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Before you get to the bottom of the column, see the price and assume I’ve lost my mind, this lip balm costs £35. I know. It’s silly. You could buy a lamp for that. Or a kettle. Or half a massage. Or three pizzas. But I believe in cost per wear x cost per self-hug x cost per first impression. To my mind a bag has a right to be expensive because you lug it about every day, you feel a bit happy every time you pick it up and when an outfit is a bit blah, it adds ping.
So, to cut a short story long, this ludicrously expensive balm earns its stripes for the following reasons:
1. The smell of the Baume de Rose Nutri-Couleur range is lifted from By Terry’s original Rose Balm and is unsurpassable. It smells — and somehow tastes — of candied Parisian afternoons when one feels thin and people can’t seem to stop proposing.
2. It adds a colour-washed élan to a face in need of that je ne sais quoi. A pop of freshly kissed red; a sheen of ‘I’m really rather rich’ coffee; a burst of wholesome yet cheeky tangerine sheen; a flush of virginal-but-not-really pansy.
3. It feels like a balm but lasts like a stain. Which, in terms of formulation, is clever. And it’s expensive because it makes you look and feel rather rich and edible. Cheap at the (very high) price.
By Terry Baume de Rose Nutri-Couleur, £35, at uk.spacenk.com