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.

Marissa is 40 years old, Italian/Polish, with dark brown hair (virgin color) that's now a great shade of red (Garnier), with dark brown eyes and olive skin. She has normal to slightly dry skin, with a touch of redness in the cheeks. She loves the DDF skincare line, and just discovered Avon all over again. Her latest purchase was Clarins Radiance Plus Self-Tanning Cream. Marissa has been and always will be a make-up junkie... loves foundations and lipsticks, and now is on a quest for the perfect bronzer.

BeneFit Maybe Baby body lotion ($22)
Maybe Baby, a flirtatious body lotion, should be named, Yeah, Baby! If you like the Maybe Baby fragrance, you'll love this body lotion. The shimmer is subtle enough that you don't look like Disco Donna if you wear it during the day. And, the fragrance is strong enough that you can smell it, but people around you won't be offended. I was really surprised that the fragrance lasted for such a long time - I could still smell it slightly after about three hours! Yeah, Baby, Maybe Baby, a flirtatious body lotion, is a sure winner! You can find it at benefitcosmetics.com.

OPI Canadian Collection, Lipstick and Liners
First, I love the names of the lipsticks and liners that I had the opportunity to try. Second, let me just say that the liners are the EXACT color of the lipsticks. I'm not too sure I've ever had a liner and lipstick in the exact shade. But I like it. The liners are very thin and self-sharpening, and the lipsticks had a nice consistency, no yucky smell and stayed on through my first two cups of coffee. Nice Color, Eh? is a bright berry color that looked just as good with a tan as it does now in the fall with my considerably lighter skin. This is a color that would look good on almost everyone. Niagara Falls for OPI is a medium brownish/pink that I like for an everyday look. Mauving to Manatoba was the only color that didn't look good on me at all, however, it looked great on my friend Fran, who was very tan at the time and has dark, dark hair. The purplish/plum color was perfect for her. Like all OPI Products, these colors will be a sure hit this fall. You can see the shades at opi.com.

BECCA Silky Hydrating Primer ($32)
I never liked the primers of the past, when they first started becoming popular; I always thought they were too heavy on my face. The latest round of primers, however, are much lighter and softer. The BECCA Silky Hydrating Primer is a good example of what a moisturizing primer should be. It's light and makes your skin feel, well, silky, for lack of a better word! The Primer was not shimmery and didn't make my skin feel over moisturized especially when I had already put on my daily moisturizer. However, I didn't see a great big difference in using the primer and not using the primer when I wore foundation. What I did like about this primer was the way it made my skin look WITHOUT foundation. I still have a little bit of a tan left on my skin and this just enhanced my natural skin tone. I really like wearing this on the weekends when I don't wear foundation. Go figure! This primer will be a nice addition to your makeup collection, however you wear it! You can find BECCA at beccacosmetics.com and Sephora.com.

Estee Lauder Future Perfect Anti-Wrinkle Radiance Creme with SPF 15 ($45 for one ounce, $65 for 1.7oz)
Normally, I don't use Estee Lauder skin care. I always buy some color from their line if the GWP is pretty good but I never purchased a skin care product. When I got this new cream to try, I was excited thinking it's going to be a great all-in-one cream - a glowing complexion, with less wrinkles and SPF to boot. WRONG, at least for me. I wore this for two days, and have to say that I really liked it, but... well, let's start with the good. The consistency is light and fluffy and it does feel good on your skin. My skin looked more radiant on day one and day two, but by the end of day two I had big honking eruptions on my face, with about three or four big pimples that I attribute to this cream. Normally, I don't break out with skin care, but something didn't click for me. While it didn't work for me, that's not to say that it won't work for you... Estee Lauder is sold in most department stores and on Gloss.com.

Lola Loves Lips Lip Trio ($25)
Anyone who knows about Lola Cosmetics knows that founder Victoria Jackson once had another cosmetic line, Victoria Jackson Cosmetics. One of the staples of that line was her lip compact that had a powder lip glimmer along with three lipsticks. Well, she's taken this concept and made it 100X better with her new Lola Lip Trio. The trio comes in three different colors, a berry, a pink and a nude, and has a lip plumper, a matching gloss and a silky, powdery color to wear as a stain. I bought the berry trio, and really like it. The lip plumper tastes nice and tingles a little bit after you put it on. The stain is the real star of this, as you can wear it by itself for a matte look or mix with the gloss and plumper for a rich look. I really like the versatility of this product, because you can mix and match with just about any other lipstick or gloss that you have. And, for $25 this is a great buy! You can buy Lola Cosmetics at Sephora.com.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report! Also, be sure to check in on our updates to the Gift Guide. You won't want to miss these amazing deals!