According to People, Demi Moore is developing her very own skincare line with Beverly Hills dermatologist Terri Lawton. I think Demi looks fab, but the recent onslaught of "celebrity-developed" beauty products is really beginning to make me ill. Celebrity fragrances are now a staple, and a smattering of them is to be expected, but 2005 was really a watershed year for them - Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, Fantasy Britney Spears, Live by Jennifer Lopez, Just Me by Paris Hilton, Spirit by Antonio Banderas, Belong by Celine Dion, and now Unforgivable from the Pimp of All Media himself, P. Diddy.

As for celebrity cosmetics and skincare, they just scream "infomercial" to me. Remember "Principal Secret" and "Forever Spring," back when Victoria Principal and Connie Stevens were cool? For today's celeb-obsessed consumer, we have Lauren Hutton and Jessica Simpson, whose abysmal Dessert Beauty line is, unfortunately, everywhere.

I'm sure these celebs had fun sniffing essences and trying out eye creams, but I wonder how involved they really were. (I will make an exception here for SJP, who seems to appreciate fragrance, and who I hear was very involved with the creation of Lovely.) Celebrities are not cosmetic chemists or dermatologists or perfumers. Those are careers in their own right, which demand training, experience, talent...and our respect. When a celebrity's name is on a product, do we buy it based on its own merits, or are we just buying the name?

Update: The Manolo has a great post where he excerpts an interview with Tim Gunn and talks about the hard work that goes into fashion design - that it's not just about liking the clothes, as J. Lo, Gwen and Serena would have us believe.