Consider yourself au courant with all things stylish and beautiful? Here are a trio of new products headed to store shelves that you can tell your friends about before they see them. They could be impressed, or they could know that you have a subscription to WWD.com, like we do.

First, Maybelline, the ruling maker of mascara, is coming out with a new one in January called Lash Stiletto. The new mascara, which is shaped like a stiletto heel, is intended to lengthen lashes, give them a shine and (using a ”crisscross brush”) coat each and every lash. It will be a mere $8.95 and come in three shades.

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How can this woman, who has been married at least 10 times - and been so angry / jealous / manipulative / scheming / whining / unconscious /murderous / lovely and fabulous most  that time - be so tiny and have such flawless skin? Erica Kane is the daytime diva of all time on All My Children (she came to the show in 1970 and is she’s single, again!). As if that wasn’t enough, actress Susan Lucci is going to charm us in a new role: celebrity contestant on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars, starting Sept. 22.

Now we get to see her floating on air, chiffon whirling around her in barely appropriate dresses meant to show us just how tiny her waist is.

Fine. Want in on some of her secrets? 

 Start with that damnably pretty skin, perhaps due to her personal microdermabrasion skin line, Youthful Essence, All My Children ($30, automatic delivery). (more…)

From the moment she marched out onto the stage at the Republican National Convention, people were captivated by vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin: Not just for her accomplishments, but for her style. First it was her hair. Now it’s her glasses.

Maureen Dowd, the acerbic New York Times columnist, mentioned Sunday that Palin’s rimless eyeglasses are made of titanium by designer Kazuo Kawaskai, and they cost $375. Marie Claire’s British Web site said Americans were rushing to buy them. The glasses, according to the site, are part of the designer’s 704 collection, and Palin’s are No. 34 gray. The site added that Palin bought them from Home Optics in Chugiak, Alaska.

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Let the faithful cheer and the pundits critique. We are concerned with something that will not impact the economy, or taxes or war. It is not of national significance: it’s Sarah Palin’s hair, the likes of which have not been seen on the front lines of American politics.

It dips below shoulder-length and is a auburn, with subtle highlights. Occasionally she wears it down, but mostly it’s in an updo: one casual, such as the half-updo we saw at last night’s Republican Convention (pictured). The other is a complete updo. She tries to tone it down with bookish glasses, but nobody’s fooled.

Will Palin’s looks have an impact on the election? Who knows? Let’s just talk about (more…)

The problem with lipstick is that it doesn’t really stick. All it takes is a cup of coffee and that beautiful burgundy you carefully applied is erased. Lip stains have been around for a while, but they’re enjoying a resurgance in some of the most popular make-up lines, primarily because lips (and cheeks) really do absorb the stain, and the tint lasts longer. It eventually wears away, but not as quickly as lipstick. One of the early popular stains is Benetint by Benefit ($28). The rose-colored liquid in a bottle is a sheer tint for lips and cheeks. Benefit also has a lip balm stain ($20) that’s thicker, and a convenient Benetint Pocket Pal ($20, pictured) that has a double-wand approach with lip stain on one end and a thick clear gloss on the other. Laura Mercier has a stain that comes in six shades that is also a little thicker in texture (like a gloss), for $20. Stila has two types of stain, both in a pen-like form: the cherry crush or the lip rouge, which looks and feels like a magic marker ($20). Then there are lots of other stain-makers: DuWop (which also is a lip plumper), Tarte (also a plumper), TheBalm’s Stainiac in three shades, Laura Geller, DKNY, Vincent Longo, Nars and more. A word of warning: be careful with the stains that are in liquid form. They, well, stain - more than just your lips.

CVS Pharmacy, the ubiquitous drug store, is planning an assault on upscale beauty retailers. Beauty 360 is the name of the planned stores that CVS will start opening by year’s end, according to a story Friday at WWD.com.  Sources quoted in the story said the first two stores will open in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, will be between 2,500 and 4,000 square feet and will eventually expand to 500 or 1,000 stores. Beauty 360 won’t have the words CVS in sight, although they may be in adjacent buildings or inside of existing CVS stores. The WWD story quoted a CVS executive as saying the sleek and modern Beauty 360 stores will carry 32 brands of high-end products (not counting fragrances) currently sold only in department stores or in specialty stories such as Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart and Ulta. CVS execs crowed about their competitive edge in terms of sheer numbers. CVS will have almost 7,000 stores by year’s end, they have 4 million customers a day. They said 60 percent of the U.S. population of women live within 5 miles of a CVS. Sephora’s Web site says that they are the nation’s leading retailer of perfumes and cosmetics, with more than 91 stores in the U.S. and 400 in Europe. Perhaps the day is coming when you’ll be able to pick up some Laura Mercier or Benefit with your batteries and cough medicine.

There are important events - four, to be specific - happening in the world of mascara. Not satisfied with the humble wand, three new products are out (or are on their way) that put a new spin on an old makeup favorite. One rotates, one oscillates and one vibrates. The fourth one doesn’t move but it’s very interesting.  The first on the scene was SpinLash, a $15 product found in drug stores or online. The bloggers at Beauty and Fashion Tech kind of liked it, saying it doesn’t spin as much as it slowly turns. It comes with its own mascara, or you can dip the wand into your favorite. Other beauty experts say it takes some getting used to, so can watch a video of it at BellaSugar and decide for yourself. However, SpinLash may need to step aside, because the big guns of beauty are bringing out their own moving mascaras. Estee Lauder launched the vibrating TurboLash ($30) a few weeks ago and it sold out fast. Lancome is right behind, with their $34 Oscillation Power Mascara that has 7,000 oscillations a minute! (It’s pictured, left, oscillating).  A few were made available, but they sold out and now they won’t hit Lancome’s Web site or Sephora.com until November. The ladies at Allure loved it, and comments from Lancome’s designer of mascara brushes (it’s true) can be found on Temptalia. The fourth mascara is from Givenchy. Called the Phenom’Eyes, it has a teeny round brush (pictured, right) that claims to separate each eyelash and grip lashes “at the roots.” It hits shelves this month and will cost $27. Opinions are mixed, but everyone agrees: Do not try to use these wiggling mascaras while driving.

You’ve admired the athleticism, strength and grace of the Olympic women (or should we say “girl”) gymnasts. You’ve studied their shiny uniforms. And admit it, you just love their cute and glittery makeup and hair. They all have the same ‘do: tight ponytail topped with a scrunchie, and ubiquitous clippies of all shapes and sizes to tuck away errant tendrils.  For a bit of Olympic style, you can stick with the basic $2 Sunchi clips, or explore a world of cutesy hair holders, like the pink sparkled star clips from Forever 21 ($4.80, right). While you’re on their site, check out the pretty bow bobby pins, the bow hair-pin set ($6.80) and even a plaid bow hair clip for $4.80. From there, we’ve found a riot of cute clippies all over the Web, like the crystal topped bobbi pin ($4.40 from Ulta), 3 leafy barrettes from Anthropologie on sale for $10, $18 star clips from Kitson and bobbi pins with butterflies from Aldo, on sale for $6. If money is no object, even when it comes to hair clips, go for the Louis Vuitton monogrammed  pair at eLuxury for $225 (pictured, left), or the $50 basic barrette from Space NK. Oh, and don’t forget the glitter: Sephora’s glitter spray comes in silver or gold for $12, Make Up For Ever’s diamond powder in a rainbow of shades is $24 and Cargo’s eye glimmer set of six is $25. If you want designer shimmer, there’s Givenchy glitter to go from Saks for $35, or if you want bare bones sparkle, Sally Beauty Supply has sparkling loose glitter for only 89 cents (but you have to go to a Sally store to buy it).