Beauty and the beach have a notorious love-hate relationship. Sunkissed skin and sea-salt waves duke it out with sunburns and acne. With years of practices and top experts in my back pocket, I found the best products to stave off summer beauty fails.

Sandpaper legs? No thanks, summer. Most razors get my legs smooth, but stubble sprouts a day or two later. Five o' clock shadow works for guys, but it's not a good look on the ladies.

1.  Schick Intuition razors have a solid chunk of moisturizing cream that melts into skin when it gets wet in the shower. It preps skin for a close-gliding shave with a thin layer of gel. It's really cool. I'm loyal to it years after the original one launched when I was an editor at InStyle.

2. To give my skin a smooth look and feel, I don't leave home without a few spritzes of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. The scent brings me back to the beaches in St. Barths and summers in Montauk. It's a natural dry oil that sinks right into skin but leaves a subtle glow of a sheen.

Red alert! No blemishes are going to crash this girl's summer party. 

1. I recently started seeing a new dermatologist, and I'm ready to go steady. Dr. Neal Schultz knows his way around an epidermis. He's focused, friendly and frank about everything from aging to mole checks to skin texture. His line of skincare does not disappoint. My finicky skin can prove it. After a week of using his BeautyRx Progressive Peel, my skin looked smooth and glowy, and the rough texture went vamoose! I haven't seen one emerging pimple, even after a weekend in the sweaty summer heat.

2. When Mark and I get blemishes, we dab a bit of Ahava Purifying Mud Mask on the area with a Q-tip. It dries the area without creating irritation and peeling. There's something magical about the Dead Sea Minerals in Ahava products. My mom used to have her Israeli friend Helen bring mud on the plane to New York, before it was distributed in the United States.

3. When all else fails, a little dot of Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer will do the job. Living up to its name, it covers blemishes and spots like "naked skin." You can't see it. And there's no trace of the underlying spot, either.

I know, I know. Clumped lashes are a thing, said the runway. But some trends are meant to be left on the catwalk. In real life, I take my lashes long, loud and fluttery. Mine happen to be short, stumpy and prone to wilting after a long day. 

1. Longwear mascara is a non-negotiable in the summertime. There's too much moisture in the air and far too many water activities to risk drippy raccoon eyes. My pick: L'Oreal Voluminous Miss Manga mascara. It divides and conquers each lashes, while laying on a coat of fierce pigmented lash lacquer.

2. If I forget to swipe excess off the wand and get a clump, I separate lashes with the corner of a credit card. I just wiggle the card slightly under the clump and it breaks apart without removing any formula. 

3. File under: "Where Have You Been My Whole Life?" Wende Zomnir of Urban Decay Cosmetics dreams up innovative beauty products each season. This one in particular already has a cult following. Urban Decay Mascara Resurrection mascara revives weary lashes midday so you can go from desk to date without having to wipe off all your eye makeup and start all over.