Actress Paula Patton looked great at the recent NAACP Awards. The actress has appeared in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Jumping the Broom, and was also in Just Wright (2010) which starred Queen Latifah. That's fitting because Paula became a Brand Ambassador for the CoverGirl Queen Collection this past October.

Makeup artist Fiona Stiles created her makeup look for the NAACP Awards using CoverGirl Queen Collection products and shares her tips. Read more about how to get Paula Patton's Red Carpet Look.

You probably know about Madam C.J. Walker, one of the nation's first women millionaires, who made her millions selling products that helped restore and grow black women's hair. But there were other black female cosmetics pioneers.

In honor of Black History Month, here are profiles of Madam Walker and three more Black Cosmetics Pioneers you should know.

In 2003, an email warning about lead in lipstick and its potential to cause cancer started circulating on the Internet. It would later be deemed yet another Internet hoax and join the ranks of other urban legends. While the email's unscientific test for lead content in lipstick was inaccurate, the fact that lead could indeed be found in lipstick was not.

In 2007, the FDA found that there were traces of lead in the 20 lipsticks that the agency tested, but none were over the level of 3.06 parts per million, which was considered low and therefore deemed safe. (California has the strictest regulations in the country regarding lead content in cosmetics and has a safety limit of 5 parts per million).

It was reported today that the FDA expanded their analysis to 400 lipsticks finding that several of the major brands contain traces of lead and some exceed the 5 parts per million level. Maybelline Color Sensation in Pink Petal and L'Oreal Color Riche in Volcanic were at number one and number two with the highest levels, 7.19 and 7 parts per million respectively. The least contaminated was Wet N Wild Mega Mixers Lip Balm. For the list of the 400 lipsticks tested and the results visit the FDA website.

Though there hasn't been a known case of lead poisoning from lip color, some organizations like Campaign for Safe Cosmetics believe there are no safe levels of lead. Since lipstick is often applied daily and sometimes multiple times a day, it is believed that the toxin can build up in our bodies overtime and cause problems like high blood pressure, anemia and reproductive and neurological problems, according to Dr. Roshini Raj, author of What the Yuck?! and Health magazine medical editor who addresses the issue in the CNN Health blog, The Chart.

Lead is not an ingredient added to lipstick, but a by-product of the manufacturing process, which is why you won't find it listed on product labels. It's interesting to note that the European Union and Canada regulate cosmetics, so the same companies that get away with selling contaminated products in the US, are mandated to remove these toxic substances in products sold in Europe and Canada, thereby making the products safer.

So until the FDA institutes better regulations for cosmetic and makeup safety, what should a consumer do? If you're concerned about toxins, you'll have to do research on the lipsticks as well as other products that you buy. And just because a lipstick is called "natural," or "lead free" doesn't mean it is free of other contaminants. I did a little research on a couple of lead free lipsticks and found that they still had moderate risks according to the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.

Before this new FDA study, the EWG rated other Maybelline lipsticks at number 7, which is in the high hazard range. The EWG rates products from 0-10, with 10 being the most toxic. Campaign for Safe Cosmetics recommends using products in the 0-2 range. One company that I recently wrote about Beauty Without Cruelty's lipsticks are rated at #2.

You can read more about lead in lipstick at Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' website Safecosmetics.org and check out your products at the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.

Celebrity makeup artist Claudia Betancur created three romantic looks using CoverGirl on three lovely Latina professionals--designer/fashion blogger Adriana Castro, parenting expert/editor Jeannette Kaplun (Todobebe.com) and Rosy Cordero, editor of the Miami pop culture news site, AccidentalSexiness.com.

The looks are great on light to medium/olive skin tones and were created especially for Valentine's Day. Pick your favorite and get the look.