Fancy Sunblock

We all know how important it is to slather on sunblock ... and it's easy to find plenty of options out there without harsh chemicals and irritants. But do you ever wish sunscreen was a bit more, well, glamorous? When you're in a designer bikini lounging on a gorgeous beach towel, pulling $300 sunglasses out a logo-driven beach bag, wouldn't it be nice to be able to whip out a spf product to match? Salvatore Piazzolla thought so ... and so he created Hampton Sun.

The inspiration for this elegant brand came from fond memories of products like Bain de Soleil, which seemed custom made for fancy French women tanning themselves to a crisp on the Riviera. Hampton Sun's products come in similarly elegant packaging, but are made with super-effective and high tech proprietary ingredients that combine vitamins A, B, C, D and E, are extra-protective, and won't irritate the most sensitive skin. (Um, that would be mine ... and, after using it for a weekend outdoors, I'm still pale enough to be eligible for a cameo in the Twilight sequel.) In other words, you can use this sunblock, feel fancy, and leave the deep-fried golden brown to your lunchtime order of french fries.

In just a few years of business, Hampton Sun has become the sunscreen of choice at hotels like Miami's Ritz-Carlton and Setai; it's carried at stylish boutiques like Space NK and is used by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Paris Hilton. It would be logical to assume that its founder Piazzola launched the company with years of beauty biz experience ... but you'd be wrong. Sensing he had a great idea, he quit his regular job, rolled up his sleeves, and — with lots of hard work, compelling products, and plenty of chutzpah — learned along the way and has made the business a success.

You know the saying, "Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration?" Fortunately, as well as its sunscreens, the Hampton Sun line also includes shower gel and fragrance.