happy mother's day: luxe treats

The best mother's day gift also make great gifts all year long. These treats from Sara Happ are a perfect treat for moms who never take time for themselves.

The Lip Scrub by Sara Happ ($24), the original lip exfoliant, comes in great flavors like vanilla bean (shown here), almond creme, peppermint, brown sugar, cinammon sugar, cocoa and creme brulee, is designed to eliminate dry, flaky skin to leave lips ridiculously soft and supple. Just massage onto lips in a circular motion then wipe away with a tissue. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

The Lip Slip By Sara Happ ($24), otherwise known as one luxe balm, offers the richest, glossiest hydration imaginable. Wear it all day. Wear it overnight. Results are immediate. It's infused with Sweet Almond, Jojoba and Macadamia nut oils, with a polymer blend that took two years to perfect. Smooth onto lips after exfoliating. Wear it alone for universally appealing shine that brings out your lips' natural color, wear it over color for unbelievable shine, or put it on before bedtime and wake up to a plump, baby-soft pout.

Vanilla Bean Body Scrub by Sara Happ ($46) is silky, not greasy, hydrating, not oily, gentle enough to do no harm and tough enough to remove even the roughest dead skin. Kukui nut, macadamia and sweet almond oils that leave zero residue behind and sugar crystals get the job done right. Massage a generous amount onto wet skin using a firm, circular motion then scrub away. Rinse thoroughly and reveal smooth skin all over.

Go to www.sarahapp.com for more info.

happy vday: kiss bliss

A kiss is just a kiss...or is it? Hopefully, you'll be doing some serious smooching this Valentine's Day so it's best to be prepared. Try these soft and sheer Tinted Lip Balms from Burt’s Bees for a hint of sheer color and a cutting edge formula that leaves your lips feeling smooth. Available in six modern, wearable shades and a sweet natural flavor, these 100% natural balms care for your lips with soft flower waxes, moisture‐rich Shea Butter and Vitamin E, leaving lips feeling smooth, healthy and totally kissable. Visit www.burtsbees.com and go ahead, pucker up.

happy vday: give lip

The holiday of love is fast approaching--can your lips take the heat? Don't get caught off guard; keep them well protected with Aubrey Organics Treat 'Em Right Lip Balm ($2.95 each). The pure organic oils in the formula makes it super-moisturizing and long-lasting, and helps prevent chapping. The best part: There are five fun flavors to choose from so you can savor the flavor long after the actual makeout session. Go to www.aubrey-organics.com for more info.

holiday gift guide: give Burt's Bees

I asked a good friend what she wanted for Chanukah and she said, "A Burt’s Bees Holiday Gift set." I didn't even know they made them. But a quick click on the company's website proved her right. Being a big Burt's Bees lip fan, I was excited about the Burt’s Bees Lip Balm Purse Packs ($9.99), adorable cloth purses with four lip favorites. Choose from the Classic Purse Pack – featuring four Burt’s Bees® Beeswax Lip Balms – or the Mixed Purse Pack – a grab bag of favorite flavors. Then there's Burt’s Bees Mini Lip Gloss Collection ($14.99), featuring four shades of the Super Shiny Lip Gloss in mini forms, perfect for travel. Burt’s Bees Bee Keeper ($9.99), offers the signature lip balms in a festive reusable tin. Burt’s Bees A Few Favorite Things ($19.99), combines the Beeswax Lip Balm, Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme, Milk & Honey Body Lotion and Soap Bark & Chamomile Deep Cleansing Cream. Burt’s Bees Tingling Treats ($19.99) lavishes you in invigorating peppermint oil in the form of lip balms, foot lotion and more. Burt’s Bees Polka-Dot Perfect Mani-Pedi kit ($19.99) contains Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Crème and Coconut Foot Crème, plus a Pomegranate Lip Balm all in one tidy bag. With so much to choose from, I'm not sure which one my friend had in mind so I'll let her choose--but it can't hurt to keep a few on hand for last-minute gift giving. Go to www.burtsbees.com to order.

i'm addicted!

So you're up with the trends but don't really know how to translate them? Beauty Addicts' Motivate Collection is a fool-proof answer. The company's assortment of compacts for eyes, cheeks and lips matches the colors for you--so there's no guesswork when it comes to making a trend work for you. RelationLIPS ($28) features a quartet of classic, natural shades. Designed to shimmer, shine, and offer sheer or satin coverage, each gloss provides total lip protection. I love the texture and look of the shimmer but smooth it over one of the berry hues and the results are dazzling! The SolutionEYES ($35) eye shadow quad features four blendable shades in sheer matte to subtle shimmer textures. SleekCHEEKS ($28) boasts antioxidant-rich Velveteen Creme, a creme-to-powder texture with a hint of shimmer, and Build-a-Blush, an ultra sheer matte powder that offers flawless coverage. Choose the texture you're most comfortable with and apply. The most unique product, GLIMMERSheers ($28), is designed to highlight and luminize eyes, face and cheeks. It features Glimmer, a soft luminizer (in a cool lavender/silvery/metallic shade), and Sheer, a crystal clear luminizer (it looks like it might feel sticky but goes on smooth and dries quickly). Don't be shy! Use a combination of both to create glowing skin; the effect is subtle but glamorous. Go to www.beautyaddicts.com to make your purchase.

look on the bright side

Everyone wants to know models' secrets to looking amazing. Their hair and makeup tips and weight and exercise regimens are all forms of advice we want to follow ourselves in the hopes of achieving the same gorgeous results. Another mystery to add to the list: how do they get their pouty lips and pearly white smiles? Many rely on intelliWHITE Pout & Polish ($22), the first-ever non-peroxide stain remover for teeth that's safe on enamel and all dental work. Created by Cosmetic Dentist Jennifer Jablow, DDS, and endorsed and used by many of Ford Models' top faces, Pout & Polish is a 3-in-1 smile must-have for brighter teeth, plumper, glossier lips and fresher breath. Clinically proven to remove stains by 38% in just six uses, Pout & Polish is designed to be used after eating or drinking anything. In fact, the more you use it, the better it is for your teeth since it creates a barrier to prevent stains from forming and leaves teeth feeling smooth and perfectly polished. It's easy to use: Erase stains with one end; gloss lips with the other. Hey, if you can skip a teeth cleaning appointment here and there, why not? Try it yourself at www.rxbright.com.

recessionista beauty: lip shtick

I've tried lip colors that add shine, look matte, even plump things up. But this one takes the cake--or rather makes you skip it! Huge Lips, Skinny Hips ($20) is the first lip gloss made with Hoodia, a natural appetite suppressant, and plump-prompting vitamin B3, so you can color and plump your lips while keeping extra pounds off your hips.It comes in five beautiful hues or a clear gloss, all inspired by the creator's favorite things. "It's the perfect secret weapon for surviving cocktail parties without succumbing to all the hors d'oeuvres," says founder Karen Robinovitz. Some of the product's other lip-conditioning ingredients include natural lipids that bind water to the skin, meadow foam to moisturize and lemon peel oil for instant cooling. Choose from Red Sole (a sultry red inspired by Christian Laboutin's famous red heels), Love Your Thighs (a floral coral), Worship Kate (a pink glitter tribute to Kate Moss), Lychee Martini (a frothy pink--my favorite!), No Panty Lines (shiny clear) and Kitty Poledancer (the perfect nude and a nod to Robinovitz's love of dancing. Do your lips--and your hips--a favor and pick one up later this month at Scoop or Space N.K.

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.

plump it up

In an age when most of us are searching for a way to slim down, some of us are still hoping to plump up--our lips, that is. Since I'm not exactly considering a trip to the plastic surgeon's office, Angelina Jolie's perfect pout is pretty much beyond my reach. I found I can come close, however, with a little help from glominerals (www.gloskincare.com). The company's gloLip plumper ($16), a unique plumping formula infused with spheres of Marine Collagen Atelocolalgen which trap water and swell to provide volume, is designed to do the trick. Capsicum Extract, which comes from peppers, stimulates lips (not sure how I feel about the tingling sensation but it's pretty mild) and safflower oil softens and conditions (just in time for Valentine's Day). Choose your hue--copper shimmer, sheer berry or natural, or soon-to-be-released plum and cherry--and get ready to pucker up!