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Once upon a time, having a tan meant you spent your days herding sheep. In the 1920s, Coco Chanel returned from vacation on the Riviera golden brown. Suddenly, being fabulous meant having nothing but time on your hands to lie there and broil. Since then, just about everyone has been wanting to get a tan. But the craze has had some downsides— witness the rise in skin cancer, and Tara Reid.

As the Antarctic melting accelerates, no one thinks it's safe to go poolside or to the beach without S.P.F. protection from UV rays—except maybe George Bush. You know those new Versace ads? Even those kids are probably wearing it. With that in mind, Kiehl's and Estee Lauder are offering new lines of sunblock this summer, ranging from S.P.F. 15 to 30. Also new is La Plage Firming Body Lotion with S.P.F. 15 from Geomer. The Geomer people are major divers, and they have collected all kinds of things from the sea—kelp, seaweed, special seawater—ingredients, apparently, which help us look like eighth-graders. S.P.F. has made its way into makeup too, including Trucco foundation. New from the Sebastian hair people, Trucco S.P.F. 15 comes in nine shades, can be used by everyone, and has a cool pump. Clarins hasn't forgotten that some of us go to the beach so we can swim too. Its new line of eye makeup is completely water-resistant.

As everyone knows by now, due to self-tanners and bronzers, you can get a tan these days while lying on the sofa and watching Friends. Tragically, the rise of self-tanning has , a , resulted in too many orange people (come visit the Conde Nast cafeteria). This summer brings a slew of products that help regulate such disasters. First, for the face. With the exception of MAC and Bobbi Brown, whose new bronzers are the only matte ones on the market, the key word here is "glow." Leading this trend is Yves Saint Laurent. Over-the-top labellovers will get into Versace's surprisingly creamy face powder (compact emblazoned with Medusa, powder itself has word "Versace" imprinted over and over). Chanel offers something a little different with Sun llluminator (a light gel) and Brilliance Pur (a light cream). As for self-tanning the body, this art form has gone way beyond labor-intensive creams: Calvin Klein has come up with something called Liquid Crystals, a kind of Jean Nate for the glow generation, while Lancdme has gone the mousse route, for a fake, yet even, tan in less than an hour.

But there will always be trailblazers. Thanks to Dior's new line, Snow, which literally brightens the skin, turning white is not just for Michael Jackson impersonators anymore.