Although getting samples from department store cosmetic counters is always fun, actually buying the products I try can be a major hit to my wallet. Thankfully, there's a growing number of sources for great cosmetics and skin care at more reasonable prices. This week, my mission was to find products that perform just as well or better than the expensive brands, at a much better price.

With summer only a few months away, it's about that time to start thinking about how best to get, and keep, your skin in good condition. The new sheer pastel colors, and new more natural-looking sunless tanning products, all call for your face to be smooth and polished to look its best. Even though I use an AHA product every night, I also like to use a regular manual scrub from time to time for a more immediate effect. Finding something gentle but still effective had always been a challenge until I tried Avon's Skin Refiner Gentle Action Scrub ($8). What a find! Gentle little wax beads do the work for you so your skin looks fresh and glowing without stripping or drying. A definite buy!

After the success I had with Maybelline's new Great Wear foundation, I had to know if the Great Wear concealer would be just as good. I must have half a dozen concealers in my makeup bag, but none of them is as all-purpose as I'd like. For around $5, Maybelline's Great Wear concealer is terrific for everything from dark undereye circles, little (and not-so-little) red spots, blemishes, and even broken capillaries. Since it is a long wearing product, it "sets" very quickly, so you have to blend the concealer right after applying it. Once it's set, it lasts all day without fading or caking. Finally, a concealer for everything!

One of my pet peeves with most long-wearing lipstick formulas like Revlon ColorStay and L'Oreal Colour Endure is that they are way too dry and crumbly, and they don't last any better than regular lipstick! When I heard from a reader that Christian Dior's new long-wearing lipstick, Rouge Incorruptible, was absolutely fabulous, I hoped this product would change my mind.

While the colors are beautiful and the attached brush is convenient, the amount of work required to actually make Rouge Incorruptible work is, to me, absurd. It must go directly on your lips (to "bond" with them). Then, if it should wear off, which it did for me, you have to completely remove every trace of it before reapplying. Christian Dior claims the lipstick can't "bond" to itself, so you have to start from scratch every time you need to touch up the color! I found touch-ups necessary almost constantly throughout the day after eating or drinking anything. If I applied the lipstick over itself, it crumbled into tiny bits, like globs of paint. As if this isn't torture enough, Christian Dior wants $22.50 for this product! If you are still curious about Rouge Incorruptible, try it on first at the counter and wear it around for a while. Hopefully you won't have the same disastrous results that I did!

My Christian Dior incident led me on a mini-quest for a long-wearing lipstick that I might actually like, and I found Cover Girl's new Marathon lipstick. The range of colors is still fairly small, but the texture is super smooth, it does last much longer than regular lipstick, and it doesn't crumble or cake up. Hooray! All this for under $5 - what more could a girl want?

The Makeup Diva is In! Have you ever wondered what the best way is to care for makeup brushes? This week, the Diva reveals simple steps to caring for your brush investment. Don't miss it!