Welcome to the 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.

Lisa is in her early thirties, and hails from from Columbus, OH. She has very fair skin that tends to be "combination," with unexpected rages of sensitivity. Lisa's heritage is rather mixed - mostly Hungarian, with some Scottish and French mixed in with a dash of Native American. Her very fair skin tans like nobody's business, and produces a myriad of freckles, so she always wears plenty of sunscreen (Peter Thomas Roth Ultra-lite spf 30). Lisa has golden-green eyes, and mop-thick brown hair, which she keeps under control with Terax Conditioner. Lisa's main beauty concerns are puffy, sensitive, "circled" eyes, (which she remedies with Creme de La Mer applied at night, and Avon Lighten Up Plus in the daytime) and keeping her sensitive skin calm and clear.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Truly, fall is my favorite season; the chill in the air, trees crowned with every hue of red, orange, and gold - I adore every bit of it. Now, winter I'm not so wild about, but I just bundle up and wait for spring :) After the heat and humidity of a Midwestern summer (albeit, a fairly mild one this year) I'm enjoying some serious cosmetic goodness now that it is colder. I love adding a few trendy, new items to my collection of tried and true favorites with the change of seasons. Summer is all about simplicity and ease, but with richer fabrics and deeper colors, makeup is just a heck of a lot more fun, come autumn and winter.

So what's going on in the world of makeup this season? Luxe is a good word to describe it; burnished, shimmering eyeshadow, matte foundation, and berry-soaked lips - very rich and sophisticated. Green is also a very hot color this year, which is nice because there is at least one shade that will work for you. You can play the look conservative, with perfectly painted, opaque lipcolor, matte skin, a swipe of gold eyeshadow, and lots of black mascara. Conversely, you can do it up rebel-rockster with messy, smoky copper shadow, and just a hint of plum stain on lips. Whatever is more "you," the look is cool, pretty, and workable. The cold weather face is decidedly more "done" this year.

I've been having an absolute ball playing with some of the great new colors and formulas. So, without further ado, on to my annual fall and winter color report for 2004!

First, I'd like to give my props to something other than makeup - at-home hair color from L'Oreal! What better way to accent new makeup than with some fabulous, shiny tresses? However, with some changes to the Phillips' family budget (my husband is starting a graphic design business here in Columbus - very exciting and wonderful!), I'm much pickier with how I spend our money. $100+ salon color jobs just aren't happening right now, so I've started coloring my hair at home again. Home hair color has come a LONG way since I last did my own color. I have been absolutely delighted with L'Oreal Couleur Experte (about $20). I have very ashy, light brown hair that normally makes me look a bit washed out and sickly, so I like to use a base shade about 2 shades darker than my natural color to give it a bit of depth. This 2-step kit gives you a really lovely, translucent base shade, and an additional hi-lift formula you apply to add highlights. I typically choose something in the "level 6" range, so I get medium brown with gold highlights. I was amazed that the highlights turned out a buttery, soft, golden blond. People have been asking me who my colorist is, and I take great delight in telling them that all they need is a box of drugstore color.

Now, a word about highlights: Practice makes perfect. Trust me - you won't be an "experte" the first time you do it. Highlight judiciously and carefully the first couple of times, and get a feel for how it works. Make no mistake, this is bleach, not dye that will lighten a shade or two, so it will be fairly bright. Part your hair as you normally do, and take very, very thin pieces along the part, starting in the front and working back. Don't cut the highlight processing time short - you'll end up brassy. If anything, give it an extra 3-5 minutes to fully lift. Don't bother with the wand they give you, as it tends to comb out the bleach, and you really do need a fairly thick, even layer to get good highlights. Just use the gloves, and a rattail comb to pull pieces taut, and then apply evenly and thickly from root to end with your gloved fingers. Keep a ratty towel close to wipe fingers after each highlight is applied. You'll be a pro in no time flat! After you get a good idea of how the results will look, then you can get really adventurous about the third time you color. I also like to shampoo with a detoxifying formula (Rusk Clarify Shampoo is a new favorite - it makes my hair very soft and shiny!) every 7 days to keep the highlights from turning brassy.

Now that your hair is rockin', all you need is some great fall color for your face!

Benefit Cosmetics has released two great makeup palettes, Hoola Hues and Decked Out Dandelion. Hoola Hues is brown based, and has a shimmery mocha lipstick, two neutral eyeshadows (ivory and taupey-bronze) and Hoola, their great bronzing powder. I love how Hoola Hues warms my complexion, and gives me a nice, safe touch of "sun-kissed." Decked Out Dandelion is pink-based, and has a soft, rose lip cream, two pinky-mauve eyeshadows, and Dandelion powder to give your cheeks a rosy flush - very pretty and flattering. I also appreciate that each palette comes with a lipbrush/sponge eyeshadow applicator and a good-sized brush for the facial powders; they are nice quality, and while you might prefer using larger brushes at home, these will definitely work when traveling. These kits are just too cool.

Both palettes will work on a variety of skin tones (I'm very pale, and neither set made me look too "done"). At $28 each, Hoola Hues and Decked Out Dandelion will go quickly, so be sure to grab a couple - one for you, and one to be given as a fabulous gift for any makeup maven on your list. You can find them at benefitcosmetics.com and Sephora.com.

Stila Cosmetics has also embraced the "mini-palette" concept with their "Fiercely Feminine" collection. Each little palette, which contains a cheek color and three eye shadows, is shaped like clutch purse, and has a buckle. The three lipsticks, all of which complement the cheek and eye shades, all come in burgundy paper tubes that look like leather.

I tried the Fierce Auburn and Fierce Sage collections, and all three lipsticks, Dawn (very light champagne), Ginger (nude rose gold), and Amber (sheer wine). The cheek colors were more natural and matte (one was peach, the other a very soft, light taupey-brown) while the eye colors were very shimmery, and ranged from softest gold to deep sage and brown - neutral, but with a sparkling punch. As usual, Stila quality is what makes these items really special. The eye shadow has incredible pigment, and it so finely-milled it lasts and lasts. My only complaint - the shadow is so "soft," that even barely tapping the brush in the color results in picking up LOTS of shadow that just finds its way all over your counter and sink. While the cheek color was a bit warmer than I would normally choose, it worked beautifully with my pale complexion, and added some nice warmth without looking orange. Of the three lipsticks, I liked Amber the best - while the color is deep, it is neutral, and the sheer formula was very moisturizing. Dawn was a little too light for me, and Ginger, while pretty on pale skin, will look absolutely smashing with a faux tan.

If you like to experiment with new shades, but don't want to spend big cash, check out Maybelline's Greene St. Collection. Green is HUGE this season, so if you want a couple of trendy items, this is a great place to start. Eyes are the focus, with shadows in every hue of jade and emerald, while cheeks and lips are barely tinted with the softest shades of mauve, berry, and nude. Don't worry about the "don't wear green eyecolor if your eyes are green" rule - the color green has so many iterations, you'll find one that will work for you. I love the Liquid Eyes shadow in Green Light and Jade Shade - the creamy formula applies easily, and wears well. Brush Blush in You Mauve Me is very sheer, probably too light for medium to dark complexions, but absolutely beautiful and natural for fair to light skin. Of the two lipsticks, I really like the Forever Lipcolor in Spice Tea (neutral mocha-rose) - it wore wonderfully, and kept my kisser soft and moisturized. However, the Wet Shine Liquid Lip Color in Sooo Berry Cool was a disappointment. The color was nice, but it felt goopy and waxy on, and left the "white ring" of caked lipcolor on my lips in just a couple of hours. Yuck. I like Neutrogena Moisture Shine and Sonia Kashuk lipgloss far better, for about the same price.

So, there you go. Great hair color and great cosmetics abound to keep you looking hot as the temperature drops! Now, go forth and be gorgeous.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!