What's Hot: Skin brighteners like Clinique's Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. Where to Get It: Bloomingdale's Beauty Department. Why Have It: "There's real research and science behind these things." Details: While the impending beach season might send some running to the nearest tanning salon, Bloomingdale's beauty department customers are clamoring for products that will lighten their skin - or at least, get rid of their spots. "I'm always reluctant to use the term "flying off of shelves," because I don't think that's the nature of the business - nothing flies off shelves - but we're seeing tremendous response to this," says Howard Kreitzman, vice president of cosmetics and fragrances at Bloomingdale's, of brightening products. Like B.B. creams and cleansing oils before them, skin brighteners come to the United States from the East, where they've been immensely popular in the Asian markets. "It started with Clinique two years ago, but the broad growth of it started happening around holiday time and continues to grow," Kreitzman notes, adding, "the market has done a remarkable job of offering product that's pretty consistent from one brand to the next." What is it about these creams and gels - now offered by a handful of luxury beauty brands claiming to even out, brighten or in some cases even lighten skin - that has caught discerning shoppers" eyes? Our consumer is interested in what's the newest, what's the latest, what's the greatest. Certainly most consumers don't today own some sort of spot remover, so that's part of it. But what we've seen over time is that brands in skin care in particular have continued to improve and evolve their products. The consumer is trying products, seeing positive results and continuing to pursue those new things," he explains. Clinique's Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector has quickly become the perennial favorite, but Chanel, Dior, Sisley and Estée Lauder all also offer products that promise to make skin woes fade away.