Just Browsing® Brow-shaping color by Origins

I have spent, like most women, an inordinate amount of money on makeup, trying to find just the right products. I had to concur with this posting and the message is simple: stop buying crap just because it's on sale. Take the time to speak to an expert. Ask lots of questions. Try the products in the store, then try them at home. Buy products with quality ingredients because they are on your face all day (maybe that's not on everyone's priority list, but I'm allergic to pretty much everything. I use Aveda rather faithfully and am starting to branch out, but it's hard living in tiny D town because I have to make a note to stop at the bigger stores when I'm out of town. Origins, which I learned is owned by Estee Lauder, is fitting the bill for me now. Two products in particular, this one, and Fill In The Blanks™ Eyebrow enhancer are really great for someone who wants polished brows but while still making it less noticeable. Beware: you'll want to select colors MUCH lighter than you think: I use Blonde and Soft Blonde--you don't want to end up looking like Joan Crawford. Start with the enhancer (the salesperson told me to fill in my brows in the opposite direction) and then smooth the brows, and finish with the color (it looks like a mascara tube).

Banfi Rosa Regale (Brachetto d'Acqui - 2007)

Category: Sparkling Wine
Varietal: Brachetto
Region: Italy-Piedmont-Brachetto d'Acqui
Producer: Castello Banfi

A wine snob I am not. However, once you've had this sparkling wine, you could, from that point on, reject all others because of how good it is. My cousin and I were at a wine tasting/fundraiser last year, and they supplied us with ranking cards. This was clearly the crowd favorite. It possesses all that's good about bubbly--fruity, light, carbonated, etc.

Here's their description:
On its own Rosa Regale is an elegant aperitif. Its fruity character beguiles the heat of spicy Asian and Latino fare, and its gentle acidity is an ideal foil to the piquant richness of goat cheese, especially in a spring mix salad with almonds and cranberries. Quiches, glazed hams, beets, vichyssoise, gazpacho, chowders and even the myriad of flavors at Thanksgiving dinner, all traditionally challenging wine matches, are enchanted by Rosa Regale. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, trifles and hazelnut tortes are all elevated by this frothy wine.

It's a bit on the pricey side: about $27. I am willing to overlook that for special occasions, however :)

Gold Bond Ultimate Healing Skin Therapy Lotion, Aloe

As we endure the dead of winter, let us remind ourselves of some tried and true laws of nature: 1) buying cheap toilet paper and even paper towels just causes you to use more; and 2) don't skimp on the crappy, non-creamy lotion in the dead of winter. You will look like sandpaper. This is what I did this winter in the process of trying to save a buck. This lotion works--hands down. I have eczema, which really only surfaces in the winter. If I use this daily, I don't have the itchy dry patches and don't even have to resort to Rx topical medication. It's really thick, so a little bit goes a long way, but you'll have a hard time getting all of it out of the bottle. I love the convenience of a pump, but perhaps the squeeze bottle would be better.

The Cuisinart Griddler®

I had been browsing these for several months, hoping in short that the grill function would suffice for not grilling in the winter (we ran out of propane on the last nice day of fall, so it was probably kismet that we get this).

Their description is so good, I won't try to replicate: The Cuisinart™ Griddler® makes "multifunctional" an understatement! Make perfect panini... plus! With four separate cooking options, it can handle everything from pancakes to sausages to grilled cheese to steaks, hamburgers and panini. It helps you prepare more servings of more kinds of food in less time, so you can cook for a crowd -- no one has to wait!

Simply change the cooking plates and adjust the floating hinge to use the Griddler as a Contact Grill, a Panini Press, or your choice of an extra-large double Open Grill or Griddle.

I don't put the grilling plates in the dishwasher; I just wash them by hand. It's flat, so you really don't have a use for the juice "catchers" they provide, but the skinny scraper is essential to get food out of the grill plates. So far we've made some delicious paninis with some fresh mozzarella and spinach (yes, my husband ate spinach), and the grill works really well. I spray some cooking spray beforehand, esp. with fish. But the grill marks even show up on the food. It's been a great item in the kitchen! We use it at least 3 times a week.

Yankee Candle's Beanswax

My MIL and grandma-in-law were shopping with me last week, trying to find a gift to buy me (I guess for the sake of buying??) and they know I like candles. However, without trying to be snobby, I am trying to always buy a greener alternative to any item to which it is available. We then spied Yankee Candle's newest line, Beanswax.The candles are 100% soy-based, so they don't create pollutants when they burn. Plus, the jar is made from recycled class, and is funky enough to hang out among your other house decor. I happen to love green, so it fits in my living room nicely. The large jar is supposed to burn for 55 hours--that's some serious time. OK--the BEST part: the scents I love are unbelievably realistic. I got Beat Around the Bushel and last night, within an hour, the whole upstairs smelled like an apple orchard! I was then inspired to make an apple crumble (no joke). End of the Line is straight out of every memory of great-smelling dryer sheets, the scent that today inspires every purfume I choose. As usual, the sweet-smelling choices were too strong for me, but I was so pleased that I can still have candles and don't have to feel like I'm polluting my house's air.

Organic Housekeeping

I received this book as a bridal shower gift, but really started to use it when we moved this summer. Once my cleaning supplies run out, I've agreed to replace each one with a healthier, green version. This book does a great job of showing you how virtually every surface in your house can be cleaned with materials you already have in your pantry (i.e. baking soda and vinegar compose about 90% of the cleaning materials). Therefore, you don't really need to make room for 12 different cleaners. Besides the basic cleaning, so far I've cleaned my coffee pot and my dishwasher--not bad.

Foundation brush

For a long time, I thought foundation brushes were just for women who shellacked lots of foundation and crazy crayon makeup all over their faces religiously. However, in the few times I've had my makeup done professionally, each time the artist has used one. I've been told that the special bristles help spread the makeup evenly, and also, as with all makeup, make it look like you're not wearing any makeup at all. This one from MAC is really nice because the center is angled, allowing you to get into little areas on your face. I however, haven't yet brought myself into debt to purchase an entire set of professional makeup brushes (yikes--their duster brush is $45), but this one from Sonia Kushuk is really nice--I use it to put concealer under my eyes--my #1 makeup must-have.