What They Say: "Rich and emollient, Sephora's Brown Milk of Palm Bath Collection is sensuous, tender body care that is enriched with palm milk, known for its highly effective skin nourishing and hydrating properties.

Lock-in moisture as you impart a healthy glow to the skin with the luxurious body balm or velvety body lotion."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: I love this lotion so much that I sometimes don't want to use it because I don't want to run out of it! It's SO silky and fluffy, yet has a wonderfully lasting effect on the skin. And the smell? OH. MY. It somehow becomes an incredibly chocolate-y/marshmallow-y/yummmmm-y smelling magical potion that puts me in the best mood. Definitely worth a try!

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*Update 10/08/05: Unfortunately, this item is no longer available from Sephora.

What They Say: "Add a little flirt to your wink naturally with these finely graduated, strip lashes that softly enhance your natural lash line, without looking overdone. Use the half strips for day to give a cat-like lift to the outer corners of the eyes, and the full-length strips for evening for a fabulously-flirty flutter.

Set includes one half strip and one full strip of lashes, plus a tube of lash adhesive.
To use: Remove one strip of lashes (either half or full) from the case at a time. Pierce the top of the adhesive tube with a small pin and apply a fine, oblong bead of glue along the entire length of the lash strip. Allow adhesive to set for 30-60 seconds until tacky, then apply the lash strip to the base of your natural lashes in the center first (to be sure it's centered properly), working from the center outward to the outer corners. Apply mascara if desired. "

Jen's Experience: A few weeks ago we had a roundtable discussion where I revealed my deep-seated fear of gluing anything onto my eyes, and several of you piped up and assured me that I would not, in fact, glue my eyes shut. So, I thought, "What the heck? I'll try out some falsies to enhance my Halloween costume."

I picked out this lash duo from Sephora because of the fairly decent price tag, but I have little to compare it to on the way of effectiveness. The lash duo comes with a small strip of lashes to use on the corners as well as a full strip. I will be wearing the full strip to all the Halloween parties starting this evening, but I've actually worn the half strips to work, and I really like the way it turned out, but I have to say, gluing my eyes shut seemed like a distinct possibility when I first tried to put them on.

Right out of the package, they have a bit of adhesiveness, but I also took out the glue and used that. I read the ingredients of the glue (ammonia, etc) and nearly decided not to try this out, but since this would not be a regular item in my routine (or will it?), I decided it was okay for now. I put on a small bead of glue as it recommended and waited the recommended time before applying to my eye, but I still found it too liquid to work with. More time (like a minute or so) would be a better recommendation. Putting the lash strip on the right side was easy since I'm right handed, but the left side was quite an adventure. I've been able to line them up right with practice.

I've also been able to reduce the amount of extra glue after a while as well (extra glue gets caught in the fake and natural lashes and is very noticable and not at all attractive), but that sometimes results in them coming off midday. There's certainly a balance there, and I haven't yet mastered it.

Once on, they're very obvious until I put on my eye makeup. In addition to my regular eyeshadow, I use black gel eyeliner to blend in the base of the strip, lash primer on my natural lashes, and DiorShow mascara on the remainder of my lashes.

Even with minimal make-up, the look is more natural than I expected and very pretty, so I can see why people would regularly wear falsies or get lash extensions. I was only occasionally bothered by the half-strips, but I can see how full strips would be too heavy for everyday use. Overall, I think that I would like to try some of the Shu Uemura or MAC lashes for comparison, but for those who are looking for some fake lashes to play with, this was a great little starter kit.

Retail Price: $8.00 (Sephora)

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What They Say: "Coat lips with a glistening, glassy color with these innovative tube glosses. Just a gentle squeeze of the tube sends a wash of sexy shine over lips. The convenient applicator tip makes perfecting your pout goof-proof! Available in cream and shimmer shades."

Melissa's DeLush Downlow: First, the plus side: these glosses come in an amazing array of very pretty colors. The negatives: the taste is not that great (I tried, but just couldn't make myself keep it on any time I pulled it out of my drawer) and it feels very slick and a bit gloppy. If you can deal with the flavor issue, it might help you enlarge your gloss color options, otherwise, keep walking.

Retail Price: $10.00 (www.sephora.com)

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I have been using this lip balm for a couple of years now on and off, but I added it to my daily lineup recently and have fallen back in love with it.  And now it comes in GOLD as well as clear.

From the Sephora website: "Change a face, change a life. Sephora, the world's largest beauty retailer, has joined forces with Operation Smile, a not-for-profit medical service organization whose volunteers provide the surgery and supplies needed to repair cleft lips and palates, burns, tumors and other birth defects for underprivileged children around the world.

All net proceeds of this moisturizing, SPF 15 Lip Baume (for men and women) will be donated to Operation Smile. When you purchase a Lip Baume, you, too, can help make a difference in the lives of some remarkable people, one smile at a time."

My Experience:  I used to have a tube of this in every purse I owned.  Actually, if I take out a purse, there's a good chance there's a tube there waiting for me.  It doesn't take the place of lipstick or gloss, but when your lips are really chapped, as they often are in winter, this feels terrific on your lips.  It's got some menthol or something else that cools and tingles to let you know it's working.  Recently, I discovered that it feels great to sleep in, and smoothes your lips while you are sleeping so that your lipstick applies like magic the next day.

Tips:  I exfoliate my lips a little in my evening bath by rubbing a washcloth over them gently, and then apply a thick layer of the baume before I go to bed.

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Reviewed By: Jen