After a much needed vacation to New York City (for great food and outstanding theater) and New England (for long overdue family visits), I am back and ready to share my cosmetic adventures from the Big Apple!

Being the cosmetic enthusiast that I am, I always spend more time planning what makeup and skin care I'm going to take on a trip than I do planning what to wear. Just before my trip, I decided to pick up Shiseido's new Liquid Compact Makeup ($25 for foundation, $10 for airtight compact) to take with me. It looks very much like the Vincent Longo Water Canvas makeup that I like so much, so I was curious how it would compare.

Liquid Compact is a medium coverage cream makeup with SPF 15 sun protection that feels like a liquid but sets to a natural, demi-matte finish. Much like the Longo Water Canvas, Liquid Compact has a high water content and needs to be housed in its special airtight compact. Liquid Compact works great for any skin type (even drier skins that can't normally wear compact makeup), and it comes in all the regular Shiseido foundation shades. While it has a bit more coverage than the Longo product, the look and feel is still very natural, like you aren't wearing any foundation. For its light feel, natural look, portability, great sun protection, and fairly reasonable price, I readily give Shiseido Liquid Compact Makeup 5 out of 5 stars.

While in NYC, I was determined to at least see the much talked about Japanese skin care and makeup line, Awake. Located in Henri Bendel's department store on 5th Avenue and West 56th Street in Manhattan, Awake skin care and makeup contain botanical ingredients, anti-oxidants, and specially treated pigments that help prevent irritation to the skin. When a very friendly salesperson invited me to a free consultation and makeup application, how could I refuse?

My face was first cleansed and conditioned with Awake's Lotion Refresher, an alcohol-free, botanical toner designed for all skin types. It was cool and refreshing, leaving my skin feeling soft and supple. Next, Awake's signature product (and the most expensive item in the line at $60), Nano Essence oil-free gel moisturizer, was applied all over my face as a moisturizer and base for my makeup. Nano Essence contains a cucumber-derived ingredient called SOD (super oxide dismutase) that is supposed to be the most effective anti-oxidant and free radical scavenger you can get. I couldn't tell if it was working (how can you, really?), but the lightweight gel felt incredibly refreshing while still giving my normal to dry skin the moisture it needed. I liked it, especially compared to the heavy creams and lotions I normally use, so I might consider spending the $60 for it...

The final skin care step was a thin layer of Hydro-Plus Eye gel around each eye. The gel contains liquid crystals, vitamin E, ginseng, and horsetail extracts to help reduce puffiness and keep the eye area moisturized. Again, the gel was nice and light, and very refreshing.

My makeup application included a base of Bisque oil-free foundation and Bisque cream concealer topped with a light dusting of Ivory loose powder. Although the oil-free foundation is considered full coverage, I found you can adjust the coverage to suit your needs, and it still looks fresh and natural, not heavy or masky. This mid-morning application lasted all day and looked fresh into the night through dinner and the theater without caking, streaking, or changing color.

For color, the artist used Peach Ivory and African Violet eye shadows (both gorgeous), Raisin blush (a fantastic light pink-plum shade), and Pine lipliner (neutral brown pink) with Gypsy Rose lipgloss on my lips. All the color cosmetics are soft and wearable shades that would look great on anyone. If you find yourself in NYC, I would highly recommend a visit to the Awake counter at Bendel's.

After my makeover at Awake, my next stop was Bliss Spa for a tube of my favorite Remede cleanser, Milky Wash ($28), and a tube of their Sweep gentle facial exfoliant ($36). I had heard about Sweep and was dying to try it, especially to see if it's worth $36! Unlike most scrubs with crushed seeds or little wax beads, Sweep gets its scrubbing action from superfine marble powder. Just a small dab of Sweep either alone or mixed in with your cleanser gives just the right amount of exfoliation. Sweep is drier and finer than most scrubs, so be careful not to scrub too vigorously. I like it and give it 4 out of 5 stars, but I doubt I'd pay $36 again for it.

It's Beauty Pack time again here at Cosmetic Connection! Congratulations to April's lucky winners... Wendy Coleman of Lewisville, Texas, and Debra Myers of Fair Oaks, California! April is the last month of our Beauty Pack contest, so thanks to everyone who signed up. We hope you enjoyed all your free goodies!

Just when I thought things couldn't get any more exciting with Cosmetic Connection, I recently got some very exciting news to share with you all - I am beginning work on Cosmetic Connection the book! This incredible undertaking means I've got to make a few changes with Cosmetic Connection, including the end of our Personal Shopper Service. Although the service is gone, our new Product Finder Resource will help you contact a wide variety of cosmetic companies for product information and store locations near you. I hope you find this list useful and handy. If you have recently submitted a Personal Shopper Service request, I will get to as many of them as I can.