Lipstick Secrets of Preschool Moms

At this fall's open house for our kids' preschool, I noticed that my friend Amanda was looking especially beautiful and told her so.

"Well, you always look so put-together, and I figured out it's your red lipstick!" she said.  "And I knew you'd be here, so I had to put some put some lipstick on!"

I told her she'd exposed out my dirty little secret to looking like I'm a lot more together than I am.  She said, "When you figure out these secrets, you're supposed to share them with the rest of us!"

So I'll share what I know: if you put on red lipstick, you really don't have to do much else, and you look miraculously put-together.  Red lipstick also forces you to elevate the rest of your look, because it doesn't work with a Patagonia fleece or anything else from REI.  It's also cheerful and looks fantastic in photos.  My go-to is Chanel Rouge Allure in Lover, though NARS Heat Wave is also great for a more tomatoey color.

But I'll admit, sometimes wearing red lipstick can feel like feel wearisome, like something you have to live up to, and there are places (like the gym) where you don't want to have to live up to much.  So I started to look for a lower-key alternative.

A few weeks ago I was checking out a Lipstick Queen display when an SA named Gregory found me playing with all the wrong colors.  He squeezed my fingertip and told me I had a warm skin tone.   He then presented Coral Sinner for me to try.

But coral isn't a viable lipstick shade for a non-grandma, is it?  Maybe it was Gregory's uncanny resemblance to Lord Byron (or was it Angelina Jolie?) that put me into a trance, but against my better judgment, I found myself slicking Coral Sinner on my mouth.

I was transformed.  The color is gorgeous, the texture is matte and creamy and feels like nothing's on, and best of all, this shade doesn't set up any hardcore expectations I have to live up to.  It just makes me look great.  I bought two tubes.

You've been fairly warned, Amanda.