Fake it til you make it!

Billy Crystal's immortal Saturday Night Live character, Fernando, said it best: "Dahling, it's better to looook good than to feel good." I would amend his philosophy a bit, and say that it's sometimes easier to looook good than to feel good.

This week, the shortcut of choice to your Happy Place just might be a new lipstick.

Generally the domain of those of us lucky enough to have two X chromosomes, cosmetics can work wonders to lift spirits when you don't feel your best. (Gentlemen, a little undereye concealer or some bronzer this week might not be a bad idea at all.)

Ladies, I'm as guilty as you of trying to get away with my Beach Face in autumn. It's tempting to stay in easy summer makeup habits (slathering on tinted sunscreen, lip gloss) long after it's time to bust out the lip liner and Big Girl eye shadow.

Clients suffering from Summer Makeup Syndrome are complaining this month of looking "faded" and "tired." In response, I whip out real lipstick. Yes. Stuff you actually have to use a mirror to apply. Maybe even...red.

If you're flashing back to your Madonna Wannabe past, relax. This season's red is reassuringly lovely. It's rich, it's well-bred, it's extremely flattering. It won't make you look like Joan Crawford. But a good red lipstick takes some lip liner and a lip brush and little more focus than the ADD-friendly lip gloss in the bottom of your purse. If you're over 35, you'll want a little Lip Keep to prevent "feathering." (Such a nice word for such an unpleasant phenomenon.)

We make it painless at PW to figure out what to wear on your face. Call us. Come in and get a free makeup consultation. You'll leave feeling like a million bucks.

And even in today's dollars, that's still a lot!