FitBeauty: Faves and freebies for independent you

I imagine most of you are still busy finishing up leftovers from the 'Q or exhausted from all the festivities (or at least from spending time with your family), so what you don't need is some big, long beauty and style lecture on the Fifth of July.

So perhaps a few favorite new products and freebies will light you up. Here are some that I hope spark your self-care spark this morning:

Fire up some free mineral make-up samples by Naked and Everyday Minerals. This is a great opportunity to test out new products or get an introduction to a company. Your only investment is shipping and handling. I also love that I can order samples in a shade slightly darker shade to go with the bronze glow my sunless tanner's giving me.

I recommend the free sampler kit by Ocean Mist cosmetics to all my friends who are curious about mineral makeup. Ocean Mist offers three foundations, a bronzer, a finishing powder and a concealer in the most adorable little tubs (which are perf for summer travels) to new customers. Their concealer is one of the best around the mineral market, I think.

If you're up for making a purchase first, J. Lynne cosmetics will throw in three free samples, one each of a mineral foundation, priming powder and finishing powder.

Quench your skin's thirst with a floral-scented moisturizer that won't give you a headache and will smooth over your skin luxuriously. Yes, I pimping Alba again. I can't help it.. So many of their products are amazing. I'm loving the Jasmine and Vitamin E Moisture Cream. It is light without being greasy and is a great treat for my face after being outside all day. The jasmine smells so good that I feel - just for a second - like I'm vacationing in a hut on the islands rather than camped out on my back porch with a glass of OJ and yesterday's paper. It is available online for $16.99 but I picked it up at Whole Foods for $12.99 last week (hurry!).

And give your eyes a little anti-aging boost, too. My friend Mike, daddy blogger extraordinaire at Cry It Out, is not only a brilliant writer, he's also apparently a beauty expert. He tells me that Kiehl's Eye Alert is "like a BB gun to the crow's nest that are my eyes." (Really? Gun references for fancy eye cream? He loves him some product,but he's still got all that testosterone). Lovelies, let's just take that to mean: You don't have to be on Age of Love to get the benefit of this dreamy cream. It is not tested on animals, is full of alfalfa extracts (who knew that would sound so good for my fine lines?) and vitamin E. Find Mike's reco online for about $20 for a half-ounce.

If you're on a bit of beauty budget or if you really don't care about how much Dr. Phil's wife loves her some Kiehl's, Mike also says (hmmm, see how that rolls off the old keyboard? This may become a new column for FitBeauty) that Nivea makes a less expensive version that still does the job beautifully. Nivea's Q10 Advanced Wrinkle Reducer Cream is available online for less than $10.

Thanks for the tips, Mike! And happy moisturizing and make-upping to you, gorgeous.