Any Excuse Will Do: Yummi Bears Children's Vitamins

Justification goes a long way, baby.
Winter flu season is approaching fast. You need to take care of yourself. But does anything taste worse than echinacea? Yes, and it’s a toss-up between zinc and Centrum Complete.
Yummi Bears to the rescue! Children’s vitamins that pack a healthy punch, they come in many varieties. (We’re partial to the Dietary Supplement for Active Children.) Think of them as the good news bears.
Candy with vitamins? Is there any question? We say go for it. You don’t even need to feel guilty for finishing the whole box.
Yummi Bears are available online or at Bigelow Pharmacy, 414 Sixth Avenue, between 8th and 9th Streets (212-533-2700).

The New Frenchie: The new french manicure

We’ve been air-brushed. Initialed and laced, too. We even (nuts, but true) had our toenails bedazzled. There’s nothing new to be done to nails, right?
Wrong. We recently spotted a great new look and we’re obsessed. The half mannie. Consider it a low maintenance Frenchie.
This look is ideal for the girl who chips her polish, works with her hands, and doesn’t have time for weekly updates (you know, real girls). We spotted it on Nevena Borissova, the insanely style-endowed owner of Curve. How’s it work? Easy. Paint just the tips of your nails any bright color. Silver and red are favorites, but you can color coordinate with your outfit if that’s your bag.
Best of all, since you do it yourself, you can save your manicure dough for something more practical like, um, a facial.

Why So Blue? Astara Blue Flame Mask

It’s the 911 call.
“Doc, do you have any time? Like, um, today?”
No, it’s not the flu. It’s not a toothache.
It’s—quelle horreur!—a blemish. And your reservation for dinner this evening is for two, not three.
You thought that now that you were out of puberty you were immune to such travesties? That thing on your face is proof that clearly you’re not. And why your health insurance doesn’t cover a $200 can-you-please-remove-this-thing-from-my-face emergency trip to the derm is beyond comprehension. But no time to complain: This is a time for action. (Boys, this includes you; you’re not beyond a zit or two.)
Do like the beauty editors do: Astara Blue Flame Purification Mask, a Play-Doh-blue paste that kicks Clearasil’s butt for on-the-spot action, killing the most stubborn blemish, and before that 8:30 reservation at The Park.
Did you really think the bouncer guarding the VIP room was really going to let you in looking like that?
Then again, maybe he could use some?
The Astara Blue Flame Purification Mask is available at Bigelow Pharmacy, 414 6th Avenue; (212-533-2700) or online from Sephora.

His and Her Antacid: Tums for PMS

You know how giddy we get in the drugstore.
Oh, all those products!
Dental Dots! Crest White Strips! Magic zit cream! The new Venus razor!
But our latest foray into that land of cosmeto-pharma-haze stopped us dead in our tracks.
Right there. Next to the Mylanta.
PMS Tums.
Sure, we’re suckers for anything that resembles candy. And yeah, heartburn can be a problem with all those love woes, that boy confusion, nasty breakouts, and those sceney restaurants. Add in a bit of PMS…and whoa!
We were riveted. So we started reading the label. Hmmm…The ingredients seemed pretty darn similar to regular Tums’. Nevertheless, the bottle made it into our shopping cart.
Marketing ploy or real McCoy? Your call.
Our only confusion: Are these “special” Tums meant for women suffering from PMS or for the heartburn-stricken men who have to deal with them?