In Praise of the Perfect Lipstick!

by Anna Campbell

I'm not much of a girl for wearing a lot of makeup although for glad rags events like the RWA awards night, I will slap on a bit of grease and paint.

But there's one item of makeup I'm absolutely addicted to...

Yeah, given the title of this blog, you don't exactly have to be Einstein to guess!

It's LIPSTICK!

I've always loved lipsticks ever since I was a little girl dressing up in my mother's old clothes. I love the names the cosmetic companies give lipsticks - they're worthy of the greatest of romantic novelists. Pink from Paris, one of my mum's from those early days. Doesn't that just whisper of French sophistication? Well, it did when I was eight! Sahara Rose - a favorite Revlon shade they don't make any more. Fire and Ice - a startling dark Hollywood starlet red that was my favorite color back when I worked in fashion in the mid-80s. Another Revlon shade now I think of it!

Other favorites include a wonderful REALLY vibrant red from Christian Dior that I inherited from a friend of mine. She'd never worn lipstick and decided to break the ice with something that would stop traffic. Needless to say, she NEVER got the guts to wear it. So her loss was my (very expensive lipstick) gain. It was called Geranium so you have some idea of the intensity of that color!

And of course, I am eternally devoted to my lucky lipstick. It's a very intense shade of maroon red, like a ripe cherry, and it was another expensive lipstick - after the Christian Dior, I really set my sights higher! It's from Lancome and it's called Ah, Les Femmes and the color is JUST right. If there are any other lipstick afficionados out there, you'll know how precious that JUST right color is.

No less an authority than the immaculately presented Lisa Kleypas commented on it, saying that although it was out of fashion, it was a great color for someone of my complexion. Yes, I know I'm name dropping! We lipstick tarts have no shame!

My great fondness for lipsticks was cemented about 20 years ago when I was in a bit of a slump (the way Everest is a bit of a hill!). I was working part-time in a really demanding but unfulfilling job which I'd taken so I had time to write. And my writing wasn't getting anywhere. I had no money and was definitely digging myself into a hole.

Then one day, I bought myself a new lipstick - the aforementioned Sahara Rose. I do so wish Revlon still made that shade, it was a really pretty subtle brownish pink that you could wear almost anywhere.

And it gave me such a boost. It was an inexpensive way to pick up my mood immediately and I got a blast of cheeriness every time I wore my new lipstick. The effects of my purchase of course eventually wore off so I had to buy another new lipstick. So easy for addictions to come into being! At least this particular addiction isn't fattening, though! Or bad for my liver. Although I suspect I've eaten an elephant's weight of lipstick in my life, so perhaps I shouldn't speak too fast about that conclusion!

The boost I get from a new lipstick has never faded.

Currently my favorite is an Estee Lauder called Black Cherry. It may even end up replacing Ah, Les Femmes in my affections, I'm so crazy about it. I love its elegant shiny gold container. I love the immediate intense color. It's a GREAT lipstick!

So are you a fellow lipstick tart? Do you have something else that you know will immediately pick up your mood and give you a smile? Chocolate definitely comes to mind or a really good book or reading something I love that I've read before. A swim also works for me. Or a really great piece of music.

Come on! Share your little pick-me-ups! Source URL: http://extravagancedeplumes.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-praise-of-perfect-lipstick.html
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