Lip Color With Staying Power

Any color I put on my lips has a tendency to do a quick disappearing act so I've long been on the lookout for lip color that lasts. Yes I know there are some out with staying power but they leave my lips feeling parched.
Now the people at Good Housekeeping have to come to the rescue. At their renowned Research Institute they recently tested ten of the latest long lasting lip colors.
After applying the lip colors in the lab,volunteers ate a buttered bagel, sipped a hot drink and kissed the back of their hand. An expert then recorded the amount of transfer color. The testers then wore the products for the rest of the day without reapplying and then rated them on comfort look and wear.
All had zero color fade and lasted 11 hours. Among the top three performers L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Lip Color was number two after Channel
Of course I had to check it out and made a special stop at Rite Aide. I spent a bit of time picking out the color bearing in mind advice from the book How Not To Look Old which says we older gals do better to stick with pale pink (being blond I had always veered to the more earth or coral tones which might have been a mistake.) So I picked Azalea, a medium pale pink. The product comes in an attractive mirrored case, but I was dismayed to discover that this one like the Maybelline I had previously tried was a two step process.
I still felt compelled to give it a try. The color is applied with a wand and has to dry for two minutes. It went on more smoothly but had that same stiff feeling as the Maybelline as it dried However this is then topped by a clear super moisturizing gloss applied in stick form. It immediately alleviated the stiff feeling and managed to keep my lips feeling moisturized all day.
By evening they were still pink, if not quite as shiny as they were in the morning. I may have to try this one again but in a brighter shade. I'm still not sold on the virtues of pink but do intend to check out the shades recommended in the book. I'll let you know. Meanwhile I can't believe I'm spending so much time thinking about lips!
Cheers,
Barb

The Easiest Way Not to Look Old

There's a new book out, How Not to Look Old. I haven't read it yet but I have read and heard plenty about it. The author, a former editor of Glamour offers a myriad of valuable tips such as shortening your skirts and cutting bangs in order to project that youthful image many of us aspire to.
Clothes, hair and makeup visually define who we are and hint at our age. But there's another important factor in the equation; one that shouts old no matter how well you've nailed the perfect skirt length or lip color and that's posture and bearing. If you don't pay attention to them, all else is for naught.
Just look around any mall and you'll see what I mean. As we age osteoporosis and the force of gravity conspire to cause many of us to bend at about a 25 degree angle from the waist. We just sort of pitch forward. Some of us may be a bit hunched in the shoulders or our necks may have shortened . I realize I'm not painting a pretty picture here but as I said, look around and you'll see what I mean. If you're focused on achieving that youthful look, it's something that must be addressed .
The solution is simple; make a concerted effort to straighten up. The most effective way is to lift from the rib cage which may over time, have taken to resting on your stomach. Try this first standing sideways in front of a full length mirror. You'll notice that as you lift the rib cage,your shoulders drop and your chin raises a bit; your lower back lengthens and flattens as does your abdomen. Now practice walking in this position. It may take a little practice but keep at it and soon it will become automatic.
This is a trick I learned from my mother who even at 85 did not want to look like an old lady and never did.
Cheers, Barb

I'm Returning This Product!

I love the look of lip gloss. I admire it on others but in spite of many trys I've not used it on a regular basis myself. True, it looks great when I put it on, especially if I take the time to line my lips first. But some time in between the plies and the grand jetes at ballet class, the lip gloss performs a vanishing act. It fares no better out of class. One minute my lips are shiny and moist with color, the next time I cheek they're faded and dry. No matter if it's a drug store or high end brand, the result is the same.
That's why an ad for Maybelline's new SuperStay Gloss caught my eye. It was advertised as lasting for twelve hours and that was more than long enough for me. I made a quick stop at CVS, which in my area has a fantastic cosmetic department, and quickly choose ruby red from a wide array of colors. Then I took another look and realized that its staying power was due to a two step process,much like the one required with some mascaras where you prime the lashes with one substance and then add color with a second.
At home I found that this one works the opposite way. You use one end, which is a sponge, to apply the color . Think thick paint with a matte finish. The instructions say to wait two minutes before applying the top coat of colorless gloss. As I've said many times before I dislike any makeup that requires a two step process and the two minute wait wasn't getting any points from me either. As it turned out, the wait wasn't all that bad because I reversed the way I usually apply makeup, which is to do my lips last and instead started on them first, topping them with the colorless gloss (which is applied with a brush) after I had done my eyes etc.
When I was finished,I felt like I had a lot on my lips, and when I tried to rub them together to sort of smooth and spread things out, nothing moved. No matter,I took this as testament to the product's staying power. However after class when I peered closely in the mirror, I found that, my lips while they were still quite red, looked faded and worn and the gloss was greatly diminished. Could I have licked it off during one of those pirouettes I'm still trying to master?
Good I saved my receipt! I see that Cover Girl now has a similar product that promises 16 hour staying power. Maybe I should try it.

Cheers,
Barb