Welcome to this week's Cosmetic Report^™ newsletter. It's our goal to bring you unbiased information about cosmetic products and trends so you can make educated buying decisions. If you've been searching for straightforward beauty information and advice, you've found it here. The Cosmetic Connection Panel of reviewers are consumers just like you who face the same issues and challenges, and look to the beauty industry to help solve them.

In this issue of The Cosmetic Report, Kristen takes us through the aisles at the drugstore and finds some great colors from NYC and Revlon.

Kristen is 28 years old and from a Texas town just east of Houston. Kristen frequently makes trips to Houston for cosmetics and skincare and the people at the Laura Mercier counter and the Sephora store know her by name. She has combination skin that is exacerbated in the summer (due to the extreme humidity in Texas) and normal to dry in the winter. She is acne prone with redness around the nose and chin and a handful of red acne scars, which she is always looking for something to even those out. Kristen has large, almond-shaped blue/green eyes that she considers to be her best feature.

My first experience with NYC (New York Color) was while my husband and I were Christmas shopping in Wal-Mart. They had these little makeup bags out with an eyeshadow trio, a blush with a brush, and a mini lip gloss. I grabbed one in haste thinking if they were horrible, I only spent $5.00 on them. I love pink and smoky shades and this set caught my eye because it had a pink blush with a pink, charcoal black and white eyeshadow shades. The lip gloss looks like a brown champagne color and I didn't think it would go with the pink colors, but it went on sheer and worked perfectly. I will say that the pink blush looks almost clownish in the container, but goes on incredibly sheer and provides a nice, flushed glow to your cheeks. The eyeshadow trio is perfect for creating the smoky eye. I like to smudge the charcoal black shade along my lower lash line after I've applied my liner. I also use it on my lid, then blend with the pink shade in the crease and highlight with the white shade on the brow bone. I can't say that they were the smoothest or silkiest eye shades, but they went on well enough and were very pretty.

Since I liked the set I bought, I couldn't resist picking up a lip gloss while perusing in the makeup department of my local Walgreens. On an impulse I picked up NYC Brush-On Lip Glaze in my favorite lip color, a pink shade called Brilliant. While it looks almost like "Barbie pink" in the tube, it certainly didn't go on like that. It's smooth in texture and didn't feel tacky or gooey, and it's shiny. My first thought was, "I can't believe this is a cheap drugstore product!" This is my favorite lip product right now. It seems to just go with everything. The brush applicator took some getting used to because the bristles would sometimes get distorted, but at $2.99 and the nice color, it's well worth the effort. Also, it has a fruity smell and taste, which I like. I loved this product so much that I went back and bought two others in Adorable (a red), and Beautiful (a shimmery mauve). Adorable looks very red in the tube, but it goes on very sheer and you can put on more if you want more color. I really like those colors too, but Brilliant is such a wonderful, pretty shade that would look good on anybody.

My next trip to the drugstore, I saw these cute little containers of powder from NYC in a myriad of pale, shimmery shades. Sparkle Eye Dust comes in a twist-top, clear plastic container and the packaging is rather unique, and hard to explain. Upon inspection, the bottom half of the container has the powder and the top half has the handle of the brush that sits down in the lower half where the powder is and it has a twist top to accommodate the handle of the brush (get all that? Phew!). The brush doesn't actually sit in the powder, but in an "inner ring" with a hole at the bottom so the brush can get to the powder. Ok, that was confusing for me, so I guess you'll have to go buy one for only $3.29 to check it out. I bought three colors in Baby Blue, Karat Rose, and Opal Sparkle. Baby Blue is as the name implies, a soft baby blue color and my favorite of the three. Karat Rose is a dusty rose shade, and Opal Sparkle looks white in the container, but it's got a iridescent sheen to it and the sparkles look lavender to me when the lights hit it. All three have a shimmery sheen to them and it doesn't look like I am trying to be 14 again. They are so easy to apply and go on silky smooth. You can apply it lightly and get a bit of brightness, or you apply more and have more color, but it never, ever looks clownish. I even like the brush because it is soft and actually useful considering all tools accompanied with cosmetics from the drugstore are virtually useless. I must say that I am a shimmer freak. I love anything that has a shimmer or gleam to it. It's safe to say that I've spent a lot of money on such products over the years and I must say that this the best one I've used.

Since I've been so impressed with my recent finds at the drugstore, I picked up the new cream eyeshadow from Revlon called EyeGlide Shimmer Shadow in Charcoal. I really like the application. It is a pen with an applicator sponge at the top and when you twist it, the product comes out of the sponge. It is exactly like the ones from Smashbox, but so much cheaper and works just as well, if not better. I love this shade, a charcoal with a bit of shimmer to it, and I love the product. The pen-like concept with the sponge makes application easy. One of the things I've never liked about cream shadows is having to apply it with your fingers and since I wear acrylic nails, I really can't apply it to my lids, especially in the inner corners. The texture is very smooth and it doesn't dry quickly, so you have a chance to touch up if necessary before it dries. After having worn it to work, I found that it slightly creased after about 5 hours, but it wasn't that bad and the rest of the color didn't fade. There are a bunch of other colors that I will definitely go back and buy after having liked this one so much.

When Revlon came out with the Illuminance Cream Shadow Quad a few years ago, I bought one set and remember liking it a lot. I bought another new quad in a smoky charcoal shade, a pale pink shade, a metallic silvery blue shade, and a silvery gunmetal shade. I love, love, love shades like these and I love this product, too. They are so goof-proof because they are so creamy and silky upon application. They also go on as sheer as you want them, or layer them for more depth. After using this and the new EyeGlide, I am really getting used to cream products, which I have been resistant to for so long. Most of the other ones I've tried years ago weren't easy to apply, but they've come such a long way and it's so hard to make a mistake or look clownish. I like to refer to this quad as "cream eyeshadows for beginners." Definitely get to the store and get some of these products!

After having used these products, I am still amazed that I found such wonderful products for so cheap. I hate to admit it, but I used to think the best of the best in cosmetics were found in expensive department stores and the more expensive it was, the better it was. Well, since I've been reviewing, I tend to try out things I normally wouldn't. I also realize that not all women have the means to buy expensive stuff, or maybe they don't want to, and I like to find nice, more affordable alternatives or just good products, period. Not everyone shops at Dillard's or Neiman Marcus for cosmetics and when I find something in the drugstore that is quite impressive, I am more excited than when I find something expensive. While I think there are things to spend money on, like a good foundation, concealer and powder, I tend to not spend as much money on lip glosses, blushes and eye colors. I am certainly learning that I doesn't take a lot of money to look fabulous.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!