Social networking is all the rage and really, why shouldn’t it be? It’s fast. It connects you. It’s concise. It’s efficient. In honor of the Twitter’s 140-character message capacity and parameters and because we know you’re a makeup maven on the go with limited free time, we are presenting our Fall 2010 Beauty Guide, with 140-200 words of why these products need to be in your makeup bag once the weather cools, the days get shorter and your palette of colors gets darker. It was a challenge to keep things to a minimum, especially when this Fall’s color trends of plums, bronzes and charcoals make for lots of discussion and “oohing” and “aahing!”

Editor’s Note: I admit, I failed miserably when it came to Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté. The line is too luxe and too perfect not to gush over. Oh the perils of Beauty Editorship! Wink-wink.

Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté: Pure luxury, with no detail left unfinished, is the Marchesa mantra, according to co-founder/designer Georgina Chapman. The design house philosophy applies to their makeup collection. Sleek packaging inspired by Sandra Bullock’s Oscar gown meets divine formulations. I worship the credit-card sized, Chapman-designed La Lune Palette for femme smoky, smoldering eyes favored by chill-battling New Yorkers. Translucent pressed powder, concealer, lip ploss in La Cerise Noir, crème blush in La Peche and eye shadow in Le Minuit comprise the compact. Meanwhile, her partner Keren Craig’s Le Soleil palette is softer and warmer, suited for the sun-kissed So-Cal gal. It houses bronzer, concealer, lip gloss in Le Caramel, crème blush in La Rougeur and eye shadow in Le Fauve. The Double Entendre lip gloss duos are perfect for customizing supple pouts. My go to? L’embrasse/Le Passion, which unites shimmery chocolate and bronze. It’s pure gloss chemistry. The Sheer Illumination Highlighter is a click pen with a sheer golden shade usable day or night, on bare skin or with makeup. I like a touch under my eyes and dabbed on my cupid’s bow. Oh, Marchesa. I melt at your versatility.

That was more than 140 words, but this collection is too beautiful to contain.

Dior Logomania Collector’s Edition 2-Colour Eye Shadow in Silver Screen: You probably heard me gasp through your computer speakers. This shadow duo pairs shimmery silvery and sparkly black for dramatic, night time, old Hollywood eyes. The shades are stamped with the house’s Dior “Logomania” design. Dior’s Fall range pledges its allegiance to mauves and charcoals. Charcoal: It’s the new black for Fall 2010. Know it. Live it. Use it.

Babor products are absolutely divine and they were designed by makeup professionals, with your face shape in mind in so you can play up your features accordingly. Housed in gorgeously lavish and refillable gold cases, the eye shadows offer stay-all-day color, namely Plum and Matte Clay, which allow you to achieve the still-hot-this-season purple smoky eye. The halo of color is absolutely stunning. The Ultra Shine Lip Gloss in Cinderella boasts iridescent, prismatic shine, and I recommend this highly for those days when you only have time to gloss and go. It lights up your whole entire face beautifully.

Available at http://www.babor.com.

Josie Maran is a favorite brand among BN editors, especially me. The model’s GOGO (Get One Give One) Natural Volume Argan Mascara is one of the most glossifying and volumizing mascaras on the market; it’ll create black-as-midnight, dewy eye fringe with its compact brush. It’s uber cute, too, with hearts drawn on the wand. Even better, for every tube sold, Maran will donate a mascara to City of Hope cancer patients and survivors.

Available at Sephora locations or http://www.sephora.com.

If you desire an angelic whisper of pink color on your cheeks and one that you can also apply to your lips, I suggest Becca Lip & Cheek Crème. It’s dewy and soft and you’ve never looked so pretty in pink during the transition from Summer to Fall; it looks breathtaking on bronzed goddesses as well as those of us with porcelain complexions. Swipe on your apples and dab a touch on the center of your lips, right under your cupid’s bow, for barely there glow. Petal and Tuberose are my faves.

Available at http://www.beccacosmetics.com.

After a brutally hot summer, I think many of us are actually looking forward to September, even if it means returning to all-night study sessions, boring teachers and all things school related. But whether you’re attending mommy & me classes, moving into the college dorm or taking on the role of the oldest broad in graduate school, luxuriating in some school-friendly spa products will make you feel like an A+ student.

Hopscotch Kids Nail WaterColors

Be the hit of the back-to-school slumber party with Hopscotch’s non-toxic, kid-friendly alternative to solvent-based nail polishes. Perfect for children, tweens and teenagers, these vibrant, water-based nail (water) colors can be purchased online at http://www.hopscotchkids.com and soon to be in retailers across the country.

BareEase & Cream

It might be a little too soon to be gearing up for Spring Break but it’s never too early to take the pain out of a bikini wax. This Ouchless Waxing Prep Kit created by Anesthesiologist, Dr. Edna Ma, M.D. is truly revolutionary. BareEase & Cream is a preparatory kit for use by women undergoing bikini waxing and laser hair removal procedures in the bikini area. Featuring lidocaine (4%) as its active ingredient, (the most safe, widely used topical anesthetic and superior numbing agent), along with natural ingredients including aloe and jojoba, the kit’s specially doctor-formulated cream will not only eradicate the pain but will leave your skin feeling soft, silky and sexy as well. Simply wear the cute, pink, soft, latex disposable panty for a half hour before your appointment and bring on the Brazilian! Visit http://www.bareease.com.

My friend R. has struggled most of her adult life with a problem most women don’t even think about on a daily basis. When she has a “bad hair day”, it means something totally different than “my hair is a little limp today,” or “OMG, it’s raining, and I just got a blowout.”

I tiptoe around what R. has confided in us. You see, R. is losing her hair. Slowly, but surely, since high school, my beautiful friend has watched her scalp grow through her hair. I have learned tricks that were not exactly mainstream in our suburban little town-what a weave was, how a tint pencil could cover scalp skin. And I felt…thankful for my beautiful head of long red hair.

As this past August was Hair Loss Awareness Month, started by the American Academy of Dermatology in 2000, I thought it fitting to do some internal and external exploration into what this means for modern women.

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, the relationship between hair and beauty became even more apparent. My mother’s relationship with her hair was that it made her feel beautiful, feminine, and, yes, healthy. A woman is told her whole life that “men love long hair,” and it is a favorite accessory for so many women – how many of us play with hair color as if it were mere lipstick? For many women in America, 39 million, to be precise, this issue is serious. Female Pattern baldness is not something talked about at the dinner table, or even at the salon, but the emotional toll is steep. Not only is it a taboo in a culture that doesn’t have many left, but women are forced to confront the idea that they are unattractive, unfeminine, or even battling cancer.

So here are some of the hard facts to help all of us better understand this from a more scientific, less, “I’ve lost so much hair in the shower – am I going bald??!” perspective:

- By age 40, most women experience some hair loss.
- Unfortunately, like male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness is primarily genetic – although to debunk yet another myth, from BOTH sides of the family tree.
- More than half (55 percent) of women would go to extreme measures – including giving up their favorite food, giving up five years of their life, not talking for a year, or breaking up with a significant other – to guarantee they’ll always have a full head of hair.
- More than half of younger Americans (57%) say they are not physically attracted to people with thinning hair.
- While over-styling hair with heat and dyes is not healthy, it doesn’t cause baldness.

Hey honey, fall is in the air and it’s the perfect time to rethink skin care routines. While we were playing in the sunshine (wearing sunblock of course) the scientists at Guerlain were buzzing about their labs and creating the new Abeille Royale Serum. Its key ingredient is honey, actually many varieties of the best ones from New Zealand along with Royal Jelly from France. Honey, well known for its healing properties is even used for healing wounds in traditional medicine practices. The Abeille Royal Serum is composed of a pure royal concentrate which stimulates the healing process and repairs the micro-damage done to our skin that forms wrinkles. After using the serum for a month my skin looks smoother and plumper, and it’s become a daytime and nighttime addiction for me!

Available: http://www.Nordstrom.com and Nordstrom stores

It’s black as onyx and makes my skin clear and bright. The new Boscia Luminizing Black Mask is a combination of pine bark extract, an antioxidant, Vitamin C – and we all know how good that is – along with Montmorillonite Clay which exfoliates, soaks up excess oil and dirt, and finally, extracts of rosemary and eucalyptus which are anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Spread the black gel all over your face, avoiding eye area and hairline and wait about 20 minutes. Then, my favorite part…..peel off! It peels off easily, removing dead skin cells and revealing skin that is clearer looking and more radiant.

Available: Sephora stores and http://www.Sephora.com