There are plenty of reasons to make your own lip balm. It's healthier than the more chemically processed stuff. You know just what's going in. It's easy. It'll help you go easy on your dough stacks (or lack thereof). They make a great gift. Yada, yada, yada.

Here are three tried and true recipes that we love to slave away over the hot stove for.

Ugh, waking up in the morning is a drag. Puffy under eyes and sometimes dark circles – ew! And the most common culprits probably aren't the ones you think they are. Let's take a look.

The nice folks at Stila sent us some samples so we could try their products first hand. We spread the bounty across two bloggers, Kristen Seymour and Cat Lincoln, who will share their reactions with you this week.

Stila's Perfecting Concealer is a semi-matte concealer designed to hide "under eye circles, scars, redness, and other imperfections."

We were really excited to try this out because, even after getting a full night's sleep, we tend to have under eye circles, but now that we're no longer 18, some concealers and foundations end up making our smile lines (because we do not have wrinkles -- our face is simply used to smiling and being happy) more obvious.

Feet are gross (they just are) but there are plenty of products out there that can make them less gross. The times that I find my feet are the scariest is when I take off my shoes for yoga class. It's like "gee, my feet didn't look this crappy when I woke up this morning" Luckily there is a quick solution that can easily be tossed in your yoga bag ... Deep Steep Natural Candy Mint Moisture Stick.

This handy stick is loaded with cocoa butter, echinacea, vitamin E, as well as botanical extracts and emollient oils. All of that good stuff will result in super-soft skin and who doesn't like that?

I like this stick because it's so easy to just keep in your bag, it smells nice, it's organic, and it doesn't feel greasy on your skin. Oh and did I mention it was dirt-cheap? Yeah this magical stick is only $5 -- better get a couple.

I'm a big fan of all of the amazing independent designers out there. In an effort to get inside the mind of the indie designer and find out just what makes all of these creative types tick, I present to you an ongoing segment I call Indie Designer Interviews.

Tell me a little about your company. On December 5th, 2005 AnitaGrant.com was created, by the all round self-proclaimed cosmetic-label-reader-ingredient junkie-mixtress, Anita. At anitagrant.com we believe in cultural focus by purchasing directly from farming communities and/or partnerships with fair trade suppliers throughout the world, helping to maintain economic independence & cultural survival. Using a variety of plant-based ingredients from different countries around the globe; we are celebrating ecological & cultural diversity.

How did you get started running your business? It wasn't until I blistered my hands using a store bought bottle of so called "safe synthetics" that I decided not to purchase another off the shelf hair care product again. Since 2005, I've been making my own brand of natural and organic skin care and hair care. You shouldn't need a degree in bio-chemistry to understand the ingredient list of a hair care or skin care product label. It was a bit difficult at first to decipher all the Latin (INCI) nomenclature of the ingredients and separate the "bozwellox" from true benefits but I got there in the end. It's so liberating to be able to read the label of a product, understand the ingredients contained within and say "NATURALLY, I can do better."

What are your top fashion & beauty must-haves? If I were trapped on a desert island it better be one with a Coconut tree and fresh Coconuts hanging from it. I would cut it open and eat the fresh white meat, rub a bit of the Coconut water on my hands and moisturize my skin and curly Afro hair with it - loads of uses.

I...I'm not quite sure...uh...what they mean by "sensitive areas."

Okay, I do know what they mean, and I was a little more than amused when I realized that South Beach Lightening Gel for Sensitive Areas was for bleaching that little twinkling star that never sees the sunshine. I'm not exactly sure why anyone would feel the need to bleach that particular area, but apparently, there are enough people out there that the company makes a product.

In all fairness, the product description says that the Lightening Gel is perfect for "Breasts, Nipples, Underarms, Faces, Age Spots, Other Skin Discolorations" so if you're worried about any of those things, try it out. And if you happen to dab a little "down there," no one will know the better.

After seeing this magical face cleansing gadget right here on StyleDash and in every store from Target to Bed Bath and Beyond -- I had to pick one up.

For a cool $11.99 at Target I got "The Wave", 7 cleansing pads, a 14-day supply of refills as a bonus, and they even threw in a battery -- A very small price to pay for 21 days of face cleansing fun.

Neutragena boasts that The Wave, by using gentle vibrations, helps clean your skin 10 times deeper than normal cleansing. This deep cleansing tool will remove more dirt, more oil, and more makeup than your puny little hands could ever accomplish.

I have to say, they are right! I love this product. It is simple to use, there is no mess and it really gets my skin clean. I have been using The Wave for two weeks now and I can really see a major difference in my skins appearance. I am breakout free (finally) and my skin is smooth and radiant.

If you want to try out The Wave you better act fast because they are selling out everywhere. I went to Target to stock up on refills yesterday and the display looked like a tornado blew through it!

Most of the time, we find ourselves asking one another what we use for wash our faces, moisturize, get ride of zits, erase fine lines. Very rarely do we ask the opposite question, "What do you not use?" Why would we? We don't need to know about something we'd never buy and try. Still, TotalBeauty put together a list of the 12 beauty products that earned the lowest ratings from their editors. I guess the best way to use this information is to watch out:

See which products you should avoid:

• Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss
  
• Revlon Tourmaline Ionic 1875 Watt Hairdryer
• Redken All Soft Gold Glimmer Perfecting Shine Treatment
• Murad Firm and Tone Serum
• NARS Body Glow
• Bobbi Brown Everything Mascara
• Skyn Iceland Arctic Face Mist
• Maybelline New York Define-a-Lash Mascara
• Lush Jungle Conditioner
• Sally Hansen Smooth Glow Stubble Reducing Moisturizer
• John Frieda Frizz-Ease Straight Answer Spray
• Molton Brown Naran Ji Fine Liquid Hand Wash ($23)

When the skin on your body feels less than firm the solution is simple, you hit the gym. But what do you do when your skin on your face doesn't feel firm? If you asked me a week ago I would have shrugged my shoulders and pushed you into the nearest botox clinic. However, now thanks to Mod.Skin Labs I know the secret to firmer skin in under 20 minutes.

Mod.Skin Labs has a fabulous serum that I have incorporated into my daily skin care regiment --The Face Sculpt Serum. The serum is from the d-age collection and is truly a miracle worker. The formula is 100% natural and instantly firms skin within 20 minutes. Not only that but with continued use it can diminish hyper-pigmentation. I have been using this product for a week now and I can honestly say that my skin feels firmer after I use it. The product is fragrance-free and lightweight, so you can barely tell that it's on.

Some other great things to note about Mod.Skin Labs are that all of their products are natural, organic, and are animal cruelty free. The products come package in gorgeous glass bottles with simple labels, which makes them look great sitting on your bathroom counter.

You can purchase the face serum online for $40 at ModSkinLabs.com

Oh, how we love a drugstore beauty product that works like a department store product, and if it actually works better?

We're sold on that $5.99 price!

You know we've been on the hunt for a good cleanser for the last 12 months, trying everything from samples of high-end boutique-only lines to infomercial-inspired age-defying brands, and back to our old junior high drugstore days. Clearly, we already believe that drugstore facial cleansers are fine, but we're picky about them. Cetaphil? Sure, but we like something that foams. Clean and Clear Morning Burst? But we want to feel squeaky clean after rinsing (please, no lectures about how bad that "squeaky clean" feeling actually is for our skin).

We think we have found the answer with what is new to us from Aveeno, Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser. Not only does it create a lather, but the liquid comes out of the dispenser as a light airy foam, like those foamy liquid handsoaps. The formula rinses clean, and so far, it doesn't overdry our already dry skin that's made worse in this winter weather. Aveeno has always been known as a "dermatologist's brand" like Eucerin, so we trusted it before we even bought it, but after using it now for a week, we love it. It probably helps that we're cheating by using it in conjunction with our Clarisonic brush, but hey, we made that investment last year.

Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser is available from your local drugstore for about $7, or at Amazon.com.

Because I'm a die-hard Drugstore Beauty Queen, I very rarely, if ever, use high-end or salon-only skincare products. About the only thing I might splurge on for my face is...nothing! An $8 econo-size bottle of Cetaphil is about a big a splurge as I'll do. However, that doesn't mean I don't dream about a life in which I go see my personal facialist, or better yet, that my personal facialist comes to my mansion -- a facialist like Nerida Joy.

Beverly Hills-based Nerida Joy has been named as one of the "Top 15" facialists in the country by both Self and Elle magazines, and with over 29 years of experience, she is the only facialist to be listed as a skin expert, a title reserved only for dermatologists.

That means she knows skin.

I know I won't ever get to that bourgie point in my life where I have my own facialist, and let's face it, I doubt I would have the energy to actually go see someone like Nerida Joy in her Beverly Hills salon even if it were only every so often (if you live in LA, then you know how traffic sometimes automatically turns you into a hermit). However, just like any professional in the beauty industry who actually wants to make money, Nerida has a line of skincare products. Hey, that wasn't meant to be snide; it's just a statement of fact. Here's another one: celebrities like Claudia Schiffer and Tyra Banks love Nerida's skincare products.

Think advertisers have found a way into every moment of your life? Think again. Savvy marketers are going beyond TV, print and web into an entirely new medium: the human body.

And, it's more common than you think. So much so, that websites like Handvertising USA have been set up for the sole purpose of linking companies with people who'd be willing to display ads on their skin. According to Handvertising's CEO: "Almost everyone has been to a county fair, swap meet, bar or club and had had their hand stamped for proof of entry. We have found a better use for this space that could make everyone happy."

Yeah, but would anyone who's even partially concerned with how they look be "happy" with some corporate logo stamped on the back of their hand (or wherever else the company wants to put it)? Seems like most self-respecting people wouldn't be interested in renting out ad space on their skin, but maybe I'm just missing the big picture.

Tweezerman is best-known for brow-grooming tools: tweezers, scissors, trimmers. But Tweezerman makes other products that offer the quality, precision and lifetime-warranty that you expect from this company.

My newest favorite is the Tweezerman facial brush. You can use this brush to wash your face or apply a gentle exfoliating scrub. The soft, flexible bristles insure you will not overdo it when it comes to pressure. I'm notorious for washing my face with too much, well, gusto, so this facial brush has been a godsend for me because it regulates my technique.

When you buy a complexion brush, you also get a soft cotton headband to keep your baby hairs out of the way when you're getting down to business. The set sells for $9.99.

While I know that the proverbial best things are free, sometimes the ones that cost something come pretty close. Last week I cashed in a gift certificate for a facial at a local spa. The pampering was great, I admit, and my skin looks much healthier in the post-treatment after glow. But I have to say, the best thing that came out of that hour of beauty was the sunscreen -- DDF's Enhancing Sun Protection SPF 30. The aesthetician sent me home with a condiment container sample, and I've been meticulously rationing out the product over the past four days.

DDF's Enhancing Sun Protection isn't the cheap sunscreen I usually buy in bulk from the drugstore. It's about six times the price for approximately one-quarter of the volume, so this is definitely not the sort of thing I want to slather on before heading out for a three hour bike ride.

The sunscreen is nonetheless a pretty fantastic substitute for the daily makeup routine. The pinkish lotion contains a self-adjusting pigment, which perfectly adjusts to your skin tone. There is also a light sheen that evens out your complexion, which is great for me since I can't stand foundation, but actually like a little bit of coverage. Of course, there's also the SPF 30 sunscreen, which as a dermatologist I know told me last year, is the minimum for daily face protection.

If you ever find yourself in Seattle with an afternoon to kill or $30 to blow, you should check out Banya5 on 9th Avenue. Banya5 is a traditional Russian sauna that offers visitors a chance to experience a wonderful old world tradition in a relaxing, modern, and might I add clean environment. Unlike the sauna at your gym, the banya reaches temperatures that range from 200 - 220 degrees, in part due to the 20 tons worth of Cascade Granite, which have been heating for over a month.

Visitors to Banya5 start out in the Russian sauna until, as the website puts it, you know you're ready to leave. After the sauna, you then jump immediately into a cold water pool that's kept at a chilly 55-degrees. Believe it or not, after putting yourself through a few hot/cold cycles, the water eventually begins to feels refreshing and the heat, in turn, feels rejuvenating. I might also add that the banya makes your skin look *awesome.*

If alternating between super hot and super cold isn't your thing, Banya5 also has a milder Turkish steam bath, a hot tub, and a warm saltwater pool. Above the banya pool area, there's also a relaxing tea lounge that overlooks a city park. The post-sauna lounge offer incredible herbal tesanes served Russian-style with berry jam to replenish the minerals your body lost during the big sweat.

Thirty-bucks gets you an all-day pass, which I assure you, is a major deal. I've had $80 hour-long massages that pale in comparison to how I felt after I spent two hours at the sauna. The staff is super-friendly and helpful, especially if it's your first trip to the banya.

Banya5: Reason #573 of why I wish I lived in Seattle.