September is one of those months that simultaneously fill me with excitement and dread. Excitement because -- no matter how old I get -- I can never shake that "back to school" feeling. Dread because summer is over, and it won't be long before the sun sets while I'm finishing lunch. So I'm taking solace in the best new beauty products launching in this fall -- and I invite you to join me.

There's a purple lipstick that will completely change your look (maybe even your life), a fragrance to help you transition from summer to fall without the usual anxiety and a hair texturizing spray that will give you beachy waves while you sit at your desk. Try these new beauty products and I guarantee your September will be more exciting than it is dreadful.

Put me in front of a rainbow of lipsticks, and I gravitate towards the purple one every time. (Hot pink is a close second.) Once applied, purple lipstick never looks as wild as it appears in the tube -- and it's especially fun to put on when someone else is watching (and wondering why the heck you're putting on purple lipstick). Lipstick Queen Silver Screen in Stella!, $50, is the ruler of the purple lipsticks. Naturally, I slapped some on as soon as I got my hands on a tube -- and it is, in fact, quite purple. The result is cool and vampy -- and it's infused with peppermint oil for extra zing.

Nothing tastes more like summer than a perfectly ripened heirloom tomato, which is why I love to eat them in the fall. (In NYC, we can generally find them at the farmers' market well into October.) This year, I'm also dousing myself in Distillery General Artisanal Small Batch Fragrances in Heirloom, $25, which smells like a juicy tomato mixed with grapefruit and Bulgarian rose. It also has some warm undertones -- amber, musk and myrrh -- to make that fall transition cozier -- and a little more palatable.

While we're mourning the end of summer (sniffle, sniffle), we might as well prepare for dry-skin season. I'm pulling my sweaters out of storage, and stocking up on Curel Rough Skin Rescue, $7.99. Unlike other lotions that simply coat your skin with moisturizing ingredients, this one contains AHAs to exfoliate dry skin while hydrating the new skin underneath. It's just as good at preventing dryness as it is at correcting it. Start using it now, and you may be able to hold onto your summer skin for months to come.

Speaking of holding onto summer … Klorane Mango Butter Shampoo, $19.50, smells like a delicious tropical cocktail, makes hair unbelievably silky and is packed with fatty acids for long-term hydration. I used it once, and it completely hid the fact that I'm about four months overdue for a haircut.