Last holiday season I raved about a new lip gloss from Bare Escentuals; it was the Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Polish in Ruby. Rather than cook up a whole new batch of flowery adjectives to tell you about it, here's what I wrote last time:

"It's a gorgeous ruby shade, red with the edge taken off, all the juicy saturation of a berry but with none of the severe brightness. Whatever you want to call it, it's gorgeous. It's laced with the finest warm gold pearl shimmer, making it festive and glowing without being garish or overly sparkly. It's like a liquid jewel for your lips."

And of course, like most totally awesome lippies, it was limited edition. The set is actually still available for $54, but you can't get the lip gloss on its own (I don't know why they never offered it as a stand-alone!). The colors in the set are still gorgeous, but they're very "holiday" and probably not so great for the summer temps.

Except the lip gloss. That remains a year-round favorite of mine.

Well yesterday, friends, I found myself drawn to a lip gloss for the very same reasons that made me fall in love with Ruby. It was pinky-red, not too bright, it was pearly without being super-shimmery, it was...perfect. And it wasn't stuck in a set with a bunch of other products!

This worthy successor to Ruby is Stila Pearl Shimmer Gloss in Ocean Current. It's a little more pink and a little less red than the Ruby, but in my mind that actually improves it, it being summer and all (NB, the photo makes it look pinker/plummier than it actually is, and does not do it justice in the least).

Now get this...it smells like play food! This could be a dealbreaker for you, or it might make you want to dash out and buy it immediately. I fall squarely in the "love it" camp. Remember those plastic Dunkin' Donuts sets from back in the day? That's what this gloss smells like! Oh, how I loved the faux Munchkins in their dear little cardboard carrier. And the wee little fake Duncan Hines chocolate cakes!

Now please excuse me while I go scour Ebay for play food.