If you are sharp-eyed or just into beauty products, you may remember Cherry Chapstick’s brief appearance in the opening scene of The Devil Wears Prada as Ann Hathaway’s Andie absentmindedly swiped it on before heading out the door. It was cinematic shorthand to show her disinterest in elaborate grooming rituals, but actually served as a pointed reminder that quickly-applied reddish lip balm is a cheap and speedy way to get some enlivening colour on the fly.
Just to drive the point home, Andie’s Cherry Chapstick is the only item in focus.
Burt’s Bees new Gloss & Glow glossy balms (Shoppers Drug Mart, $11) in ‘Eat, Drink and Be Cherry’ (transparent red, pictured above) or ‘Wine Wednesday’ (a titch deeper) are loaded with coconut oil and mango butter and give your lips just the right amount of sheer, youthful colour. And a trio of dots stippled onto your cheeks blends easily for a natural ‘no makeup makeup’ flush.
I would be amiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to Maybelline Baby Lips balm in Cherry Me ($4.96, Walmart.ca), long a favourite of my dear friend and colleague, Janine Falcon, to use on both lips and cheeks.
And Cherry Chapstick? Well, it used to leave a hint of red, but Pfizer sold the brand to GlaxoSmithKline in 2019 and they must have reformulated because, even though the balm itself is still pinky red, it sadly no longer deposits any colour. End of an era, really.