I’ve been reporting for a beauty story and talking to a bunch of experts. One of my favorite interviews has been with Troy Suratt, a celebrity makeup artist and we were talking about shimmer shadows and whether or not they make you look old. I think they do.

I told Troy that I haven’t worn shimmer since 2000, when I was getting ready for my 30th birthday party with a beauty editor friend and she told me that I shouldn’t wear shimmer eye-shadow because it would draw attention to the wrinkles around my eyes. I dropped shimmer from my makeup kit and I dropped her too.

Here’s what he Troy had to say:

“Yes in the past shimmer shadows had a tendency to collect in wrinkles or emphasize  fine lines however today the pigment technology is such that pigments are so micro-jet-milled that the particle size is so small the light-reflecting-pigments actually  bring forgiveness to the eyes and the fine lines around the eyes.”

I’m running to CVS for a champange shade for my lids.

I’m starting a new advice column on Motherblogger. My dear friend, Peter Schaeffer, Ph.D an amazing psychotherapist will also be on hand to answer questions. Here’s the first installment. Send us the questions that are keeping you up all night and we promise to answer them as best we can. My specialty: gifts for friends. Schaeffer’s specialty: all real problems.

Dear Motherblogger,

I want to lose weight before my kid’s school starts so I look good when I see all my old mom friends on the playground at pickup. But it’s only a week away and I refuse to do the Cabbage Diet. I don’t have time to workout because we’re hosting friends for Labor Day weekend and frankly after a summer with my kids my willpower is shot and I need to eat and drink whatever I please to feel happy. Any suggestions?

Signed,

Always a 10, never an 8

Dear 10,

I feel the same way. Somehow I always start off fit in June and soft around the edges in September.  For me summer is like the holiday-time only it lasts for three months. Someone pours me a glass of rose at 2:30 in the afternoon and I think, “What the heck its summer.” Same goes for when I see corn or the cob and lobster salad.  Or I hear the ice cream man ring his jingle. I wave him down, ostensibly for the kids, and order a Toasted Almond bar too telling myself, “What the heck it summer”. When it’s time to start packing school lunches, I’ve packed on a few too.

Now that the weather is cooler though I’m ready to slip into something less forgiving than a tankini and a cover up. A friend invited me shopping today, but I had to work and I was relieved because I wasn’t ready to watch myself try to wiggle into a pair of jeans that are just a wee bit to tight.

So she went off to Nordstrom’s without me and while there she was fitted for a new Wacoal bra. She came back walking taller looking like she lost ten pounds. When I complemented her new silhouette she told me about her new bra and said, “I feel like I’m being supported by a strong man’s hands.”

Cross my heart.

Forget the crash diet, just go get a Wacoal bra. They run about $55. But for an instant drop in dress size, it seems worth the price and come Sept 9th, you’ll feel like you have a brand new body.

I got to roadtest the new Reebok EasyTone sneakers for More.com that are supposed to tone your butt like MBT’s without making you look like you’re wearing orthopedic shoes. Read all about it here.

Given the economic downturn, and the success of Obama’s positive messaging it seems inevitable that there would be a spate of 70s “Hang In There Baby” posters. Though this time around everything is a heck of a lot more chic. Here are some prints I’ve stumbled upon, they are so calming, I’m thinking of calling them Paxil art.

This is not new. It's a reproduction of a British poster that was issued in 1939 before the Germans invaded England. But the message is timeless. Lord knows I could use this in my kitchen when the 7pm witching hour rolls around. $65, keepcalmandcarryon.com

Then there's this beauty by Jennifer Renninger. You could turn to this poster 100 times a day and it would never get annoyed (unlike friends or lovers). $30 (8.5x11) at littlepaperplanes.com

My mother is upset about the economic crisis and has taken to bed. I'm thinking of sending her this one by Lisa Congdon, $35 (8.5x11) at littlepaperplanes.com

The health editor came up to me last summer holding this penguin and asked me if I had any need for this. No, I thought, but I could save it for my son’s school auction. Then the cold came and we had to turn on the heat and I looked like my mom, which normally is a  good thing, but this time I didn’t just resemble her, I had the same wrinkles and everything, and we’re talking before her face lift.

So I broke out this little penguin and he has turned back the clock on my face like a (steam) fountain of youth. And he’s cute to look at too. I hate how important and useful appliances are usually black and shiny with no thought towards the rooms they will live in. But not this guy, he fits right in and now with spring coming I’ll be sorry to see him go.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that I started this blog because of Inge’s presswood bird mobile. It was love at first sight when I spied it at her booth at the New York Gift show and I felt I had to spread the word. The design is simple and clever: you just press the prestrung peices out of a thin wood slab. Babies love mobiles but there’s nothing like dangling stuffed animals to turn your living room into a nursery. (I’ll confess, I deprived babyblogger of a mobile over our downstairs changing area for this very reason). But in this case, I’ll make an exception. You get caught staring whether you’re three months or thirty years old. $50. When I find out who carries it I’ll let you know.