Charmed: It's A Girl's Life

The Jennifer Grove Alexandrite crystal ponytail holder is featured in the August / September issue of Girls Life magazine.

Excellent choice on their part...this is one of my all time favorite designs because it is truly unique and always garners compliments. The teardrop-shaped crystals capture and reflect light as they cascade down the side of your ponytail. Charming, yes?

In My Bag: Chanel Illuminating Eye Shadow

It's not really gold and it's not really bronze but it is, in my opinion, medal-worthy and deserving of the highest award for its stand alone chic-factor. No need to blend with other shades or coordinate a palette, just swipe the single shade on and, voila, instant wow.

Chanel's Ombre Unique Creme Illuminating Eye Shadow in Riviera is my newest "can't leave home without" makeup item. It's a sheer cream shadow (not gloppy like so many others) that leaves a subtle highlight. I can't help but love how it brings out the gold flecks in my eyes, too!

Poll: Will you be wearing leggings this Fall?

Every runway featured leggings for Fall, every magazine is featuring them as a must-have for the season. It's only July, but I know this is one trend that is going to catch on across the board.

Do you plan to embrace leggings the second time around?

Lust List: new Crocs

If you haven't invested in a pair of Crocs yet, get moving! Love, love, love my navy blue ones and am going to order either a comfy new pair in purple or possibly the new style with "turbo" strap for my beach weekends.

Found: Gentle Facial Cleanser

I, like most women I know, tend to overpack even for the shortest of vacations. For some reason this past holiday weekend, I had everything I needed in my beauty bag except I totally forgot to pack facial cleanser (a necessity after slathering on the sunblock all day long). A quick run to the drugstore proved to be an enlightening experience. With no fancy brand names in sight, I was forced to select something in the $10 and under range, something I generally do not do when it comes to skin care. If I'm putting La Mer on my skin at night, I'm typically washing off the daily grime with something equally high-end.

No more, now that I finally discovered what all of the magazines have been touting as the best gentle skin cleanser on the market for years. (I tend to ignore most of their reader polls seeing how the advertisers' names are abundantly present in every category.)

My new favorite, which rang in at a brilliant $8.99: Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser. Lightly fragranced, super gentle, completely effective -- it's a new must-have in my book.