The thing about being a beauty junkie is that you're allowed to be a novice. It's not about turning into a highlight-obsessed Bergdorf Blonde or investing your 401K in indulgent anti-aging treatments. Personally, I think it means actively exploring what you like and what makes you feel good, being scrappy about saving dough, and basically making that whole commercial beauty enterprise work for you. But then again, I'm a novice. I happen to be a lucky junkie and can get my fix of the next big beauty obsession thanks to the nature of my job; but I never obsess or buy into every promised-land product that comes my way. To be honest, homemade scrubs and a 10-minute morning routine puts me in the "low maintenance" bracket. Except when it comes to one thing: eyebrows. I am diligently obsessed and frequently frustrated with my eyebrows, though for some reason I have never fronted the time or money to see an actual professional brow-shaper. Until I found Sue Ellen Gifford at the Pierre Michel Salon, that is.

Some would say Joanna Krupa's career straddles the fine line of physical exploitation and sexual empowerment, depending on the stage of her career and who you're asking. Before she was on Dancing with the Stars, the Polish stunner was known as the swimsuit model. Well, the commercial swimsuit model anyway, because who can top the SI Swimsuit Models? Anyway, before she was the commercial swimsuit model, she made rent by performing in softcore porn, but it was really, very soft-- she tickled co-stars in a tickle fetish film. Around the same time, Krupa posed for her first Playboy cover, without the world even so much as batting an eyelash. But this was all prior to being injected into mainstream media via her moves on DWTS, and now that she's chosen to pose for the December 2009 issue of Playboy, there are many eyelashes batting -- and many of them belong to feminists. But it's all good because Krupa believes that having pride in your body, and bearing the confidence to go bare, is the feminist's way.

Perhaps Anne Hathaway isn't the first body to pop up in your fantasy wish list of desirable celeb physiques. She doesn't have Britney's crazy abs, circa 2000 -- that we know of anyway. Famously a 6-cum-4, thanks to The Devil Wears Prada dress-size admissions, her curves embody a healthy real girl message while maintaining a secretly bangin' bod -- usually only bared in cleavage-sweeping gowns on the red carpet. Which is cool because it gives healthy real girls good target practice, minus Hathaway's bra size and red carpet access, unfortunately. In any case, her fitness routine is a mix of upper body jabs to tone shoulders and lower body blasts to keep her long legs cut and shapely. If cutting cigarettes, red meat, fish, and alcohol to lose pounds is not your style like it is Hathaway's, at least these moves can help keep you lean.

I just walked past Macy's in Herald Square, and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the seasonal shopping mayhem that comes with it. Even as early as November 13, the sidewalks were clogged with obnoxious shoppers wielding strollers and heeled boots -- both of which assaulted my feet and ankles. I suggest you get a head start on the holidays and pick up a few cheap 'n chic items before all hell breaks loose. It's true that beauty gifts are hard to buy for even the most obsessed product collectors, but these little specialty gifts are under $20 and are unique enough to give you an edge in the thoughtfulness category.

Last night the Bowery Hotel was hopping with humane fashion folks like Nigel Barker, Victoria Bartlett, Charlotte Ronson for the Cool vs. Cruel Fashion Competition -- an annual event that gives fashion students the task of reinterpreting high-end luxury designs using cruelty-free fabrics. Ingrid Bergstrom-Kendrick was the big winner for her take on a cruelty-free Michael Kors 2009 look. Meanwhile, I tried to hide my leather Frye boots from the Humane Society hosts and ended up feeling pretty guilty, though it was refreshing to feel more aware of what I had on my body. I ended up downing one too many cocktails to drown my guilt, but resolved to try to maintain that sense of eco-awareness. Come morning, bourbon-induced eye puffs made me reach for my usual eye fixers, but I opted to try Dr. Alkaitis' Organic Eye Cream, a certified organic, biodynamic and ethically wild-crafted eye cream that made me feel a bit better about the leather boots.

Gisele is, in a word, inspiring. But then again she's also a bombshell, the sexiest female alive, genetically gifted, terrifyingly hot, lively and simply beautiful. So the moral is, there is no single word to describe her. The other moral of this story is there is not actually a formulaic "how-to" that can get you glowing like the girl; however, we can share some of Mrs. Tom Brady's favorite beauty tricks and product must-haves, which can inspire you to go the Gisele route and perhaps start feeling like more of a super-duper-model. So in that case, I am not giving you (totally) false hope.

It's not that tweeter @SpaSally didn't like some of the spa deals we've been sharing, it's just that she has a much better hookup herself. I'm not sure if it's because she has pink hair, but @SpaSally has convinced prime spa spots to offer one of their most popular services for just $25 each Tuesday, and not just for her own selfish satisfaction -- she shares the steals on the internets for all to enjoy.

I picked up Lina Hanson's Eco-Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Natural Beauty and Wellness a while ago, and have not been able to put it down. The book is a gentle reminder that it is possible to green every aspect of your life, and Hanson introduces concepts in a way that makes transitioning into a conscious lifestyle less exasperating and more empowering. I've been trying to take measures of my own in this department, making little changes in my beauty routine that have really started to make a difference -- and one of the things I am trying to incorporate is what she calls "Juice Couture."

What are the thin people really eating? The British Journal of Nutrition just published a study this month saying that the trimmest people, those who weighed the lightest, flaunted the slimmest waists, and were proud owners of the smallest hip circumference, had the highest levels of omega 3 fatty acids in their blood. After investigating the commonality, I found that these people were in fact not freebasing flaxseed oil. They were, however, loading up on foods that were rich in omega 3s -- grass-fed beef, flaxseed, soy, salmon, etc. No one knows for sure what omega 3s do for the diet exactly ... they may stimulate hormones that make you feel full, and they have been shown to improve circulation, which can also aid in weight loss and reducing inflammation. Whatever the case, you can get slim while you dine in New York this weekend; head to a few of these "healthy" joints to load up on the good stuff.

Coco Rocha, cute. Lily Cole, edgy. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, well she's nice enough I reckon. But really, the whole of America knows that it's all about Kate Moss, who basically carries the London cosmetics company in all of her "London Look" awesomeness. That is, until their recent signing of the baby-Bardot Georgia Jagger. It may be pure beauty blasphemy to say, but if anyone were to fill Moss' Louboutins, it would have to be the 17 year-old youngin' with enough low-key London DNA to keep her cool, but a widely recognized pedigree as the daughter of Rolling Stones rocker Sir Mick Jagger and supermodel Jerry Hall.