I’ve found a fail-safe gift idea for your best friend, your sister, your daughter…or yourself.

I’ve been wearing Essie’s Stop, Drop and Shop non-stop for two weeks now: It’s a surprisingly neutral deep rose that’s part of Essie’s Fall Collection—but doesn’t look out of place on September days that still feel like summer. (Note: Essie calls it “mulberry red” but I think it’s more dark, velvety pink.)

If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m a fan of Essie’s Treat Love & Color one-step nail lacquer. It goes on in a single coat, requires no base or top coats—and it strengthens weak (prone-to-peeling-and-breaking) nails in as little as a week. It’s also now available in two dozen new shades.

With holiday reds and metallics behind us—and warm-weather brights still (alas) months away—early February can feel like nail lacquer purgatory: neither here nor there.

I am impatient. Nearly two decades of living in New York City taught me to loathe long lines, inefficient service, and slow-walkers (if a New Yorker bumps you while you stroll down Fifth Avenue, you probably deserve it. Think how you’d feel if she went to your town and drove a Suburban 10 mph down a one-lane road.). When we first moved to Ann Arbor, I even stopped visiting one coffee shop because the barista was too chatty, greeting my order of a soy latte with “soy-tainly!” and then taking 15 minutes to mix my drink. Nope. Not before 8 a.m. Buy-bye.

When I interviewed Erin Cotter, GOOP’s VP of Beauty, earlier this fall she raved about Jao's Goe Oil, an all-natural, plant-based hydrator she said smelled like a tropical vacation. Sounded nice but I wasn’t totally motivated to try it until this week when Mother Nature dumped eight inches of snow on Ann Arbor, and I started to feel like I was never not buried in a goose down coat and heavy Sorel boots.

In our teens and twenties, most of us gamely embraced new trends, feathering, then bobbing, then shagging our hair—and seesawing from frosty pink lipstick (80s pop) to matte brown lipcolor (90s grunge). It made us feel pretty, current, and allowed us to play around with different personas. But somewhere along the way, many settled into “what works best for us," adopting a haircut we’ve more or less maintained ever since, choosing an everyday, goof-proof lipcolor (pinky nude for me), selecting a grownup signature scent…and letting Millennials have all the fun with hair and makeup. I think this is a mistake.

If you’ve ever bought a beauty product online, I think you’ll want to read this.

As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. Today's beauty insider: Nyakio Kamoche Grieco, founder of Nyakio skincare

Here in Ann Arbor, the air is crisp, the kids are back in school, there’s football at the Big House, and I’m loving all the fall colors. (P.S. I’m talking about nail lacquer; the leaves haven’t started changing yet. We’re not that far north.)