Here's Why Lipstick is the Best Type of Beauty Product

This story was originally featured in Youngish, our new beauty newsletter for women who aren't old, but aren't exactly young either. Sign up here for weekly updates.

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What’s the very first memory you have about lipstick? One of my dearest involves my late grandmother, who came to live with us when I was around eight. Every Sunday before church, I’d watch her apply the same color: “Beautiful Pink” by Estée Lauder.

Indeed, it was a beautiful shade of pink. Not too light, nor too dark, it simply lit up my grandmother’s face whenever she wore it. Thus began my earliest association of lipstick as a small but mighty tool for transformation.

When I got to the age where I was interested in wearing makeup myself, I loved how accessible lipstick was, especially compared to everything else. At 14, I could actually afford an $8 tube of CoverGirl without having to ask my parents’ permission. Plus, the payoff was immediate.

As I get older, I think what I appreciate most about lipstick is that it’s never trying to fix anything. Lipstick doesn’t promise to smooth out fine lines or lift sagging skin. It doesn’t claim to brighten up dark circles or cover up acne. It simply meets you where you are.

There are no hard rules or limits to wearing lipstick. Anyone, at any age or stage of life, can enjoy the instant color it brings to your face. It’s decorative—celebratory, even—and it gives you that tiny boost you sometimes need to get through the big and small moments that make up our days.

Today, my mom is around the same age my grandmother was when she came to live with us, and I’m just about my mother’s age. Nearly 30 years have passed, and wouldn’t you know? Both of us rarely wear much makeup, but we always wear pink lipstick.

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