"I've done full makeup in less than six minutes," Bruce Grayson said when I interviewed the head of the Emmys makeup department. While many among us are used to doing our makeup in under six minutes — sometimes in a car mirror with screaming children — I thought you might like to know how a pro accomplishes such a thing. After all, unless you've got the paparazzi in the car behind you, your rush job isn't getting splashed across weekly tabs like Bruce's.

For a minute-by-minute plan based on his ideas, read more

If you're old enough to remember the first round of colored mascaras, you may not want to revisit the trend. But hear me out. While Benefit's BADgal Blue mascara is a shock of brightly hued blue, its new fraternal-twin mascara, BADgal Plum, is so subtle that you won't be mistaken for a member of the Thompson Twins.

True to its name, the color is a warm shade of deep plum that's closer to a dark brown than black. If anything, it's almost too natural in indoor light; while my lashes looked significantly fuller and thicker, it was hard to see the color. But while taking a little lunch-break walk with Sabs from OnSugar yesterday, she stopped me and said, "Are you wearing colored mascara? I love it!" Turns out that in the light, it adds just the right amount of color without being garish, and it highlights the green in my eyes. But if you want to give it a try, keep it off the lower lashes; I made the mistake of using it there, and it only made me look tired and, well, a little stoned. To sum up: Nice enough indoors, wowza outdoors, and best left to top lashes unless you want to look like the conductor of the Pineapple Express.

Throughout her 15 or so years in the cosmetics biz, you might say Carmindy's picked up a thing or two along the way, and she's truly become the master of lifting spirits. In her latest book, Get Positively Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Gorgeous ($14.95), Carmindy dishes out advice like a girlfriend who knows all kinds of beauty tricks. She admits to not feeling so cute in her younger years (complete with awkward school photo) and details the moment when she said enough is enough.

So, stop wasting energy focusing on covering up what you don't like about yourself, she says. Zero in on your natural beauty, and you'll discover your best feature to accentuate instead. Yeah, it might sound relatively obvious, but there's just something about when Carmindy says it that makes it really stick.

Pep talk aside, the book is also full of the ins and outs of beauty, from seasonal makeup tips to colorful pictures (love it), to makeovers. (Who doesn't love a good makeover every now and then?) It's beefy enough for the advanced crowd, but written in a non-intimidating way for the beginners. Overall, I'd recommend it to anyone looking to learn about the basics of makeup to those who are looking for some nifty new tips — and to Carmindy fans, of course.

It's your turn to create that fabulous blog you've always dreamed of by using the same blogging system that we use here on the Sugar Network! OnSugar is the hottest new online publishing platform where you can create a variety of posts including text, galleries and polls. You can also make up fun quizzes and include quotes, chats, video, and audio. You can already check it out in action on Fashionologie, Coutorture, and KatieSugar.com. Woohoo!

Not only that, but you can create your own looks through ShopStyle and get free access to hundreds of thousands of Getty Images! Oh, and if you have another blog on Blogger, Wordpress, or Typepad, you can easily import all your posts into OnSugar! It's free, it's full of features, and it's blogging brilliance. If you already have a TeamSugar account, you can use your login info to get started. Learn more about OnSugar here!

I love beautifully designed makeup (witness Lancôme's elephant-adorned bronzer, for example). But you know what I don't love? After using the item once or twice, the colors blend together and the perfect design is over. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal — but why shell out big bucks just for the design?

That is why I am excited about these Marimekko for Avon palettes, which feature the Finnish textile brand's iconic Unikko print. At $8 for the eye shadow palette and $10 for an all-over face palette, they won't make you too depressed when the design begins to look less crisp. Cute and cheap? CasaSugar will be thrilled.