Ah, my old buddy Revlon, Inc (NYSE: REV)! Actually, that exclamatory statement is full of sarcasm. Revlon, a beauty-products business whose colleagues include Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) and The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), is not a buddy of mine. It is a stock that I really have no intention of buying. The company isn't exactly the most attractive one out there at the moment in terms of fundamentals, but it did have a decent cash-flow statement in the third quarter. Let's check out some numbers.

To begin with, revenues didn't see much growth, as they rose about 1%. Reported net income was $0.57 per diluted share versus a net loss of $0.20 per diluted share in the year-ago period. Unfortunately, that doesn't tell the whole tale. You have to strip out a one-time gain from discontinued operations to get the full story. And you're not going to like it once you do. So, the loss from continuing operations becomes $0.30 per diluted share, which was $0.06 wider than the loss in Q3 2007. Yet, the cash-flow statement does offer a bright spot. Positive operational cash flow of almost $44 million was booked over the last nine months. Last year, Revlon used almost $50 million to fund operations over the nine-month period. Some changes in working capital helped out.

Well, even with the better cash-flow scenario, no, I'm not buying the stock. Revlon is still, in my opinion, a long way off from becoming a great investment idea. I'll need to see more robust growth in the top line and a better profit picture. Sure, for the nine-month period, Revlon did generate a profit of $0.04 per diluted share, but I'm still not convinced. As of this writing, the stock was down 23%. I know it's a bad day in the markets and all, but I wouldn't want to align myself with a company that sees that kind of reaction to earnings. Such a pullback doesn't scream value to me when it comes to Revlon.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Avon (NYSE: AVP) delivered not a bag of cosmetics to Wall Street, but a batch of growing earnings. Total revenues for the first quarter were up beautifully, rising 14% to $2.5 billion. Earnings per diluted share likewise did the double-digit-increase dance, rocketing 26% to $0.43.

Now, I would have liked the report a lot more if the company had indicated in its cash flow statement that everything was positive -- unfortunately, that was not to be, as operational cash flow was, in fact, negative. Avon needed to use $41 million for its operating activities during the quarter. Well, one thing I can say is that it's a lot less than the cash needed to fund last year's operations -- Avon burned through over $160 million in the comparable period. A check of the latest 10K shows that, while operational cash flow has been decreasing over the last few years, it has remained positive, so since this is the first quarter of the new fiscal year, we can wait to see how cash flow shapes up as the quarters go by.

Avon competes with companies like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Revlon (NYSE: REV) and Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL). As I've stated in the past, Procter & Gamble is more my kind of consumer-products business, but I'll give Avon its due since it does have a good product portfolio backing its brand and a devoted base of users. The stock is not too far off from its 52-week high as of this writing, and so long as it can keep sales growing and fight inflationary pressures, it should be a decent long-term bet.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned; positions can change at any time.

Women of a certain age and socio-economic demographic know Elizabeth Arden Inc. (NASDAQ: RDEN) as a purveyor of prestige beauty products and luxurious day spas. Fortunately for the company, many of those women live outside the U.S. and have yet to be affected by the slowdown in consumer spending. International growth for the company increased 20%, while net sales in the U.S., including the December holiday pampering season, declined 0.5% with weak holiday sales at upscale department stores.

Boosted by international sales, net income increased $8.9 million to $33.8 million, or $1.15 per share. Despite the soft holiday quarter reported January 31, the company is sticking with its previous guidance of diluted EPS $1.65-1.75, up $0.29-0.39 over FY2007. Net sales are forecast to increase in the low single digits -- not the most dramatic forecast.

Elizabeth Arden is tightening its supply chain and increasing the sale of higher profit margin products in its international markets. The company will introduce new fragrance brands in 2008, including the fragrance M by Mariah Carey to appeal to younger customers. Investors do not seem to be much impressed with these new initiatives. The stock has dropped almost 6% over the weekend.

The separation of the company into a consumer products company, Alberto-Culver Company (NYSE: ACV), and a beauty supply distribution company, Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SBH), is complete. Most of its restructuring costs are behind it. The company has closed excess production facilities, instituted a more efficient inventory management system, and introduced a more favorable product mix favoring higher-profit margin items. As a result, the revamped Alberto-Culver Company returned to profitability in 1Q2008.

Net sales increased 14% to $400 million. Earnings from continuing operations increased a whopping 60% to $48.3 million. 1Q2008 net earnings were $30.9 million, much better than 1Q2007 net loss of $5.9 million. Most importantly, there were actually EPS of $0.29, a far cry from zero EPS in 1Q2007. Given the good 1Q2008 results, Alberto-Culver upped its dividend payout 18% to $0.065 per share. The stock closed recently at $26.76, up $0.86 or 3.32%.

Patient value investors may want to take a look at Sally Beauty Holdings Inc., the spin off company. The stock has struggled recently. It currently trades at just over $8 per share but has a lot of room for growth potential.

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) made the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) on Tuesday as the company that had a rise in stock price but the largest outflow of money. Perhaps now that the company's IRS problems are behind it and all sectors are showing profits, insiders want to take their share of the profits. The news from the company's 4Q and FY 2007 report is very positive. All product categories in all regions increased sales, though the increases in the U.S. were the smallest. FY sales topped out at over $7 billion, FY net earnings from continuing operations rose $124 million to $448.7 million, and FY diluted EPS increased 45% to $2.16. Numbers for just 4Q 2007 were as good. EPS of $0.45 was double that of 4Q 2006 when the company was embroiled in tax problems.

Whether organized by geographic region or product category, sales and earnings are headed in the right direction. Estee Lauder is increasing its sales channels to include a larger internet presence, more products in European pharmacies, as well as moving into direct-response television advertising. This sales reorganization comes at the cost of $30 million for discontinuing slow selling and lower profit margin items, as well as reconfiguring an international distribution network. The strategy seems to be working as makeup, fragrance, and hair care sales are up 11% in Asia, 10% in Europe and the Middle East, and 3% in the U.S.

Operating cash flow declined significantly, due primarily to stock repurchases. CEO William Lauder forecasts that 1Q 2008 sales will grow 5-7%, and FY 2008 sales growth will be 7%-9%. Diluted EPS will be $2.28-2.40 with hair care products being the biggest seller. The stock currently trades right around $40.00.