The fashion industry seems to be at an intellectual standstill, but, thankfully, the beauty biz still counts on innovation (or increasingly short attention spans).
Count these as some of the most clever creations among a crowded field of new products of late.
- Creme Ancienne Eye Cream by Fresh, $95 at Neiman Marcus and Sephora. The stuff of gods -- OK, gladiators -- is how Fresh founder Lev Glazman describes Creme Ancienne. Adding to his line of expensive Ancienne skin cream is a new eye cream that's handmade by monks in the Czech Republic. The recipe comes from a second century concoction that helped heal gladiators, but this eye cream might find crows'-feet just as challenging an opponent.
- Private Red by DuWop, $22 at Bath & Body Works, beauty.com and sephora.com. Cancel your shrink appointment. This lipstick is like therapy. It understands you. So much so that it adjusts to your lips' pH levels to give you the perfect shade for your coloring. Reminiscent of mood lipsticks from the '70s, Private Red seems to deliver. The lip color is super smooth and creamy, and the pigments turned one red skeptic into a believer.
- Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows, $52 at Ulta, Macys and urbandecay.com. Filmgoers aren't the only ones anticipating Tim Burton's 3-D take (coming in March) on the classic tale. Fashionphiles will enjoy everything from clothing inspired by the movie (dresses by Sue Wong) to this beautiful set of 16 shadows from Urban Decay. Beneath a charming pop-up scene of Alice and the hookah-smoking Caterpillar lies a drawer full of shadows including a bronze Oraculum, steel Mushroom and metallic Drink Me, Eat Me. Two eyeliners and a primer also come along on the adventure.
- Zeno Hot Spot, $39.99 at mass market, drug and food stores and online. Hit the zit on the spot, and get results within 24 hours. Zeno's new on-the-go gadget adjusts its heat to the user's skin temperature, and performs a treatment within 2 minutes. Cause to pause: Though you can take Hot Spot to school, you might not want to. The heat can leave a red spot that will only draw more attention to the embarrassing acne.
- Sensodyne toothpaste, $7.99 at food and drug stores and online. Pay close attention at the drug store because your toothpaste now looks like shaving cream. Makers of Sensodyne have created an Iso-active foaming gel to better get at those pearly whites, and the result comes in a shaving cream-type canister that's recyclable. Cause to pause: A dime will do, but even a little force on the nozzle releases more toothpaste than you need.
- Love Rocks lip gloss ring, $12 at Victoria's Secret. Makeup rings might be just the thing to save the teen beauty market. Victoria's Secret's new fragrance -- fruity despite the rock chic packaging -- can be had in a cherry-flavored lip gloss housed in a black plastic ring. Pucker up!
- The Makeup Player by Stila, $69.90 at stilacosmetics.com. Makeup artists do their best work humming along with "Bad Romance" and "Party in the USA." This cosmetics case from Stila gives wannabe artists a great starter kit, a customized basic makeup set and an instructional DVD. Cause to (press) pause: Only fully charged iPods need attach themselves to this battery-operated case.
- True Match Roller by L'Oreal, $14.95 at CVS, Target and other chain drug and mass market retailers. Most beauty junkies think about makeup as face paint. L'Oreal's new trick of the trade, a roll-on foundation, takes the painting concept to a new level. The True Match foundation is light and smooth, but it's the mini roller that will turn heads. Cause to pause: Zig-zagging may work on walls, but not on your face. The roller works well in broad strokes, but fails to get into corners. Guess you need a paintbrush for that.
CONTRIBUTE TO THIS STORY
