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5:55:00 PM

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Being a child, I was bursting with energy, always questioning, trying to find out more about the things around me… and in the process, breaking many things. I can still remember my mother describing me as a packet of firecrackers, telling me how mischievous and cheeky I was.

To tell the truth, I cannot believe that the child my mother describes, the insolent, stubborn but cute child was me. There is one particular event which got me laughing till my sides split. Here is the clue of what my story is going to evolve on: lipstick. Wait; do not come into any judgments about my story! Here it goes…

Being a child, especially a girl, I was very intrigued and interested about one thing, which happened to be make-up. I was always very interested about the way my mother puts on her make-up. I used to think that the bedroom was some sort of a magical room, that once someone enters the room, they exit it looking exceptionally gorgeous.

My mother’s Cherry Red Earth lipstick was about the same colour as whatever else she puts on her face, her eye shadow, blusher and every thing else; they were close to an exact photocopy of the lipstick’s colour.

Children are not able to decide what is best for them, what the correct thing is, or what is the correct explanation or solution to problems and just like that, I was also unable to come up with the obvious fact that everything that what my mother wore came from different places, especially, she did not use only one cosmetic item to apply her make-up, but different ones.

It should be obvious that the one cosmetic item that I thought was used for every different type of make-up was the lipstick.

People say that curiosity kills the cat; in that case, mischief kills the mouse. Yes, out of mischief, I crept up into the bedroom and then I took out the lipstick. In my tiny, puny hands, that shining lipstick seemed like the most precious thing in the world, better than my Barbie dolls, better then my Minnie mouse doll.

I opened the lipstick, to reveal the cherry red, lip-stick. My hands were too small to hold onto and direct the lipstick, but I still applied the lipstick all over my face, just like how anyone would apply their eye shadow, blusher and finally, the correct place to apply the lipstick on, the lips.

Very satisfied with the way I looked, I admired myself for what seemed like eternity in front of the mirror. That was when I heard the footsteps: yes, someone was definitely coming to the room. Not knowing what to do, I waited, dreading the harsh scolding.

My mother came inside. She looked at me. Words cannot describe the expression that she made. It was definitely horror, or even the most minuscule tinge of humor.

“You. Are. In deep trouble,” she said in her most calm voice.

I was busted.

Then she started laughing. I can imagine why….

“Your face looked like molten strawberry pudding,” I remember her recounting. “Moreover, you looked so funny with the destroyed lipstick in one hand and your face,” I remember her choking out in-between laughter.

If I were her, I would have laughed too.

But, something about me gave her a strong desire to not scold me; she does not know whether it was my pathetic state or my innocence.

She immediately gave my face a “car wash”, scrubbing it until it turned raw pink. I explained to her why I did and she was able to understand it.

She explained to me that clearly, absolutely, positively, lipstick was not the only cosmetic product in the world.

Maybe it was because of that incident that I am quite talented in make-up, and that I love it.

Well, I learnt that definitely, there were things called eyebrow puckers, eye shadow, Eyelash curlers, blushers and so on.

Maybe, I could invent a lipstick which can fulfill every need by being able to apply all sorts of make-up…

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