Thanks to all of you who shared your cosmetic counter experiences with me. Being a makeup artist or working in the cosmetic industry doesn't have to just be about sales - it really can be about serving people. I'm glad I found evidence that there are people actually doing that!

Over the past few weeks, I've been busily testing the one product we always seem to have a heightened need for in the summer - facial masks. Whether you've got acne-prone, oily, or just plain dull looking skin, I have found a mask for you!

My absolute favorite of the bunch is Philosophy's Deeply Superficial enzyme mask ($18 for a 2 ounce jar). When you want the spa facial feeling at home, use this. It exfoliates both with ground-up corn cob meal and with fruit enzymes from pineapple and papaya, as well as soothing the skin with honey (the mask's first ingredient). This mask does have some kaolin clay, but not so much that the mask, or your face, feels tight or dry either while you're wearing it or after you've rinsed it off. For a great overall skin refreshing mask, I highly recommend this one.

For a more all-over oily skin type, sometimes a clay mask is just what the skin needs to feel clean and refreshed. Trish McEvoy's Exfoliating Mask ($30 for 2 ounces) will do the job to absorb oil and leave the skin with that super clean feeling. While this mask is a fine choice, I have a hard time recommending that anyone spend $30 for it, unless for some reason you really believe in what the Trish McEvoy line is all about. My old favorite Sea Mineral Mud Mask from Garden Botanika is just as good for a lot less money; you can get a 4 ounce jar for only $12.50.

Kiehl's Rare Earth Facial Cleansing Mask ($16.50 for 5 ounces) is another good clay mask, but this one is fairly heavy duty. I used this Kiehl's mask only on the spots of my face that were either seriously oily or had an enlarged blemish that just wouldn't go away, and it worked great (actually draws the oil and gross stuff right out of the pimple, much like Kiehl's Drawing Paste). Putting this mask on my whole face, however, is something I wouldn't do unless I was very oily all over, all the time.

For those really stubborn acne blemishes that keep hanging around, sometimes spot treatment with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid doesn't quite do the trick. Origins figured this out and recently introduced a new mask called Out Of Trouble ($17.50). It was designed to be a more advanced treatment product than their Spot Remover blemish gel to specifically be used as a spot treatment mask (not for your whole face) to tackle active pimples. The active ingredients of camphor and menthol make it smell almost exactly like Noxzema, but I've found that this mask actually does help when used sparingly (unlike the extremely harsh ingredients in Noxzema). I found the best way to use Out Of Trouble is to apply it as a mask to the problem spots, rinse it off when it's dried, then reapply a very thin layer before you go to sleep to the affected areas, like you would a normal acne treatment product. This extra step really worked for me on some of my more resistant blemishes.

Speaking of incredibly nasty pimples and such (grin - we're all friends here, right?), I've found a terrific product that actually works to keep blackheads under control. At drugstores and supermarkets now are Pore Perfect Deep Cleansing Strips by a company called Biore. These strips are designed just for those stubborn blackheads you get on your nose; you apply the strip to a wet nose, press it on firmly, let it dry for 15 minutes, then peel it off. You will find, just as I did, the contents of just about every blocked pore that was on your nose now stuck to this strip! Amazing! At around $5-6 for a box of 6 strips, you've got 6 weeks worth of clean pores for a really great price.

Even though we often think of summer as being the time of year when everyone has oily skin, there are still plenty of people with normal or dry skin who can benefit from a weekly mask, too. My all-time favorite hydrating mask is the Seaweed Mud Mask from BeneFit ($19 for a 2 ounce jar). Not only does it feel cool and soothing going on, but it really hydrates the skin without leaving it feeling greasy like a heavy cream can. If you follow the directions and spritz your face with water every few minutes while the mask is "working", you'll really notice your skin feels "full" of moisture. Try it and see for yourself!

For those of you who have been Cosmetic Report subscribers since the beginning, I'm sure you'll remember our $10 Challenge series. The goal of the $10 Challenge was to see just how far $10 could go toward cool makeup products at a local drugstore. This week, I am excited to introduce a new crop of products for our third $10 Challenge:

1. Maybelline Expert Eyes eyeshadow quad in The Suedes (matte) $3.55
2. Maybelline Express Finish nail polish in Pearl $2.55
3. Almay Amazing Lash Waterproof mascara $3.95 (with $1 off coupon)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Total: $10.05

The Makeup Diva is In! It's back to basics for the Diva this week with a reader question about exfoliation. It's Friday - have you done your mask yet this week? Don't miss it!

It's Beauty Pack time again here at Cosmetic Connection! Congratulations to June's lucky winners... Margaret Fox from Guerneville, California, and Kelly Hughart from Evans, West Virginia! July could be your lucky month to win a customized Beauty Pack of cosmetic and skin care samples. All you have to do is enter(one entry per person, please)!

Next week's report will feature reviews of Avon Anew Retinol Recovery Complex ($17.50), Kiehl's Ultra Protection Moisturizing Eye Gel SPF 18 ($28.50) and much more.