After a short break for a trip to Las Vegas, I am back and pleased to bring you my full review of Cargo cosmetics, as well as the winner of our recent Supersmile trivia contest. The lucky winner of a year's supply of Supersmile is... Ashley R. from Tacoma, Washington! She was the first person to correctly answer the question, "Name the three (3) boutique beauty brands acquired in 1999 by the luxury goods company Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton." The answer I was looking for was Bliss Spa, Hard Candy, and BeneFit, all acquired in 1999 by Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH). For those of you who included Make Up For Ever in your answer, it was also correct (in case you were wondering). Ashley responded lightning-fast to our question, sending me the correct answer just minutes after the newsletter went out! You've got to be fast to be first around here! Congratulations, Ashley, and good luck to everyone else for next time.

Cargo was created with makeup artists with their needs in mind - natural undertones that flatter any skintone, sheer and blendable colors, and simple packaging with a generous amount of product. Cargo cosmetics have been used in film and television and is quickly becoming a new favorite in Hollywood. Personally, I could care less what a celebrity is wearing - I want to know if it will look good on me. After trying a variety of Cargo's products, I can see why women are drawn to it.

The first thing I noticed about the line is the packaging. Simple silver metal tins and silver colored plastic compacts are minimalist, but wait until you take the lid off of a Cargo lipgloss or blush. Compared to just about every other brand I've tried, the amount of product you get here is huge! You have to see these to believe it! They don't call them "jumbo tins" for nothing.

Liquid Foundation ($22) in Pluto
If you have normal to oily skin and are not particularly prone to breakouts, this is a nice oil-free choice with sheer to medium coverage. It comes in 10 natural looking shades named for planets and constellations, like Saturn and Big Dipper. I really wanted to love this foundation, especially considering that the Pluto color worked well for me, but I found it to be bit too oil controlling for my normal to dry skin. It also contains polyglyceryl-3 diisostearate and triethanolamine - comedogenic ingredients that make my breakout prone skin less than happy.

Wet/Dry Powder Foundation ($22) in Pluto
Wet/Dry comes in the same colors as the Liquid Foundation and is also best for normal to oily skin that is not acne-prone. It also contains several comedogenic ingredients: stearic acid, myristyl myristate, and triethanolamine. If this is not a concern for you, Wet/Dry is a nice choice in powder foundations. The texture is light, the coverage is sheer, and the finish is matte. I found it worked best dry applied with the enclosed sponge or with a powder brush, rather than applied wet. I also like the compact, which is fairly small and houses the sponge in a lower compartment so it's not stewing in the powder. Again, I wanted to love this foundation but it's just not the right fit for my skin.

Loose Powder ($22) in shade 2
I did have excellent luck with this powder, and thankfully it has no comedogenic ingredients. It has a light, silky texture and has a demi-matte finish that I like. It makes the skin look natural, not overly powdery. The color selection is decent; the #2 shade I have is a pale yellow similar to Bobbi Brown Pale Yellow or T. LeClerc Banane.

Pressed Powder ($22) in shade 2
The pressed powder is almost identical to the loose powder, only more portable. The colors are the same and the compact is similar to the Wet/Dry compact, with the powder in the main section and the puff housed in a compartment underneath.

Eyeshadow ($14) in Windsor, Cocoa Beach, and Tuscany
Cargo's philosophy about basic, wearable colors comes through loud and clear with their natural looking eyeshadows. They have a decent amount of pigment, so they last, but the colors are blendable and flattering on any skintone. Windsor is a basic beige, Cocoa Beach is a deep chocolate brown, and Tuscany is a medium camel brown. You can also choose from colors like Chile, Green Bay, Bordeaux, Soho, and Yucatan.

Mascara ($15) in Black
This mascara was the only thing in the line that really did nothing for me. It was clumpy and made my lashes look spiky.

Blush ($19) in Tonga
As I mentioned in my intro., Cargo packages its blush in a large metal tin that is perfect for the proper size blush brush. It's also a fantastic value when you find a color you love since you won't have to buy a new one for a very long time! Tonga is a medium salmon rose color that would natural on both warm and cool skin tones. The powder has a light texture, and although the colors are sheer, a little does go a long way, so be careful not to pick up too much color on your brush at once.

Lipstick ($15) in Ottawa and Dalkeith
These lipsticks have a nice creamy feel and decent staying power. I think next time I would choose different colors, though - Ottawa is a warm orange-red (I look better in cool colors) and Dalkeith, while a beautiful color, is a basic brownish pink that I must have in a dozen other brands. Next time I would try Nevis, Congo, or Bombay.

Lip Gloss ($15) in Bora Bora and Flin Flon
Like the blush, Cargo's lipglosses also come in very generous tins, and you get two colors per tin! Bora Bora has a light rose shade on one side and a darker, medium berry on the other. You can wear each alone, you can mix them, or layer them over your favorite lipstick or lipliner to create the look you want. The texture is creamy but not goopy or sticky, and the level of shine is just right - not too flat but not overly glassy. Flin Flon has a sheer pearly gold on one side and a sheer silver on the other. Alone, they give a little boost of shine to your normal lipcolor; over a favorite lipstick, it gives it shine and a bit of shimmer.

Eye Pencil ($13) in Wood
This is the first eye pencil EVER that I have been able to use to line my lower lid. Every other color I've tried looks terrible (like I got punched!), so I always just line the upper lid. Not only is the texture of this pencil smooth and easy to apply, but the light brown color "wood" gives my blue eyes just the right level of definition without looking harsh or raccoon-ish. It also comes in brown and black.

I also tried a few brushes and tools from Cargo, including the very reasonably priced and fantastic Application Sponge ($5), which beats those wimpy drugstore latex triangles by a mile. Of Cargo's brushes, the most notable are the Dome Blush ($68), Mini Crease ($28), and Jumbo Fluff ($28). All are very soft and give you professional looking results. My only complaint is with the Dome Blush - while it's luxuriously soft and makes applying blush a breeze, every time I used it, at least half a dozen hairs fell out. This should not happen with a brush of this price and quality.

You can find Cargo products online at beauty.com and Sephora.com. If you prefer to shop in a "regular" store (gasp!), Barneys in New York City, Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and Beverly Hills carries the line as well as Sephora in San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, and Northbrook, Illinois. If you happen to be in Canada, Cargo (a Canadian company, by the way) is available at The Bay in Toronto and The Sarum Room in Unionville.