October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month — There are lots of products available to support this cause in various ways. One great product for Canadian gals is the Lise Watier’s Pink Tribute Lip Palette (Proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society):

(Price: $29 CAD)

New MAC Collections Available Now:

Cremesheen
Emanuel Ungaro
Sheer Minerals
Suite Array Eyeshadow Duos and Eyeliners

MAC AIDS Fund — We love to support and promote MAC cosmetics, not only because they are fun and unique, but because they do so much to support people with AIDS, and help reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

Links:
Banana Diet
Blue Lagoon Spa — Iceland
Lou Lou Magazine
Marie Claire Magazine
Fashion Magazine
Pinky’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Lounge (Vancouver, 2 Locations)
Queen Spa Shenzhen China
Operation Fabulous
Geisha Facial at Shizuka New York Day Spa

Reality Check

ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, checked out more than two dozen beauty sites to find the best ones, screening out sites with bad Better Business Bureau records, no contact information, poor return policies, or high shipping fees and ones where items were bundled (Amazon’s best cosmetic deals were in multipacks). They’ll appear in the November 2008 issue of the magazine. Here are some of the results:

Best Overall Selection: Beauty.com
Shipping Free if you spend $49 or more.
Return policy 30 days on unopened products or, for certain items, if you don’t like the color. Returns cost $4.99 unless a product is damaged or incorrect or the color is wrong.

Great for Hard-to-Find Products: Beautyhabit.com
Shipping Free on orders of $100 or more; otherwise $5.95.
Return policy 14 days on most items. No returns on opened or used products.

Best Prices: Buymebeauty.com
Shipping Free on orders of $35 or more; $4.95 on orders of less than $35.
Return policy 30 days. Products must be unused and unopened, unless they are defective. You have to call or e-mail before returning products; you will also have to pay the costs of return shipping.

Great Drugstore Makeup Section: Drugstore.com
Shipping Free on your first nonprescription order of $25 or more; free on orders of $49 or more after that.
Return policy 30 days. Returns are free if a product is damaged, defective, or incorrect. Returns are free on certain products if you don’t like the color. Otherwise, products must be unopened and unused.

Great for Freebies: Sephora.com
Shipping Free on orders over $50; otherwise $5.95.
Return policy 60 days. Free return shipping. Store credit after 60 days.

Great for Organic Products: Skinbotanica.com
Shipping Free on orders over $49; otherwise $5.95.
Return policy 60 days.

Best Online Version of a Walk-In Store: Walgreens.com
Shipping Many items qualify for free shipping of purchases of $50 or more; otherwise $5.49 for 10 pounds or less.
Return policy 30 days.

Sad Site: BeautyDepot.com
This site didn’t have a wide selection of products. You have to buy $99 worth of stuff to get free shipping; otherwise you could end up paying $7.95 or more for UPS ground. Cosmetics (and many other products) were not returnable, and there’s no toll-free customer-service number.

Pick up their November issue for more info.

Kat Fader
“Come With Me” (mp3)
from “Halloween Bloody Night”
(Tobacco Music)

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