Anyone and everyone looks about 9,000 times better the moment they step into the Tower Bar restaurant at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood. The most haggard and acne-scarred among us need maybe a flick of mascara (Chanel Inimitable!), tops.

It's the ideal place for an actress to do a magazine interview, in order that the old, already-spoken-out-against-by-me, super-tired, and never-true "She's not wearing any makeup" line could, for once, not be a lie!

I am now on the hunt for the rose-rust-red lamp shades the Sunset Tower has set atop the many low, glamorous lamps all around the room.

The view at the Sunset Tower is also something to write home about. But you'll miss it, because you won't be able to quit whipping out your makeup mirror and staring at your unbelievably gorgeous, dewy, perfect, glowing skin.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

I'm a sucker for "before and after"s (plastic surgery, haircolor, weight loss, I love them all). Danielle Vincent, whose Kimiko Beauty makeup line contains all sorts of brilliant items, showed me these incredible undereye makeover pictures: "That's some great concealer," I said, naturally assuming that the improvement was due to Kimiko makeup. But no: "The woman in the picture used the concealer for 30 days, but both shots are naked—just bare skin!" explained Vincent. "It's eye cream and concealer in one, with depuffing, brightening, and fine-line-fighting ingredients." Before she could even finish, I snatched it from her hand and started dabbing it on. And I'm telling you, I look better already.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

When I'm bored on the subway, I pull at my split ends. I don't know why, and I also can't stop. By the time I get to work, my sweater is covered with little bits of hair, as if shed on by an especially furry housecat. My stopgap solution: The Josie Maran Argan Oil that was tucked behind the pen holder on my desk. I had interviewed Josie for the October issue when her line first launched, and she raved about the light, organic oil as a moisturizer ... but she also said something about hair. ... I rub it between my hands and rake it through the bottom three inches of my hair, and truly, it instantly invigorates my dry, picked-at ends. The sweater, on the other hand, still needs a lint roller. —Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

The models of course looked flawless—from their gleaming toned bodies, to their cascading waves, to their perfect manicures. I was particularly fascinated with the "bronzing booth"—a separate room where makeup artists doused the girls in shimmery oils and glittery sprays—but, unfortunately, I couldn't get in (a naked Karolina was apparently busy inside.) The hair stylists were preoccupied fluffing and spritzing Heidi, Alessandra, and Marissa...but I did, however, manage to swipe a bottle of polish from a distracted nail technician: Nibble—a sheer baby-pink that really gives the allusion of supermodel hands: thinner, tanner, prettier.

Check out the show (and especially the perfect manicures) on CBS, Tuesday, December 4th, at 10pm EST.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

I was spying at the impossibly glamorous Sally Hershberger Downtown salon and couldn't help but notice that every last stylist in the place was using a Spornette brush to blow out clients' hair. Confirmed my stylist Tommy Buckett: "Everyone uses Spornettes! People think we have a contract with them, but we don't—they're the best." And unlike services at the Sally Hershberger Downtown salon, Spornettes are inexpensive—$20 and under—so they must be extra-good for all those high-priced stylists to deem them worthy.

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

I was out sick last week. As is my habit, I took hot baths and blasted the air conditioner, ordered tacos and orange juice from delivery services, called friends and family to proclaim my illness in a nasal, Bob Dylan-esque whine ("I just don't feeeel well!"), intermittently admired automaton parrots in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue, and passed out. The usual.

But the only thing that actually made me feel better was a beauty product: Kiss My Face Obsessively Natural Cold & Flu Room Spray. It's full of essential oils like menthol and eucalyptus that just smell curative—really clean and herbal-clinical, how you'd expect a holistic dentist's office to smell, if holistic dentists even exist (and perhaps they do). Call it psychosomatic: You spray it everywhere and breathe deep and immediately feel better. I even brought it back to work to spritz around my cubicle—the alcohol in the spray is a natural germ killer, so I'm doing everyone a favor.

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

Of the many good points the Zen Therapist (my shrink) has made, one of the best is the Bring-a-Non-Family-Member-to-Thanksgiving (and/or any other family-holiday-type event) rule. With a stranger sitting at the table, everyone is suddenly, miraculously on their best behavior. I have two more to add to the canon:

#1. He Who Has Opinions on How the Item Should Taste Prepares the Item Himself.
#2. If ever there were a moment for a self-administered foot massage, it would be the second one finally falls into bed after said family-oriented extravaganza. You're exhausted, and you just don't want to do another thing—but do it! Here's why:
• If you've eaten too much, you can hope to touch off secret anti-toxin/calorie-flushing accupressure points that you suspect exist but have never really confirmed.
• My favorite cream, Soul Owner by Philosophy, smells like spa, which helps, and leaves your feet unbelievably soft by morning, so you're sort of multitasking.
• A homeopath once told me that rubbing your feet gets you out of your head, and I believe her.
• The gesture says, in a way that sounds corny but isn't, "I'm going to take care of me!" Which is a comforting way to remind yourself that you are, thankfully and at last, an adult.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

I always let makeup artists do what they want with me. Time and again, I naively hope that they'll put a dab of something here and dab of something there and I'll look like I haven't been staring at my computer for the last seven hours, surviving solely on lattes.

Last week, I had another meeting with another makeup artist. When she asked to put a new primer-glowifier on my face, I let her go hog wild. (She slathered.)

Back at my desk, I looked in a mirror, and along with my new "glow," the cream had adhered to every dry, flaking-off-like-old-paint bit of skin on my face—and highlighted it.

Rule number one is don't "glowify" dry skin. Rule number two is don't have dry skin. My two latest weapons:

For face: Astara Nourishing Vitamin Mask. (I use it at night and let it sink in for hours, sometimes sleeping with it on.)

For body: Gabriel Couzian Washing Oil. (The thickest oil I've ever tried. It cleanses while it moisturizes, and I love the French glamour factor.)

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

At a reality-TV-themed birthday party in DC last weekend, I found myself surrounded by at least 25 blonde wigs. An overwhelming majority of the guests were dressed as the Girls Next Door. (The Hills was the other big contingent.) Long synthetic strands formed dust bunnies under the coffee table and floated in the bowl of punch; it was a lot of cheap hair. Only my friend Susan could have passed as a real blonde (if a bit brassy): Her wig did not look like a wig at all.

"Human hair?" I asked, incredulous. It looked fantastic, and when I touched it, it even felt real.

"I used my deep conditioner! On my twenty-dollar wig!" she exclaimed, clearly proud of herself. (The conditioner in question: Neutrogena Triple Moisture)

When I say the difference between her cheap wig and the others was night and day, I'm really not expressing how dramatically opposite they looked. If the Neutrogena completely transforms plastic hair, imagine what it does for the real thing.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

From one of our blowout-obsessed staffers: "They're not glamorous, but with deep conditioner, one of these heated shower caps, and 10 to 15 minutes once a week, you can keep from totally destroying your hair. I love how '50s and Beauty Shop-ish it is. Mine is even pink."

Despite the fact that I am not the most dynamic televison personality, I was asked to judge the "That Girl" contest on Extra! (the contest appeared Saturday, November 17, at 4 AM ET/4 PM PT, btw, so you can judge my dynamism quotient for yourself). The contest was put on by Benefit Cosmetics; entrants made videos at Sephora stores nationwide (some also did it from home).

Television studios are always freezing, to counteract the hotness of the onstage lights. (Never, for instance, go to the David Letterman Show without a down parka.) The Extra! studios, however, had a touch of glamour that I truly appreciated: A Starbucks coffee machine. Which actually tastes like Starbucks! And takes the edge off of the freezing aspect.

My favorite thing, however, was unexpectedly getting my makeup done not by a makeup artist, but by Jean Ford—co-founder of Benefit cosmetics with her I-kid-you-not identical twin sister Jane—who, like her identical twin sister is riotously funny and stunningly gorgeous and of course, intimidatingly successful. All this and she can take matters in hand with five minutes before airtime, throw you in the makeup chair and make you look about 1,000 times more presentable. The key ingredient in my dramatic for-TV transformation was Dallas blush-esque bronzer, which Ford dusted all over my face, stopping now and then to step back and evaluate, then gpoing back in with more, plus a little Georgia blush for good measure. When she was done I was fresh-faced and wildly enthusiastic, ready to judge.

The cameras rolled; we fired questions at the poor contestants. I found this difficult not only because I felt for them, but thinking of questions while trying not to bulge my eyes—I have an only-on-TV tendency to bulge my eyes repeatedly for no good reason—was just plain hard. "What was your worst fashion or beauty mistake ever?" I asked over and over. The other Jean was tougher: She even made one contestant sing!

In the end, the best woman won, we all screamed and hugged and had another round of the delicious Starbucks. And I walked out feeling warm both inside and out—and looking it too, thanks to the Dallas.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

Last fall, when the clocks turned back an hour and the evenings plunged into dark and gloom, I began feeling very groggy and cranky and sorry for myself. I decided that I had Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)—i.e., "winter depression"—and accordingly demanded tons of empathy and support and attention from everyone I knew.

I got none. Instead, my mother sent me a light box, which is exactly what it sounds like: a box that lights up with special bulbs, ostensibly simulating sunshine, ostensibly brightening your outlook on life. You're supposed to sit in front of it for every morning for weeks—an activity comparable to, say, admiring your microwave for half an hour. I was diligent about it for exactly two days. Then I stashed the box at the bottom of my laundry hamper, where it remained until spring, when I threw it away.

This year, I'm going a new route with the SAD: Instead of visual stimulation, what about smell? These two beach-scented perfumes really smell like summer and lift my mood immensely: Bobbi Brown Beach (there's the fragrance, and then an entire body line that's unbelievably amazing) and Bond No. 9 Fire Island (worth buying for the glam bottle alone). Both smell sunscreen-y/ocean-y and fantastic; they take one second to spritz on; and the whole idea never fails to cheer me up.

SAD: Scents Against Depression?

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

These baby wipes languished my desk for about a month until I needed to take off some horribly chipped red nail polish and couldn't find a cotton ball. I added a little remover to the super-soft, sweet-smelling cloth, and it did the trick perfectly. Plus—unlike a typical cotton ball or piece of tissue—it doesn't fall apart. And the scent masks the otherwise noxious polish-remover fragrance.

Now that they're open, I'm using the wipes for everything: fixing smudged mascara, cleaning off my keyboard, and touching up my toes after applying self-tanner. I've already gone through three packs.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

Acne is often frustratingly mysterious in its causes. This weekend, however, perhaps emboldened by the crisp air, I slathered on face oil after face oil—a little gives you such a glow, I reasoned, why not just keep going?—and of course broke out horribly.

I've already converted nearly everyone I know to the Umbrian Clay Mask by Fresh (the tube, not the bar, which crumbles): It is the quickest spot treatment known to man. Yet I forget, weirdly, when it comes to my own face. After a few days of suffering, I remembered, put on the Umbrian Clay before going to bed, and woke up with every breakout (as I say, I had really gone crazy with the oil) all but erased. Everyone except the most perfect-skinned should stock this in their medicine cabinet. It's as close to magic as it gets.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

Beauty.com has just relaunched with many excellent features: personalized skin analysis, how-to makeup videos, a great perfume search engine, and—our favorite—a zoom function that enables near-microscopic examinations of blushes, shadows, and glosses.

Right now I'm loving bonsavon.com: It sells soaps from all over the world (these photos show imports of Sweden, India, and France, and the best part is, almost every item on the site is under $10—perfect for gift-giving or for inexpensively glamorizing a lackluster bathroom.

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

At Emily Hsieh's gorgeous hilltop wedding in San Diego this weekend, an unknown tuxedoed man took a look at my legs and cheerfully volunteered, "Wow. You are really, really white." How to respond? Good eye. Thank you. I'll pay more attention in the future.

The next day, I had a sunny-afternoon-in-Los-Angeles event scheduled. I had to do something; when in Rome?

I came up with this slightly labor-intensive, but effective, solution: Cargo (face) bronzer, in medium, dusted in circles, up and down (and up and down) my legs. It doesn't effect a dramatic change, just the perfect very slight, pretty, glinty tawniness. And while I did not re-encounter the tuxedoed tanning policeman, it did look nice.

—Cristina Mueller, senior beauty editor

The rubber band and the shower caddy! It works! My life is changed!

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

People have failed to mention that professional tooth whitening can really hurt. Really. One Lucky editor described it as "the single most painful experience of my life" (she'd just had a baby).

Undeterred, I decided to try it—and I can't say it was pleasant: a distinct nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling, uninterrupted, for a full half-hour. So I'm not recommending it. The Crest Whitestrips are truly great, and they really do work (here's the breakdown of all the different options, from most mild to most intense). And, weird as it might sound... blue lip gloss. It doesn't come out as Sno-Cone-ish as it would seem. Instead, it pairs with the natural pink in your lips and gives them a kind of pretty, pearly, luminescent coolness—which (very subtly, but noticeably) makes your teeth look whiter. This one from Benefit tastes like Orbit Sweet Mint gum, which is a nice added bonus.

—Cristina Mueller, senior beauty editor

We here at Lucky like to inculcate our young as early as possible. In creating this chef costume for four-month-old Copeland, executive editor Meredith Kahn Rollins could have stopped with the adorable hat and the tiny spatula. But she went all the way with the mustache, fashioned cunningly with a Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Black/Brown. True to its name, the liner really lasts—it was unmoved even by drool, but happily came off quite easily with Aquaphor.

I'm not a summer girl (humidity screams "bad hair day!" for me), but I have to say I enjoyed the summery October that is almost over. I threw on shorts for my early-morning runs, and I got to keep my sundresses in rotation a little longer. The only downside was exposing my depressingly pale legs. Full-on self-tanner just seemed wrong, so I alternated between Lancôme Glow Sensuelle and Estée Lauder Naturally Radiant Moisturizer. They're both tanner/moisturizer hybrids that smell subtly sweet, leave behind just enough bronzy shimmer, and look totally natural—the perfect balance between faux-vacation and winter-white.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor