Have you ever gone ga-ga for a gloss, or broken the bank for a face cream? Join the cult. Read on for a look at why certain beauty products have such an irresistible hold over us.

MOMENTS THAT MADE THEM …

When a superstar gets her hands on a beauty product that’s already great, it instantly soars to the beauty stratosphere.

Chanel No.5, from $120, from department stores. This ultra-feminine floral fragrance was already a cult classic when Marilyn Monroe was Norma Jean Baker. But in 1952, when MM – now reborn as the world’s ultimate sex symbol – told the world she only wore No 5 to bed, sales sky-rocketed. In a world where companies crave celebrity endorsement, this one still rates as the crème de la crème.
Creative Nail Design Solar Oil, from $13.95, from Creative Nail Place. Back in 1999, when Jennifer Lopez and then boyfriend Sean Combs were detained in jail following a nightclub shooting, the rumour went around that La Lopez had demanded one of the guards deliver her this cuticle smoother. Lopez has since denied demanding anything (diva, her?), but Solar Oil has remained notorious (well, as notorious as a nail serum can be).
Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir, $37, from department stores. 1994’s Pulp Fiction made Uma Thurman Hollywood’s hippest vixen. We wanted her slinky dancefloor moves, her femme fatale jet hair, but most of all her dark and dangerous nail polish. Of course, since then there’s been the ridiculously successful Black Satin, as worn by every starlet you could name. And, look out for the dreamY Blue Satin, available from February 24.
Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey, $36, from Clinique. Beauty insiders obsessed over this dark-cherry stain from its launch in 1989, but when Julia Roberts famously slicked some on in the 1998 film Stepmom, it became an every-bag essential.
GHD Styling Iron, $299, from ghd. When Gywneth stepped out in her front-pocketed Blue Cult jeans, a new lust-after label was born. But for the beauty-obsessed among us, all we wanted to know what how had she got that sexy, kinky hair. Word soon spread that it was thanks to a new straightener which, thanks to its bevelled edges, could also give locks great wave. We were sold.
Blistex Lip Conditioner SPF20, $4.95, from pharmacies. Way before Brangelina, Ms Jolie had us wanting in on her seductive secrets – mostly, how to get that “pillow-lips” pout. When she told Allure magazine that her top lip tip was this tried-and-tested balm, well it just made us stock up even more than before.
Erno Laszlo Sea Mud Soap, $59, from Rescu Beauty Bar. With Diane Keaton clad in slouchy Ralph Lauren tailoring, Annie Hall (1977) sparked off many a fashion trend. But there was one stand-out beauty star: the big bar of black cleansing soap in Annie’s bathroom that Woody Allen’s character found so fascinating.

DIVINE INSPIRATION

Some of the most coveted beauty buys have sprung from unexpected sources, thanks to creative thinkers who look for inspiration anywhere and everywhere.

Chanel Star Products, available for limited periods, from department stores. Dominique Moncourtois, the recently retired international creative director of Chanel Maquillage, is a true beauty visionary, researching everything from the food industry (for new ideas in textures), to the aerospace world (for technical tricks that can translate to creative cosmetics), to the Chanel legacy itself (case in point: powders set to a quilted-like finish). The results of Moncourtois’ inspiration journeys can be found in the limited-edition ‘star products’, which have become waiting-list-worthy for being the defining make-up buy of the season. The next one to wait for: 4 Fleurs de Chanel Eyes in Féeries, $83, which hits counter February 24.
Benefit Benetint, $49, from selected Myer stores, from selected Myer stores. Soon after Benefit opened its San Francisco doors thirty years ago, a stripper came in asking twin-sister owners Jane and Jean Ford if they had anything that would make her nipples look “like cherries”. The Benefit girls, who have become renowned for their quirky take on beauty, went home that night and steamed up rose petals to concoct a lush ruby liquid stain. The San Fran strippers loved it – but the Fords soon realised that it could be just as sexy on the face, so repackaged it as a lip and cheek stain. There are now countless copy-cat tints, gels and balms on the market – but none quite has the sexy aura of Benetint.
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, $62, from Adore Beauty. It’s Laura Mercier’s best-seller. That’s not surprising. Ask any woman who has learnt to master this custom-mix base palette; little else delivers such a perfect finish. Mercier, who trained as a painter, sees base as an opportunity to create the perfect canvas for your cosmetics. But we think Secret Camouflage is a work of art all on its own.
Kusco-Murphy Beach Hair, $22.95, from Adore Beauty. It’s a well-known a beauty tale: when hairstylist Kevin Murphy was working on a Swimsuit Illustrated photo shoot, the beach breeze blew sand into his styling products. But the gritty, textured result made the model’s hair all the sexier for it. Murphy was thus inspired to create a hair styler that would recreate a day at the beach. In lieu of sand, he mixed in crushed bamboo, while coconut oil and bergamot gave a tropical touch that so many other companies have since tried to emulate.

LEGENDS IN THE MAKING

Sometimes the story behind a product is as good as the product itself.
Scott Barnes Body Bling, $82, from Kit Cosmetics. Celebrity makeup artist Scott Barnes has long been lauded for having the golden touch – making million-dollar babes look even more luxe than they already are. But it was his collaboration with Jennifer Lopez that really made us crave head-to-toe glow. Not surprising then that when he recently launched his own range, the star product, Body Bling, a body lotion rich in pearl powders and bronze pigments, became an instant best-seller worldwide.
Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, $34, from department stores. In the 1930s Elizabeth Arden, already a respected beauty pioneer, started a new business: horse racing. She established her own professional stables, and became famous for pampering her horses as she would her clients, treating their skin ailments by lovingly massaging in her Eight Hour Cream. This apricot-tinted balm also promised myriad benefits to her non-equine customers: it soothed scrapes, softened cuticles, glossed up lips and protected from windburn (so well so that Sir Edmund Hillary slathered it on as he climbed Mount Everest). These days, you can bet on finding a tube in every editor and model’s bag and bathroom cabinet.
Crème de La Mer, from $250, from Creme de la Mer. In the 1950s, Dr Max Huber was working at NASA as an aerospace physicist, when a laboratory experiment backfired, leaving him with severe chemical burns to his face. After countless unsuccessful medical treatments, he set up his own lab at home, with the aim to formulate his ultimate skin-healing cream. It took twelve years – but was worth the wait. While his winning mix contained an impressive array of natural ingredients, it was the four-month-long bio-fermentation process, which ensured the potion maintained the highest potency possible, that was so revolutionary. Dr Huber’s newly re-smoothed skin was the cream’s best advertisement; it soon became – and still is - one of the beauty world’s most celebrated anti-ageing buys.

WHY DIDN’T THEY THINK OF THAT BEFORE …

Some of the most popular beauty buys are ones we’ve been waiting for all of our lives. And while many may copy, it’s these trend leaders that keep the cult cred.

Model Co Tan Airbrush in a Can, $32, from Model Co. The original DIY spray tan. The colour and the cocoa butter smell make you look and feel like you’re just back from the Bahamas. While the 360-degree nozzle makes it a cinch to spray all over.
Lancôme Juicy Tubes, $44, from department stores. Lancôme may not have invented gloss – but they were the first to really reinvent it for us, making this teenage staple grown-up and glamorous, and our lips succulent and sexy.
Almay Intense I-Color Powder Shadow, $17.95, from Priceline. These three-step eye-enhancing colour kits, which coordinate to you iris shade, not only do what they promise, they give professional results with makeup-for-dummies ease. One of the surprise hits of 2005, it shows that trends may come and go, but what we actually really want is to look like ourselves – only better.
John Frieda Frizz Ease Hair Serum, $29.95, call 1800 468 318 for stockist info. Ten or so years ago, John Frieda launched the silicone-based hair serum that put him on the haircare map – and banished bad hair days from our lives. Whether you want to smooth away flyaways, sculpt perfect curls, or achieve a salon-look blow-dry, Frizz Ease is a must-buy for anyone with hair.

THE BEAUTY EDS’ FAVES

What you’ll find inside insider cabinets and carry-alls…

Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, $57, from Adore Beauty. The original skin pick-me-up – and still the most-loved.
Lancôme mascaras, from $43, from department stores. Maybe it’s the super-engineered wands or maybe it’s the spot-on formulations (available in volumising, lengthening, curling and defining effects) - whatever, no other mascaras have given us such luscious lashes.
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, from about $5, from pharmacies. Effective, gentle and so so cheap.
Klorane Dry Shampoo, $12.95, from pharmacies. You’ll also find this greasy-hair-remedy wonder in every hair stylist’s kit.
Essie Nail Enamel in Ballet Slippers, $14.95, call (02) 9698 9956 for info. Simply the best pale pink polish around.
Nars Blush in Orgasm, $60, from Mecca Cosmetica. A gorgeous peachy glow. And who can deny the appeal of the name?

Note: This is an edited version of a feature I originally wrote for Shop Til You Drop magazine