No proof

Recently, a friend told me that when he hears someone say dessert is better than sex, he figures that person must be doing something wrong. Which made me wonder if I am, in fact, doing something wrong. Not with my husband, but with my hair dryer.

Lately, it seems like people just can't stop raving about No Frizz, a line of styling creams developed by MIT (yes, that MIT) scientists. Boasting the only new anti-frizz technology developed in more than thirty years, the company's straight making spray, cream and treatment are some of the most buzzed-about products out there.

But I have to be honest. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It.

To say I was ecstatic (pun intended) when I read about No Frizz would not be an exaggeration. Something that “actually repels dirt and oil”? I couldn’t slap down my credit card fast enough.

Since the line wasn’t initally available at Sephora, I ordered my straight making spray directly from Living proof. One nice touch? It came with a jumbo-sized sample to pass along to a friend.

Eager to see this miracle for myself, and as yet undeterred by the smell -- which the company claims is citrus, but seems more reminiscent of bugspray -- I commenced the recommended twenty sprays and twenty minutes with my favorite T3 dryer. Sadly, the saga ended with my hair looking virtually the same as it does with my usual combination of Bumble and bumble., Frederic Fekkai and Garnier Fructis (which, I must say, smells pleasantly fruity).

Categorized by hair type, the original line includes products for fine to medium hair, medium to thick hair, and thick to coarse hair. Also available are a shampoo and conditioner (for all hair types) and a deep conditioner (for dry or damaged hair).

But for my money? I’d go with the seven-layer cake.

Label Conscious

No beauty addict worth her salt purchases products based on their packaging. Slick marketing campaigns and chic little gifts-with-purchase? Strictly amateur hour. We all know those sleek tubes and shiny new boxes are only as good as the products inside – that their beauty is, in fact, much more than skin deep.

There is one area where you always read the fine print, however. Testing beauty products on animals? So not okay. After all, if you wouldn’t want to see it happen to your little sister, how could you condone the same thing being done to your six-week-old kitten, Minx?

It may not always be easy, but you make every effort to ensure that your purchases are cruelty-free. And, thanks to organizations like Leaping Bunny and PETA -- and oh-so-helpful daily digests from green e-newsletter Ideal Bite -- it’s becoming easier than ever to make sure your makeup charms, but never harms.

Click here for a list of companies that never test on animals.

Beauty Loves Sephora loves: Dermalogica, Alba, Too Faced, Pureology, and, of course, the ubiquitous Burt’s Bees

Golden Oldies

There's a reason they've become the gold standards.

Each month, it seems beauty editors are singing the praises of the newest, most scientifically-advanced products out there, each one better than the next. Yet somehow, there always seem to be those chosen few that never fall out of fashion. Products that your mother used -- and, for some of us -- your grandmother before you. (You're never too young to fall in love!)

There's a reason these products are in the makeup bags of everyone from Linda Wells to Linda Evangelista. Because they really are that good. And if a beauty editor won't leave home without it, who are we to doubt them?

Below, a list of the all-time top ten:

1. Lancome Definicils mascara
2. Nars blush in Orgasm
3. Tweezerman slant tweezers
4. bareMinerals SPF 15 foundation
5. Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm
6. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat
7. Fresh Brown Sugar Body Polish
8. Smith's Rosebud Salve
9. shu uemura eyelash curler
10. Smashbox Photo Finish Light Foundation Primer

Friends With Benefit

A late night out with that oh-so-hot neighbor you’ve been lusting after for months? Stayed up ’til all hours with the girls, watching JT on Late Night … again?

Destroy the evidence with Benefit’s De-Puffing Action Eye Gel. Even the kitschy, retro packaging can’t distract from the sheer strength of this ultra soothing, lightweight gel. Not only does the sweet-smelling treat firm and tighten the delicate skin around your eyes, its all-natural ingredients – like soy flour, red raspberry and chamomile – will leave you looking noticeably younger.

So your secrets will always be safe.

Can you keep a secret?

Admit it. You spent most of Benjamin Button wondering how anyone could possibly have skin so luminous, so inhumanly perfect. When she graced the cover of Vanity Fair, you lusted after her complexion, rather than that fabulous Ralph Lauren dress. And when you learned that Cate Blanchett, she of the flawless ivory skin and equally flawless, incredibly nuanced performances, credited her outer beauty to SK-II, you happily forked over more money than you thought possible for that timelessly elegant glass bottle.

I know. Because I did too.

Like Button, SK-II was born under unusual circumstances. Although it sounds more geek than chic, the line traces its roots not to a laboratory but to a humble sake factory in Japan. After noticing the youthful appearance of the workers’ hands, scientists spent years identifying the ingredients that would produce the same effect. Pitera – the resulting combination of vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids that is the company’s Secret Key to Beautiful Skin – is the proprietary complex included in all SKI-II products, including the cornerstone of this line: Facial Treatment Essence.

The colorless, clear liquid more than keeps its promises. Absorbing almost instantly into skin, it moisturizes, smoothes and brightens, helping to “restore vital balance by promoting the skin’s natural 28-day surface renewal process.” Try it, and you’ll never look at skincare – or aging – the same way.

Go ahead. Treat yourself to the one product that may actually help you age backward.

I’ll never tell.

Ice Ice, Baby

Remember when you thought Vanilla Ice was cool?

Your taste in music may have changed (parachute pants, anyone?) but you still keep ahead of all the hottest trends. And you always do it in style.

You’re the girl who always looks perfectly polished, even on the hottest summer day. The one who glistens, but never sweats. Who discovered the newest craze in ice tea long before the crazy geniuses at Snapple. DuWop ice teas, that is.

Brought to you by the creators of cult fave Lip Venom, these translucent balms come in mouthwatering flavors like white peach, strawberry kiwi, passionfruit, and black currant. Packed with jojoba oil, aloe, and – what else? – green tea extract, these lip gloss/lipstick hybrids provide “a subtle cooling effect, and the slightest hint of color,” as well as to-die-for-taste.

What could be cooler than that?

Beauty Bank

If you're anything like me, you'd blow your entire paycheck at Sephora to get your hands on the hottest new beauty products -- the ones that are more technologically advanced than anything NASA could come up with, that tempt you from the carefully edited pages of Allure, that promise to transform everything from your face to your finances.

If you're anything like me, you probably also have a closet full of barely used products. A stash of beautifully packaged, scientifically proven face creams and lipsticks and shampoos that, for a brief moment in time, you absolutely could not live without.

But, if you're anything like me, you also have that drawer (or makeup case, or vanity) that holds the few things that always stand the test of time: the foundation that leaves you glowing, even when you've barely slept the night before; the lipstick that, somehow, makes your lips fuller, your teeth whiter, and your nose that smidgen smaller you always hoped it would be; the perfume that takes you back to that perfect first kiss the summer after seventh grade.

There's nothing that thrills you more than peeling away the slick, shiny packaging of a new mascara -- except maybe that first, magical moment when you brush it across your lashes for the very first time and catch a glimpse in the mirror of the girl you always aspired to be.

If you're anything like me, you live for the promise of a new beauty product and the hope and promise and awe it contains. So what can't I live without? Wouldn't you like to know...