Our mothers tried to placate us with fake plastic makeup, then later fruity lip glosses, but to no avail. Nothing satisfied like smearing on a tube of grown-up Mary Kay lipstick, or upending a jar of Cover Girl foundation over our eager little faces. It opened up a new world of changing our appearance. We have our own make-up now, and only occasionally do we need to dip into our mothers’ stashes. To my surprise, that little-girl excitement came rushing back when I tested two new professional-grade products.

OC Cosmetics Lip Tar

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar ($12.50 at occmakeup.com) wowed me with its rich, dense pigment. As a true high-density product, makeup artists uses this line and others like it to achieve the lush, lasting makeup looks seen on runways and magazine spreads. Only a small dab of this gloss-lipstick hybrid in Grandma (an old-fashioned coral) stained my lips and lasted for hours. The color wears so strongly, I can take it easy on the rest of my makeup and let the lips steal the show – an easy summertime look. Very few of the other lip tar shades stand alone – most of them need tempering with other colors. I imagine it would take time to learn to do it like the pros, but I’m willing to learn.

Loose Color Concentrate

Naked Cosmetics Naturally Nude #6 ($59.99 at nakedcosmetics.com for a set of six shades) came as an even bigger shock. These tiny pots of nothing but oxidized mica pigments can morph into any makeup product you need. Mix with clear nail polish or lip gloss to customize a shade to your taste. Eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, bronzer, highlighter – you name it, and it will work. I combined Naturally Nude #6, a pearly lilac, with my peach lip balm and got a deep rose mouth. The possibilities, while not literally endless, are many more than I’ve previously considered.

Naked Cosmetics  Naturally Nude Collection

The ‘big girls’ of the cosmetic industry turn to these products to make an impact. When I got my hands on these products, previously used only by serious makeup artists, I felt a thrill, like I had tried on really nice product for the very first time. Lucky for me, my coordination has improved. I might feel like a little girl dressing up in high-class makeup, but I managed to avoid the clown look so many of us favored in our early single digits.

If there was an Olympics for eye liners then the Fresh Cosmetics’ Satin Liner Palette would definitely take home two golds. This trio of cream eye liners is by far the most luxurious seamless formulation my eyes have had to experience and the light-reflecting shimmer of each color (Sienna, Olive & Charcoal) makes these liners a “wow” during both day and evening.

Each shade opens your eyes by reflecting light. It’s a breeze to apply (and it STAYS for hours–trust me) and so easy to take off.

You can also have great fun layering the shades. I’m wearing “Charcoal” below:

This Fresh Satin Liner Palette is worth every bit of the $45 at www.fresh.com

GOLD! No question.

Like many things in life, the things we love aren’t always the best for us – it’s true for chocolate cake, bad boys, and most of all, tanning.

The coverage and finish of airbrush tanning are SICK! Look at the flawless finish…

These days, most savvy girls won’t brave the skin-damaging risks of a traditional sun tan, either on a beach or in a tanning bed, but the Oompah-Loompah look that comes from certain sunless tanners isn’t a much more appealing prospect.

The Luminess airbrush tan is actually a really effective remedy. The system, which comes complete with a compressor and an airbrush stylus, looks intimidating at first, but is a breeze to use and provides a totally believable (think Jessica Alba, not Lindsay Lohan) bronzed glow.

Before…..and after….the color looks totally real, n’est ce pas?

Like similar spray tans like Mystic Tan, the formula goes on in a light mist and, since there’s no need for blending, you won’t awake to telltale orange palms the next day. The tanning formula does come with a hint of color, so you can tell where the tan will develop, and since you can use the system at home, you can reapply the formula to deepen your color with just the touch of a button.

Luminess is totally odorless and dries in a flash, so you can get the “I just got back from vacation” glow with out the last minute plane ticket to Cabo.

The basic system doesn’t come cheap (it’s around $129) but there’s a 30 day trial on www.luminessair.com

And if you think about the cost of tanning versus purchasing one of these, it’s a complete no brainer.

Like a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, I become restless during the summer in search of a perfect shimmer bronze shade. I may have found the cat’s meow in Bobbi Brown’s new Illuminating Bronze Collection, which has a splendid shimmer brick for the body:

Shimmer Brick for the Body

This lightweight, feathery silky powder is all you need in your purse for a Twilight Zone – esque glow. $75.

Another one of my favorites is the Illuminating Bronze Powder:

This is a pressed powder with sheer micro pearls. $33.

There’s also an all over Bronzing Gel SPF 15 ($28), and an all over Body Brush (shown with shimmer brick, above) that is soft and as luxurious as a cashmere goat ($85 — for the brush, not the goat).

Available June 2009 at www.bobbibrown.com

 The latest Estee Lauder fragrance sporting Gwyneth’s radiant face is Pure White Linen Pink Coral. It has sea-kissed Apple Blossoms, Waterfruits, Sweet Peas and Camelias blended with Honeysuckle and Sandalwood.

There’s also a hint of Chinese Berry and Pink Peppercorns in the first note.

The fragrance resides in a clean, see through bottle that all other Pure White Linen fragrances are housed in. I personally like the Pure White Linen original much better than the Pink Coral. While the Pink Coral is definitely a summer scent, the notes are too “busy” –and the fragrance is more perfect for day wear than an intriguing night out on the town.

Available in June 2009 at Estee Lauder and counters everywhere.

1 oz./30ml Eau de Parfum Spray $39.50
1.7 oz/50 ml Eau de Parfum Spray $49.50
3.4 oz/100 ml Eau de Parfum Spray $72.00
6.7 oz/ 200ml Body Lotion $40.00 

Sizzle, smoke and rose gold finishing powder! That’s how we’d all like our summers to be, and ladies can I tell you that I am simply addicted (like Carrie Bradshaw is to ciggies) to Benefit Cosmetics’ latest makeup addition: One Hot Minute.

Make that very hot minute!

This loose rose-gold finishing powder is pretty much all you need to get gorge and glam before the “gaze at me” glow. And it’s perfect to layer alone or over makeup.

A few days ago, at a totally fun and fab event at Carlyle Hotel, I met Annie Ford Danielson (who is the daughter of the founder, Jean Ford…can you believe it!?), Juliette Levy (Publics Relations Manager Extraordinaire) and the lovely makeup artist Julie Monti (from the Soho Store).

Take a look at Julie’s before and after work on my face?! Beyond recognition. She used the Bad Gal Lash Mascara, a hint of Posie Tint (duh!), a lot of “Some Kind of Gorgeous” which has now become my FAVORITE foundation, and Benetint Rose Lip Balm, She also used the Velvet Eyeshadow in “Birthday Suit” for my eyes and did her smoke and mirrors magic with Benefit Eyeliner.

Before

After, with “One Hot Minute” layered all over me!

And here’s One Hot Minute!

This lovely production will retail in the Summer (July) at Benefit Cosmetics and at Sephora.

Sizzle!!!

Faster than you can say fabulous, a summer-perfect look is yours with the new mark Costa Rica makeup collection. Vivid eyes and lips took pride of place on the Spring runways, making this destination-themed line right on the money. So check winter’s neutral eyes and lips at the door and try these high-voltage colors on for size.

Ocean Hues

We tested the Eye Exotics Ocean Hues eyeshadow trio ($6) and wow, did our eyes ever pop. We applied pink to the eyelid, pink and black in the crease, and blue as an eyeliner. The Jungle Love and Beach Babe trios are equally alluring options.

Jungle Love

        v

Beach Babe

Lip Lacquer ($6) comes in an array of saturated tropical colors such as Fever (red), Pop (pink), Thrill (brown), Wild (plum) and Rush (coral). Fragranced with energizing spearmint oil and loaded with conditioners, its high-shine formula made our lips look and feel full and lush.

Mosaic Cheek Color

We completed our look with Good Glowing Mosaic Cheek Color ($7). You can achieve a shimmery or gentle blush finish according to your mood with this ultra-smooth powder.

As for the bargain prices, talk about bang for the buck. The collection is available at meetmark.com  or through a mark representative.

Ipod shuffles normally retail for $75 and up but you can get yours for a steal at $29, courtesy of AVON. All you have to do is purchase two ANEW Skincare products (and trust me, you want to do that anyway).

Let us remind you that there’s also the super fine ANEW Clinical Crow’s Feet Corrector you can choose to purchase as well.

ANEW Clinical Crow’s Feet Corrector is the first 2-in-1 treatment to resurface and visibly fill in crow’s feet like professional laser treatments without the pain and at a fraction of the cost.

Yes, why don’t you dance your aging concerns away?

Thanks Frieda Pinto! 2009 is officially the year of Bollywood glam, no doubt.

Transforming the sari palette into an array of summer colors is what Stila Cosmetics has done in its Indian Summer 2009 Collection.

Their 24 Karat Lip Gloss in Brilliant Pink is what I’m wearing — it’s a juicy, strawberry daiquiri color, with the slightest hint of gold shimmer which comes from actual gold leaf in the formula. And totally adorable is the real “bindi” stuck on the lid of the gloss — how super cute is that?!

The handy paint-brush like applicator makes it easy to control the amount of gloss you’re using, allowing for adjustable color. Vitamins A & C keep lips soft, not sticky.

With one twist, the shade can go from subtle to eyepopping and the high lustre shine is great for painting the town red.

Other items in the Stila Indian Summer Collection include the Charmed Palette Eyeshadows, and the Golden Noir smudge pots, both of which contain 24k gold.

Their Marigold Convertible Color Duo can be used to accent other colors from the collection. All items are under $30, so you can really feel like a slumdog millionaire.

This is not your mother’s shampoo.

It’s an idea that’s part brilliant, part “about time.” HerCut is the first haircare product line that’s specifically designed for your hair cut.

Now, I thought it was all baloney and hooey until I went to see Bob Salem (creator) and Maria Laguardia (formulator). The core of HerCut’s line is the Catalyst. The catalyst is a leave in styler (think of it as your finishing creme or leave-in styling creme) designed for your particular type of hair cut.

There are five main hair cut catalysts: the Bob, Long Layers, the Shag, the Blunt, & the Pixie.

Once you shampoo and condition with your regular brand of products or, preferably, HerCut’s shampoo and conditioner care line, you’re ready for the catalyst.

Everything works with HEAT STYLING. Each catalyst has its own special molecular structure so that it attracts or repels a positive or negative charge in your hair that allows hair to curl up, layer, be smooth and behave. In essence, science lends its mastery over your hair cut — pretty simple, huh?

Maria Laguardia spent a good deal of time showing me the molecular structure and charts and all that but I hated to tell her my love affair with molecules vanished in Organic Chemistry class.

But I got the gist of it and was pleased — so pleased– to find that the Catalyst actually did work for my hair cut when I got home and tried it. There was the slightest bit of frizziness, but my long layers did manage to keep themselves beautifully behaved — exactly as my hair stylist would have wanted them to.

Mensa award? I think so. www.hercut.com

Catalysts, $22 each

Shampoos ($19 each)

Normal-Oily
Normal-Dry
Dry Hair

Conditioners ($19 each)

Light Conditioner
Medium Conditioner
Deep Conditioner