When it comes to beauty-product nostalgia, Michael Kors Leg Shine really takes me back: I was getting ready for Junior Prom with the most glamorous person I had, at this point in my life, ever met. She had bookshelves of Vogue, a chaise longue in her bedroom, and his-and-hers sinks for just her. She was everything. And when she saw my tea-length dress and bare, dry, scaley legs—a swim team side-effect—she bent down to apply what I had assumed was designer deodorant (this exists) along my shins. It wasn’t. It was a sheer, glittery wax that smelled like freesia and cashmere. It made my legs look and smell expensive and grown up. In the photos where I’m standing (unfortunate prom group shots called for us shorter gals to do the sitting-in-an-invisible-chair-with-hands-on-knees bend), you can see a long, glamorous, gleaming line down my legs. Thanks to my everything friend—and Michael Kors.

So, when my current BF whisked me away for a Valentine’s day at the beach in LA, I thought I’d do my pale, dry, scaley legs (a NYC winter side-effect) a favor and spend the most romantic $10 of all time—on Michael Kors Leg Shine (the mini travel version). The shine doesn’t last for longer than it takes to pose for a prom group shot, but it does seal in moisture, imperceptibly take your skin tone from gaunt to green-juice-4-lyfe, and leave you with a residual gold shimmer and light floral scent. Plus, it’s a lot more clothes-, water-, and suntan-friendly than other leg makeup. Even wearing it 10 years later makes me feel remarkably glamorous.

—Mackenzie Wagoner

Photos by Mathea Millman.