When you know you look good, you tend to feel good, too. Women have understood this tidbit of wisdom for years, and now men are coming around in a big way, which is why Jorge Cosano is pushing L'Oreal to develop a wide range of grooming products to meet their varied needs. "I have my dream job with the company, leading the creation of the L'Oreal USA incubator to develop new men's businesses," Cosano says. "As the leading beauty company in the world we believe we should help men look their best." 

Supermodel Natalia Vodianova, who celebrated her 28th birthday yesterday, was "discovered" at age 15, around the same time she was selling fruit on the streets of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia to make money for her poverty-stricken family. I say "discovered" because the ambitious young girl had actually enrolled in a modeling academy, where she became conversational in English—at the request of a model scout—in under three months. At 17, Vodianova signed with Viva Models in Paris, pursuing a career that would come to include contracts with Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, and Yves Saint Laurent. Aside from occasional red-carpet appearances and ad campaigns, what's she up to now?

Less than a year ago an unlikely (and unfortunately named) fashion and cosmetics trend began sweeping the scene: vlog hauling. Today, what was once an internet phenomenon where women, thirty-somethings, and tweens alike would show-off an endless array of new purchases via web cam—garnering tens of thousands of viewers in return—is now a bona fide brand marketing tool. "Some people complain that haul videos are shopping porn, presumably because the girls are in their bedrooms, but I suspect that those people just haven’t seen enough of them. The videos are extremely tedious," Cathy Horyn wrote of the nascent shopping practice. But audiences have yet to grow tired of the video diaries. And not surprisingly, the movement, which by default offers brands exceptionally potent—and nearly free—advertising, has caught the eye of quite a few major labels: L'Oreal and Maybelline, to name a few.

Have a look at this photo. Is something a little off? A little off-color perhaps? Word is that cosmetics giant L’Oreal lightened the singer’s skin, who’s been a spokesperson for them since 2001. But I wonder where these accusations came from? I’ve seen L’Oreal’s denial, but I’ve yet to see who made the initial charges. The picture does look tweaked some, but what ad doesn’t? It’s industry standard.

When it comes to self-tanner, exactly how much is too much? (Wait, did we just pull a Bradshaw?) When others notice, and comment on, the persistent smell of the DHA in your self-tanner rather than your perfume, you’ve gone a little too far. When you've gone from sun-kissed to Doritos fingers, you’ve gone too far.