Contest
Busted Moms: Use text, photo or video updates on the contest’s Facebook page to tell how the economy is affecting you and why you deserve a Mommy Makeover. The winner will receive a gift package valued at $2,500 – Sears apparel, spa treatment, etc. (I find the name of this contest funny – are they using “busted” in the “financially broke” sense or “busted” as in “your appearance needs some serious help”? It’s probably a combination!)

Discount
-FreeShipping.org has launched a new daily blog “Go Frugal”. It shares tips from frugal-living “experts”. (FreeShipping.org is also a great site for coupons and free shipping offers.)

Freebies
-If you fill out this short form, Yes To Carrots will send you some free samples. (I wrote about this line of paraben-free face, body and hair care products here.

-Recently, I was sent a motivational e-book 57 Lessons For Real Life From Olympic Athletes. It is full of inspirational quotes from various Olympians including 5 time Olympian – and mom – Dara Torres. (I’m actually going to a lunch with Ms. Torres next week. I’m really excited about that!) Anyway, I think that this e-book has some valuable information. You can read the e-book for free at http://www.goldmedalgreats.com/.

As our “Fashion and Beauty” month winds down, I wanted to share three terrific beauty lines that I was introduced to this month.

MUD Cares Palette
I love that this product combines beauty and charity. When you buy the 4 eye colors set, 100% of your $25 purchase is being donated to Next Aid. The funds go towards building homes for children in Africa orphaned by AIDS. Charity is great, but if you’re going to pay $25 for an eye shadow set, you want to make sure that it is a quality product. It is. The palette includes four MUD eye shadow colors: Spanish Gold, Moss, Cashmere and Dulce de Leche. I tried it out and it works great. It was easy to apply and looked good on my skin tone. (It’s designed to look wonderful on practically every skin tone.) If you can look good and do good while helping needy children, why not go for it?

nubar nail polish
Now that it’s spring and (in theory) getting warmer outside, I start to think more about my feet. I like to try a variety of nail polish colors on my toenails. It’s fun. Now, that I’m trying to be more aware of the chemicals that go in and on my body, I was happy to learn about this line. All nubar polishes are formaldehyde, toluene and (DBP) phthalate FREE.

On a side note, I checked to see what the Spring 2009 nail polish color trends were. It turns out that there’s no one color of the season. Choices range from dark navy blue to pastel pink. I tend to lean towards the pastels, so I was happy to receive nubar’s “Pastel Fever Collection”. Not only are the polishes more environmentally safe, but the polish is also long-wearing. (You can easily get a week’s wear out of one manicure or pedicure.)

Yes To Carrots
This is a line of paraben-free face, body and hair care products. All of their products are derived from organic carrots and other fruits and vegetables combined with 26 minerals from the Dead Sea. Their product lines range for normal to dry skin; for oily / combination skin and for normal to sensitive skin. I especially like their Hand Spa http://www.yestocarrots.com/?CategoryID=215. You can literally see the difference in your hands after one treatment! I also like that the line is really reasonably priced. You can buy them online or in local drugstores like Duane Reade and Target. (You can check their “Where to Buy” page http://www.yestocarrots.com/?CategoryID=629 to find the location nearest to you.

I’m especially excited that one of the moms at the YogaWorks event that I’m hosting this upcoming Saturday will take home some of their products. There will be a Yes to carrots shampoo and conditioner, Yes to tomatoes hand cream and a Yes to carrots lip butter in their package.