I have a confession to make: I’ve never had a stocking before for Christmas. Deprived? Yes.

Which is why I had a really good time putting together these stocking stuffer suggestions. Because this was me trying to compensate for the stocking-sized hole in my heart. A little e-retail therapy, you could say. Enjoy the list!

This CARGO Holiday DailyGloss for Lips contains a little lip brush and a 30-day supply of lip gloss in single serving compartments. Reminds me of button candy from when I was little. It’s so shiny and pretty! Retails for $12.

I’ve already received two testimonials from friends who swear that the Fresh Sugar Lip Balm is the best $22.50 that they’ve ever paid for a lip balm. Lasts all day on the lips, one of them says. And so we say, “Bring it!” (Includes SPF 15. Holla.)

The Benefit Valley of the Stars mini iridescence kit contains everything you need to glow pretty during the holidays. Includes Benefit’s favorite luminescent liquids, powders and gloss. Retails for $28.

The Pop Beauty Pop-up Glow was just voted Best Cream/Stain Blush by the editors of DeLush. You can read their review here. As for me, I love the adorable packaging. Cute, but not kiddie. And it’s scented with watermelon extract. Retails for $19.

Stash your cash and your beauty tools in this cute mini coin purse brush set by Sephora. The set includes a blush brush, eyeshadow blender, smudge brush and liner brush, plus a mirror. Retails for $30.

Cranberry is just the perfect scent for the holidays, and gotta love that festive berry color. The Body Shop has a wonderful Cranberry Trio that fits right into your stocking. Contains a vegetable-based soap, shower gel and shimmer lotion, and retails for $15.

I was just going to tell you about this Hard Candy palette except that I don’t think I could do a better job than the package does: “The Eye Candy Palette brings together so many different eye shadows you just might pee your pants.” I’m totally digging the look of this palette - much edgier than what we’re used to from Hard Candy. Retails for $22.

L’Occitane is my bath and body brand of choice. In fact, I would be happy receiving anything from L’Occitane for Christmas this year. (Ahem, Santa? Hello?) For those unfortunate enough never to have used a L’Occitane product, this Shea Butter Soap Set is a great way to break them in. It contains their Verbena, Lavendar and Milk soaps enriched with shea butter to nourish the skin. Retails for $24.

This past weekend I was talking to my friend, Sue, who said to me, “You’re not the kind of girl who wears much makeup, are you?”

In my head I’m thinking, “Are you kidding me? Do you know how much effort it takes to look this good?”

Haha. Just kidding. Sort of.

Another friend of mine once described me as the kind of girl who is high maintenance in order to look low maintenance. Meaning, I’m the kind of girl who wants people to believe that I just threw myself together last minute when in fact, I spent the previous night thinking and plotting to achieve that effortless yet becoming look.

And yes, I admit that is the kind of girl I am. But tell me some of you aren’t like that, too?

So to get that no-makeup makeup look (which I am pictured sporting here), here is what I use, and my step-by-step guide:

1. Bobbi Brown Blemish Cover Stick - You can read my previous review here, but I always start with clean, as-flawless-as-possible skin. I use this product to conceal and heal blemishes at the same time, thanks to ingredients like oil-absorbing kaolin clay and special plant derivatives that reduce redness.

Depending on your skin type, you might also want to use a tinted moisturizer, but the key is to keep the look natural and not to hide your skin under layers of foundation and makeup.

2. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (Radiant Touch) - I purchased this for my wedding and it’s become a beloved staple in my collection. I use it to conceal undereye circles. As another trick for brightening my face, I dab a bit on the corners of my nose by the nostrils and also around the corners of my mouth.

Also, did anyone see this product in this month’s Allure magazine in the article about iconic products? It joins rank with Estee Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair and Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey (one of my favorites as well).

3. Stila Eyeshadow in Kitten - I sweep this shimmery, champagne-colored eyeshadow on my lids to warm up my skin and wake up my eyes with the light-reflecting pigments. Subtle, yet effective. One of their top sellers, and I can see why.

4. Sonia Kashuk Deluxe Travel Brush Set from Target - I use the largest size eyeshadow brush available in the kit to sweep on the Stila eyeshadow. In general, this brush set is a great value at $19.99, and I highly recommend you get yourself a set.

5. Tarte Rest Assured Brightening Wand - I use the pencil end of this to draw a line along my lower lash line. The nude-pink color adds a bit of brightness to the eyes, opens them up and makes you look more awake and fresh.

6. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - I remember buying this six years ago as a poor college student, one summer while working in Chicago as an advertising intern. It was a lot of money for me at the time ($18), but boy was it worth it. It’s one of Shu Uemura’s best sellers, and gives my lashes the most perfect curl.

7. Dior DiorShow Mascara - This was a freebie from Sephora that I picked up a month or so ago. I finally started using it after I ran out of my beloved Lancome Definicils, and I must say that I am starting to love it more and more.

The wand is oversized, and I found this difficult to navigate at first, but now I love how it gives me full, long lashes without clumping. It’s a great overall mascara for both length and volume.

8. Tarte Cheekstain in Flush - By now, you all know how much I love this stuff, so I will spare you the soliloquies. Anyway, a dab of this stuff on both cheeks and you have instantly achieved a natural, healthy looking glow.

9. Lancome Juicy Tubes in Berry Bold - My friend, Hannah, introduced this product to me, and it’s fabulous. You think that with a sheer lip gloss it doesn’t matter which shade you buy, but it really does. This shade provides a hint of reddish-pink for a subtle touch of color.

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Voila! With that, you have achieved a fresh, beautiful, breezed-right-out-the-door look. And for you busy women out there (myself included), this is an easy look that takes five minutes to put together, if that.

Congratulations on reaching the end of another week!

Have I been walking around with my underwear on my head? I have, haven’t I?

I just watched Elke’s video on how to apply bronzer, and I think my jaw must have hung slack half the time. So this is how you do it?? No wonder I looked terrible in bronzer before! Please do yourself a favor and watch the video, along with her other makeup tutorials. There is already enough ugliness in the world without us contributing to the pot. And by the way, Elke knows what she’s talking about because she’s a makeup artist, and to the stars no less!

So what I was doing wrong was putting the bronzer smack on my forehead and smack on my cheeks. You’re supposed to put the bronzer only at the top of your forehead near the hairline, and on the sides of your face, sort of by the ears. Then of course, you should brush some on the top of your nose and the bottom of your chin.

So here I am after Elke’s tutorial and Tarte Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess applied with Tarte’s Glam on the Go kabuki brush. I also have on Tarte Cheekstain in Flush. I’m not sure the bronzed effect quite comes across in this picture, but I am definitely feeling sunkissed right now.

(Unfortunately, I’ve been having problems figuring out how to embed Elke’s YouTube tutorial in my blog, so you’ll just have to watch it directly on her site.)

Yesterday, my friends and I went out for some delicious Korean BBQ at the mecca of good eats: Flushing, NY.

As I went to stab my chopsticks into a piece of beef roasting on the grill, my friend touched my arm and asked me, “You’re not, um, pregnant, are you?”

I stopped, the beef halfway to my mouth. “Excuse me?”

“You have this glow to you! I can’t explain it. I had to ask.”

I smiled, leaned in and whispered conspiratorially into her ear, “Tarte Cheekstain, darling.”

There I am wearing the Tarte cheekstain in Flush that I finally bought yesterday - $28 + tax. Not cheap, but totally worth it - especially as I even received a compliment from my pastor this morning on how healthy and happy I looked. (If only he knew my tricks!)

I was this close to buying the Blushing Bride shade (they both look great on me), but Flush won out because Blushing Bride was so subtle it hardly showed up on my face.

Some notes on the product. When I first apply the cheekstain, it feels uncomfortably sticky and tacky, and takes a good deal of patience to blend into my face. But once it warms on the skin, it settles in beautifully and naturally, and makes me look oh so dewy and fresh all day long.

A cool trick to try is to mix in a little bit of the highlighter from Tarte’s Rest Assured Brightening Wand for that extra je ne sais quoi.

Having used the cheekstain a couple times already, I have been decidedly won over to the wet blush camp. Powder blushes tend to have an aging effect, and seeing as I’m still a sweet young lass, we really can’t be having that.

So after our visit to The Bathroom, Hannah and I made our way uptown to Henri Bendel. My second mission for the day was to find out what the big deal is with Tarte’s famous cheekstain. Pretty much everyone’s heard of it before, but I decided it was time for me to personally test it out.

There’s me after my makeover at the Tarte counter. I’m a little shiny from running around the city all day, but otherwise I like the look. Very natural and fresh. The jury is still out on the cheekstain (I have on Flush in the picture, but want to try Blushing Bride as well before I make my final decision).

What I did walk away with in the end was their Rest Assured brightening wand for eyes. If there is one beauty item you must run, nay sprint, out to get, it would be this one. This little double-ended wonder embodies everything I like makeup to be. Easy to use, no fuss, subtle yet incredibly effective. I can’t tell you how amazed I was when the makeup artist applied this. I’ve got the little squinty Asian eyes, and I’m always trying to make them look as large as possible. This stuff gives them more than a fightin’ chance. Just draw a line right under your lower lashes with the pencil. Then apply a swipe from the highlighting tube to your upper lid and blend. It instantly makes your eyes pop. A quick and dirty way to look like you had about three hours more sleep than you actually had, and it takes about three seconds to do. Hannah loved it as much as I did and nabbed one for herself as well.

One note. I noticed that Kristen over at Beauty Addict had mixed reviews on the product. She thought the color wasn’t right for her skin which has pink undertones. My skin has yellow undertones, so perhaps this is a good option for everyone who falls into that same category.