When color coordinating has little to do with fashion.
By Colleen Attara

Everyone has a weakness for something, that one thing that when you walk by it, you don’t have the self-control to continue walking. You stop. You have to. You’d think you were paralyzed and you’re magnetically drawn to touch, taste, smell and, of course, buy.
I consider myself one of the fortunate few whose weakness will not land me in jail, divorce court or debt unless I steal it, eat it or take more than my pocketbook can hold (and I carry a big pocketbook.)
My gotta-have-it craving is lipstick. I have 11 tubes of it in my pocketbook at this moment.  I consider this a relatively light load. Typically, I pack 20 fabulous colors in several different forms.
I treat my lips as a sort of thermometer. The shade that ultimately makes it to my lips is an accurate indicator of my mood at that particular moment. A muted beige, for example, reads calm. The color grows darker with my confidence. If you ever catch me not wearing lipstick, let this serve as fair warning because the message I’m conveying is “Back off! I’m contagious.”
I recognized early on that I have a full pair of lips. I’m not afraid to dress them now, but back then it was a different tale. It was all about disguising them, a chore made all the more difficult by the bulky braces that bulged behind them.
As a teenager, I was sure I was destined for lip reduction surgery the moment I hit the legal consenting age. A close friend, who had only the kindest intentions in mind, of course, one day felt compelled to point out how abnormally large she thought my lips were. “Something surgical needs to be done with them,” she said.
Later, as a college freshman, I discovered a shade called Rum Raisin. By then, I ruled out the surgery because of the cost. My desire also had started to wane. I haven’t seen or spoken to that supposed well-meaning friend in two decades, but she crosses my mind whenever I see products designed to plump lips. I’m certain she’s purchased a few herself.
In a world with so many enticing possibilities, why lipstick you must be asking? On the most basic level, I feel good the instant I apply it. I know it won’t lead to weight gain or liver disease. And it keeps on giving. I get a bunch of uses and pick-me-ups from one little, inexpensive tube. You can’t say that about most things. (Or, at least, nothing that won’t eventually land you in rehab or prison.)
I offer here a selection of a few of my favorites that would make nice gifts this holiday season to others or, even better, to yourself.