Summer is my favorite time of year and getting the beach goddess look is easy. This year think bronzed skin and melon lips and cheeks or great washes of sheer bright color to give you a tropical flavor. But please remember the most important thing SUNSCREEN! Everyday after washing your face and before even thinking about going outside. With all the great self-tanning products out there now you can look healthy and tanned without the melanoma. To acheive the golden glow at home I do the following steps; start in the shower by scrubing your body with sugar to rid your self of all dry skin. Towel dry and twist your hair up off your neck. Keep a moist towel next to the sink and begin smoothing on your self tanner. My favorite is Neutrogena. I really take my time blending first my legs, stomach, arms, back, butt, and neck. I then wash my hands with a little soap, water and sugar. Then I pick up the moist towel and buff my elbows, knees, around my jaw, and over my feet and ankles. This will erase any dark areas or places where the self-tanner usually shows up as uneven. If you make a mistake and there is an area which looks darker scrub it with sugar in the next shower and that will fade it.To keep your tan looking great remember to moisturize alot and for a night out use a little coconut scented oil or light golden shimmer for a flawless looking body. For the face you can also use a self-tanner or choose a tinted moisturizer with spf about a shade or 2 darker than your skintone to match the body. When it comes to heavy foundation, don't just let your skin breath and conceal trouble spots. Avoid face powders in the summer, the just look cakey and flat, instead pick up some great blotting papers or a powder free puff to erase shine throughout the day. Blend on a gel based bronzer or light bronzing powder with a little gold in it on the temples, cheekbones, and a little on the forhead. Melon shades and corals look great with a tan so use a bright but sheer melon blush on the apples of the cheeks. For lucious lips choose a similar shade of gloss. My favorite this summer is MAC Lipgelee in "slicked pink" or "glosspitality." For the eyes, less is more if you use a bright color. I love the tropical colors like turquoise, jade and cobalt blue. If you use a sheer color then apply it across the lid or for bolder shades you can line the eyes by smudging ever so slightly along the lashline. Make sure to follow with black mascara on top lashes only for mascara tends to run a bit under lower lashes when it's hot and humid. Waterproof is a great choice to avoid this problem. The key to a great summer look is to have everything applied lightly and not too painted on. It should look effortless and not severe. Use a light hand.

1. Mac Lipgelee in "slicked pink" and "glosspitality". These are the perfect melon and coral shades that are so light a sheer anywoman can wear them and they look awesome with a tan. Available at a Mac store near you.
2. Bourjois blush in "rouge emotion #53". Keeps any cheek bright and beautiful. Also a great match to the glosses above. Available at Sephora.
3. Pout bronzer in "sun blushed". It contains the little gold fleck to keep you glowing. Avaiable at Pout.co.uk.
4. Mac moistureblend foundation with spf 15. This is light enough to wear in the summer all over or just for spot concealing. Available at a Mac store near you.
5. Spray tanning at a spa near you. For a real treat go for the full safe tan treatment. Enter looking like a pasty ghost and come out looking like "the girl from Ipanema". Alot of spas offer a pre-scub and then they mist on self tanner with perfect precision. Some of them do body contouring, shading abs and arms giving you a little gym-less tone. Most cost between $65-120.
6. Frederic Fekkai technition glaze. Keeping hair frizz-free without weighing it down is easy with this glossing serum. I love it! Available at Sephora.
7. Borba skin balancing water. Yes a water created for your complextion. This herbal infused water contains all the great anti-oxidant ingrediants to keep skin looking great. Try "age defying" available at Sephora.
8. Crest Whitestrips Premium Plus. For a whiter brighter smile use this for just 10 days and you get 18 months of pearly whites. It really makes a tan look intense. Available at a drug store near you.
9. Sergent Garcia "la semilla escondida" CD. Play this cool Cuban cd at your next bbq and get everyone going. Available at Shaktirecords.com.
10. The new Brazilian metallic flipflops from Havaianas. Available at Havaianas.com.

The best part of summer is getting together with friends and family for that perfect summer party. A great way to bring people together is to have a theme bbq. Pick a favorite tropical island and design the festivities around that location. Send out vintage post cards from say Jamaica or Cuba as invitations and ask everyone to dress in their best island attire. An inexpensive way to create a centerpeice with flavor is to build up big fruit arrngements. A big pinapple surrounded by bananas, oranges, coconuts, and mangos not only looks beautiful but can be eating later! For drinks put out local rums and ask everyone to bring a different kind of fruit juice. Serve appetizers on trays lined with bannana leaves. Grill up fish and chicken with great fruit marinades or salsas and serve rice and beans as a side. Make sure and play the islands local music and designate a dance floor so everyone can shake it. What to wear? A great sundress with wedge sandles, a few bangles, a chunky bead necklace and remember to try out your new summer makeup look.