Sephora opened a store today in the Westfield Galleria - just in time for holiday shopping.

The 5,600-square-foot store is, according to Sephora, "a virtual paradise of beauty options with over 13,000 products from more than 200 brands," including the company's own signature line.

If you've never been to Sephora, it's a treat because you can shop unassisted or ask for help. The store carries lines you won't find anywhere else and always has good deals, especially this time of year.

More info? It's at 1151 Galleria Blvd. in Roseville. Store hours are 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

An Elk Grove teen got some great news today when she logged on to Clinique cosmetics' Web site and discovered she is a finalist for the line's Fresh Faces contest.

"Monica P," as she's shown on the site, is Monica Pearce, 19. She graduated from Franklin High School and is currently a sophomore at UC San Diego majoring in urban studies and planning.

Monica called me today between classes to reveal all the fun details and how the contest came about:

"I had just gotten out of class (about four weeks ago) and was walking back to my apartment. A lady was handing out flyers and asked me if I wanted to check out Clinique's Fresh Faces makeover," Monica says.

Young women on the campus - and at other colleges nationwide - stood in line for free makeovers and to have their photos taken.

"I had just finished midterms and thought I deserved a little reward," Monica says. "I waited in line about an hour with about 100 other girls. They interviewed me and shot video. Then they pulled me aside for another interview."

Earlier this week, Monica received an e-mail from Clinique telling her to check the Web site today for the announcement of the top 25 finalists. And lo and behold, there's her smiling face (pictured above) on the site!

"I made it!," she exclaimed. "Out of about 3,000 girls I'm a finalist!"

Now it's up to us to get the vote out for Monica. The deadline is Dec. 10. To vote, click here. Monica says she will be notified about the results next month; Clinique will announce the winners Jan. 14, 2010.

So what if Monica (and two others) wins?

She gets a trip to New York for a photo shoot and head-to-toe styling at Teen Vogue magazine, where the winners will meet the fashion and beauty editors. Their pics will appear in an upcoming issue. They also get to brainstorm ideas with Clinique's product development team and - I saved the best for last - a year's supply of makeup valued at $1,000! That's a lot of lipgloss.

And it would be a bonus for Monica because she's a devoted Clinique customer (along with her roommates and best friends).

"I always carry my Clinique compact with me because I'm not a heavy makeup user," she says.

"What's the most exciting is that I'm a California girl. I feel like I can represent my school, where I grew up and even the state. It's very exciting!"

For now, Monica has Thanksgiving and a trip home to Elk Grove to look forward to.

"I'm really excitied for a home-cooked meal," she says.

In the meantime, don't forget to vote!

Whereas with Pattinson, Stewart just looks gone, she's playful and curious with Lautner, who combines kindness and cockiness as Bella's adorable pal Jacob, who buffs up but still must work 10 times harder than Edward to hold Bella's attention.

The action scenes might be a bit intense for younger "Twilight" fans. More worrisome, though, is the tacit message that Bella's reckless behavior isn't all that dangerous, since she always gets rescued.

Note to girls: Be careful, because chivalrous vampires and werewolves won't always be there to save you.

Call The Bee's Carla Meyer, (916) 321-1118.

Interested in boning up before seeing the The Sacramento Opera's upcoming production of Donizetti's "Elixir of Love"?

A good primer is the 1992 Metropolitan Opera performance of the work, with Luciano Pavarotti as Nemorino.

That performance can be found bundled with three other operas in Deutsche Grammophon/Decca's 3-disc "Pavarotti: Italian Opera Collection".

Here you get Pavarotti also performing in "La Boheme," and "Pagliacci" in Metropolitan Opera productions. The one act opera "Il Tabarro" is also included. Oddly, it is Placido Domingo and not Pavarotti in the tenor role.

In this "Elixir," Pavrotti is joined by soprano Kathleen Battle as Adina. Battle delivers a sweetly rendered Adina in an extremely bright performance. And while this not top-shelf Pavarotti, it's still better than most, and one of the most warmly performed Nemorino's you'll see on disc. James Levine conducts a John Copley production.

Upbeat and joyful music has a healthy effect on heart health, according to a recent study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

And while this will come as no surprise to anyone who gets a golden rush when listening to favorite tunes, the study does break new ground.

It does so by establishing a link between a music listener's cardiovascular system and upbeat music.

The study, led by principal University of Maryland investigator Dr. Michael Miller., and presented at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association last week, found that music selected by study participants (because it made them feel good), produced a dilation of the inner tissue that lines the blood vessels. Dilated vessels are beneficial because they increase blood flow.

The results mirror a 2005 study, by the same researchers, of laughter and its effects on the blood system.

But not all music is beneficial, the study found. When study volunteers listened to music perceived as stressful, it produced a narrowing of their blood vessels - and a potentially unhealthy reduction of blood flow.

For the study, 10 healthy, non-smoking volunteers, mostly males with an average age of 36, participated in a four-phased randomized study.

In one phase, volunteers listened to favorite music that evoked joy. Another phase involved listening to music that made participants anxious. In a third, audio tapes to promote relaxation were played. In the last, participants were shown videotapes designed to induce laughter.

To minimize emotional desensitization, the volunteers were told to avoid listening to their favorite music for a minimum of two weeks.

The study found that the average upper arm blood vessel diameter of participants increased by 26 percent directly after the joyful music phase.

Listening to music that caused anxiety narrowed blood vessels by six percent when compared to baseline measurements.

The Fox channel's new hit show "Glee" has fans singing and dancing - even if they can't. (I just got my hands on the recently released CD.)

So what do you get when you mix "Glee" with "Kings?"

You get a chance to participate in a pre-game Q&A session with the show's star, Matthew Morrison (aka: Mr. Schuester, pictured). He will be at Arco Arena at 6 p.m. Tuesday before the Kings take on the Chicago Bulls.

Fans can be part of the Kings tribute to "Glee" by purchasing the "Glee" ticket package for $15. What do you get?

* A game ticket
* Entry to the exclusive Q&A session with Morrison
* A "Glee" locker mirror
* And, we saved the best for last - a Kings Value Meal (arena dog, regular soda and popcorn)

As part of the tribute, fans will see live musical acts and "Glee" video segments throughout the game, with a special halftime show. You can purchase the package by clicking here. And catch the TV show at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Fox.

Capital Stage theater company has been awarded a two-year, $50,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation for a program that will develop new dramatic works by and about women.

The grant will fund the theater company's Women In Theatre project - a two year effort that seeks to promote the work of women in theater, according to a statement from Capital Stage.

To do so, Capital Stage will create new plays through a workshop process. Two new plays will be developed through a two-week rehearsal process. This will culminate in four live performances.

Sacramento author Jayne Williams has been selected as one of the writers to be included. Her book "Slow Fat Triathlete" will be workshopped and developed into a one-woman show.

The project will also allow the theater to fully produce two premieres by women playwrights that feature strong roles for women. Those productions will be part of Capital Stage's 2010-11 season.

Also part of the project plans will be a symposium whose aim is to promote a dialogue among professional women theater artists about the current and future role of women in theater.

This is the second Irvine Foundation grant for Capital Stage, which was founded in 2005. In 2007, the company received a $40,000 grant to develop its Playwrights' Revolution program that allowed the development of new works. That grant resulted in the company's first world premiere production, "Erratica, an Academic Farce," last summer.

Gosh, it seems like only a weekend ago that there was "cage fighting" at the last Second Saturday - waaaay back in October. Not sure if it will be back for this weekend's event, but there is one arts show to consider. That's even if you're a cage fighter fan!

The 20th Street Art Gallery, 911 20th St., is presenting its first 20/20 Group Show, which will become an annual event for the gallery. The show, which features 20 pieces of art from 20 different local artists, opens today. But the big gathering will definitely be this Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.

Some of the artists include Thomas Ford, Tracy Lewis, James Mullen and Alice Weil. And, I wouldn't want to leave out my Bee colleague, artist Susan Ballenger, whose Water and Stone acrylics series (shown above) will be part of the show.

The gallery previously has done a 50/50 show, which got rave reviews. And the 20/20 offerings should be a hit, too. And what a great idea for the holidays - the gift of local art!

The show runs through Dec. 24. Gallery hours: noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more info and/or a preview, click here.

Well, that yearly tradition of naming the best in musical categories by Musical America is here again.

And soon-to-be Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti has snagged the top prize for 2010.

Mezzo-soprano Elina Garanča (pictured, right) has been given the nod as Best Vocalist of the year.

Musical America, a monthly online musical trade publication for classical music, was founded in 1898. It has been awarding the "Musician of the Year" prize since 1960, when it was awarded to Leonard Bernstein.

Muti begins conducting in Chicago in the fall of 2010. His musical resume is long and impressive. It includes the music directorship of The Philadelphia Orchestra (between 1980 to 1992). He was also chief conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra from 1972 to 1982, and music director of the Milan's Teatro alla Scala from 1986 to 2005.

The 33-year-old Garanča, who is better known in Europe than she is in the U.S., will make her Metropolitan Opera debut next year in "Carmen". It is a role that the Latvian-born mezzo has performed frequently.

Other category winners for 2010:

Louis Andriessen - Composer of the year
Joshua Bell - Instrumentalist of the year
Warren Jones - Collaborative Pianist of the year.

Sometimes a little "Carmina Burana" can go along way... in a good way.

Take the UC Davis University Chorus. That group's video of a 2006 performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" has now earned more than a million views on YouTube.

"Regardless of the number of views, it's the top-watched performance of "Carmina Burana" on YouTube," said Philip Daley, events and publicity manager at UC Davis.

That healthy page view number comes way of a partnership between UCTV and YouTube. UCTV is a service dedicated to showing special public events put forth by all the colleges in the University of California system.

And for that 2006 performance, synergy between music groups at UC Davis was key, Daley said.

"We have nurtured this wonderful relationship between the Symphony and Chorus, and Alumni Chorus that allows us to do these "blockbuster" works," said Daley.

The video was a total in-house affair that was shot and edited by UC Davis' division of Information & Educational Technology, also known as MediaWorks.

The same video cred will likely be applied to the University Chorus performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's "Dona nobis pacem" ("Grant us peace") at 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 4.

That cantata-like work is scored for full orchestra, and will be performed by the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra. The work calls for pipe organ, which will be performed by Stephen Janzen. It will also feature two soloists: soprano Yulia Van Doren, and baritone Jesse Blumberg. Jeffrey Thomas will conduct.

University Chorus
WHEN: 8 p.m., Dec. 4
WHERE: Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center, UC Davis
TICKETS: $10-$16; $5 - $8 students
INFORMATION: (530) 754-2787 or www.MondaviArts.org

The fifth annual Heart Gallery event features professional photos of older children, sibling groups and children with special needs who need adoption, as well as "happy ending" portraits of families who have adopted children, said Laurie Slothower, spokeswoman for Sacramento County's Child Protective Services.

(Shown at top left is Jacob, 9; at right is Andre, 14; bottom left is Kevin, 5. All are seeking permanent homes).

There are currently about 1,500 children awaiting adoption in the county.

The family-friendly event will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Casa Garden Restaurant, 2760 Sutterville Rd., Sacramento.

The gallery is a collaborative effort between CPS, Sacramento State University, Sierra Forever Families, Lilliput Children's Services and Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Heart Gallery portraits will continue to be on display online and are available for display at public events. For more information, call (916) 217-1552 or e-mail info@sacheartgallery.org.

The Roseville location of Serendipity Boutique is hosting an UGG boot trunk show from noon to 3 p.m. today featuring the newest styles in the furry boot that never, never goes out of style. I don't care what Tim Gunn says.

I've got on a pair right now, and my feet are warm and toasty and comfortable. Clunky? I think not. In fact, I saw a woman with the updated "sweater" version yesterday getting Panda Express takeout in midtown. Loved 'em!

Serendipity is offering free airbrushing today with any purchase! So check it out at the Fountains at Roseville, 1182 Roseville Parkway, Suite 165. For more info: (916) 788-1488. The store is open until 8 tonight.

Kelli & the ShadowMen, which played the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally this summer, will be performing between 12 and 6 p.m. at PJ's Roadhouse, 5641 Motherlode Dr., Placerville.

A $10 minimum donation of non-perishable food or an unwrapped toy is requested. A separate $20 donation gets you admission to the club with live music by the band, a news release states.

Guests must be 21 and older to be admitted.

The event is hosted by the El Dorado County Boozefighters Motorcycle Club in conjunction with Red Hawk Casino.

The band also is performing at Redhawk Casino at 9 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

For more information, go to the band's MySpace page or Red Hawk Casino's Web site.

Music programs in schools have been taking a big hit lately.

And the all-female Davis a cappella group The Spokes is doing something about it.

The UC-Davis-based group has decided that action is as good as singing. And they're proving it by hosting a charity event called "Sing for Schools!" on Nov. 21, in support of school music programs. The fundraiser will be held in the ARC Ballroom at UC Davis from 2-5 p.m.

The a cappella group hopes the event will raise awareness and support for the important cause of keeping music in schools.

The event is designed as a fun and inspirational atmosphere that combines food, performances, speakers, and a fundraiser raffle. Performers will include Davis High School Baroque Ensemble, St. Francis High Schools' Jazz Ensemble, recording artist Camaron Ochs, The Spokes, and more local artists and groups.

All proceeds will be donated to VH1's Save the Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child's complete education.

Sing for Schools!
WHEN: 2-5 p.m., Nov. 21
WHERE: ARC Ballroom at UC Davis
INFORMATION: (858) 204-9005 or the.spokes@gmail.com

Cinderella's Closet still provides gift certificates to financially and academically qualified high school girls so they can select gently used formal dresses and accessories. WEAVE provides referral info on its Web site: Just click here or call (916) 319-4910.

Of course, WEAVE still encourages folks in the community to help by organizing and hosting dress drives throughout the year.

Here's some more information: Cinderella's Closet is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday and closed Mondays.

Donation hours? 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.