Le Baume, C’Est Chic

Lip balms are beauty’s grand equalizer. The emollient mouth moisturizers are one of the few primping staples that you can buy at the drugstore for less than $3 and walk away utterly satisfied. Pricier tubes mostly just bring the added bonus of a fancier package, although there are a few prestige exceptions with formulas that are definitely worth the extra cash. Fresh’s Sugar Advanced Therapy Lip Treatment and La Mer’s sea kelp ferment-packed mini tubrank high on the top of this list, and they’re about to get some new competition from Chanel. The French brand just launchedRouge Coco Baume, its grand entrée into the lip care category, and much like Karl Lagerfeld’s penchant for spectacle, Chanel artistic director of makeup Peter Philips has a similar knack for statement-making debuts. The clear, ultra-hydrating stick glides on with a sumptuous shine and then dries down, leaving lips impressively soft. It’s a good base for any number of Philips’ new pout offerings for Spring (his sheer, pastel pink Rouge Coco Shine in Candeur is not to be missed), and happens to be pretty great on its own, too.

By the Beauty Counter