“Besame mucho” is Spanish for “kiss me a lot. ” If you’re a sucker for all things romantic, you will probably fall in love with the beautifully packaged cosmetics line Besame. Founder and CEO Gabriela Hernandez was inspired by a “time when the aesthetic beauty of a compact was just as important as designer jewelry worn for a night on the town.” Launched in 2004, the line is a culmination of her passion for design and her desire to produce quality cosmetics that reflected her appreciation for the glamorous style of the Art Deco era. Besame products are reasonably priced and formulated with an emphasis on clean, natural ingredients. Essential oils and minerals are used extensively to ensure that the products are both good looking and largely free of artificial additives. Besame cosmetics are carried in specialty boutiques around the country, but we like their Web site for easy shopping. Start by browsing their enchanting lipsticks available in 15 highly pigmented, creamy shades ($18). After you decide which colors you’d like to try, you’ll want to snap up one of these amazing two-sided lip pencils ($19). Formulated with vitamin E, these pencils glide on easily, which is not always the case with lip-liners. Choose between cerise/red, cocoa/naturale and rose/pink. Next, select a double-sided eyeliner ($19), an alluring eye shadow ($16), mascara ($24), and boudoir rouge ($18), then finish off with the stunning cashmere pressed powder compact ($24). Wrap it all up in the au revoir satin roll ($8), and you will have everything you need to glam it up Hollywood starlet style. Besame is currently running a promotion in which first time shoppers will receive a gift with purchase. Speaking of gifts, Besame products like the luscious gold vanity case, which comes with powder, rouge, eye shadow and concealer ($40; pictured), are great for the girlie girls in your life. If you can’t decide what to get, you can always opt for a gift card. The recipient will be so appreciative, you are sure to get kissed a lot!

Crafters know that some materials just weren’t meant to be cut with scissors. Make more than a few cuts through cardboard, and your hands will ache; use the wrong shears on fabric, and you’ll ruin both the material and the cutter. A useful new tool from Skil handles those materials and many more. The $50 Power Cutter is advertised for use on most things under 1/4-inch thick (carpet, leather, vinyl flooring, and more), making it more like a delicate-use circular saw than a pair of scissors. It’s easier to steer along curved paths than a utility knife, and in my testing it made clean, splinter-free cuts on some things — like a scratched compact disc — that are notoriously difficult to cut. Hard as it is to believe, there seems to be room at the workbench for a whole new variety of power tool. Happily, the Power Cutter won’t be a power-strip hog: Like the palm-sized iXO2-powered screwdriver ($40), it’s part of a line of Skil products using next-generation lithium ion batteries, which can hold a charge much longer (up to six times as long, Skil says) than the NiCd and NiMH batteries found in most cordless tools, and they can sit for 18 months without losing juice — meaning you’re less likely to be in the middle of a home repair when you discover the tool you need won’t be ready until it has had a few hours to recharge.

Step aside, platform shoes, flower-power prints and hippie head scarves. Make room for the queen of the wrap dress, Diane von Furstenberg. Her wrap dress embodied female empowerment in the 1970s, so much so that it is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and no doubt it influenced the judges who honored her with a star on the Fashion Walk of Fame on Seventh Avenue in New York’s Garment District on May 21. In 1976, she sold more than 5 million wrap dresses, garnering DVF and her signature piece cover stories in Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. The wrap is beloved because its stretchy fabric can be adjusted around the waist and bodice so that it complements just about any figure. For summer 2008, DVF created fashion-forward but looking-back looks, including the Nalia dress (pictured), which comes in pure azalea pink silk with a multicolor paisley dotted-leaf pattern and harlequin-print trim ($365), the Arianna wrap dress in navy silk shantung ($385) and the silky Safaya wrap dress in parchment ($585), which reflects the safari influence in summer fashion. The Jilda has a vintage-inspired graphic print and short sleeves with rolled cuffs ($325). The Stones Wrap works well as a bathing suit cover-up or the perfect little dress for travel and sightseeing ($210). Go faux wrap with this flattering DVF imitation by Quotation Design History for only $88.

Flower power is back – on dresses, tops, purses, shoes, even in housewares. But these aren’t those dainty, sometimes dowdy Laura Ashley flowers but big, bold, edgy designs with retro themes. Get this take on the 1960s Earth mother maxi dress in a tropical-printed silk from Marciano ($198). For considerably more, this bohemian maxi by Stella McCartney recalls the 1970s ($1,495). You could go from daytime to tripping the night fantastic in this glamorous plumeria silk tunic with elastic cuffs and a drawstring dropped waist ($1,070). Grab this shift dress (pictured) in an eye-popping fuschia pink floral print by Tibi ($192). This Esprit flower top has a vibrant floral pattern, empire waist, camisole stitching, spaghetti straps and hidden side zipper ($49.50). our handbag will be in full bloom with Marimekko’s cheerful Poppies bag ($75). Take a look at Dansko’s floral platform shoes, as comfortable as they get ($49.50). If you really want to go retro, get the real thing at Vintage Swank, where you can get this 1950s purple and neon flower print Hawaiian dress ($125). Back home, you can serve hors d’oeuvres from this 1960s fiberglass serving tray ($65) or cuddle up with the Freckles Flower Power duvet cover and pillow shams ($40, full/queen). Flower-power up your car with Blik’s Flower Power decals ($30 for pack of seven) or even your walls with ADzif ’s blooming orange wall decal ($45).

Last summer, Paramount complicated the high-definition format war by yanking its Blu-ray movies off retail shelves, vowing to release movies only on HD-DVD. Well, things change. Now that HD-DVD is good and dead, with discs in the defunct format starting to show up in greatly discounted clearance sales, Paramount can dominate the new release shelf simply by bringing its old titles back into print. While early reports suggested the deluge would occur this week, online shoppers seeking The Untouchables or Disturbia (starring Indiana Jones’ new sidekick Shia LaBeouf) will find they aren’t yet in stock at some retailers, who expect them to arrive next Tuesday. Some brick-and-mortar stores like Fry’s appear to have these titles on shelves, though, and smaller online retailers like CD Universe are offering Paramount titles like the Mission Impossible trilogy for immediate delivery. Whether the discrepancy is just a matter of mixed signals in the shipping department or something more complex, the studio is definitely back in the Blu-ray biz, with new (that is, non-reissue) films in the pipeline for early June release — most notably, the magnificent There Will Be Blood, which earned star Daniel Day Lewis an Oscar and will surely take advantage of the format’s crisp visuals and rich sound.

Art is such a visual, tactile interaction with the senses that it’s hard to imagine spending hundreds, maybe thousands, on a piece for your home without experiencing it directly. Then again, what if you don’t live in a city with galleries that appeal to your tastes? What if there are no galleries in your town at all? You can visit Absolute Arts, the largest site for contemporary art, art news and art history on the Web. With more than 150,000 works available for purchase and more than 27,000 individual artists’ and galleries’ portfolios to view, you have to take your time. Search for that must-have painting or sculpture by price, color and size; by the artist’s name; by title description; or by the artist’s location. On the advanced search page, you select the primary and secondary colors you’d be happy with, the theme you want — images of the ocean, for example - the medium and the price range. Our search for abstract watercolors between $200 and $400 returned 232 paintings, including “Sprite.” by Liz Penniman of Austin, Texas, a 4- x 6-inch original piece from 2004 ($200), and “Abstract Blue Yellow Houses” (pictured), by Syracuse, New York, artist Marilyn Nosewicz (created in 2000; $325). The site is so vast, with media including basketry, neon, fiber, furniture, glass and textiles, in addition to paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures — not to mention art world news and blogs — that we can only just scratch the surface here.

Take a walk on the wild side this summer by embracing the safari chic look. The Washington Post says the season’s safari-inspired jackets have fashion staying power, while FabSugar simply loves the trend. Get going on your own jungle adventure with Banana Republic’s silk/linen safari dress with classic trench detailing ($150; pictured). Look extra chic by pairing the dress with a safari link bracelet ($45) or this Kenneth Jay Lane block link necklace ($88). The Plenty by Tracy Reese medium tote in yellow is embroidered and has a hint of vintage elegance and rugged charm ($160). You wouldn’t sport high heels for an authentic safari, but when it’s your own urban safari, these Kors by Michael Kors Egypt sandals give you a little extra height to scope out the “animals” ($141). Try the Torn by Ronny Kobo Ann Walking Zebra tank to boost your animal magnetism ($66). On the bargain side, Old Navy’s tie-front wrap dress in Indian clay print is a steal at $30, while Forever 21’s safari belt jacket with four cargo pockets is perfect for stowing binoculars or … a Blackberry. There aren’t a ton of safari-inspired fashion options for guys, but what’s a jungle jaunt without a fab hat? The Adventure Safari hat from Hats in the Belfry is the perfect option ($38).

Sometimes you have to create your own breeze, especially on oppressive summer evenings. When it’s lovely outdoors, it’s hard to beat having a place to sit and rock while taking in the night air. The Adirondack glider (pictured) is big enough for two, comes in five great color options and looks classic in the garden or on the porch; plus it’s made of cypress, which resists deterioration ($438). Like the look but think you’re more of a rocker than a glider? Try the Great American Nantucket Adirondack rocking chair available in six colors and made of durable alder wood ($280). A variation on the Adirondack style but southernized and left unfinished for your own stain or paint is the Southern cypress four-foot Savannah Swing, with contoured comfort seats and stainless steel fasteners, perfect for hanging on your veranda ($287). Did someone say “comfort”? That would be found in the Hatteras Adventurer traditional deluxe hammock chair with chambray cushion. This one’s made of birch and weather-resistant, colorfast rope yarns and holds up to 350 pounds ($99). Also hammocky is the deluxe bent oak porch swing from Nags Head Hammocks. We like the way its solid construction and clean design incorporate rope hammock seats and a center table to place a glass of iced tea upon ($459). For something completely different (and new for spring ’08), consider the Miami Loveseat Glider at Pipefine, where all of the furniture is made-to-order from PVC pipe and guaranteed for life. We like its rounded, distinctive look ($320).