Midlife’s A Trip

Lipstick Was My Favorite Halloween Costume

Posted on 31. Oct, 2008 by Karen in Family and Friends, Holidays, Reflections

I know it sounds weird but lipstick was my favorite Halloween costume.  I didn’t care what I dressed up as that day as long as lipstick was involved.  Remember, I grew up during the 50’s when the standard, at least what I saw on my friends’ mothers and women in the movies was really, really, really RED lipstick.  And in those days, little girls didn’t get to wear make-up under any circumstances, except of course — on Halloween.

Here are some of the costumes I had in my youth:

• Annie Oakley — with lipstick
• A bumble bee with sequins — and lipstick
• A princess — with lipstick
• A Wizard of Oz flying monkey — with lipstick
• A bunny rabbit recycled from the flying monkey costume — with lipstick
• A gypsy (I hate to think of the many years I dressed up as a negative ethnic stereotype) — with lipstick and
• Morticia from The Addams Family — with lipstick
• A lot of others I can’t even remember — with lipstick.

The goal was always to try to sneak past my mother’s vigilant eye and go to bed with the lipstick still on.  That way, I figured, I could sneak off to school the next day with a whole new aura of sophistication emanating from my faded, smeared but still red lipstick from the night before.  It never happened.

As soon as we hit the house after trick-or-treating, Mom had the big jar of cold cream open and ready.  If memory serves, the brand of that vile goop she used was called “Albolene” and when Mom was done smearing it all over my face, there was no trace of lipstick to be found — always one of the low points of my childhood.

The residual of those memories of past Halloween lingers on in my long-time practice of wearing lipstick almost always.  These days my lipstick may not be red but I never leave home without it. 

So what will I be this Halloween.  I’m showing up as “aunt” to Peanut, my four-year old niece who, I hear through the grapevine, will be dressed as a “diva pumpkin fairy” with wings, a faux fur jacket, faux fur boots with silver trim and many layers underneath to keep her warm.  Apparently Peanut had final decision-making authority over her costume.  But when she comes over to trick-or-treat, we’ll add the final touch to both of our costumes — lipstick.  After all, it’s a family tradition!

What was your favorite Halloween get-up?

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Tags: Baby Boomers, dressing up on Halloween, favorite Halloween costumes, lipstick on Halloween, memories of Halloween, midlife, Peanut's Halloween costume