lip stain

Photo: Gregor Halenda

Rocket Science
It's a triumph of technology. The L'Oréal Paris Colour Caresse Shine Stain ($10; drugstores) feels light as a feather (thanks to a water-based formula), moisturizes like a balm (unlike other stains), and leaves a shiny finish of rich pigment, which goes on sheer but can be layered for deeper color. Get ready to launch your own glamorous look with a choice of 12 shades, from nude to fiery red.
lotion

Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

Scent Away
We love everything about a good self-tanner—except the smell (you know the one: a little sweet, a little earthy, very funky). That odor and the bronze color are produced when a self-tanner's active ingredient, dihydroxyacetone, reacts with amino acids in the skin. Chemists have valiantly tried to make a self-tanner that produces the "tanned" color but not the smell, and finally, Jergens has succeeded. Its Natural Glow products (like the Daily Moisturizer, $9; drugstores) now contain odor-absorbing compounds and a light floral fragrance that completely eliminate the annoying self-tanner scent. And the subtle bronze tint to our skin? Perfect as ever!
dry shampoo

Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

Our Favorite Hair Product This Month
Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo ($20, Sephora.com)

Why we love it: Our favorite product in the first haircare line from Drybar (the blowout-only salon with 26 locations in six states), this aerosol dry shampoo goes on clear and uses a fine rice powder to absorb oil and boost volume. The sandalwood and vanilla scent is an unexpected plus.
lip balm

Photo: Courtesy of Clinique

Getting Fresh
"It happens like clockwork this time of year: I look in the mirror or into my closet and think, 'Oh, blah.' Everything looks so...gray (closet) or tired (face and closet). My solution? I brighten up with a few fresh highlights in my hair, a pinker shade of cream blush, and now, one of the new Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balms ($16 each; Clinique.com). I've always been shy about wearing bold lipstick, but these crayonlike sticks make it easy—the deep pigment is tempered by a very subtle, forgiving sheen. (I'm partial to Chunkiest Chili, a brick red.) Choose from eight striking—and very wearable—shades."
—Val Monroe
shampoo

Photo: Marko Metzinger/Studio D

The Thick of It
"For all my many fine-haired friends who've told me that volume shampoos leave their style looking flat, some happy news: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Shampoo and Conditioner ($6.50 each; drugstores) are specifically formulated to build texture and lift without making your hair feel (as one of you eloquently described it) 'yucky.' My most intrepid guinea-pig colleague, always interested in trying new products, was impressed by the way her hair felt fuller after just one shampoo and conditioning treatment."
—Val Monroe

Next: 6 things women with gorgeous skin do every day