The Rare Beauty Post

Normally, I'm not a person who spends a chunk of money on the latest and greatest brand name cosmetics. But recently, I've been sucked in by discovered two fancier products worth their salt. And now, a propos of nothing educational ....

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss has done more for my chronically chapped lips than any other lipgloss I've ever tried. It's made my world a better place. Yes, it's $14 a tube, but it's so thick and concentrated that I can tell just one tube is going to last me until the next time Apolo Ohno decides to skate for his VERY last Olympic gold. Right now I have the "Currant" color in my purse, and the color is quite subtle, so if you're a person who's bashful about lip color, that shade might suit.

Living Proof Straight Making No Frizz Styling Cream comes with a very snazzy little deck of cards explaining how this product was conceived and concocted in the MIT laboratory of world-famous scientist Dr. Robert Langer. Okay, y'all? Once upon a time, I worked right down the hall from Dr. Robert Langer. We attended meetings together. And I feel quite sure that during one of those meetings, Dr. Robert Langer must have looked over at me with my cloud of hair that seemed to explode into helpless frizz with every change in the weather and thought to himself, That girl needs help.

Don't you think I deserve some sort of commission from Dr. Robert Langer?

So of all the various hair potions I have tried to keep the mane under control, this one comes out on top. (Sorry.) I'm not going to pass for Cindy Crawford, but I no longer have to cower in the closet on rainy days. Also, I fully agree with the product's claim that its scientific properties will repel dirt and oil and make your shampoo job last longer. Sounds ridiculous, but manages to be actually be true.

Now, should you feel so moved as to try this (not-so-cheap) product, you will have to make your way to Sephora, the exclusive purveyor of the Living Proof line. And if you are very, very lucky, you will not have to endure the excruciating experience of being helped at the checkout counter by a poker-faced man wearing so much visible eye makeup that you're forced to look anywhere else rather than make eye contact and dissolve into nervous giggles.

But only if you're lucky.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Now, if Dr. Robert Langer could just invent a way to keep my nose from dripping any time the temperature slips below 55 degrees and a force to counteract the mysterious disappearance of every single hair accessory my daughters own, I would be more than happy to file papers for his Nobel prize. Sweden, you're on notice.

P.S. Speaking of lovely things, Beck is having a very cool giveaway on her review blog right now. Check it out.