Fashion Week: Classic Lips

Tough times call for tough measures--which means scaling down on your favorite makeup picks. If you can only invest in one lipstick this season--and can't see yourself falling for the recently popular pale gray lip look--make it a deep, classic color. An easy choice: Vitamin-Infused Lipstick from Tarte Cosmetics in Vinyasa (siren red) or Zen (berry). Designed to nourish, moisturize and rejuvenate lips while protecting against the environment, these Tarte lipsticks include natural ingredients from BORBA's Age-Defying, Replenishing and Clarifying lines. Good-for-you ingredients include antioxidant-rich Acai berry extract, collagen-producing beeswax, healing chamomile extract, and vitamins A, C and E. I feel its mositurizing properties as I slick it on and notice that these vibrant shades really make a statement. Finish with lipliner to create eveness and definition. It's a great investment at $22 on www.tartecosmetics.com.

Fashion Week: Rock Star Hair

Fresh on the heels of the latest Grammy's show, models at some of New York Fashion Week's hottest shows sported rock-star locks. To get yours, try Philip Kingsley's Maximizer designed to maximize volume, body and bounce. "It creates volume for limp, flyaway hair," says Kingsley. If anyone can design such a formula, Kingsley is the one. This world-renowned trichologist has been seeing clients, writing books and creating hair treatments for years. "It gives fine hair super volume, and adds body, bounce, control and shine." Got color-treated tresses? Don't hesitate to spritz some on. It's protects color too. "Just spray sparingly onto the roosts of towel-dried hair for lift or throughout hair for all-over volume, then style as usual," says Kingsley. After a recent shower, I towel dry and start spritzing. The spray pump offers easy control and the product lands at the roots, just where I want it. I follow with an all-over application to see the full effect. Like a lightweight hairspray, it offers total volume and bounce that are instantly apparent and doesn't leave hair feeling sticky. And it smells good too! Try it at www.philipkingsley.com for $35 (8 oz).

VDay: give beauty (her)

Let's face it--the best gift a girl can receive is one that makes her feel pampered, especially since life can be so stressful these days. Help your favorite female de-stress with these luxurious products from Pevonia Botanica. Start with the Anti-Stress Bath & Shower Gel, made up of hazel nut oil, chamomile and lavender to cleanse and hydrate. Apply all over your body during a bath or shower and feel the stress melt away. The Anti-Stress Bath Salts with Essential Oils also work wonders; just pour one or two scoops of salt into a warm bath and experience its calming properties. Need more relief? Try the Anti-Stress Aromatic Seaweed Bath, designed to mineralize and nourish. With seaweed and pine needle essential oils, it detoxifies and renews. Finish with the Dry Oil Body Moisturizer with squalane, chamomile and lavender to leave skin silky soft with a radiant glow. Once she's hooked, treat her to Pevonia's De-Aging collection including mists, saltmousse and body balms in papaya-pineapple and passion fruit. She can try them at home or at a Pevonia spa--go to www.pevonia.com to find the one nearest you.

VDay: give beauty (him)

Judging from my own personal experience, most men are hard to shop for. But give them something they could really use but won't go out and buy themselves--and you just may score points this Valentine's Day. Leave it to Lush, the fresh handmade cosmetics company, to come up with a solution. The company's Shave the Planet Gift set ($29.95) features three essentials he can use to look and feel his best. Sold in a special gift box that's wrapped up in a comic strip, it's designed for the superhero you know and love. Inside, he'll find Shave the Planet Shaving Cream (designed for super-smooth shaves), Cosmetic Lad Moisturizer (to soothe sensitive faces), Bamboo Soap (to tone and leave skin smelling like the rainforest) and a Business Time Massage Bar (for all the relaxation he needs). The trick now is getting him to use all of these little luxuries! At least I know the shaving cream won't go to waste! For more info or to make a purchase, click on www.lushusa.com.

just breathe

I've always been up for trying out new eyeliners, lip glosses and skincare products but foundations are another story. I guess there's just something about covering my pores with makeup that always made me a bit uneasy--until I discovered Barry Knapp, developer of the new Oxygenating Breathable Foundation. His passion? Studying the science of oxegeniology and its ability to heal and affect each individual genetically. After working with plastic surgeons on products that would provide coverage and help heal, minimize and eliminate procedural scars, Knapp created the air-permeable foundation. The secret ingredient: Ceravitae Complex, a patent-pending formula proven to increase oxygen uptake, stimulate skin cell production and speed the healing process. And the fact that it's water-resistant for up to 90 minutes, contains SPF 25 and comes in seven blendable, color-corrective shades makes it just as appealing to those of us who haven't undergone procedures as well. Definitely worth a try, right? I smooth some on and watch it effortlessly disappear into my skin. As the official makeup director of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Knapp recommends three ways to use it. "Apply it with your fingers to get into all the little grooves, use a sponge if you want to detail it out or try a washable, acrylic brush." He suggests applying in downward strokes, keeping in the direction of hair growth, and insists on continuing past the jawline, covering the face and neck. The best part: It won't come off until you take it off! For more info, check out www.oxygenetix.com.

save your skin

The must-have accessory this season: astaxanthin. Don't let the name fool you--it's not a new program to help you file your taxes, nor is it a diet supplement. It's a super-antioxidant that protects body tissue from oxidative damage. One thousand times more potent than Vitamin E, it's found in salmon and gives the fish their pinkish hue. Leading dermatologist and skincare surgeon Dr. Kenneth Mark incorporated astaxanthin--along with seven other dominant antioxidants--in his Antioxidant Hydrating Cream (1.7 fl. oz.; $95). It promises to reduce melanin production, prevent collagen breakdown, eliminate free radicals, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, even out skin tone, decrease blotchiness, hyperpigmentation and brown spots, soothe irritated skin and add moisture. It's been a week since I've been using it and the first thing I noticed is that my skin feels really soft! Next, the fine lines are finer and my skin's lost that dry, wintery feeling. As an added bonus: The cream works both preventatively AND correctively so you can erase the past and prep your skin for the future at the same time! The only down side--especially in this economy--is really the price. But you know what they say: Dr. Kenneth Mark's Antioxidating Hydrating Cream with Astaxanthin--$95 (available at www.KennethMarkMD.com). Beautiful, youthful-looking skin--priceless!

eye do

Eye scream, you scream, we all scream for eye cream! But not just any eye cream--you have to check out the latest greatest option from skyn ICELAND. It comes in the company's new Fundamentals Kit, which is designed to soothe irritation, restore moisture and re-balance stressed out skin. Icelandic Relief Eye Cream with Biospheric Complex ($45) is a lightweight cream that's supposed to reduce puffiness, wrinkles and dark circles thanks to soothing nutrients. And it really works! You can feel an instant cooling effect as you dab it on. Almost miraculously, all evidence of my two kids under three starts to vanish! My skin feels softer and smoother--and the next morning, I even notice a little less stress (think fewer fine--and not so fine--lines!) Also in the kit: A Glacial Facial Wash ($30)--a creamy, foaming cleanser that purifies and smooths without stripping away skin's natural moisture, and the Antidote Quenching Daily Lotion ($45), a lightweight, hydrating tonic that soothes and adds moisture. But the eye cream is still my favorite--my own personal time machine! You can buy any product on its own, or the whole kit for $70 at Sephora stores or www.sephora.com.