The Orlando Sentinel

I have about a half-dozen bottles of sunscreen left over from last summer. I don't see any use-by dates. Does that mean the stuff is still effective?

It's good to know you're using sunscreen, but unless those bottles have been stored in a cool, dry place with the caps tightly fastened, they probably should be dumped.

As a rule of thumb, the active ingredients in sunscreen remain stable and effective for about three years. There should be an expiration date on the bottle or tube, sometimes abbreviated to EXP/month/year.

This is a long shot, but does anyone sell maternity wedding gowns? I have a niece who needs one in a hurry. The wedding will be quite informal.

Not such a long shot. Maternity chains that offer dresses for pregnant brides include Motherhood Maternity, Mimi Maternity and A Pea in the Pod, all found in or near major malls. All feature some informal styles.

There are also numerous Web sites offering a big variety of maternity wedding gowns, including bridesn bumps.com, tk-designs.com and maternity-clothing-fashions.com.