On her dressertop, La Gram Russe had a filigreed golden holder for 3 lipsticks. The usual combo was a flattering pink for every day, a brown-pink alternative, and a reddish shade for special. I have a similar holder on my bathroom counter but it's a little more stuffed.
- Game Day (Pur Minerals)
- Toxic Cherry (Buxom)
- Cherry (Burts's Bees)
- Wild (Tarte)
- Glamour (Ulta)
- Daredevil (Pur Minerals)
- Crushed Coral (Kismet)
- Rhubarb (Burt's Bees)
- Wildflower (Kismet)
- Stardust (Lancome)
- Hawaiian Smolder (Burt's Bees)
- Hibiscus (Covergirl's Nature Lux line - which may now be defunct)
- Naked Gypsy (Kismet)
The funny part is I don't wear several of the colors; they just take up space on my counter. Naked Gypsy is too pale for my taste. Cabernet is weirdly dark and has a strange, thick, gritty texture. (My first clue I wouldn't like it should have been Gwyneth Paltrow as the Juice covergirl. Major disconnect for me. Not a Goop girl. I find Gwyneth quite out-of-touch with the real world.) The Stardust is a brand I don't buy and was a hand-me-down from my mother (she often receives freebies that are much too light for her Asiatic skin tones but work for the Russian/Irish paleness of my skin tone.) While Wildflower and Crushed Coral are brighter than my usual - they are American made and lovely. In truth, most days I grab one of the Pur Minerals or Burt's Bees and just do a quick swipe of color. I like that they are made with natural ingredients, easy to wear, and great colors.
But some days, I wonder if we aren't - if I'm not - over complicating life. One of the beautiful things about La Gram Russe's 3 holder system is that it limited the number of morning decisions she had to make. (Much recent research has focused on our ability to make a limited number of decisions and that our best decision making happens in the morning.) She didn't spend money frivolously on extra options she wouldn't wear. And each of the choices was always "right" because she only kept 3 flattering shades.
Take-away - It's your life and your choice. How simple or how complicated you make the choices are up to you.
Photos by moi! (As usual, and you can tell.)
PS - I threw out the Cabernet and Naked Gypsy after taking this photo, despite the blow to my frugal soul. Down with clutter!
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PSS - for those of you who follow the comments in blogs, the awesome founder of Juice Beauty (Karen Behnke - who has a fantastic Michigan vibe) reached out to me about trying a different Juice Beauty lip product. I'm currently loving the Photo-Pigments Luminous Lip Crayon in Zuma - texture is smooth and light while the color is present but subtle. (I see a purchase of Pebble in my future....) Because women ingest a scary amount of what they put ON their lips, you should always be as organic as possible with lip color. Juice Beauty fits that bill.
Other posts from me on self-care you might enjoy: