Let's face it. Sometimes when you need to buy a gift or have money to burn on something cool, you have no idea where to start. That's where these online per-sonal shoppers come in.

www.bellydujour.com

If you like eating, belly up to Belly DuJour. Sign up for the twice-weekly e-mail newsletter or check the Minneapolis-based site's archive to get the goods on specialty items that can be ordered online or to be reacquainted with some forgotten foodstuff, such as a recent homage to the butternut squash. Related recipes often accompany the breezily written picks, capped by quotable bons mots. And lest you wonder if you're merely reading some glorified ad, the site notes, "Belly DuJour editorial coverage is not for sale."

Cool pick: Salted caramels from Little Flower Candy Co. (www.little flower-candyco.com). "The sweet toasted flavor soothes and comforts, while inciting a fabulous sugar buzz. Adding salt to caramel confections contributes another layer of flavor, as the French discovered long ago when they first crafted their beloved sea-salt caramels."

www.thebachelorguy.com

The Bachelor Guy has all manner of hip suggestions for guys who don't dare call themselves "metrosexuals." (See his blog at thebachelorguy .blogspot.com to find out why he abhors the term.) The cheeky, sometimes risque writing is epito-mized in the site's disclaimer: "The Bachelor Guy is strictly editorial. He can-not be bought. Seduced, maybe. But not bought."

Cool pick: Lingerie and couples costumes at Shirley of Hollywood (www.shirleyofhollywood.com). "Women have much richer fantasies than guys do, and, because they are good girls, they don't act on them. Until Halloween."

www.dailycandy.com

For women, there's Daily Candy. The picks on the site and in an e-mail news-letter, it says, are "like getting an e-mail from your clever, unpredictable, and totally in-the-know best friend; the one who knows about secret beauty treatments, must-have jeans, hot new restaurants - and always shares the scoop." Its tips come from editors, not advertisers, the site says, and any sponsor pitches are clearly labeled as such.

Cool pick: Nest (shop.buildanest.com), an online purveyor of fashionable wares whose proceeds provide interest-free loans to businesswomen in developing countries. "It's all guilt-free, so go ahead and shamelessly spend what's left in your piggy bank. You've always been a big advocate for change."

www.thrillist.com

Thrillist, for guys, wants to be your trusted friend, too - "someone who won't sleep with your girlfriend that much, or pawn your Blackberry to cover his gambling debts," the site says. And someone who definitely keeps his mature au-dience in mind with funny, but frank, writing. Sign up to get the free daily picks by e-mail. Like today's other sites, Thrillist says it maintains "an iron wall" between editorial and advertising.

Cool pick: Chef Giornali's Omelet Pan (sold at www.brylanehome.com), for "a breakfast bon voyage" on the morning after. "The end result will be will be so inviting, she'll overlook you using gym socks as napkins."

Do you have a favorite website or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send an e-mail, with your name and city for publication, to web-search@startribune.com. Randy A. Salas is at 612-673-4542.