Tinte Palette, Game Changer

I tend to use my friends and family as an informal focus group: At one extreme, there's my mother, who loves everything; at the other, my sister Lynne, a diehard athlete who lacks the passion and patience to deal with makeup on a regular basis. In the middle there's my notoriously sphinx-like pal Lisa. Last week when I met the very nice owner of Tinte Cosmetics, I got samples of the company's new Match Book makeup palettes—which I promptly gave to my focus group members, saving the smoky-eye/pale-pink-lip version for myself. I loved mine—shadow, waterproof eyeliner, blush and lip gloss, all in shades I actually want to wear. I figured I'd hit the jackpot, and that my focus group had probably lost out with some inferior earth-tone versions.

But no! A call from Lisa: She's obsessed with her palette, it's the best makeup item she's ever owned, she stayed up all night surfing the Web to stock up, she can't shut up! And an e-mail from Lynne: She's carrying hers everywhere; it's SO much better than any product I've ever given her. My mother, of course, raved.

Mark my words, this is the stocking/evening-bag stuffer of the year. And only 28 bucks!

—Jennifer Scruby, contributing beauty writer, Miami