It’s unfortunate, but our favorite products don’t last forever. I’ve heard myriad experts lecture on the potential damage caused by not throwing away your products once they pass their shelf life, and I’m all for avoiding nasty infections and bacteria, so why is it so difficult for me to toss my expired beauty loot?

My main problem is this: I can never remember when I actually opened a product, making it hard to tell when it’s time to toss it. I always find a way to convince myself, especially with shades I really love, that no, really, it’s not that old. And since I’m not a list-making obsessive that keeps detailed notes on the purchase date of every lipstick I own, it’s pretty easy to delude myself.

That’s why I’m hoping Cargo’s new lippies will help me conquer my products-past-their-prime issue. The Classic Lip Glosses with Timestrip Technology, available later this month, are housed in plastic tubes that come with special indicator strips. Pop one into the top when you first open the gloss and it’ll count down the time you have until your new gloss expires. The indicator color that shows the elapsed time is bright red and clearly visible, so it’s hard to ignore. So hopefully, these will put an end to my ongoing product purchase amnesia.

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

Confession:

I can never stop fidgeting with my lips. So I inevitably end up needing vats of lip gloss by my side, which is probably part of why I’ve always loved those hefty Cargo tins Sephora keeps stockpiled in every shade possible.

So it’s with some urgency that I tell you Sephora is having a sale on their site, right now, and all those Cargo lip gloss duos are now $14 instead of $20. And if you spend $50? Free shipping.

So let’s do the math - Four duos equals $56, which equals free shipping, which equals moist, glossed lips right through Fall 09.

Which is amazing.

Remember Bethany Hamilton, the heroic teen surfer whose arm was taken by a shark?

She’s fully recovered and… designing lip gloss.

Now 18, the Hawaii native has a line of lip products called Stoked that you can push up and down with just one arm.

They sell on Amazon for $4.50 and could probably be useful even if you’re not an invincible surf baby, but instead a really busy girl carrying coffee and keys in one hand, and a handbag and a cell phone in the other.

There will also be a movie made about Bethany’s life, but it probably won’t include any makeup endorsements (although really, who knows…)

Like fools, we totally missed out on Christopher Kane’s TopShop collection.

But now there’s a second chance to own a little bit of Kane for a whole lot less than normal (albeit, not the really good stuff).

NYLON reports that Kane and Lancome are launching a series of limited-edition lip glosses, an extension of Lancome’s wildly successful Juicy Tubes line, meant to be the perfect on-face accessory to Kane’s S/S ‘08 collection.

The glosses will be available at all Lancome counters, though we’re not sure how long they’ll last - but if you’ve already RSVP’ed to the February 2 launch party, then they’re as good as in your bag.

Only somewhat related: Do you think the shades will be named after anyone?

Like, “Cocoa Rocha”? How about, “Heidi Plum”?

The Times UK has a very funny roundup of “The Year in Fashion,” proclaiming Sienna and (pregnant?!) Lily Allen as favorite style icons and Kate Moss as a major fashion trooper.

But the bottom of the story is where it gets interesting, as our idol Lisa Armstrong proclaims lip gloss to be dead.

She compares Juicy Tubes and Lip Venom to porn star chic, but we link it with Rihanna, Heatherette, and The Hills - maybe not the chicest of choices, but one that’s fun, youthful, and easy to wear with heavy eyeliner or a low cut dress. Granted, both of those things appear frequently at The Playboy Mansion, but they’re also standard for a Friday night out.

But maybe this is one of those examples when London trends and American ones don’t quite stack up - we still haven’t fully embraced Beth Ditto, soccer, or wearing feathered veils to church. In which case, perhaps a fresh coat of lip varnish is downright patriotic… or at least practical, since we use it instead of Chapstick in the winter.