Want to win two free tickets to see the movie YES MAN playing in theatres now (starring Jim Carrey)? All you have to do is enter a comment on one thing you will say YES TO in the coming year. I’ll accept entries until Friday, January 9th. Tickets are valid anywhere, nationwide, and can be redeemed on Fandango.com.

One winner will be chosen at random and will receive TWO free ticket codes.

One of my favorite brands, period. Yes To Carrots is available at Walgreens, and ever since I tried their “C Loves Your Hair” Shampoo & Conditioner that is filled with carrot juice and natural goodness, I’ve been paying a visit to the store since. Yes, the cashier even knows my middle name.

The Shampoo nourishes the hair and scalp with 26 minerals. Also a treat for the strands is the “C is for Hair Care” Hair Mask. It’s a bit laborious to leave it in your locks before you shower (let’s face it…I’m lazy). But the results are worth saying YES to.

I also love the “C Me Smile” USDA Certified Lip Butters that never leave my purse. And they’re priced at perfection because nothing really retails for more than $6. Yes!!!

Are you gypsy enough for the Chanel new Spring collection? The seductive look may well bring out that Carmen in you with its Satin Lip Cream in a Limited Edition C compact in pale pink to rich purple (if I were to pick, I’d go with this).

The Mystic Eyes eyeshadow quartet comes in four shades: plum, pink, beige and silver.

Nail Vernis: V is for Vendetta

Dark violet Vendetta and Django, a beige pink, are the nail colors of the season.

Glossimer: Two wild shades of Wild Rose and Beige Guitare (a soft beige). Can’t get any more boho-chic.

Rouge Double Intensite: Gloss AND Lipstick team up for superpower. Alexandrite, a brown-red and Opal Rose, a brown-pink are your pout’s power duos this Spring.

Rouge Hydrabase Creme Lipstick: Rose Rebelle (a dark pink); Fiesta (a pink apricot); Fuego (coral red); Beige Desire (dark beige); Gipsy Scarlet (a pink red) make a splash. The color palette is too close for this to represent a diverse swathe of shades. I’d choose one red and stick with it, and the Rose Rebelle is wearing my name.

There’s also an Eclat Lumiere (a highlighter face pen); a Powder Blush in Fandango which is a pink brown shade; a Waterproof Mascara; and an Eye Definer.

I feel as though I’ve somehow…through the years, seen these exact same shades before. The collection does not make me make a wild deer-eyed leap towards the shelves and spend my hard earned recession money. But hey, anything looks cool and boho chic on the catwalk.

If you’ve tried this look and loved it, do drop me a line.

What’s glossier than red and pure 24k gold?

More Moulin Rouge than Vaudeville is Essie’s glamorous Limited Edition Nailcolor called Love, Beverly Hills xx. The shimmer factor is just right, and the red just about complements every skin tone on the planet (we’ve not analyzed Mars or Venus yet). It is available in January 2009 at www.essie.com and at beauty stores for a fraction of the price of REAL gold: $18.00.

Who says that investing can’t be wise?

Sephora is giving fans a real treat in the New Year. Make an appointment at any of Sephora’s stores and stop by on January 10th to sit down with Sephora’s skin pros and pledge your allegiance to beautiful skin (rough, right?). And leave with an exclusive bag FILLED with samples of your favorite brands, absolutely free.

Get a load of Sephora’s locations here to find the store nearest you.

Check out some neat new arrivals while you’re at it:

NEW! Philosophy Completely Clear ($35 a $53 value) – Declare your independence from acne with this trial-sized collection, containing super star ingredient retinol.

NEW! Best of Clinique Set ($46 a $73 value) – This twice a day regimen of bestsellers will have you claiming clearer skin.

NEW! Kinerase C8 Peptide ($98) – Revolutionary neuropeptide SNAP-8 springs skin back to where it’s supposed to be, smoothing wrinkles and brightening skin’s texture.

NEW! Bare Escentuals RareMinerals Purely Nourishing Facial Moisturizer ($32) – Get natural with this super-light, paraben free hydrator.

NEW! Murad Sleep Reform ($97) – Rest easy with this collagen boosting PM formula and wake up to refreshed, younger-looking skin.

NEW! Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder with Kabuki Brush ($49 a $72 value) – Brush away the years with this anti-aging, mineral packed powder.

Too Faced The Smurfette Collection Eye Shadow Collection ($32.50 a $58 value)– Four totally wearable shadows you’ll be smurfing over!

Banana Republic: 60% plus extra 20% off. Sale ends January 1, 2009

Bergdorf Goodman: Up to 60% off, including new arrivals.

Macy’s: 20-65% off instore and online, and enter 10% promo code XMASGIFT. Valid Boxing Day and December 27th.

Neiman Marcus: 40% off Select Sale Items, post Christmas Sale. Plus a fabulous Cashmere Sale!

Old Navy: Up to 75% ONLINE only Clearance Sale.

Origins: Save up to 50% on super-sized skincare items.

Piperlime: Up to 40% off Limetag Sale.

Saks: Online and Instore up to 75% off; Boxing Day only.

Tarte Cosmetics: Year End Sale, 20% off all items plus free shipping.Enter code ENDSALE at checkout for free shipping.

Victoria’s Secret: Semi-Annual Sale, plus free shipping with code SHIP 09 with orders over $100.

We all receive them: those unwanted, duplicate, triplicate gifts we would love to regift and wish we could.

On December 26th, you can do just that.

The first 150 guests to bring their unused and unwanted beauty presents (up to $50 in value) will receive a brand new Carol’s Daughter present in exchange! Bring the gifts to ANY of the seven locations. All products will be donated to the Lupus Foundation of America.

For a list of locations, click here

Who thought regifting could be so much fun?

We know you’re out there. Armed with your gift list, you hit the stores on December 24 because there’s nothing like the adrenaline high you get from stealth shopping. Or you decided to cut back on excessive spending this year for obviously reasons, but suddenly that hemp tote for your BFF is starting to look pretty sad and you want to trade up. Or you’re hyper-organized and got all your shopping done before Thanksgiving, but now you want to gift yourself because you know your clueless Significant Other is going to give you three pairs of wool socks. In any case, run to the nearest high-end fragrance counter and score these holiday-perfect Woody-Oriental scents.

You may remember your mom wearing Shalimar back in the Seventies, which started the craze for Orientals. The category has been given an update by Anick Goutal Encens Flamboyant (EDP 100ml/$175), which plays on our strongest scent association to this season with notes of fir balsam and lentisk, an evergreen shrub. Spicy Frankincense, nutmeg and cardamom round out the unisex juice.

Hermes Elixir des Merveilles is a confectionary story that smells like Christmas treats baking in the oven. Based on a blend of citrus pulp and chocolate, it opens with the scent of candied orange peel followed by a sweet biscuit note composed of tonka bean and vanilla combined with sugar and milk. Men will gravitate to this fragrance without knowing why. (Answer: It reminds them of eating milk and cookies.) At 48ml/$85 for the EDP, it’s a relative bargain.

Serge Lutens Arabie (EDP 50ml/$120) translates the richness of fruitcake into olfactory form. Even those of us who find the holiday dessert inedible will be hooked by notes of candied mandarin peel, dried figs and dates spiced with nutmeg, cumin and clove. Winter is the perfect time of year for bold scents, and Arabie is exactly that. Its presence is big enough to be detectable even in the rush of a New Year’s Eve party, which is where we’re planning to wear it.

Discounts on all fragrances can be found online through www.amazon.com, www.BizRate.com or www.Best-Price.com, to name a few.

The ever changing face of MAC Cosmetics this year may well tie with Jim Carrey’s performance of The Mask in its versatility and talent.

From Cremesheen to Cult of Cherry, MAC never disappoints us; the polished thought from start to finish, the dazzling pallette, the delivery and the STORY is what keeps me coming back to MAC time and time again.

This winter, it’s not the Nutcracker Suite they’re offering, but it’s definitely a way to make yourself look like a Snow Queen. C.S. Lewis would be pleased.

The Chill Collection Look: Ice Princess Meets Cleopatra

The must haves are the Tinted Lipglass that gives your lips a high gloss and glass-like sheen (it IS Lipglass after all, in icy shades). In colors like Icescape, Snowscene, Frozen Dream, Naked Frost.

The Glitter can be dusted onto your skin, eyes and hair. They WERE watching The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe when they made this.

The eyeliner, for the classic Cleopatra look. It is a liquid pen-style liner that goes on as smooth as silcone.

The eyeshadows are powdery shades of frost and winter. Choose from Arctic Grey, Vellum, Mont Black, Wintersky, Apres-ski.

www.maccosmetics.com

At last, a serum that not only smells better than fresh flowers, but that works to correct and clear skin. I’ve tried so many creams that have promised fragrance this, and blooming that, but very seldom have they made me keep coming back.

With this serum, yes, I not only kept coming back, I wanted to keep a consistent pre-order form waiting. It has an Amlakaki complex called “the Fruit of Immortality” from the Himalayas (this actually sounds like an ingredient from a futuristic movie).

As per the advertising, it is supposed to reduce wrinkles, make the skin vibrant and youthful, and make skin ageless with its special ingredient, Rhodiola.

My skin glowed, my scars disappeared quickly and my lines dimished. I wouldn’t say my lines evaporated into desert-thin air, but I have tried this product for barely more than two days before its magic began to work.

It is available online at www.origins.com and retails for $50. Buy it for the fragrance alone, and you’ll never stop sniffing it.

 We have to admit we never thought of CVS/pharmacy as a beauty shopping destination. But like a frumpy female turned femme fatale on “What Not to Wear,” the drugstore chain has had a makeover that’s nothing short of amazing. This holiday season you’ll find us snapping up incredible deals in the beauty aisle, including the following gems for under $20 that are sure to please the most demanding divas on your shopping list.

From 24/7 Skincare, Instant Plump Volumizing Lip Shine plumps, glosses, moisturizes and enhances your natural lip color while reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles on and around the lips. Retailing for $19.99, this workhorse outperforms best-selling DuWop Lip Venom hands down.

If too much partying leaves you looking as wilted as week-old lettuce, Lumene Vitamin C + Energy Cocktail Intensive Care is your ticket to instantly revitalized skin. A patented new compound called VitaOptimale harnesses cloudberry and cranberry oil to deliver a wallop of vitamin C to normal, dry or extremely skin. At $18.99/1.7 fl. oz., this energizer promises to keep skin soft, smooth and flexible, while preventing the appearance of wrinkles.

Now that you’re putting your best face forward, don’t forget to pamper your feet. They’ve taken a beating from hours of holiday shopping and deserve some dedicated TLC. Essence of Beauty Moisturizing Gel Booties rescue tired, cracked and rough feet with a comforting infusion of Vitamin E and grape seed oil. The booties are lined with non-skid silicone so you can walk around the house, but why not relax for 30 minutes while they work their magic? Your feet will feel soothed and refreshed, not to mention baby soft. The booties can be used for up to 40 treatments, which makes them a steal at $16.99.

Still haven’t ticked off everyone on your list? Move on to Vickery & Clarke, a natural apothecary brand exclusive to CVS. This earth-friendly line of bath, body and facial products targets every skin concern from head to toe and even relieves common ailments. We love the Aloe Vera & Chamomile Face Cleanser ($9.95), which gently removes makeup and impurities while soothing redness, and swear by the luscious Acai Berry & Pomegranite Anti-Aging Lip Treatment ($6.95), which bolsters the lip area against the assaults of winter weather. The Ginger & Clementine Body Lotion ($8.95) is the most sublime moisturizer we’ve ever slathered all over our body, after soothing our sinuses in a Eucalyptus & Peppermint Cold & Sinus Soak ($11.95). The entire product lineup comes in normal-to-dry skin and normal-to-oily skin formulas.

Once your stress-free, one-stop shopping is done, congratulate yourself for being the smart and frugal Santa that you are.  Who says beauty doesn’t come cheap?