After two and a half years, I finally ran out of my beloved YSL Touche Eclat. (Don’t worry — I managed to restock today.)

However, in the two weeks that I was without, I rediscovered Benefit Boi-ing. I’d purchased this product last year after reading some great reviews, but it got lost in my collection of makeup because I found the texture really dry and cakey, and was having a hard time working with it.

Having had a chance to play around with it some more this week, though, I’ll have to say that I’ve warmed up to it. The trick with Boi-ing is to apply it with a light hand. I do that only in the dark areas of my face — under the eyes, around the nose and around the mouth. It really helps brighten up my face.

The second trick — and probably the most important one — is to make sure your skin is well hydrated. The product goes on much more smoothly and naturally this way. This rule applies to all makeup products, but especially this one because it is so dry itself. If it goes onto parched skin, it will just cake up and look terrible.

Always one to keep my eye out on what’s going on at Tarte HQ, I’m really excited about the new Ready, Set, Glow Kit. It’s an exclusive to Sephora.com and features the following items that will get your lids, lips, cheekbones and collarbones ready for any big night out:

The items are currently sold individually, and some of them I’ve already tried in the past so I can vouch that they are good ones to include in your collection (links to past reviews are noted).

This is the first time all of the items will be sold together. What is a $94 retail value is now available as one set at Sephora.com for just $45. A definite steal in my book.

I’ve just about spent up my vacation time this summer having already traveled to Montreal in May and then to the Poconos over July 4th. But for those of you who have a vacation coming up, I thought I’d help you put together your beauty kit. Seeing as airlines have not let up on the liquid restrictions, here are some great options for all you ladies on the go this season.

Philip B. Nordic Wood Travel Size One Step Hair and Body Shampoo is great if you don’t want to mess with multiple products. The scent is clean and invigorating and unisex so that you can share with your mate as well. Retails for $8.

Can a product work harder than DuWop’s Revolotion Face which is a tinted moisturizer and sunscreen in one? I think not. Retails for $29.

Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips & Cheeks is a great two-in-one to give you a healthy glow without trying hard. Retails for $22.

You couldn’t ask for a lovelier fragrance than this Marc Jacobs scent which features gardenia, wild muguet, cedar and ginger. Plus, it comes as a solid compact to prevent against spills and mess. Retails for $55.

This Go Smile Jet Set Kit contains an AM Toothpaste, PM Toothpaste and a travel toothbrush. It all comes packed in a TSA-approved clear travel case. This is nice because you can keep it in your purse to freshen up mid-flight if need be. Retails for $12.

Keep yourself neat and groomed with this handy little Pop-Up Travel Brush by Sephora. One click of a button and the bristles pop out so you can brush away! Retails for $8.

Korres Guava Body Butter To Go is a rich, tropical-scented cream that will take you away to paradise whether you’re actually in paradise or wishing you were (I’m talking to all you business travelers). Try dabbing a bit on the ends of your hair if you’re experiencing flyaways and forgot the hair products at home. Retails for $8.50.

Check out this bad boy - the Japonesque ‘Go Curl Pocket Eyelash Curler. It curls your lashes and comes in such a cute, compact size. Retails for $10.50.

Leave a comment and tell me what you have in your travel beauty kit!

My trick for an instantly polished look when you’re either too tired/lazy to do more, or when you want to go au naturale: apply foundation/cover-up on the dark areas in the center of your face. That means under the eyes, around the nose and around the mouth. It instantly brightens your entire face with very minimal effort. Very good when you’re constantly on-the-go (as I seem to be these days), yet can’t slack off on looking good.

Tools that I’ve been using: Benefit Boi-ing or YSL Touche Eclat. Boi-ing provides a heavier, more opaque coverage. The Touche Eclat works more like a foundation, yet has a lighter touch and contains a certain brightening element that most foundations lack.

What are your on-the-go makeup tricks?

My updates have been woeful, I admit. In fact, they’ve been so woeful that even my spam commenters are giving up on me. (FYI - I’m usually bombarded by hundreds of spam comments a day, which I weed out behind the scenes so that they don’t mar up the site.) You know it’s bad when spam commenters are giving up.

Anyway, seeing as it’s Valentine’s Day just around the corner, my thoughts have turned to all things romantic. And by romantic, I’m thinking big blooming flowers. Which is coincidental because Clinique’s Spring 2007 makeup collection is called Fresh Bloom.

The collection is a beauty indeed. Just check out the Fresh Bloom Allover Color for the face, which is a work of art in itself. It’s very reminiscent of the Yves Saint Laurent Opium Makeup Palette from this past Fall, but I prefer the Clinique version for its softness and femininity. This is neat as you can either select one color to use, or just swirl your brush through all of them for a blend.

The Color Surge Eyeshadow Trio is a limited edition palette (tell me, who isn’t doing limited edition these days?). But I love it because of the purple - my favorite color! By the way, Spring is all about the new smoky eye which you can achieve with these soft blush-based colors, deep black mascara and a stroke of black eyeliner on the top and bottom lash lines.

Finally, check out the Color Surge Butter Shine Lipstick, which is a blend between a lipstick and a gloss. As you can see, Clinique is offering lots of pretty pink shades for the upcoming season. Remember fall’s red lips? Well, pink is Spring’s take on it, and I’m breathing a sigh of relief. Pink feels tons more doable to me than those deep reds. I’ll leave that to the experts.

The Stila Winter Collection is so pretty, and it’s adorably titled, Silver Belles.

The colors are soft and muted, which is a refreshing departure from the bold reds and bright metallics we’ve been seeing this Fall.

I, for one, am ready to pull out my warmest sweater and watch the snow falling. (That is, until my dinky little Civic gets stuck in a snowbank. Then I might be singing a different tune. But until then, I shall enjoy all the niceties of the season!)

The Silver Belles collection was inspired by the warmth of sun on snow, and the twinkling of melting icicles. It includes:

I’ve been a Clinique user for years. I still remember buying my first bottle of Clinique foundation for my Junior Prom. (Anyone else having Laguna Beach flashbacks? Yeah, um, me neither.)

So I was at the Clinique counter this summer looking for some bronzer. That didn’t work out so great, but I did find this nice foundation: Clinique’s Perfectly Real Compact Makeup.

You’re probably just as confused now as I was, seeing the picture. That’s a powder, isn’t it? I even semi-argued with the saleslady about it, but she kept insisting it was a foundation, so I relented and said fine, fine it’s a foundation, and took it home with me.

I’m still wondering why this isn’t a powder (it looks like a powder…?), but either way, it doesn’t matter because it provides great coverage, feels light on the skin, is oil-free and has pigment that is buildable.

Build-ability is a big deal to me because I don’t like heavy coverage. But there are the days when I just need it because my skin isn’t looking so great. So to be able to choose my level of coverage is something that I really value.

One tip for you: use a powder brush when applying this. The makeup sponge that comes with the compact tends to pick up much more pigment than you need. A brush will allow you to layer the color slowly and evenly.

Available for $22.50 at Clinique.com.

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!