Have you ever been on a date and caught a glimpse of yourself in your glass of water?‚ 

You hope it’s the condensation that’s making your reflection look like you left the gym locker room, but no.‚  You’re forehead is glistening with perspiration.

Dermelect Cosmeceuticals’ Pore-Revolution-T-zone -Mattifier might be the solution you’re looking for. This beauty treatment is safe for all skin types, and a small dab of the silky cream applied to your forehead and nose, and any other areas that are prone to shine, should do the trick (Experts say to use your ring finger when applying, as this appendage has the gentlest touch). The salicylic acid in the cream stimulates the pores and, at the same time, cooling reliefs like willow leaf oil soothe the skin.‚  The thin cream dries faster than your first coat of mascara, so there will be no remnants of residue.

The odorless product also works to tighten your pores and refine your skin.‚  Stop the shine and go through your day with confidance forever more.

Other products available at www.dermelect.com include Dermelect Cosmeceuticals’ Detoxifying Oxygen Facial Commisson.‚  This facial cleanser is designed to awaken the skin with just a dime-sized squirt in the morning. Its natural ingredients, including soy protein and licorice extract, are gentle and soothing to the skin, and the cleanser releases oxygen molecules that instantaneously detoxify the unwanted dirt and residue in your pores.‚  This product, which was formulated by medical professionals and licensed estheticians, can additionally be used as a quick and easy makeup remover in the evening.

For more information or to purchase, please visit www.dermelect.com.

It was October 2005, and professional photographer Karen Sparacio was in Uganda. She was there to photograph a relief organization. Ayaa Grace, an Alhcoli woman, invited her to visit the Acholi Quarter.  What the Sparacio saw changed her life and, soon, the lives of hundreds of Ugandans as well.

Sparacio took in the creative and colorful jewelry that these women were making out of what little they had.  She brought some of the jewelry back with her to the states to see if she could sell some of these beaded works of art to help raise money for the women.  The few she brought with her sold quickly, and she returned to Uganda in January 2006, to initiate the beginnings of Project Have Hope.

The Acholi Quarter was a rundown civilization, a slum, outside of Kampla.  The state people live in was unparalleled to the sincere and pure souls that the photographer saw there.  Sparacio spent two and a half weeks photographing the Alcholi women and capturing the illuminating spirits of the women in this slum.

Project Have Hope is based in Malden, Mass. Sparacio learned the unique craft of the Alcholi women and took back these skills with her to the United States.  Like the Acholi women, she and other volunteers make colorful beads out of recycled paper.  She then sells the jewelry at local craft fairs and online at www.projecthavehope.org.

Project Have Hope has helped hundreds of women since its inception in 2006. With the money earned from jewelry sales and donations, Project Have Hope has created programs that provide women with the skills to work and become educated; the organization also rekindles the hope that may have faded from these women along the way.  With the money raised, Project Have Hope started a literacy program for 22 women who had never before even stepped inside a classroom.  Karen Sparacio’s organization also began a vocational training program.  Currently, 18 women are enrolled, and when the training is complete, they will receive a loan that will enable them to immediately start their lives in the working world.

What began as a small loans program for 30 women to start small businesses, has grown to a “high risk jumbo loan,” for women with strong and viable business ideas.  The high risk loan will take these women two years to repay.

“[The main goal of Project Have Hope] was to help women create something that is sustainable once I’m gone,” Sparacio said. “Realistically, I know I can’t do this work forever. So my goal is to help provide the women with the education, skills and finances needed to help them support themselves without the need of outside, foreign assistance.”

Sparacio has spent thousands of hours working on Project Have Hope. When asked what she has gained through this journey, she simply says, “Friends.” Many of the women she meets in Uganda have been raped and assaulted, their children have been abducted and husbands have been beaten or killed.

“But they smile widely and often, laugh gregariously, and move forward with each passing day,” she said. “I am honored to consider many of them as friends. They are the people who remind me, even when I do not see them everyday of what is important in life.”

It must be true that life’s greatest gifts are not seen, but felt.

Sparacio remembers one boy who had been abducted at the young age of 8. He was forced to become a child soldier, but escaped nine months later. Sparacio took the boy to live with his Aunt in the Acholi Quarter. Through Project Have Hope, he has been sponsored in school for the past two years.  Whenever he sees Sparacio, he walks with her and holds her hand.

In January, the boy saw her sitting alone and asked if he could sing her a song. He began to sing the children’s song “Head and Shoulders…Knees and Toes,” while simultaneously touching each body part.

“He grinned happily and proudly as he sung. No matter how bad of a day I am having, I think of him and smile. What a sweet, kind child!” Sparacio said. “To at least some small degree, I was able to give him back his childhood and give him hope for the future.”

For more information on Project Have Hope, visit ProjectHaveHope.org.

We’ve seen more blondes in today’s malls as a result of today’s hottest teeny bopper starlets. Some girls are even going as far as getting their prom dresses made to match those they see at MTV’s VMA’s. Today’s hottest celebrities influence the American culture in the everyday things we do. They influence our choices in fashion, what music we download to our Ipod, what books and magazines we buy — just about everything.

Recently, Oprah Winfrey laid out the red carpet for Democratic Presidential Candidate, Barack Obama. The event was expected to raise $3 million for Obama’s campaign. With guest appearances by Will Smith, Stevie Wonder and Halle Berry, along with Oprah’s announcement that this presidential candidate was her "favorite guy," one would think Obama’s audience increased.

But a survey conducted b y E-Poll Market Research may prove otherwise. The celebrity and brand research firm polled 2,237 voting age Americans. Of those, only 16 percent say a celebrity would influence their vote in the 2008 Presidential Election. In fact, 10 percent of participants said that a celebrity influence would have a negative impact on their vote.

E-Poll asked which celebrities — if any — would be the most influential in deciding which candidate to vote for. The top celebrities did include Oprah Winfrey along with George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Survey results show that democrats could be more swayed by celebrity endorsements than republicans. Although Obama is among the top three democratic presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton is still on top, and her campaign has not included any celebrity endorsements to date.

If candidates are looking for a boost, they should not turn to Rosie O’Donnell, Tom Cruise or Madonna. E-Poll’s survey suggests they would have the least influence and the most negative effects.

Candidates looking to gain votes from those who are still undecided for the 2008 election should not look to celebrities for help. Independents are the least likely to be swayed and only 13 percent say it would be a positive influence.

Overall, the survey results show that celebrity endorsements basically have no effect on young voters’ decisions.
Perhaps Oprah should have saved the red carpet gala until her next birthday.

It’s 5:17 p.m. and the owner of the silver Audi behind you is honking his horn, along with the 13 other cars that surround you.

Yep, you’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic again, and you only have five minutes to get to your girlfriend’s house.

The traffic excuse — true or not — will not subside her whines for your tardiness. Pull out your TrafficOne Mobile and you won’t have to stop at the drugstore on the way home for a pair of earplugs, but flowers still wouldn’t hurt.

Traffic.com, a leading website with traffic solutions for stress free drives, joined forces with NAVTEQ, a leader in digital maps to create TrafficOne Mobile.

TrafficOne Mobile issues subscribers immediate traffic reports in high definition. The downloadable software sends traffic reports in 3D via mobile messaging. Easily and efficiently, TrafficOne Mobile enables users to access reports through any wireless browser and includes a voice activator to give commands while on the road.

For more information, please log onto Traffic.com and click on TrafficOne Mobile. The few minutes it takes to log in can save you hours on the road.

Have you donated a dollar to the Jimmy Fund? Or maybe you surprised a coworker with a cup of coffee? Has anyone fixed your flat tire, or simply asked how you were on a dreary Monday morning, and then waited to hear your answer? These small, yet meaningful acts are what LittleFishBigRiver.com catalogs as random acts of kindness.

These simple acts are the things that bring a smile to someone’s face and don’t have to cost a penny. While it’s important to watch the news and keep up with current events, sometimes we forget the good that does exist, and how much of it there really is in the world.

What started out as founder Scott Kuttila’s New Year’s resolution to make a small difference in the world has turned into a world-wide social network that recognizes small acts of kindness. With the help of friends and coworkers, Michael Clauss and Carlos Recalde of KPMG, began LittleFishBigRiver.com.

You can log in and browse the various acts of kindness that have occurred throughout the day — like cutting 14 inches of hair off to donate to Locks of Love, picking up a piece of litter from the side of the road and offering someone a ride home from work.

Members can create their own profile with photos and journals. You can share your random acts of kindness throughout the day and even click on the "Kindness Top Ten Lists." See what small gestures are making people smile in Boston and Los Angeles or Sweden and Thailand.

The site donates 10 percent of ad revenue to charity each time a member logs in. Members can easily invite their friends and family to join by adding their email to the site. The site will send an invitation to each friend and soon, members have their own small community. The more we share, the more we’ll motivate others to do the same. The idea is that by joining with your family and friends and visiting the site regularly, you are helping charity around the world.

The world may never be, "happily ever after," but with this site, random act of kindness will make others “happy in the moment.” You can start being a big fish in your area and joining LittlefishBigRiver.com and sharing what act of kindness you did today.

Millions of us drink coffee to get that extra kick to start off our day, and even more drink coffee as the days grow shorter and the weather gets a bit cooler. Who doesn’t love that extra feeling of something warm on a cool September morning?

That’s right, we like the warmth, but not the burn. Those cardboard sleeves that the corner coffee shop provides burn our hands way too often. It’s cardboard; it doesn’t keep our fingers from turning red.

Alas, we have a solution to that problem: Cupcoats, from Cup Couture.

Cupcoats are insulated sleeves that slip onto your coffee cup, keeping your coffee hot and your hands cool. They can be used over and over; they’re guaranteed for life, unlike the wasteful cardboard sleeves that end up in the trashcan — or worse — on the side of the road.

And they come in a wide variety of colors and funky patterns.

Cupcoat designer Kellie Turner wants to make sure your coffee is dressed in the up and coming trends. She has five new “of-the-moment” Cupcoats ready to match your fall wardrobe, or to perk up that simple camel hair coat of yours.

From a fun and vibrant floral, pattern to a more retro primary-colored pattern, you are sure to find the Cupcoat that best expresses your sense of style. Cup Couture range in price from $12 – $32, or about 5-10 venti lattes.

It’s a little something extra sweet for your coffee, and it’s environmentally friendly too! For more information visit CupCouture.com.

J. Jill, the classically causal clothing store and online catalog began its "Nature of Compassion" t-shirt design contest in 2006. Over 2,500 entries were received this year, each piece of art celebrating the flux in nature and its wholesome beauty.

The contest was created in support of J. Jill’s Compassion Fund, which is devoted to serving community-based organizations that reach out to poor and homeless women. In its first year, the contest produced more than $315,000 from sales. All proceeds were donated to the Compassion Fund.

The finalists were chosen on three different criteria by representatives of J. Jill. Half of the points were awarded on relevance to the contest’s theme, 25 percent on uniqueness and the remaining 25 percent on how well the representatives believed the design would sell. If two designs should tie, the design that received the highest score on saleability will win the grand prize.

The winner will be publicly announced on November 1, but voters will receive an email announcing the winner before it hits the news.

The winning design will be printed on a long-sleeved, cotton t-shirt. For $24.95, this limited edition item will be sold in all J. Jill stores and on JJill.com through the Holiday Season.

The grand prize is a round trip for two to Artista Creative Safari, located in Caramel-by-the-Sea, California. The winner will have a four day stay there, filled with one-on-one painting lessons in the Artista Studio and reviews of their artwork by an Artista Professional.

If the artist should need a break for some inspiration or simply to clear his or her color palette, this deluxe package also includes a one-hour massage, a daily yoga class, a picnic at Point Lobes State Reserve and an exclusive Artista reception and dinner party. The grand prize winner will also receive a $1,000 shopping spree to J. Jill, so they can leave for their trip in style.

The remaining nine finalists, however, will not walk away empty-handed. They too will receive a shopping spree to J. Jill for up to $500.00.

The J. Jill Compassion Fund is housed at the Boston Foundation and has provided more than $1.2 million in charitable funding. Its generosity has helped women in the local area and has spread throughout the entire country. A complete list of causes is available online.

Established in 1987, J. Jill now operates more than 240 stores throughout the country.

Here are the top 10 finalists:

Kimberly Bardill – Wilmington, North Carolina
Susan Handly – St. Helena, California
Busha Husak – Malden, Massachusetts
Anita Gildea – Fort Wayne, Indiana
Paulina Manzo – Niskayuna, New York
Frances McCloskey – Belmar, New Jersey
Carrie Ralston – Wanaque, New Jersey
Jennifer Reagles – Middleton, Wisconsin
Toby Reed – Newton, Massachusetts
Jamie Wyant – Salem, Oregon