Ab Art Project

Geez, why am I getting up at 5am for a fitness bootcamp when I could just create abs of steel in a few minutes with this Abs in a Box kit? Evidently countless other women have had the same lightbulb flash; the kit's sold out for now, and there's a waiting list.

The kit, by IT Cosmetics, provides stencils, stains, shadows and highlighters, contouring brushes, a "Library of Secrets Manual" (very Harry Potterish!), a setting spray, and more. The kit seems to work best if you're at least slenderish, as shown in the photo at right. The results seem pretty impressive, but it's hard to assess difficulty level. Perhaps it's something friends could help each other out with -- a new spa party option!

If you're taut and toned but your man isn't, put the man's version under the tree this year. (You could always soften the blow by buying tix for an island vacation.)

It's... Alive! (your skin, that is...)

Recently I was on Sephora.com, looking for some juicy dishing on new products via their new "Ratings and Reviews" system. I love the tell-it-sister nature of learning about a product via people who have bought and used it. (And something tells me that Sephora's R&R will be more fun than, say, reading Amazon reviews.) The review system has only been up a week, so it's time for everyone to get over there and spill your guts about your raves, faves, and guilty pleasures!

Anyway -- in the new product section I came across this: Alive! by Tricia Sawyer. Tagline: "A moisturizing enhancer infused with botanical oils and color to give skin the look and feel of being alive."

Well, I thought my skin was already alive, but just in case I need help convincing others, this product is easily applied (hmm) "over existing skincare regimens and foundation." The thought of applying anything over foundation makes me want to break out on the spot, but you know what? The sweet phrase "sheer rosy bronze" is making me take a second look. At $36 it's a pricey buy for an unknown, but here's hoping I can go into the actual store and test the product. If you've test-driven this one, skedaddle over to Sephora and kick that ratings system into high gear!

What I'm loving now

I wouldn't go back to my teens or early 20s if you paid me a million bucks--but I have no objections to looking like I'm still a fresh-faced beauty. That's why I was so thrilled when a friend of mine in the beauty biz sent me Benefit's 10 Bronzing and Highlighting Face Powder Duo.

Sheer genius! The pinky/peachy combo gives a serious youth-boosting flush--without making me look like I'm trying to hard to recapture my youth.