Lipstick On the Mirror

Fashion Friday is here again! I recently learned of this new book coming out by Poppy King, the literal Queen of Lipstick, for which her book is titled. As I was reading about this book and a brief history of Ms. King herself, I pondered lipstick and what it means to me.

There is something about being a little girl, although, I can't compare to what its like being a little boy! I was the girliest of girls, as you can imagine. My favorite play activities as a kidlet were to play dolls/house, Barbies, and business woman. Even though I had clothing for 'dress-up' - I never could resist sneaking into mom's and big sisters' rooms to try on their clothes and test their makeup. I was a great makeup tester!

First, set the mood - my mood was usually Madonna's True Blue album. Sister already had the cassette in her boom-box and since my makeup inspections always had to be done in secret, I couldn't change too many things in the room! Let the inspections begin! I always made sure that the mascara was plentiful enough to cover my reddish/brown lashes. I was so careful to not color outside of the lines as I would layer on the lipstick, and man-O-man did I help big sister get through her pot of blue eye-shadow in the 80s. I'm certain, even then, I was on the road to being a great makeup inspector. Once makeup is done, naturally one would move on to wardrobe.

I had a vast array of great sweaters, skirts and lets not forget heels for my many roles I might be playing that day. I remember one particular pair of mom's heels that were great for being Business Woman. They were white (it was the 80s!) and they had a decent stiletto heel, maybe 3 inches tall with a pointed toe and some extra embellishment detail on the back of the shoe. If I couldn't sneak out the white heels, there were others! I would lay underneath the dining table to thumb through mom's fashion magazines. These are my first memories of dressing up and looking forward to when I would be all grown up to wear heels and makeup and all the things that ladies do to look pretty and feel good. I was a Fashionista-In -Training, and by the time I was ten I had completed so much field work - I could almost qualify to be in the big leagues!

I got paybacks for my secret makeup inspections once I became an aunt. Where was the most fun place to play at Grammie's house? Aunt Quel's room of course because she had low vanity with a bench and a giant mirror. As a teenager, I always left my makeup out on my vanity. Oh the little girls could not resist - it is as though the makeup gods would call to them relentlessly until they gave in and risked their lives by entering a tiny version of a makeup counter- how convenient, right there in Grammie and Papa's house.

Remember Kaboodles? I had a great big one - purple and chartreuse - with the fold out trays, mirror, the works! I would pack that with me when I was going overnight somewhere. One morning as I awoke at my sister's home, where we discovered that my niece, who was probably less than 2-years old then, had uncovered the Kaboodle full of makeup and 'prizes' right there in her own living room. Wow she looked so pretty. She had on all the eyeshadow, lipstick everywhere (it always looks great if you can be creative and put it in places where it wasn't originally intended), and lets not forget the rouge! Paybacks! She looked great-- I hope we have pictures of that somewhere.

There is such a whimsical excitement for little girls and their desire to put on makeup and be like the beautiful women in their lives. (This was before teen stars blew-up the scene and started growing up way too fast in the public eye.) When I was about 12 or 13 I was allowed to wear mascara, then eventually little by little I was allowed more freedom as my age allowed. I am really excited to read Poppy King's book. I feel most put together and ready to face my day once I put on my lipstick. My coworkers can testify that many times a day I can be caught re-applying lipstick at my desk. I no longer test out the hot pinks or deep deep reds - but the fun is still there and that is what matters.