Coming up Roses

My Grammy turned 90 this year. And if I had to guess, about 74 of those 90 years have been spent with her “face” done. That’s what she calls it, “doing her face.” Something along the lines of, “just let me put my face on.” Overall, she’s an avid Estée Lauder devotee, and more specifically, besides her face, she wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without lipstick. Her purses I’m sure all contain half-used tubes in secret compartments complete with mirrors hidden away for easier application. And at the end of the day, she takes off her face with cold cream and tissues.

Despite being related, the lipstick gene didn’t totally pass through to me. On any given day, you can find any 1 of these 3 things on my lips:

1.    Burt’s Bees lip balm
2.    Estée Lauder high gloss in ivory (obviously a gift from said Grammy). Essentially this is clear lipgloss.
3.    Estée Lauder pure color lipstick in beige (ditto on the Grammy gift). Basically, it’s a hue the same color as my natural lips. I know, daring!

But I’ve noticed this spring, vibrant pink and red lips are popping up everywhere. There are always those classics that pretty much everyone from Rachel Zoe to Nina Garcia dish out. In fashion, it’s generally as standard as a structured tote, a strand of pearls, black stilettos, and so on. And in beauty, it usually circles back to one thing … lip stain, in a signature red.

 

So, in the spirit of change, and my Grammy, I marched myself over to the Chanel counter to try out the new Spring 2010 Rouge line. Finding the perfect shade is no easy task. It took multiple tries in the name of research. But guess what? I found my perfect shade … it’s called Gabrielle and it makes my lips pop–just in time for spring.

I’m in love with my new look. Here’s to taking it all off with cold cream.