My BFF in high school had enviable natural, berry-hued lips. Me? Not so much. I was definitely not blessed with a rosy lip color. My peachy palette is monochromatic -- including my lips -- so I’m an ideal candidate for lipsticks and stains. (Take this quiz to discover your ideal glam lip color.) It must be in my DNA, because my mom is the self-professed "lipstick queen" and my grandmother wore lipstick well into her late eighties. Our family mantra is: “Put on a lil’ lipstick and you’ll be fine” (no joke).

When I was younger, I was a helluva lot more adventurous with my hair. I mean, I nearly experimented with every cut from a red-headed version of the Winona Ryder pixie to a edgy and fabulous long, layered warm brown ‘do with heavy fringe (psst … don’t make the same face shape haircut mistakes that these stars made if contemplating a cut). Now? Well, I’ve been rocking a super-long, blonde, straight-ish look with long side-swept bangs for a few years. It’s kinda yawn-y at times, but I finally found the perfect shade of blonde for me (actually these tips helped me figure it out), and the idea of changing my hair’s status quo just sounds too risky and expensive.

Just like fashion trends change with rising temps, our hair and makeup have to adjust as well. When it's hot outside, I like to get as low maintenance as possible (who am I kidding, I always try to look fabulous in under five minutes) -- that means minimal-to-no blow drying and quick-and-effortless makeup.

Overly-hyped anything always sets me up for disappointment -- whether it's a beauty product or a film (sorry Clooney, but all the best lines from "Up in the Air" were in the trailer). Expectation really is the mother of frustration. Plus, the allure of cute packaging creates a certain kind of hype, which can either be a sweet score or a total waste of money. And unfortunately I'm a sucker for it -- hook, line and sinker -- from choosing a bottle of vino to picking out a tube of lipstick (see a list of top-rated ones here).

Isn't it so annoying how celebs have access to the best team of beauty gurus (aestheticians, makeup artists, hairstylists, nutritionists, personal trainers, stylists, etc., etc.) that money can buy? Consequently, they have such seemingly flawless, glowing skin. (BTW, did you ever see that film "Stardust" where Claire Danes plays a star -- as in a celestial object -- and her character actually glowed when she fell in love? Sorry, I digress.)

I'm originally from the Midwest -- a part of the country that doesn't see a smidgen of sunshine for months out of the year -- so growing up, all the tan girls garnered a ton of praise. Unfortunately, I am paler than pale so my tan (or lack thereof), well, always paled in comparison to my friends. I did the tanning bed thing here and there and would bake myself in the sun (hopefully admitting this in my line of work won't put me out of a job), but then I started to worry about skin cancer and (thankfully) vanity kicked in and I started imagining myself all old and crinkly -- think Magda in "There's Something About Mary".

Giving back is all about finding a cause that speaks to you -- some of my volunteer experiences have been fulfilling, and others not so much (hello candy striping days). As of late, I volunteered to teach yoga at a wellness center for mentally ill patients. The students were all so attentive, focused and patient, and the breathing and movement really seemed to be positively affecting them. And I have to say, bringing some light into their lives seemed to brighten up my own inner glow.

I never like hearing about celebrity breakups (or any breakups for that matter). I guess it’s just a byproduct of my delusion that I "know" these A-listers that I "see" daily on TV and in mags. Anyway, I was sad to hear that Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet and her director husband Sam Mendes have recently split up after nearly seven years of marriage (hello seven year itch).

One of my most degrading airport moments happened on the way back from a business (not pleasure, unfortunately) trip. I was juggling the quintessential wheeled carry on, my laptop case, and big ol’ purse -- and three items were not OK with TSA. So I had to get on my hands and knees and humiliatingly rejigger my stuff so that it fit in two bags. Sigh. And I thought not having the right case for my toiletries (see reader-reviewed makeup cases here) was gonna be my biggest problem.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror while driving the other day, and the sunshine quickly spotlighted the crow's feet that have formed around my eyes. Ugh. I immediately started going down the OMG-I-am-aging wormhole, but before I let myself get too existential, I started to think more superficially, "What can I do to fix it?" Wearing more sunscreen (check out the best and worst sunblocks according to real women here) was the first thing that popped into my head, yet that's more of a prevention-type thing. Hmmm …