“
Our fingernails match our toenails, match our lipstick match our rouge...The habit of applying warpaint outlasts the battle.
”
”
Angela Carter (Wise Children)
“
She's applying her lipstick; I've always believed that the universe invented the color red solely for Latinas.
”
”
Junot Díaz (This Is How You Lose Her)
“
you must wear it like she wears disappointment on her face
you must hide the surprise of tasting other men on your lips
your mother is a woman and women like her cannot be contained.
you find the black tube inside her beauty case, where she keeps
your fathers old prison letters,
you desperately want to look like her
film star beauty, you hold your hand against your throat
your mother was most beautiful when sprawled out on the floor
half naked and bleeding.
you go to the bathroom to apply the lipstick,
somewhere no one can find you
your teeth look brittle against the deep red slickness
you smile like an infant, your mouth is a wound
you look nothing like your mother
you look everything like your mother.
you call your ex boyfriend, sit on the toilet seat and listen to
the phone ring, when he picks up you say his name slow
he says i thought i told you to stop calling me
you lick your lips, you taste like years of being alone.
”
”
Warsan Shire
“
Insist on going to the cremation, insist on going to the burial. Insist on being involved, even if it is just brushing your mother’s hair as she lies in her casket. Insist on applying her favorite shade of lipstick, the one she wouldn’t dream of going to the grave without. Insist on cutting a small lock of her hair to place in a locket or a ring. Do not be afraid. These are human acts, acts of bravery and love in the face of death and loss.
”
”
Caitlin Doughty (From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death)
“
I'd been making desicions for days.
I picked out the dress Bailey would wear forever-
a black slinky one- innapropriate- that she loved.
I chose a sweater to go over it, earrings, bracelet, necklace,
her most beloved strappy sandals.
I collected her makeup to give to the funeral director with a recent photo-
I thought it would be me that would dress her;
I didn't think a strange man should see her naked
touch her body
shave her legs
apply her lipstick
but that's what happened all the same.
I helped Gram pick out the casket,
the plot at the cemetery.
I changed a few lines
in the obituary that Big composed.
I wrote on a piece of paper what I thought
should go on the headstone.
I did all this without uttering a word.
Not one word, for days,
until I saw Bailey before the funeral
and lost my mind.
I hadn't realized that when people say so-and-so
snapped
that's what actually happens-
I started shaking her-
I thought I could wake her up
and get her the hell out of that box.
When she didn't wake,
I screamed: Talk to me.
Big swooped me up in his arms,
carried me out of the room, the church,
into the slamming rain,
and down to the creek
where we sobbed together
under the black coat he held over our heads
to protect us from the weather.
”
”
Jandy Nelson (The Sky Is Everywhere)
“
What Friedan gave to the world was, "the problem that has no name." She not only named it but dissected it. The advances of science, the development of labor-saving appliances, the development of the suburbs: all had come together to offer women in the 1950s a life their mothers had scarcely dreamed of, free from rampant disease, onerous drudgery, noxious city streets. But the green lawns and big corner lots were isolating, the housework seemed to expand to fill the time available, and polio and smallpox were replaced by depression and alcoholism. All that was covered up in a kitchen conspiracy of denial...
[i]nstead the problem was with the mystique of waxed floors and perfectly applied lipstick.
”
”
Betty Friedan (The Feminine Mystique)
“
Stormy, who was larger than life, who taught me how to apply red lipstick “so it lasts even after a night of kisses and champagne,” she said. I
”
”
Jenny Han (Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3))
“
Allowing ourselves to become pure point of view, we hang in midair over the city. What we see now is a gigantic metropolis waking up. Commuter trains of many colors move in all directions, transporting people from place to place. Each of those under transport is a human being with a different face and mind, and at the same time each is a nameless part of the collective identity. Each is simultaneously a self-contained whole and a mere part. Handling this dualism of theirs skillfully and advantageously, they perform their morning rituals with deftness and precision: brushing teeth, shaving, tying neckties, applying lipstick. They check the morning news on TV, exchange words with their families, eat, defecate.
”
”
Haruki Murakami (After Dark)
“
The grassy park was lined with dozens of kissing booths. Twinkle lights draped back-and-forth between tall trees, making a canopy of stars above the red and pink tables below. People were lined up at each booth, applying lipstick and perfume as they readied for their purchased kisses.
Behind the booths stood a large white gazebo housing a group of musicians. As a love song filled the air, couples intertwined their bodies and swayed to the melody.
Here and there, children ran about wearing red hats and eating lip-shaped chocolates, while women waited impatiently for quickie makeovers under a flashy pink tent.
The park was littered with couples kissing behind trees and making out on park benches. And paper stars were everywhere; in trees, on the ground, above heads, inside mouths….
It was like Valentine’s Day.
On crack.
”
”
Chelsea Fine
“
We constantly have to reach an impossible standard in order to just be taken a little bit seriously, and you can't help but wonder if it's all a trick. If we are meant to be too busy applying lipstick to get involved with polictics, business decisions and activisim.
”
”
Sofie Hagen (Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You)
“
Cherry blossom lipstick applied to full, pouty lips to perfection, check. Smoky eyes, check. The hazel color does throw off the smoke effect, but they still look pretty darn good. Black curls flowing down white fleece in a flirty style, check. Kid with the hole in her head, check. Skinny jeans… hole in her head?!
”
”
Apryl Baker (The Ghost Files (The Ghost Files, #1))
“
We won’t get our rituals back if we don’t show up. Show up first, and the ritual will come. Insist on going to the cremation, insist on going to the burial. Insist on being involved, even if it is just brushing your mother’s hair as she lies in her casket. Insist on applying her favorite shade of lipstick, the one she wouldn’t dream of going to the grave without. Insist on cutting a small lock of her hair to place in a locket or in a ring. Don’t be afraid. These are human acts, acts of bravery and love in the face of death and loss.
”
”
Caitlin Doughty (From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death)
“
Never, ever, under any circumstances apply lipstick while at the table.
”
”
Anne Tyler (Vinegar Girl (Hogarth Shakespeare, #3))
“
She knows we can see her, right?"
"The light's behind her," Teagan pointed out. "All she sees is her own reflection."
"Face check," Abby said, as Ms Skinner stretched her lips again, then puckered. She dug a lipstick out of her purse and applied it. "Uh-huh. Now the hair," Abby said. As if on cue, Ms. Skinner rearranged her ginger bangs, fluffed them, then twisted a strand around her finger to make it curl. "That woman's man-hunting. Hide your dad, Tea."
"Don't ler her get Dad!" Aiden shouted from his fort.
"Nobody is getting Dad," Teagan assured him.
”
”
Kersten Hamilton (In the Forests of the Night (Goblin Wars, #2))
“
One of many beautiful young girls in traditional hijab came up to me to have her photo signed. Her green eyes glistened as she looked at me directly and asked, “Can you put ‘Women can be heroes, too’?” I met everyday heroines on this trip–ladies with a glow and a sparkle, a determination and a strength in the face of adversity.
We did have tremendous fun in the making of Agent Carter, but the positive effect–particularly on young women–is what I hold closest to my heart. I met a girl named Nada at the convention. She said, “Most people think my name means ‘Nothing,’ but in fact it means ‘dewdrop’ and ‘honesty’ in my culture.” Whatever happens in the future for Peggy, and the show, Season One and its small impact on young girls are a drop of positivity in our world. Peggy is an honest girl following her own moral compass in the face of adversity. She makes us strive to be better than we want to be. Thank you, Marvel, for letting me step into her high heels, apply her lipstick, and fight the good fight. For all you little Peggys out there, you are not alone. Go forth and kick ass.
”
”
Hayley Atwell (Marvel Agent Carter: Season One Declassified)
“
There is always a man eager to explain my mental illness to me. They all do it so confidently, motioning to their Hemingway and Bukowski bookshelf as they compare my depression to their late-night loneliness. There is always someone that rejected them that they equate their sadness to and a bottle of gin (or a song playing, or a movie) close by that they refer to as their cure. Somehow, every soft confession of my Crazy that I hand to them turns into them pulling out pieces of themselves to prove how it really is in my head.
So many dudes I’ve dated have faces like doctors ready to institutionalize
and love my crazy (but only on Friday nights.)
They tell their friends about my impulsive decision making and how I “get them” more than anyone they’ve ever met but leave out my staring off in silence for hours and the self-inflicted bruises on my cheeks.
None of them want to acknowledge a crazy they can’t cure.
They want a crazy that fits well into a trope and gives them a chance to play Hero. And they always love a Crazy that provides them material to write about.
Truth is they love me best as a cigarette cloud of impossibility, with my lipstick applied perfectly and my Crazy only being pulled out when their life needs a little spice.
They don’t want me dirty, having not left my bed for days. Not diseased. Not real.
So they invite me over when they’re going through writer’s block but don’t answer my calls during breakdowns. They tell me I look beautiful when I’m crying then stick their hands in-between my thighs. They mistake my silence for listening to them attentively and say my quiet mouth understands them like no one else has.
These men love my good dead hollowness. Because it means less of a fighting personality for them to force out. And is so much easier to fill someone who has already given up with themselves.
”
”
Lora Mathis
“
At first glance, the stewardess appears to have been a reflection of conservative postwar gender roles—an impeccable airborne incarnation of the mythical homemaker of the 1950s who would happily abandon work to settle down with Mr. Right. A high-flying expert at applying lipstick, warming baby bottles, and mixing a martini, the stewardess was popularly imagined as the quintessential wife to be. Dubbed the “typical American girl,” this masterful charmer—known for pampering her mostly male passengers while maintaining perfect poise (and straight stocking seams) thirty thousand feet above sea level—became an esteemed national heroine for her womanly perfection.
But while the the stewardess appears to have been an airborne Donna Reed, a closer look reveals that she was also popularly represented as a sophisticated, independent, ambitious career woman employed on the cutting edge of technology. This iconic woman in the workforce was in a unique position to bring acceptance and respect to working women by bridging the gap between the postwar domestic ideal and wage work for women. As both the apotheosis of feminine charm and American careerism, the stewardess deftly straddled the domestic ideal and a career that took her far from home. Ultimately, she became a crucial figure in paving the way for feminism in America.
”
”
Victoria Vantoch (The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon)
“
She washed her face with cold water, dried it with a towel from an overhead rack, applied fresh lipstick, combed her hair, and left the room.
”
”
J.D. Salinger (Franny and Zooey)
“
I had a dream about you. You had no skin or muscle on your face, and to try to conceal your bare skull you liberally applied lipstick and makeup. Your birthday was coming up, and I knew you were probably sensitive about parties that emphasize the aging process, so I decided to box up your gift in a coffin and wrap it with black wrapping paper. I got you the best gift ever too—a hooker, who happened to be dead, because that enabled me to procure a sizeable discount.
”
”
Dora J. Arod (I Had a Dream About You)
“
The concierge was a snapper who was over the hill and down a disused mine-shaft. Her hair was every bit as natural as a parade goose-stepping down the Wilhelmstrasse, and she'd evidently been wearing a boxing-glove when she's applied the crimson lipstick to her paperclip of a mouth.
”
”
Philip Kerr (March Violets (Bernie Gunther, #1))
“
One dog got makeup applied to its face, lipstick and blue eye shadow. It was a white-faced dog, so the makeup showed up well. We liked to have an impact. When we were done, the lipstick went back into some mother's Fendi handbag. We watched her apply it, unaware. That was satisfying.
”
”
Lydia Millet (A Children's Bible)
“
And I grabbed Celia’s hand and held it. She looked down, surprised. I could feel Harry’s gaze on our hands, too. I pulled my hand away, and just as I corrected myself, I saw a woman down the row from us stare at me. She looked to be in her midthirties, with a patrician face, small blue eyes, and perfectly applied crimson lipstick. Her lips turned down as she looked at me. She had seen me. She had seen me hold Celia’s hand. And she had seen me pull it back. She knew both what I had done and that I had not meant for her to have seen it. Her small eyes got smaller as she stared at me. And any hope I had that she did not realize who I was went right out the window when she turned to the man next to her, probably her husband, and whispered in his ear. I watched as his gaze moved from Mick Riva to me.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
March 9: With Schenck’s help, Marilyn obtains a contract with Columbia Pictures for $125 a week. The studio puts her up at the Hotel Bel-Air. Ed Cronenwerth shoots her in various exercise positions, toning and stretching her body. She is also shown seated on steps, her right elbow on her raised right thigh and her right hand on her chin next to the sign “Los Angeles City Limits.” He also photographs makeup sessions. Marilyn applies lipstick, looking into a hand-held mirror, and is shot sitting while Helen Hunt styles her hair.
”
”
Carl Rollyson (Marilyn Monroe Day by Day: A Timeline of People, Places, and Events)
“
Because flushed cheeks and high color are cues that men use to gauge a woman’s health, women rouge their cheeks artificially to trigger men’s attraction. Because smooth, clear skin is one of men’s evolved desires, women cover up blemishes, use moisture cream, apply astringents, and get facelifts. Because lustrous hair is one of men’s evolved desires, women highlight, bleach, tint, or dye their hair, and they give it extra body with conditioners, egg yolks, beer, or weaves. Because full red lips trigger men’s evolved desires, women apply lipstick skillfully and even get injections to enlarge their lips for the “bee-stung” look. And because firm, youthful breasts stimulate men’s desires, women obtain breast implants and wear push-up bras.
”
”
David M. Buss (The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating)
“
At her age, another woman would wear her hair shorter and her skirts lower. But Linda had that classic Nordic skin: pale, soft and clean looking. The kind of woman who doesn’t need to wear much if any makeup. She wore lightly-applied lipstick, but kept her blond hair basic. Sometimes she let it flow, easy and beautiful; other times, done up tightly with bobby pins. No matter, because she was Beauty, the men Beasts.
Her clothes were simple, too, not plain, but easy on the eyes, like her face. Easy on the eyes. She was the kind of a good lookin’ dame you’d be proud to call your wife. She was innocent looking; yeah, well, that’s one in her favor.
Because men trusted her, because she acted with such guileless innocence, she became confessor to numbers of men with no one else to turn to. The cigarette girl.
“Hey, babe!” Gunnar Swernbernin shouted as he snuck up behind Linda at the Club Festival.
“Eowww!” she shrieked as Gunnar grabbed her around the midsection.
Linda turned quickly around and slapped her molester. The sound reverberated throughout the club.
“Ouch!” Gunnar yelled. “You didn’t have to do that!”
“Buster,” she yelled back, “the next time you touch me, prepare to die!
”
”
Richard E. Riegel (Tough City, Tougher Woman)
“
The logic of the market is excellent when deciding which sort of lipstick should be produced, for whom it should be produced, in which colours it should be produced and what it should cost. But American satirist H. L. Mencken’s observation that on noticing that roses smell better than cabbage, you can’t conclude that they will make better soup can also be applied to the logic of the market. Just because it works well in some areas doesn’t mean it should be applied to all areas. Unfortunately, applying the logic of the market to everything has largely become the project of economists in recent decades. What we call economic theory is the formal version of the dominant world view in our society. The greatest story of our time: who we are, why we are here and the reason we do what we do.
”
”
Katrine Kielos (Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?: A Story of Women and Economics)
“
past. For a minute, you have the ability to be in two places at once: you’re forty and pissed at your husband and too old to be in this bar, but you’re also twelve and sitting in your childhood living room, watching MTV like you’re going to be tested on it. Like it might actually teach you something. You’re practically taking notes. The way they’re dancing, the way the women have applied their lipstick: this is one way a life can be. In a few minutes, Van Halen or Cyndi Lauper will show you another way, and you’ll see what you think of that one.
”
”
Carolyn Parkhurst (Harmony)
“
And Mrs. Orton had the seizure right after you applied the lipstick?"
Reggie's voice was dead serious.
Drea nodded.
That little tidbit set off Cam's warning sirens. Not good.
Reggie closed his notebook and deposited it in his inner jacket pocket. "Can you think of anything else?"
Drea opened her mouth, then closed it and shook her head.
Christ. So she had a possible motive, opportunity, means to kill Natasha Orton, and she was obviously holding something back. She may not be the only suspect, but even Cam had to admit she was a mighty good one.
”
”
Avery Flynn (Make Me Up (Killer Style #3))
“
I thought of the girl in the photo in Ronnie's studio, the one on layaway. She was probably waiting for him this very moment, somewhere downtown. Checking the clock, applying lipstick, concentrating herself into an arrow pointed at Ronnie. Doing the various things women did when they had to wait for something they wanted.
”
”
Rachel Kushner (The Flamethrowers)
“
A knock came at the door and I stiffened, getting to my feet so that I could open it.
Darius stood outside wearing a black tux which looked like it had been made specifically for him. It fit perfectly and my mouth dried up as my gaze roamed over him. His dark hair was slicked back and the rough stubble lining his jaw ached for me to brush my fingers over it.
No, no, no. Bad Tory.
“Darcy’s not here yet,” I said in place of a greeting.
“I can see that,” he replied.
Before I could lose myself to the spell of his unfairly good looks, I turned away from him, heading back to the mirror which hung on the wall as I applied another coat of lipstick which wasn’t in any way necessary.
He stayed by the door, leaning against the frame as he watched me. “You’re not wearing the dress I sent you.”
“This might be a good time for you to realise, I don’t tend to do as I’m told,” I said dismissively.
“I think I like this one better anyway.”
I turned to look at him in surprise as his gaze slid over me in a way that made heat rise along my skin.
“Nice to know you can admit when you’re wrong,” I said. “So you’re actually going to stick to your word about being nice?”
Darius flashed me a smile which transformed his face in a way I’d never seen before. “I am. Just try not to fall in love with me though, it could make things awkward when we go back to fighting with each other tomorrow.”
I scoffed at that and tossed my lipstick into my clutch just as my Atlas pinged.
Darcy:
I bumped into Orion by The Orb. He says he’s coming with us and that you should meet us here...
I raised an eyebrow in surprise and tapped out a quick response.
Tory:
Okay, I’ll be there to rescue you from his grumpy face ASAP x
“Darcy says she’s going to meet us at The Orb. She ran into your bestie and he told her he can’t bear to spend the evening away from you so he’s tagging along. I just hope that this party isn’t going to be dull, because inviting a teacher has really lowered my expectations for debauchery,” I said as I moved out of my room and locked up behind me.
“In all honesty, Lance is more likely to add to the debauchery than detract from it,” Darius said, offering me his arm.
“Ooo Lance has a first name. Will he want me using that or is it a special right only given to those who get a tattoo in his honour?” I asked, touching my fingers to Darius’s forearm where I knew the Libra brand sat on his skin beneath the fancy suit. I didn’t take his arm though and started walking down the corridor unassisted.
“What makes you think that tattoo is for him?” Darius asked, falling into step with me easily despite the fast pace I set.
“Oh is it a secret? I thought everyone knew he was your Guardian and you’ve got that little soul bond thing going on.”
“Who told you that?” Darius demanded, his voice dropping an octave.
“You just did.” I flashed him a smile and he scowled at me. “Done playing nice so soon?”
He released a long breath as we reached the common room but didn’t reply. A lot of eyes turned our way. I guessed the sight of the two of us suddenly hanging out was pretty weird.
(Tory)
”
”
Caroline Peckham (Ruthless Fae (Zodiac Academy, #2))
“
Red lipstick was applied. We dress for other women. It’s a banal cliché but it’s true. She’d take my meaning from it. That was worth the credit card bill.
”
”
Bella Mackie (How to Kill Your Family)
“
I made him look bad. Because a wife who makes her own money? A wife who applied herself and became a published author? That is the worst thing a woman could ever do.
Because men are supposed to bring home the bread.
Women are just supposed to be pretty.
”
”
Dolores Lane (Bloody Fingers & Red Lipstick)
“
26 In which we say goodbye to Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard After the hospital, where Mr. Whittard had his arm bandaged, they went in a taxi to the hotel. They drove through the streets of the city, where it no longer snowed. Alice folded all the clothes the museum curator had given her and left them neatly on her bed. She re-dressed herself, the way she had always dressed, in jeans and a T-shirt. She applied blood-red lipstick, which was way too grown-up for her. The sun was just up. It shone everywhere on the snow and on the glistening white trees and on all the windows. Behind each window there were people waking up to Christmas Day. They would no doubt open their presents, eat, and ice-skate. They would not set a time limit; they would skate into the night, and their cheeks would burn bright, and they would smile. Somewhere a man would take a violin out and begin to play. At the airport the family’s three suitcases were checked and the large, unusually shaped package was checked as well. The unusually shaped package went through the X-ray machine, and security looked very surprised until Ophelia’s father produced his card, which read: MALCOLM WHITTARD LEADING INTERNATIONAL EXPERT ON SWORDS They took their seats and rested, waiting for takeoff. Ophelia felt for Alice’s hand, and Alice squeezed in return until they were high in the air. Ophelia looked at her watch. They would be home within a few hours. She went to calculate … and stopped. Be brave, her mother whispered in her ear, and then was gone. From the airplane window Ophelia could see the city below. All the small and winding gray cobblestone streets, all the shining silver buildings and bridges, the museum, getting smaller and smaller until it was lost. She caught just a glimpse of the vast and fabled sea before the clouds covered this world. In that tiny moment she fancied she saw blue water, perfect blue water, the whitecaps breaking. Then that view was gone, swallowed up by the whitest clouds she’d ever seen. Ophelia Jane Worthington-Whittard, brave, curious girl, closed her eyes and smiled. THE END.
”
”
Karen Foxlee (Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy)
“
A tent was set up as a make shift changing room for the models to do their preparation. Hair and make-up were done within this 12' x 12' fabric enclosure which sprouted electrical cords for hair dryers and electric rollers, necessities for “bouffant” hairdos. I was mesmerized while watching different colored eye shadows, face powders and lipsticks painted onto the females. Seeing glamorous pictures in a glossy magazine was one thing but witnessing first-hand how it was applied was quite another. The hours of preparation that went into preparation for each model included in a photograph stunned me.
”
”
Young (Initiation (A Harem Boy's Saga Book 1))
“
Lipstick never lasted long when they were together; he would always kiss her after she had applied it, as if he liked the smearing viscous sensation. Sometimes she felt sure it was discomposing her that he enjoyed.
”
”
Sarah Hall (The Beautiful Indifference)
“
Outside the door, a teller with a blue rosette chomps on an apple and asks for my number. She smiles a thank you and reveals a ghastly, gaping tunnel of masticated apple, edge with violent mauve lipstick seemingly applied by Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.
”
”
Maddie Grigg (A Year in Lush Places: Tales from England's Rural Underbelly)
“
Liv applied cherry red lipstick in her rearview mirror with the precision of experience, her brand of war paint to give her confidence today.
”
”
Katherine McIntyre (Captured Memories (Cupid's Café, #3))
“
She wore a lot of makeup, badly applied. There was lipstick on her teeth. If she’d been a dancer, it must have been in Fantasia.
”
”
Robert B. Parker (Valediction (Spenser, #11))
“
I did," Ace says. "I think Ms. Manning will be pleased to know that her daughter suffered before she died.” Corina steps out from behind him. My expression goes slack with shock. She's cleaned her face, removed all evidence of her earlier crocodile tears—if what my memory is telling me is true. She's redressed in a black pencil skirt and heels that flash red on the bottoms as she makes her way towards me. Her makeup is perfectly applied once more—black eyeliner and red lipstick to match the rest of her. Her hair has been pulled back into a high ponytail, and I suddenly have the urge to do to her what I did to Kate. No. I have the urge to do far worse than simply make her piss herself as I chop off her hair. I’d rather take a blade to her motherfucking throat and let her drown in her own blood.
”
”
Lucy Smoke (Stone Cold Queen (Sick Boys, #2))
“
Nahida watched as Elysia pulled out some dark lipstick, the color reminding her of a ripe cherry. She patted a small amount on
her lips. “I don’t want to apply too much. You have a very fair complexion.
”
”
Ashley Weyer Liranzo (Tainted Fate: Fantasy Romance Novel)
“
Cicadas,” I told her. “I want to be a princess with a dress made of cicada shells. I want wings, too. Wings made of violets and—” “And I want to be a queen with the vagina of a virgin,” she said, “but that ain’t gonna happen now, is it?” She applied a fresh layer of lipstick to her already red lips. “Anyways, princesses do not look like you, Betty. That mud-colored skin and stringy hair of yours. You ever seen a princess look like you?
”
”
Tiffany McDaniel (Betty)
“
Rosie looks like an old lady who's applied her lipstick in the dark while riding on the back of a camel through rocky terrain.
”
”
A.J. McDine (The Invite)
“
I don't need to do a quick self-assessment to know that I read as super-duper straight. And, let's be real, a basic bitch. My hair is long past my shoulders, styled and sleek and very conventional. She's seen me in two dresses (and on the news, a million more dresses). My makeup is fairly heavy, not caked on, but I'm used to applying TV layers. I wear a lot of eyeliner. I have a variety of liquid matte lipsticks and berry lip glosses. I talk like a valley girl and drive a Honda Civic (at least it's not a white Jetta).
”
”
Taleen Voskuni (Sorry, Bro)
“
Iwalked home from the office and found Meg sitting on the stairs. She was sobbing. Uncontrollably. My love, what’s happened? I thought for sure we’d lost the baby. I went to her on my knees. She choked out that she didn’t want to do this anymore. Do what? Live. I didn’t catch her meaning at first. I didn’t understand, maybe didn’t want to understand. My mind just didn’t want to process the words. It’s all so painful, she was saying. What is? To be hated like this—for what? What had she done? she asked. She really wanted to know. What sin had she committed to deserve this kind of treatment? She just wanted to make the pain stop, she said. Not only for her, for everyone. For me, for her mother. But she couldn’t make it stop, so she’d decided to disappear. Disappear? Without her, she said, all the press would go away, and then I wouldn’t have to live like this. Our unborn child would never have to live like this. It’s so clear, she kept saying, it’s so clear. Just stop breathing. Stop being. This exists because I exist. I begged her not to talk like that. I promised her we’d get through it, we’d find a way. In the meantime, we’d find her the help she needed. I asked her to be strong, hang on. Incredibly, while reassuring her, and hugging her, I couldn’t entirely stop thinking like a fucking royal. We had a Sentebale engagement that night, at the Royal Albert Hall, and I kept telling myself: We can’t be late. We cannot be late. They’ll skin us alive! And they’ll blame her. Slowly—too slowly—I realized that tardiness was the least of our problems. I said she should skip the engagement, of course. I needed to go, make a quick appearance, but I’d be home fast. No, she insisted, she didn’t trust herself to be at home alone for even an hour with such dark feelings. So we put on our best kit, and she applied dark, dark lipstick to draw attention away from her bloodshot eyes, and out of the door we went. The car pulled up outside the Royal Albert Hall, and as we stepped into the blue flashing lights of the police escort and the whiteout lights of the press’s flashbulbs, Meg reached for my hand. She gripped it tightly. As we went inside, she gripped it even tighter. I was buoyed by the tightness of that grip. She’s hanging on, I thought. Better than letting go. But when we settled into the royal box, and the lights dimmed, she let go of her emotions. She couldn’t hold back the tears. She wept silently. The music struck up, we turned and faced the front. We spent the entire length of the performance (Cirque du Soleil) squeezing each other’s hands, me promising her in a whisper: Trust me. I’ll keep you safe.
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Prince Harry (Spare)
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injured her ankle during the first week of physical training so that had been the end of her WAAF career. Now Susan extricated her arm from the blanket and glanced at her wristwatch. ‘The NAAFI should be open any time now for some cocoa and supper,’ she commented as Livvy rose to throw some more wood onto the stove that stood in the middle of the room. It was a temperamental thing, often throwing out more smoke than heat. ‘Ouch!’ Livvy cried as she opened the door and it spat at her. ‘I swear this ruddy thing waits for me to do that!’ She hastily threw the log she was holding in and slammed the door shut, causing smoke to billow into the hut and make them all cough. Amanda quickly took out her compact and applied lipstick and powder to her nose, then fluffing her hair up she asked, ‘So who’s coming then?’ As they had all discovered, Amanda hated being seen without her make-up, whereas the rest of them were usually bundled up in layers of clothing just intent on keeping as warm as they could with no thought to how they looked. They all rose and when Nell opened the door a gust of snow blew in at them. ‘Ugh! Bloody weather,’ Susan grumbled as they stepped out into the raging blizzard. ‘Perhaps we should have put the kettle on the stove and made our own drinks tonight!’ ‘Ah, but some of those handsome RAF chaps could be in,’ Amanda pointed out. The RAF base was not far from theirs and when the pilots weren’t flying they often used the NAAFI for a meal. Susan and Livvy exchanged an amused glance, then, heads bent, they picked their way through the deepening snow and just for a moment Livvy thought of the warm, cosy little kitchen back at the lodge. In the very kitchen that Livvy was thinking of, Sunday was just opening the door to John, who had popped in to check that all was well. Their relationship had undergone a subtle change since he had made the unexpected proposal. For a time, they had lost their easy relationship and she had felt slightly embarrassed when in his company and had stopped visiting Treetops as frequently as she had previously. But since the departure of Giles and Livvy they were becoming closer again, finding comfort in each other’s company. ‘How are you all?’ he asked as Sunday quickly closed the door behind him and he stamped the snow from his boots. Already his coat was beginning to steam in the warm atmosphere, and she smiled as she ushered him to the fireside chair and hurried off to set the kettle on the range. ‘We’re fine. Kathy is upstairs getting the twins to sleep.’ Without asking she spooned tea leaves into the pot from the caddy and lifted down two cups
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Rosie Goodwin (Time to Say Goodbye)
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Three days after Sam's death, Miss Katherine shot the sheriff while he was sitting in his chair drinking a cup of coffee. Then she carefully applied a fresh coat of lipstick and gave him the kiss he had asked for.
For the next twenty years, Kissin' Kate Barlow was one of the most feared outlaws in all the West.
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Louis Sachar (Holes (Holes, #1))
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One of Howie’s knees gave way suddenly. He jerked his leg into a stable position, slapped a hand on the back of a nearby chair for support and prayed to whichever gods were still taking an active interest in British public life to make this visit as quick and as painless as possible. But they weren’t listening. Lipstick was still being applied. And he was still being ignored.
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Paul Mathews (We Have Lost The Plot (We Have Lost #5))
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With a shaking hand I apply a fresh coat of lipstick and run a brush through my hair. I’m not necessarily feeling up to this, but the knowledge that it will drown out the fear lurking inside is enough to will myself to head out the door to grab a drink. The Corner Bar is located on the corner of Thirty-Third and Third, hence the name. It also happens to be right underneath our apartment building, which has been extremely convenient
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Ava Harrison (Transference (The Montgomery Family, #1))
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She cooked the way some people drove - while carrying on conversations, applying lipstick, and texting messages - trusting the instinct that came with long practice and only focusing on the main task when something unexpected came up or went wrong.
Fortunately Aunty Lee did not drive.
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Ovidia Yu (Aunty Lee's Delights (Singaporean Mystery #1))
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As usual, Ginger got the booby prize, front seat, and as usual, Glory drove like she was an actress sitting in the chopped-off half of a fake car on an old-time movie set, images of the world whizzing by as if on a screen. It was all, look over there, as the car swerved to the right, and look at that, as she overcorrected to the left. Anyone watching would surely assume they were a carload of drunken teenagers, and not a family with a mother who drove, forearms pressed against the wheel, as she inexplicably applied and then reapplied her lipstick every five minutes. Really, it was a mystery, how the same woman who could sit perfectly still, studying a single puzzle piece for minutes at a time, had to fidget constantly while driving.
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Nancy Star (Sisters One, Two, Three)