The other day I watched Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a cheeky, cult movie about a girl band written by—wait for it—Roger Ebert.

The story is silly and the cast earned master degrees in schmacting. But it’s a classic for a reason—the costumes are amazing, the makeup is pure perfection and the hair is beyond refreshing. After years of stringy and over-dyed, limp extensions, it was actually inspirational to see overdone bouffants with some serious lift at the roots. It seems like I’m not alone. Madonna’s hair has been getting higher and higher lately as has Janet’s and my fave Spanish actress Penelope (see the video below) always rocks enviably high, sexy hair.

The Trovata v. Forever 21 case may have ended in a mistrial, but it seems the beauty world (in Europe at least) is a step ahead in protecting designer brands.

WWD reports that the European Court of Justice ruled for L’Oreal and against three companies that were knocking perfumes owned by the cosmetics giant, including Trésor, Anaïs-Anaïs and Noa.

Not only had the companies created facsimiles of the scents, but also the bottles and even the outside packaging. Really, does it get more blatant than that?

Obviously, I’m no legal expert and I do realize that there are different trademark laws, etc associated with fragrances as opposed to clothing. But, regardless, it is refreshing to see legal protection being offered to a company whose resources, knowledge, and creativity are the reason the product exists in the first place.

If only we could just throw a little of that legal justice Trovata’s way. Sigh.

Major magazines have major closets - one filled with shoes, one with bags, one with clothes and one positively overflowing with beauty products.

Those beauty products get cleared out with major sales, up to four times a year with the proceeds going to charity, and I used to run them. I’d get an almost sick thrill from watching which items the editorial staff attacked. It could be the ugliest shade of bright orange lipstick, but if NARS ran its way down the side in bright white letters or interlocking C’s sat at the bottom, I’d place all my money on a Manolo beat-down.

The interns and I watched with eyes agog as usually composed women dived across tables for YSL foundation two shades darker than their skin, while less expensive but still amazing brands languished on the table.

Sure, everyone has their favorite brand, but there’s a fine line between brand loyalty and snobbery. I may be addicted to Kiehl’s, but I won’t ignore the recently launched Olay products on my desk. In fact, some of my favorite new products come straight from Duane Reade: Bioré Skin Preservation, L’Oréal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara and Aveeno’s Nourish shampoos and conditioners.

There are plenty of brands that have earned their reputations by producing both efficacious and innovative products, there are also a lot of brands that create less than great products that ride the fashionable celebrities-love-it wave which defeats the purpose of any product.

When you’re shopping for products is it about the brand or do you actually research the product behind the label? Furthermore, are you loyal to one company or is your medicine cabinet home to every brand under the sun?

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

During Oscar season, many beauty types speculated that Estée Lauder would snag girl-of-the-moment, Freida Pinto as their next spokesperson.

And we were kind of loving the idea of seeing her co-star in a campaign with our beloved Gwynnie.

But, alas, L’Oreal has signed Freida along with Elizabeth Banks and Evangeline Lilly as their newest leading ladies.

These three make a lot more sense to us than the Jessica Biel/Revlon situation. Even though Evangeline hasn’t done a lot of film, obviously Lost has way more cred than 7th Heaven.

But this begs the question, what actress do you think deserves one of these lucrative beauty contracts who doesn’t have one? Or should they all just go to the models, anyway?

In the history of mascaras, first came the primer craze, then there were fibers, followed by vibrating wands, and now tubes take their turn as the latest lash craze.

The original tube mascara, Blinc, was a cult hit, lauded by beauty editors near and far. Naturally, L’Oréal and Stila have followed suit.

For the uninitiated, tube mascaras contain lengthening tubes that are created using heat-sensitive polymers that wrap around the lashes, forming a literal tube that adheres to individual lashes for both a water and smudge-proof finish. They also claim to wash off with just warm water and a little bit of pressure.

L’Oréal’s Double Extend Beauty Tubes mascara launched earlier this year, which comes with primer on one end to (supposedly) give you salon-extension worthy lashes. Meanwhile, Stila launched their Convertible Mascara last month, another double-ended deal, only this one has a regular-sized lengthening brush on one end and a smaller defining brush on the other.

I tried out both mascaras and while I definitely got some added length, I wasn’t exactly creating a breeze with ginormo feather lashes. The one claim that did hold true was the ease of removal. It was actually a little creepy to see the little tubes fall off and into the sink; I looked like I was molting.

I was a little skeptical of the tubes at first but after years of dealing with smudgy mascara after smudgy mascara, these were a welcome relief. I might even give up my Becca Ultimate Mascara in favor of one of these. So what do you think, are you a tube convert or is this just a passing fad?

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

On Friday, WWD reported that Salma Hayek is currently working on an undisclosed beauty project. Earlier this month, it was also rumored that Jennifer Aniston is on the hunt for an endorsement deal herself.

But all I could think was, really? Isn’t the celebrity endorsement template a bit staid, especially in today’s tough economic times? There are plenty of models out there that could do the same job for much less money and hassle. Sure, a celebrity creates more exposure for your brand, but do they really influence consumers to spend money? I can’t say I know anyone who’s rushing out to CVS because Drew Barrymore’s shilling a Cover Girl mascara via alluring blinks. (And just think of the stable of stars L’Oréal Paris employs - sixteen celebrities, including Beyonce, Scarlett and Eva Longoria Parker - and somehow they can’t think of how to help that year-to-year net profit drop of 26.6%.)

You’d think beauty companies would try to cut some of the dead weight right now - could what Neutrogena gets out of Susie Castillo’s advertisements really make up for whatever she was paid? - unless we’re totally off. Do celebrities smiling and flipping their hair really get you to spend your cash more so than models?

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

Scarlett Johansson’s rumored to be the new face of Dolce & Gabbana.

She’ll front their Spring 09 campaign, already shot by Mert and Marcus according to Style.com, though for beauty or fashion, no one knows.

Scarlett’s experienced either way. She’s posed for L’Oreal and Louis Vuitton, both of which should prepare her for Stefano and Domenico in case her numerous red carpet Dolce wearing moments weren’t enough.

Tthis puts the celeb count at three this spring with Katie Holmes for Miu Miu and Madonna for Louis Vuitton. The group model shots are at a bajillion and we wonder how either strategy is recession friendly.

Meanwhile, we’re secretly hoping Scarlett makes a cameo on Model.Live, since Cato Van Ee is in D&G’s Spring campaign, too.

She can address the major differences between acting and modeling and tell us how she strikes such a delicate Dolce/Stella balance.