So I’m in the car with the kids and we’re about to pull into a shop. I ask Sam if he can pass me the lipstick from my purse. He starts pulling the lipstick tubes out onto his lap. And he’s laughing.
Me: Did you find it? The M.A.C. Freckletone?
Him: Um. [still giggling] I found 15 lipsticks. 15 mom. Is it in a blue tube or one of these black ones?
Me: It’s a black one.
Him: How do you tell? There are so many.
Me: Just read the bottoms.
Him: Why do you need all this lipstick?
Me: [silent. it would be impossible to explain.]
And while I didn’t think much of the 9 year old chuckling, (cuz he thinks his own burps are hilarious) I got to thinking… WHAT IF I actually have a lipstick obsession? Do normal people carry around that much lip product in their purse? Does this small compulsion to buy a tube of lipstick (usually brought on by a minor life crisis) make me abnormal?
Surely I’m not the only one. I mean, what if I got unexpectedly stranded on a desert island and there aren’t any good lipstick places? Or if the M.A.C. factory burns down and supplies run short? Or if I’m out for lunch and suddenly I don’t feel like my usual orangy shade… I wouldn’t want my lipstick to feel wrong! No. Even with the ridiculing, I’m quite okay with my obsession. And it could be worse. Absolutely worse. I could be compelled to purchase (& consume) mounds of pickled garlic. Or have a collection of warthogs (warthog coffee mugs, warthog figurines, warthog cookie jars). What if I collected fingernail clippings? See?! Lipstick is such a benign (& fun) obsession…
I heard on the radio that the average woman, over her lifetime, EATS 6 pounds of lipstick over her lifetime. So it might as well be a great color. Or, a variety of great colors…
What kind of lipstick stash are you hiding in your purse?
Personally I love MAC lipsticks.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:34 amAnd matching the shade to my mood is REQUIRED or I won’t wear any at all. And what about the names of the shades…I love finding the perfect shade with a great name.
Yes, but as I understand, you are the great organizing guru… How might you suggest I solve the 15 lipstick dilemma? (keeping in mind that one single one won’t cut it for this freaky lipstick lover)??
May 15th, 2008 at 8:38 amyou’re so funny- i still have most of the tube of lipstick left in my purse from my wedding, nearly 8 years ago!
May 15th, 2008 at 3:16 pmGirl… We need some quality time at the M.A.C counter together… xoxo
May 15th, 2008 at 3:19 pmI am not big on lipstick, but Jillian thinks it’s great. She will regularly sneak into my bathroom before we go somewhere and put on some lipstick. And she allways looks better in it then me!! MO
May 21st, 2008 at 9:23 pmA great friend used to gift me with some FAB lipsticks and gloss. She has now moved…But I too am now addicted to all the great shades and always have a mitt-full in the bottom of my purse. My kids just laugh when they go digging for me. J.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:43 pmHow many lipsticks do I own??? If I could locate all of my purses, go though my Van’s console, check in all my make-up kits and even search through my kids’ toy boxes, I may find in the order of 400 lipsticks. I have many makes models and colours, but I must say, MAC DOES take the cake….
June 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pmOh, Nicole Smith… You & I could be very good friends, I can tell…
June 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm& Julie-Bird - What am I now to do with all my impulse purchases?! I’ll drown in lipstick…
June 5th, 2008 at 1:54 pm