It’s definitely too early in the season to spend a day at the beach or in the tanning booth (not good for your skin, either) and probably a bit early for self-tanning products unless you’re gearing up your color for a special event or a cruise. With no base color your trusty bronzer may not look as healthy and blended as you’d like. Plus, your skin is still recovering from winter’s harsh weather (even this spring is cooler than usual).

How about a moisturizer, sunscreen and skin tint all in one? Sephora’s Tinted Moisturizer is sheer with just a hint of color. It leaves a satin finish to your skin, so you never see or feel anything heavy or caky. On top of that it nourishes your skin with Vitamins A, C and E. The perfect foundation for the transition into spring. Comes in 5 shades from light to deep and bronze.

One of the great things about Christmas gifts from my daughter is the way she manages to find something very nice that still fits her budget. She has a knack for finding the items that are greatest in value and (dare I say it?) elegance at the trusty dollar store.

This year she picked up a moisture drenched lipstick in a luscious raspberry red, flecked throughout with tiny bits of glitter that shine and catch the light. Unfortunately, it’s a discontinued Aziza lip color so I won’t be able to replace it once it’s gone. Perhaps that adds to the value of it for me; it’s already rare. I am not one who normally goes in for lots of glitter on my lips, but the holiday season isn’t over yet as New Year’s approaches and I may have plans for this little gem-like lip color.

Nevertheless, I so liked the glittery look and imagining how that will catch attention at any New Year’s gathering, I went out in search of something that might work as a substitute for anyone looking for a special shimmer come midnight Dec. 31st.

These Glitter Tube Tints from Bobbi Brown come in a set of three shades. If the picture shows the color faithfully, then the darkest shade on the left is close to what I have. A good choice if you like something light with the sheer quality of a gloss.

The closest contender as a replacement might be Glitter Lipstick by Sephora. There’s a good selection in the shades and it goes on like a lipstick but can be worn over another lipstick or under gloss.

After a long day or an exciting evening, it is tempting to skip cleansing routines and flop into bed with the day’s makeup still on our faces. While doing this occasionally will probably cause no great harm, doing it routinely can clog pores, irritate delicate skin and generally make skin look tired and dry.

Removing makeup from eyes is a delicate job on delicate areas so you don’t want to rub and scrub. Waterproof formula mascaras are especially hard to remove without some type of makeup removing preparation. Avon’s Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover is designed to be gentle and yet effectively remove eye makeup and mascara while moisturizing and hydrating.

Sephora all-in-one Makeup Remover Towelettes can be used on face, eyes and lips and are oh so portable. No need to rinse either, just wipe, toss and go.

For an all-makeup remover that combines gentle cleansing with moisturing and a bit of aromatherapy, Adrienne Arpel’s Meltdowns are amazingly effective. My favorite is the soft but fresh scent of the Mandarin Meltdown but the line also includes a French Vanilla Meltdown, Green Tea and Grape, Coconut and even Fresh Pear and Citrus. Treat yourself to one of these meltdown cream cleansers and feel refreshed and relaxed.

The French Manicure is a popular look for nails because it looks natural, only better. The white tips and neutral beige or pink topcoat leaves the nails looking clean, bright and shiny. It’s a great everyday look.

The French Manicure can be easily achieved at home, especially with the use of one of the many kits on the market. Usually the kit will supply the white polish and either a beige or pink topcoat. This kit by Sephora has three polishes in a clutch bag for easy storage.

For help in applying the white polish at the tips you can purchase stick-on stencils to give you a guide and prevent mistakes. The French Manicure is also great for hiding minor length differences in nails. Just place the stencils at the same distance from the end of the nail regardless of how much of the real white edge you have.

Sally Hansen makes a kit that comes with an easy-to-apply white nail polish pen. The 5 Minute French Manicure Pen Kit comes with the nail pen, nail guides, sheer blush or sheer natural polish and a growth treatment for nails.