<strong>What it is</strong>: A plumping lip gloss with a built-in freshness indicator.

<strong>What it does</strong>: If you're anything like me, you're probably vigilant about tossing any items in your fridge that have passed their use-by date... but when it comes to your makeup, not so much. Now the clever folks at Cargo have come to the rescue with some nifty new technology. (I swear, I last saw this on my Brita water filter!)<!--more-->

What they've done is built a handy sensor into this lip gloss. After you activate it (by inserting the strip into the cap), it gradually starts to turn red as the months pass... until nine months later, when it's time to throw it out. (The indicator will become completely red by this point.)

In the meantime, your lips will be ready for prime time: Every product in the blu_ray line was designed for high-definition filming, so it looks completely natural in any type of light. The secret is special pigments and optical blurring technology... and in this lip gloss, hyaluronic acid and peptides to plump AND smooth fine lines. The colours are super-wearable, too—no glitter here. Think pale peach, nude and rose, to name a few.

<em>Priced at $24 each. Available at Sephora stores across Canada, or online at </em><a href="http://www.sephora.com"><em>www.sephora.com</em></a><em>.</em>

P.S. Wondering when it's time to toss the other items in your makeup bag? Sadly, Cargo hasn't rolled out the Timestrip on anything besides lip gloss yet, but <a href="http://jolienadine.com/blog/2009/03/23/do-i-have-to-toss-my-old-makeup-after-an-infection/" target="_blank">this post</a> over at Jolie Nadine outlines some standard best-before dates. The most important ones to keep an eye on are mascara—replace it every three months—and liquid foundation, which can start to separate after six months. I'm not as fussy about eyeliners because by sharpening them you're exposing brand-new product.