MAC A Rose Romance hits counters today and I have a feeling that the blushes from this collection will be all the rage.

MAC collectors will want to take a gander at A Rose Romance beauty powders ($22 US) with a rose-shape embossed into them.  Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a total advocate for beauty powders, I always urge folks to pick one up!

However, in testing the beauty powder in Summer Rose I found that my brush didn’t pick up as much color as blushes normally do.  I wonder if it’s because of the imprint and if that plays a factor.  In order to swatch the shade, I couldn’t use my fingers, I had to use a tissue to wipe some of it from the pan and onto my hand.

Summer Rose (right) is a blue-based violet pink with subtle pearl that reminded me of True Romance at first glance.  It’s definitely pigmented and becomes easy to apply again once that top film is worn or wiped off.

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I’m not really the type that shops at the flea market, not because I don’t have the patience to uncover vintage treasures (okay, it is) but mostly because I have no clue how to pull everything together in my house to make it look chic and not like I’m a pack rat.

But once in a while we’ll venture out to the Sunday outdoor markets to make a day of it and browse around.  On this particular Sunday in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, I spied a something that I really, really wanted to get: Vogue Covers 1900 – 1970.

I flipped through the original, yet torn and tattered, poster book and awed at the old illustrations (before they started snapping cover photos) and simple headlines – if any at all.  It amazed me to see how styles have changed over the years.  But I was saddened to see that this poster book, valued at $200 – 300 US on Amazon, was not a complete collection.  It had missing pages and some were falling out of the cover.

Still, as I put the book back in its place I thought to myself, I should come down to the flea market more often.  Even if I never shell out a penny, who knows what else I might find?  I can just pretend I’m in another time and imagine what it would be like to live in history.

Have you ever come across an old piece of art, vintage clothing or home decor pieces that just seemed to transport  you back in time by just looking at it?

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Every time I stop in Trader Joe’s I always tell myself that I’m going to get a couple of those reusable shopping bags so that I can leave them in my car anytime I want to do impromptu shopping.

However something has always stopped me from doing so whether it be (a) I’m feeling cheap that day, (b) wondering if I’ll ever really use them, or (c) wondering if I’ll miss those  little plastic bags that I can use for trash bags around the house.

But if I really think about it, that’s all just nonsense and I should really pay more attention to the messages that are being transmitted around me and actually soak it in and DO something about it.

A few weeks ago, I came across a program that seemed really fun and although I know I can’t partake in it at this time, I’m making my own conscious effort to help transmit a message to whoever’s listening in hopes that something will latch onto it like this has to me.

In its second year now, Oscar-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden is helping to spread the word the Purex Saves Green Program and how we can have a safer and healthier environment.

Marcia, along with several other environmentally-savvy celebrities, each designed their own reusable tote bags to be auctioned off from now through April 29th, 2009 with all of the proceeds being donated to Earth Day Network. This year’s celebrity tote bag designers include Martha Stewart, Chevy Chase, Ed Begley, Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Paul Shaffer, Tamara Tunie and Tom and Jessica Bergeron.

I would love to bid on Chevy Chase’s tote (bottom right) but it’s out of my league right now at $450 US.

I hope you get a chance to bid on this celebrity auction, but if you can’t please vote for one of the user-generated designs created by consumers wanting to get into the design-for-a-cause action.  Voting is open now through April 30th and the winner will receive a smart fortwo car and, more importantly, Purex Natural Elements will donate an additional $30,000 to the Earth Day Network.

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It’s Earth Day tomorrow and although I didn’t do a huge feature on eco-friendly beauty, I did find one beauty palette that was worthy of an honorable mention: Smashbox’s new Mother Earth Palette.

Smashbox Mother Earth Palette ($45 US) goes totally green with four eye shadow shades and one cheek color made from certified organic ingredients.  Not only that, the recyclable compact features a wood look and is made of sustainable materials, including eco-friendly ink!  Now how about that?  The only thing is, there’s no mirror inside which makes it less practical, but I can get over that.

The colors featured in the palette play well together and have nice, soft textures.  The brown matte was the most difficult to work with but then again, I find that lots of mattes err on the finicky side.

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