Save the Planet and Your Skin with tarte

Being a former make-up artist, I am a self-professed make-up junkie. I've tried to kick this habit, but with companies like tarte making better beauty products that are good for you designed in chic packaging all while helping the planet, my rehabilitation efforts are out the window. One of the reasons I fell off the wagon was tarte's Spring 2008 Health Couture line, where they are introducing their new t5 super fruit complex. The first blend of its kind has naturally occurring, antioxidant rich nutrients and vitamins and is made with the five most active super fruits: acai, goji, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate.

My make-up mania tends to focus on lip gloss, so when I tried the double dose berry boost & gloss ($21) that lets you control your pigment and shine, I was taken right back to my artist days. With four brilliant colors to choose from you’ll be an expert in no time.

Another product with the t5 super fruit complex is their best-selling natural cheek stain that is swirled with two flattering shades. Full blossom ($28) gave me that perfect flushed color in my cheeks and the formula worked well for my oily skin.

Let’s not forget those lashes. Rejuvelash declumping lash exhilarator ($16) treats, protects and revives lashes. I used this as a lash conditioner before applying my mascara, and my thin, puny lashes turned to red carpet eye openers.

Last but not least is their infinite glow bestsellers palette ($30) with park ave princess mineral powder bronzer, award-winning gel cheek stain in tipsy and a moisturizing 24.7 lip sheer in the new shade may flowers. This bronze, faux-croc, compact with mirror is just what your summer travel plans ordered.

Tarte makes it quite alright to be a make-up-aholic by giving back to Mother Earth with their support of the Sambazon's Sustainable Acai Project. With the purchase of every full blossom cheek stain and double dose berry boost & gloss, you'll be helping to preserve the Amazon Rainforest through forest conservation, improved living conditions and educational opportunities for communities in Brazil.

Team Tunky Unites at Race for the Cure

My husband and I joined our dear friends, Lisa and Hubert Riley, at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to honor the memory of Hubert's mother, Tunky, and my 28 year old sister, Liz, who both lost their lives to breast cancer.

Ann "Tunky" Riley, the former First Lady of South Carolina, lost her life on March 7th from complications to her second battle with breast cancer at the age of 72. Married for more than 50 years to Dick Riley, former Governor of South Carolina and Secretary of Education to President Clinton, Tunky was a devoted mother and grandmother to her four children and 13 grandchildren. She was also a tireless advocate for public education, helping her husband with the Education Improvement Act (EIA) - public school reforms that paved the way to his appointment to the U.S. Department of Education.

“Gracious and kind in every situation,” remembers former state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum. “She was a friend to everyone she knew. If you were one of her close friends, you considered yourself to be very fortunate.”

Photo caption: My husband and I with the Riley family and their friends at Race for the Cure in Sacramento, CA.

Allyson Collins Does Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Liz's Memory

Last year my mother and I co-captained a Relay for Life team for the American Cancer Society in Liz’s memory for the first time. We raised over $22,000 – breaking all fundraising records – and won four awards in the process. For several reasons (mainly busy schedules), we will not be doing it this year. However for the third year in a row, our dear friend, Allyson Collins, will be doing the two day, 40 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in my sister's memory.

Allyson was with my family through all of Liz's illness and was incredibly supportive. Despite living, working and going to school in San Francisco, she visited Liz every time she was hospitalized. During the end of Liz's life - while Allyson was in finals at school - she drove to Stockton every day she could (sometimes in the middle of the night) and held vigil in the hospital with us. She slept on the floor of my mother's house the nights immediately following Liz's death and held my hand as I walked behind my sister's casket, barely able to watch my 24 year old brother and husband be some of the young men to carry it.

We are forever grateful to Allyson for her dedication to our family and Liz's memory. Please join me in supporting her efforts to raise money for this wonderful cause. You can make a donation by going to Allyson's personal page before July 12th (click here).

GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) Passes in Senate with Flying (Pink) Colors

I recently blogged about the efforts to make it illegal to discriminate based on genetic information, and am happy to report that thanks to the 16,000 of you who contacted your Senators, GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) passed through the Senate unanimously. The next step is for the House and the President to approve the bill, which will hopefully happen soon.

According to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, GINA prohibits discrimination by health insurers and employers on the basis of genetic information. So now, thanks to GINA, women who would otherwise have avoided genetic testing because they feared discrimination – thus being denied information that could help them manage their health or their family's health – will have protections under federal law. The passage of GINA is an important step that presents a great opportunity to promote personalized medicine and the use of genetic information in health care. This will lead to better research and development for new targeted drugs and treatments, which will save lives.

Lance Armstrong Runs for Livestrong in Boston Marathon

Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, ran his first Boston Marathon today with a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 58 seconds. The third marathon for Armstrong (he ran the New York marathon twice), who ran it to raise money for his foundation Livestrong, stated again how much more difficult running a marathon is over cycling.

"You can't compare the pounding or running with the efficiency of a bicycle," he said. "Nothing even comes close to comparing the pain, especially it seems like this course, with a significant amount of downhills ... that really take their toll on the muscles."

Great job, Lance, and a big "thank you" for validating us marathoners!

To support Livestrong and other great cancer organizations, please go to the cancer page on Uptown Liz.

Support the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and Save Lives

There is a test that can tell you if you are a carrier of the breast cancer genetic mutation. If you test positive you are 85% likely to get the disease, and it is recommended that you have your breasts and ovaries removed. This is an issue that, unfortunately, I will have to make a decision on one day. One enormous downside is that if your health insurance company finds out your test results, they will drop you and you will become uninsurable with all insurance companies. My sister’s oncologist has recommended I don’t get the test for this reason, but my OBGYN (as well as other OBGYNs I know) have recommended I do get the test because of our family history with the disease. My 28 year old sister, Liz, died from breast cancer, my paternal grandmother died at 42 from the disease, her sister (my great aunt) died at 47, another paternal aunt died at 65, my aunt (grandmother's daughter) is a breast cancer survivor as well as several paternal cousins, and my other aunt decided to have her breasts removed as a preventative measure (and that’s just on my dad’s side).

This gross oversight has led many to forgo testing denying them important information that could help them save their own lives. It has also led many to opt-out of clinical trials, which in turn hurts advancements in cancer research.

What can you do? Join me and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation in helping to support the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) being brought to the Senate. Please take a minute and send a pre-written letter (you can add your own words as well) to your Senator by going to their website. If this bill is passed, it will save countless lives.

If you are further interested in this topic, a new book just came out called Pretty Is What Changes by Jessica Queller. She’s a thirty something year old writer in Hollywood who’s mother battled breast cancer and later died from ovarian cancer. The book is about her decision to have her breasts and ovaries removed once she tested positive from the genetic test.

Olympic Marathon Hopeful Trains for the Toughest Two Trials of Her Life

Being a marathon runner and someone who has lost a sister to breast cancer, this story really touched me. I know how challenging it can be to train for a marathon. I cannot imagine training (at the Olympic level) while working and taking care of a young child who is battling cancer, but that is exactly what Emily LeVan is doing.

On November 5, 2007, Emily's three year old daughter, Madeline (Maddie), was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Emily and her husband Brad, who live on a farm off the coast of Maine, had their entire lives changed that day. Although Maddie is responding well to treatment, the weekly trips to the Maine Medical Center in Portland and the Maine Children's Cancer Program Clinic in Scarborough and the numerous financial, physical, mental and emotional challenges of having a sick child take their toll. But the family has been inspired by the support they have received at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital and the Maine Children's Cancer Program (MCCP). They feel incredibly fortunate to have these resources available and want to make sure other families have them as well.

Currently training for the 2008 Olympic Trials, this emergency department nurse is taking her love of running and raising money for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. The fundraiser entitled Two Trials, which started on January 18th (Maddie's birthday) and will end on April 20th (the day of the Trials), represents two marathons - the one that Emily is training for and the one that Maddie is enduring with cancer. Since a marathon represents 26.2 miles, Emily multiplied that number by two and came up with their fundraising goal of $52,400. Emily wants to use her running to benefit something greater than herself, and with Maddie in the BabyJogger having logged thousands of miles with mom and run a few races herself, I have no doubt that's exactly what she will do.

My best wishes for Maddie's full recovery and an Olympic run for Emily.