It's been about a month since I gave birth to my second child (a little boy!) and I'm finally ready to get back in the swing of things (I think!). Thank you, everyone, who has wished me and my family well.

To compensate for the lack of sleep, I've been trying new makeup colors and skin care treats to help me look and feel a little better. Here's a peek into my beauty life over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

Stila Color Voyage Collection Fall 2001
Stila always seems to have fun with seasonal color collections, whether it's with the colors themselves or the packaging. This season has a travel theme with Stila girls in exotic locations pictured on the cardboard shadow and blush lids.

The Eye Shadow Trios ($28) introduced last spring are available in new rich shades for fall: Touchdown in Tokyo (pale yellow, dark green and mustard yellow), Road to Rio (pale peach, deep cocoa and terracotta) and Passage to Paris (pale mauve, deep burgundy and fuchsia). The Passage to Paris trio is the most wearable for my fair skin and cool coloring; the others are great for darker or more golden complexions. For lips, you can choose from Lip Color ($16) in Ava (plumy mauve) and Wendy (pink-y mauve) or Lip Glaze ($24) in Vanilla (sheer nude with some shimmer) or Berry (plum pink). Personally, with two kids now, I like a lighter lipcolor that is more foolproof and less likely to get smeared on clothing or tiny faces, so I opt for the Lip Glaze. They also have fun scents and are a cinch to apply - the color dispenses through the attached brush pen.

The fall collection also includes two new shades of All Over Shimmer Powder ($30) in #10 (mauve highlight) and #9 (pink highlight). I like these applied very lightly (over blush or on my eyelids) or the look is too shimmery for me - I'm not 18 anymore :) For nails, the new Nail Shimmer ($12) shade in Isis is a pretty pearly pink-white. My favorite of the collection is the new Cheek Duo ($30) - a dusty rose on one side and a soft mocha on the other. I imagine the darker mocha shade is meant for contouring, but I like to mix a bit of it with the pink to create a color with more depth. They also have a touch of shimmer, so it gives your cheeks a nice highlight.

You can see the full collection and all the shades on Sephora.com and StilaCosmetics.com (complete with store locator to find a counter near you).

N. Reagan Advanced Skin Care
I am amazed at how many skin care brands out there, thanks to the Internet. Every boutique, spa, and salon that has a private label line can be discovered online by women like you who may ordinarily just shop at a local department store. N. Reagan is one such brand - a private label line created by Nancy Reagan (no relation to the former First Lady) for her day spa in Delray Beach, Florida.

For my morning routine, I started with Creamy Mousse Scrub ($33 for 8oz) in the shower. This lightly sudsing liquid scrub has small beads to exfoliate plus milk protein, evening primrose oil and vitamins A, C and E. It feels fairly grainy on the skin, so I wouldn't recommend it for sensitive skin, but it's good if you like to feel like your scrub is doing something. I follow with Refresh Hydrating Toner ($30 for 8oz), an average alcohol-free aloe vera toner, then Oil-Control Gel SPF30 sunscreen, also average. I'm not sure why I was recommended an oil control sunscreen since I have normal to dry skin, but at least the sunscreen didn't make my skin drier. I can't say it was particularly oil absorbing, either... I still like Renee Rouleau's Advanced Protection SPF 30 the best (reneerouleau.com).

At night, I cleansed with Creamy Antioxidant Cleanser ($30 for 8oz), a rich lotion cleanser perfect for dry or sensitive skin that rinses off easily, followed by Refresh Hydrating Toner again, then Tissue Hydrating Gel ($45 for 2oz) or Antioxidant Rich Cream ($45 for 2oz), depending on my skin's need. Tissue Hydrating Gel is extremely light (looks and feels like plain aloe vera gel) and would be best for very oily skin; dry or even normal skin will probably need something more substantial. When I used the hydrating gel on its own, I felt rather dry about 20-30 minutes later and needed to apply a regular moisturizer.

Antioxidant Rich Cream is at the other end of the spectrum - very rich and emollient, thanks to sunflower seed oil and jojoba oil. This cream was too rich for me, especially if I was careless and applied too much. I really need something in between the two moisturizers I tried.

Overall I had a good experience with N. Reagan Advanced Skin Care but none of the products really amazed me. I liked the Creamy Antioxidant Cleanser but doubt I would spend $30 for it when I can buy Aveeno Skin Replenishing Cleansing Lotion (a very similar product) for $6.99 at a drugstore. N. Reagan has some interesting products, like a collection of serums with vitamin C and AHAs, and some interesting face masks, but the basic skin care products are just that - basic.