Buy two bottles of Herbal Essences shampoo and/or conditioner, mail in the UPC codes, and get a voucher for a free manicure or pedicure. There are tons of participating salons all over the country—just check the website for all the details. The offer lasts until the end of the year but the sundress-and-sandal moment is happening now.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

For those of you who didn't act fast enough to get a pair of those navy cotton In God We Trust shorts before they completely sold out, here's a second chance at another really cute and similar pair. In this case they come from Vena Cava, and they're a kind of dressier, more stylized version of the ones I wrote about last week. A high waist gives them a '50s pinup quality, but they're not so short nor so tight that you wouldn't want to wear them out and about. These also have a row of buttons on the side, this time in the form of squared-off gold studs. I like what the girl in this photo has going on, wearing hers with a tucked-in bright peasant blouse.

Something spectacular, unexpected, and a little out of character happened in my apartment over the weekend: I got kittens. I'd been thinking about this for a while, looked up thousands of adoptable cats on Craigslist, and almost took in two last year that had been abandoned at a deli by my house, but could never could pull the trigger. (They'll make the house messy! They'll stink! I'll become a cat lady!) Then on Saturday, I was walking to buy bread for dinner and there they were: the most ridiculously-to-the-point-of-cheesy cute animals I'd ever seen in my life. And they'd been abandoned and needed someone to foster them, and I took them home that night, and I am never giving them back. I am freakishly obsessed with these little creatures. I want them to have everything—stupid blinged-out collars, fake mice, "peek-a-prize", peacock feathers, this thing. Something has gone terribly wrong (or right?). Seriously, I can see it all happening: First I'll frame of a picture of them and put it on my desk, then I'll use an adorable photo of them as my Facebook headshot ... then, honestly, who knows? A T-shirt with all of us together? An "I heart my cats" pin? My life as a mildly cool person is over. It's embarrassing.

Let's face it, summer fashion can be a little blah, glamourwise. There are fewer clothes, obviously, which means less to accessorize, and the number one goal is often to avoid feeling like a sweat bomb, not to look fabulous (a fashion editor I know once called summer "amateur hour," but I wouldn't go that far—I actually enjoy the liberation). Still, even though I mostly live in gauzy sundresses and shorts in the warmer months, it's always nice to bust out an item that's exceptionally chic and cool. Today on eBay I searched for YSL clothes, specifically ones I could wear now through September. Oh my God, the things I found! I may be in love with this amazing side-button white dress, the print on this secretary style is so good I kind of want to die, and how ridiculously cute would you feel in this little V-neck top and sailor skirt? And ... this is going to seem weird, but I saw two '80s glam YSL bathing suits (this and this) that make me want to cede all my hygienic fears and wear them now.

A few weeks ago, I woke up to skin that looked like old paper. I tried several rejuvenating creams—no glow. Shimmery powder blushes: Terrible (pink crepe paper). Highlighting creams? More moist, but still not truly glowy.

Because of course, glow really comes down to skincare. When a skin product's name includes the words "Radiant Glow" or "Brightening" or sometimes the slightly dubious "Energizing," it's usually code for "Hey! I Exfoliate, But Not in a Way That Will Make Your Skin Angry." That, in turn, is code for a number of exfoliating ingredients—namely, glycolic acid, retinol, vitamin C, or various fruit acids (papaya or pineapple, most frequently). So I set off with these ingredients in mind—and discovered two skin-sloughing agents that worked: one, a twice a week (okay, fine, I did it four times a week), scrub/fruit acid peel/mask deal, the aptly named Facial Glow from the new organic British line Elemental Herbology. The instructions say to rub it into your face for three minutes, but I was way too impatient, and washed it off after a minute—and it seemed to do the glowifying trick.

Glow product #2 is this bottle of once-a-day Dr. Denese's glycolic acid pads. I dearly love the convenience of a swipey pad, and this is particularly good because you don't need to rinse your face after you put it on—just put on your face cream as usual afterward. And lo and behold, the website has automatic redelivery—which I always think is pretty neat.

—Cristina Mueller, senior beauty editor

I'm kind of terrified of boiling-hot liquids, a fear that resurfaces with every trip to Starbucks. I like the coffee (especially the new, much-hyped-but-indeed-delicious Pike Place blend), but the temperature at which they serve it seems, to me at least, rather dangerous. I usually wait at least 10 minutes for it to cool before taking a sip, and I employ those cardboard cozies they have to avoid hand scalding. I just saw that an artist named Jacqueline Dufresne has come up with a chic, imaginative alternative to those standard-issue paper sleeves, made of handknit cotton—which ends up looking like a cute little scarf for your to-go cup. I love it when something so basic and utilitarian gets a designy makeover. Coupled with a Starbucks card, this would make a really sweet gift for any caffeine-addicted friend.

Though it's still a little cold and rainy in New York, we're about to enter my absolute favorite time of the year: outdoor-socializing season. I love having drinks in noisy bars on the sidewalk and hanging out at tiny backyard parties, and I especially enjoy the late-afternoon weekend rooftop gatherings. These bright striped glasses by mid-century designer Georges Briard would be perfect for filling with delicious white sangria at just such an event. I also love Briard's delicate cruet set, these pretty gold-etched glass trays, and, though it might not be right for this second, this adorable enamel fondue pot.

Disclaimer: I do not dislike Heidi Montag from The Hills. I mean, I don't LIKE Heidi Montag either: I'm apathetic. Look, she's not hurting anybody. She's annoying, but weren't you when you were 21? When I was that age, all I did was talk about myself and my lame boyfriend and the massive fight we'd had at the club the night before—and sadly, when I recapped the whole mess the next day, no one ever cut me a check or put me on the cover of Us Weekly.

That said, the founder of this new bath and body line is totally Elodie, the girl who trashes Heidi Montag in season three and calls her out on not having any friends except for Spencer! "You don't even know what's wrong or what's right anymore," she tells Heidi. "And ... it's so sad."

Elodie's name makes her sound like she lives in the 7th and wears an A.P.C. raincoat, but really, though authentically half-French, she's based in Los Angeles and watches The Bachelor and Gossip Girl—at least according to her MySpace profile. I considered interviewing her, but was stymied when my brainstorming yielded only creepy, not-so-beauty-oriented questions like:

- What does Heidi smell like up close?
- Don't Heidi and Spencer look like brother and sister when they make out?

From the morning I learned of their existence to the day the package arrived in the mail, I'd never desired beauty products more. I opened the box to find a cheerfully packaged selection of all-natural, paraben-free bath and body collection with truly appealing scents: the Banane Flambee Body Lotion smells beachy-sweet and not at all like a mushy lunchbox banana (one of many culinary nemeses of my childhood). As a coconut fan of exacting standards, I was impressed by the Noix de Coco Bubble Bath, which smells authentic and not, as other coconut products often do, of vanilla, cake mix, or even (gag) butter. I also like the creamy Menthe a l'Eau Shower Gel, which tingled pleasantly in the shower this morning and kept me feeling clean and minty all day. Very nice.

Like me, The Hills girls probably love these products—not because they got them free in their gift bags at the Gen Art show, but because they have easy-to-pronounce French names (hi, Whitney!) and little Eiffel Towers on the bottles. Buy them; enjoy them. I'm going home to watch TV.

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

Hats, much like jewelry was for me until only recently, are the type of thing that I often admire on others but for whatever reason have always avoided wearing myself. But since I've been trying to walk everywhere lately (not just to enjoy the nice weather but to compensate for the fact that even with new workout clothes, I still haven't made it to the gym), and having read thousands of articles on the negative effects of sun exposure, I'm starting to reconsider. I'm not entirely sure how my personal aesthetic translates to headgear, but this Lola hat caught my eye and I'm tempted to give it a try. The cloche-meets-fedora shape is classic and feminine, and pintucking and a tortoiseshell button add the perfect bit of flair. And for mitigating sweatiness and hat head, the wide face-shielding brim and the fact that it's made of breezy, lightweight straw make this an intuitive choice.

Perennially quirky San Diego hairstylist/eponymous salon owner Jet Rhys came into the office last week to talk about what she's been up to: new color techniques, and cool styling tools, etc. As she was putting on her coat to leave, she pulled a tiny green-and-white bottle from her pocket and whispered, "I take this alcohol-free hand sanitizer with me when I fly. You spritz it on your roots if your hair gets greasy or flat. It gives you great volume! And the oil disappears!" It also smells grassy-fresh, which is just the icing on the cake.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor