This week: Free gifts, matching toenail polish, and stretch marks.

Which cosmetic company first came up with the idea for the “Free Gift with Purchase” or, what I call, “the only time I ever buy any department store makeup?”

This is up for debate because more than one cosmetics company claims they came up with this fantastic, hugely successful money making scheme, uh, I mean idea. But the Estée Lauder website claims that Estée herself came up with the whole gift-with-purchase concept. Estée was a ruthless, savvy businesswoman and a pioneer in the industry when she started her company in 1946. She was a skincare and fragrance visionary and was never afraid to march right up to a customer and boldly apply some lipstick to their bare lips! The woman knew how to sell, and if the whole gift-with-purchase phenomenon was her idea, well then it’s no wonder that the Estée Lauder Company owns practically every other cosmetics company in the world.

Alright, that’s an exaggeration, but they do own at least 25 other huge brands. Let me tell you a little insider story about the “free gift” time at the cosmetics counters. It is a GIANT pain in the you-know-what for the beauty advisors that work the counter. I don’t know what it is about “free” that just brings out the stupid in people. Countless times I would be at the counter, and around the whole cosmetics area there would be signs that advertise the free gift. Signs overhead, signs on the counter, signs on the ledges above the counter, signs in front of the store -- EVERYWHERE. And yet people would still come up to the counter, look me straight in the eye (all while I was wearing a sign around my neck that screamed FREE GIFT) and would ask, “Is there a gift today?” DUH!!! It got to the point where I would just say nothing and point to one of the gazillion signs. I guess I wasn’t a very good sales gal.

Now that it’s spring, my toes will be making an appearance again in some sandals soon. What is the rule nowadays about polish? Should it match my fingernails?

Unless you are a 75-year-old woman living in Palm Springs and you can’t live without your matching coral cabana orange polish on your toes and fingers, I would say that ideally they do not have to match. With toes, you can expect to go a little brighter and punchier than you would on your fingernails. Bright hot pink is fab on toes but looks a little tarty on fingers. In open-toed shoe season my pedicure is usually a summery festive red, while I keep my hands either bright and sheer or soft and neutral. Plus, with a neutral tone on fingertips it doesn’t matter so much if it chips quickly. It’s less noticeable. Luckily, polish tends to last longer on toes—probably because you don’t wash your feet twenty times a day like you do your hands. If you are really set on bright nails, that’s fine, just make sure they are short square-oval (squoval) in shape. Long talons tend to get you called names like Dragon Lady behind your back, of course.

As long as everything isn’t matchy-matchy, it will be fine. Another fine new trend in nail polish is that most companies now are removing the DBP or Dibutyl Phthalate, a toxic chemical that has been possibly known to cause birth defects. Revlon has led the way since 1992 when they made all their nail enamel free of DBP, Toluene, and Formaldehyde. L’Oreal’s Jet Set and OPI’s nail polish also are DBP free. If you are headed to a salon for a mani/pedi combo, lucky you, and bring your own nail polish if you are unsure of the ingredients in the brand they carry. I usually like to save a buck and do my own pedicures even if I have to practically become a contortionist to paint my right foot!

I am thinking about trying to get pregnant for the first time this summer. How am I going to prevent stretch marks? I think my skin is prone to them because I already have some on my hips. I am just hoping you have this magical cream that will save my tummy?

I truly wish there were some kind of magic potion to prevent stretch marks. If I could summon a genie with a magic lamp to rub, I would because I hate to deliver bad new to someone on the cusp of entering the exciting, and awesome journey know as motherhood. It should be all rosy and beautiful right? Well, stretch marks are anything but! They are red, ugly, squiggly, hideous lines that regardless of how much oil, moisturizer, or magic potion you apply will appear if you are prone to them. I come across products all the time that are geared directly toward the expectant mother that make all kinds of ridiculous claims with all kinds of goofy names. Tummy Butter, blech!

There are a couple of ways to prevent getting them. The best one is to only gain the amount of weight that your doctor recommends. But what fun is that? Isn’t a daily hot fudge sundae the right of a pregnant woman? Sadly though, nothing you apply topically will prevent the act of your skin stretching to accommodate that growing baby. The good thing about stretch marks is that over time they will fade. Plus, after you go through the experience of giving birth, you won’t even care a wink about how your skin will look. And neither will your husband or partner because after the baby is born, he will just be happy that the six week post-partum period is up and he will be begging to see you naked. I have two kids and I swear my husband is immune to noticing my stretch marks because if I’m flashing any skin, he’s a happy camper!

So the bottom line is skip spending money on expensive stretch mark preventing moisturizers. Your normal body moisturizer is fine during pregnancy. Why not splurge on a prenatal massage or grab that stylish Kate Spade diaper bag you know you’re dying to own!