Visiting the Estée Lauder corporate offices is always a treat for us.

Every time we walk into the vast marble lobby of the General Motors building we feel a flutter of excitement that typically stays with us all day. On this last trip with Michelle and Annie, we took a little detour to the 40th Floor and ended up in The Salon—the famous blue waiting room decorated with Mrs. Estée Lauder’s own furnishings.

The view from this room is to die for—even with drizzly weather sprinkling raindrops down the windows. The French furniture and porcelain pieces were Mrs. Estée Lauder’s way of giving the room a “homey” feel, making visitors feel at ease. Unchanged since 1967, this gorgeous room is a wonderful display of the industry leader’s taste and we’re thrilled to have seen it in person.

Thank you to our lovely friend Jessica at Estée Lauder for giving us a tour!

Our trip to Space.NK earlier this month left us with a sample of Sheerin O’Kho Outdoor Meetings, Wintertime Face Cream.

Even though our friend Julia swears by the Sheerin O’Kho First Class Flight Cream, we had never tried this plant-based brand until now.

To be honest, we like our beauty products to be aesthetically pleasing (in addition to actually working, that is) and our experience with “100% natural” has always been lacking in the smells-nice-and-looks-nice department. Always.

With gorgeous packaging and fragrant essential oils, this luxurious brand seems anything but natural. Dedicated to provide ethical plant-based formulas without parabens, PEG (polyethylene glycol), artificial colors or fragrance, Sheerin O’Kho takes “100% natural” to the next level.

The Outdoor Meetings, Wintertime Face Cream has more than 18 natural ingredients to combat the cold, wind and rain that winter weather brings. With 20.45% active ingredients, rigorous weather has no chance against our protected skin.

If you’re wondering why this review is, like, two weeks late—just ask my crazy mother!

She nags me practically every day of the week to get this column written, and then has the nerve to let my precious words hang out in her overloaded email in-box, scared and overwhelmed, for TWO WEEKS. Whatever. (I’m hoping this little incident keeps the nagging at bay for a week or two. At least.)

So, now that you’ve all pretty much forgotten that I had a miracle mascara to tell you about, here it is:

Prescriptives Here to Stay Mascara is the longest wearing, most waterproof mascara I’ve ever tried. This stuff does not budge. No flakes to irritate my contact lenses and no smudges or smears to make my already-smoky eyes look a little crack-house-crazy. I am in love with this mascara.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day. We drove 12 hours (each way) to spend the holiday with our family two states away. I just love being cooped up for hours in the car with my parents (NOT!)—but I did catch up on my beauty sleep and a few rated-G movies that I haven’t seen in a while.

And of course, Bailey and I had all the time in the world to take self-portraits. What can I say, we’re easily amused.

As a frequent traveler and longtime fan of MD Skincare, we absolutely must have this MD Skincare Team Travel Set:

This handy travel set contains 3o application packettes of MD Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel, a 1.7 oz. All-in-One Facial Cleanser with Toner and a 1.7 oz. Hydra-Pure Firming Body Cream—all favorites of Makeup Bag.

Also included is a stacked set of 6 refillable pots—ideal for daytime moisturizer, night cream, sunscreen, foot cream, and pretty much every other lotion and potion on our bathroom counter.

The best part? This $116 value is available for only $78. (Come to think of it, we might need two!)