A friend of mine asked me this: Is Fredrick Fekkai shampoo worth $40 bucks or am I just as well off with Pantene? I told her, it is if you have a lot of money and you love the shampoo. It isn't if you want to save money. Pantene is a good shampoo and there are other good drugstore brands. The choice is up to the individual.

This Thanksgiving I found myself stuck out in the Texas countryside without cleanser or moisturizer and 20 minutes from the closest CVS drugstore. What to do in this case? I used my dad's bar soap, which wasn't as drying as I expected, and I used a moisturizer made for the body, not the face. Moisturizer for the body is usually too heavy for the face, but the cheap stuff I found in the guest bathroom was so watery it hardly had any moisturizing properties whatsoever. In a pinch, you can substitute with bar soap and body moisturizer, but keep in mind the body does a very good job cleansing itself, so water and a washcloth will do you.

When I finally made it the drugstore I was excited to try new products and I loved the moisturizer I picked up, Neutrogena Light Night Cream, that I've decided to take a break from the fancy creams I've been using and stick to this for awhile. It's about $12.

If you're like me and you don't like to spend gobs of time in the bathroom getting ready for bed, you'll like this shortcut. Once a week, combine your exfoliating and cleansing steps by mixing your exfoliator with your cleanser. Rub the mixture in circular motions onto your skin, rinse off with a warm washcloth and go to bed.

If you were blessed with thin lips as was I (see picture above, yes, I know the hair is terribly outdated. I now sport a bob), perhaps you've tried lip plumpers. You may know that they don't work. Perhaps you've tried lining your lips just outside your natural lip line and you realized it looked so obviously fake. Well, here are some tried and true lips for making your skinny lips look plumper:

1. Line lips in a light color right on your natural lip line, not above it. Always line your Cupid's Bow (the bow at the top of your top lip).
2. Lip gloss, lip gloss, lip gloss. Adding moisture to anything -- your skin, your lips, your face -- creates a plumpness. Lip gloss should be a staple in your beauty routine.
3. If none of the above works, consider injections. They've come a long way and can look very natural. But they do come at a price.