Test Drive

FRESH ISLAND REVERIE FACE PALETTE

Based on my last island vacay, a day spent near the equator creates more of a Red-Lobster burn than a sun-goddess glow. Don't tell that to the folks at Fresh, though. The company's Island Reverie Face Palette -- meant to capture the essence of a sun-splashed day in the tropics -- is a study in neutrals, pinks and browns. (And color names such as Tiare and Rum put you right by the azure shoreline, umbrella drink in hand.)

I'll let the misleading marketing slide, though. Because unlike most makeup palettes, which come with at least one bum color, Fresh's blush and three eye shadows are all pretty and wearable. Major props, too, for the palette's perfect shade of bronzer, which is, in a word, money. It even makes up for the fact that the plastic compact comes sans brushes -- and that the coral blush is dustier than the Mojave.

-- Rachel Machacek

$55 at Sephora and Blue Mercury stores and http://www.fresh.com.

SALLY HERSHBERGER SUPREME HEAD STYLING SPRAY

Remember the Meg Ryan hair craze of the mid-1990s? I certainly do. I was obsessed with Meg's spunky pixie cut, the work of celebrity hairstylist Sally Hershberger. But a session with Hershberger herself costs upward of $800 -- money I'd like to keep for other things, like rent and food. How to get that messy look I've pined for since 1995?

Hershberger's new hair-care line may be the answer. I tried the Shagg Spray, which I spritzed on my dry hair and blasted with a hair dryer before flipping and twisting my locks per the grooming guru's instructions. The spray added texture to my normally smooth bob, giving it an Anna-Wintour-after-a-motorcycle-ride look. It also made a noticeable difference in the volume of my 'do. Plus, at less than $13, it left me with about $787 to spend however I please. And if that involves renting "French Kiss" and "You've Got Mail" a hundred times . . . well, that's my secret.

-- Holly E. Thomas

$12.49 at Walgreens stores and http://www.walgreens.com.

SWEET GRASS FARM NURSERY SPRAY

Like any mom, I love that milky, sweet "baby" smell. But I am no fool. I know that certain baby-associated smells are unpleasant. (Is it wrong to call a darling infant "stinky britches"?) So Sweet Grass Farm's FarmBaby Nursery Spray, whose "bright and airy formula works to neutralize odors," according to the bottle, sounded awfully tempting. Doubly so, once I saw that its lavender essential oils would "help baby settle down for bedtime."

I spritzed the spray on my 1-year-old son's crib sheets right before bedtime. The floral scent was a little overpowering at first, especially since I am so used to fragrance-free baby products. Soon, though, it dissipated, leaving a clean, barely noticeable smell. I tucked in my son and watched him drift into lavender-scented dreamland. Four hours later, he was up again. So much for dreamland. On the other hand, the spray did a nice job of neutralizing -- covering up? -- that diaper smell. It left the nursery smelling more like a lavender farm, less like, well, a barnyard.

-- Hannah Schardt

$8.95 at http://www.sweetgrassonline.com.