now available in classic, timeless colors such as pastel-pink glitter, orange suede, Chewbacca-brown shag and, my favorite, the American flag, these clown-like, high-heeled booties can be seen on every aspiring teen “model” on Tumblr. They don't go with your cut-offs, and they don't go with that Kelly Bundy minidress.
There is life beyond the Lita.
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