Gift-giving during the holiday season is good for the soul and all, but it's also fun to treat yourself to some seasonal gift items, especially if you're into limited-edition products and creative packaging. And if you're really into makeup like we are, you know that there's nothing more exciting than a good holiday makeup collection, complete with new color palettes, brushes, and goodies you wouldn't normally buy on their own. Never ones to deprive our readers of a good tip-off, here's a list of some of the best makeup sets available now, for a limited time—so act fast!

That’s right. You deserve a holiday treat too. After you’re done shopping for everyone else, treat yourself to some winter essentials that will make traveling easier, plus keep you toasty and sane during the holidays. Sure, you can still buy these items for other people, but don’t forget to treat yourself a little. ‘Tis the season for giving to all—including yourself. Start with these MICHAEL Michael Kors Brandy Snow Boots, $225. As much as I love them, Tory Burch flats aren’t going to cut it this winter. Even regular leather boots won’t. Get a decent pair of snow boots.

Okay, so Cyber Monday might sound dirty, but the internet-wide shopping fest makes perfect sense to my demo. Getting up at 4am on a Friday to beat down racks of half-priced scarves is what our moms did - we learned from their mistakes. My demo can sleep ‘til noon on Friday and watch a marathon of The Muppet Christmas Carol over Fruity Pebbles, shopping online when the spirit moves us. Here are a few of my favorite Cyber Monday beauty deals to buy on your lunch break.

Get tanned and toned for the tropics

I spied Jessica Hart for the one-millionth time out at the National show at BAM last week and I, as per the usual, dug her style. The Australian model of Sports Illustrated and Guess? fame always shows up styled one part beachy, one part rock n' roll, a casual look perfect for summer nights in the city. The natural beauty prefers oversize glasses, tan skin, red lips and rocker tees— garnering inspiration in part from Tamarama's Nicolas Potts, her beach/pop rocker boyfriend.

There’s a veritable mascara war going on out there, and it’s getting serious. It started off small, pitting two vibrating mascaras against one another -- Lancome Ôscillation and Estee Lauder’s Turbo Lash, but now it’s spreading with Givenchy eschewing a traditional brush or comb for a porcupine-eque spherical applicator, while SpinLash has a rotating version. What do we make of all these newfangled lash-lengthening devises?

File under unnecessary advancements in beautification: Cosmetic giant Lancome is releasing the first vibrating mascara wand. The product, which won't be released till fall, is called the "ÔSCILLATION -- Vibrating Infinite Powermascara." The wand will pound you with 7,000 oscillations per minute in aid of longer, fuller lashes. Some might object to rapidly pulsing object that close to the eye, but that didn't stop women from buying a preview of the mascara. Yesterday, Sephora offered a small lot of the soon-to-be released Powermascara on their website, and it sold out by 6 a.m. that morning. I predict eyepatches will be a popular look for fall/winter '08.