SWAK

A girlfriend of mine since middle school recently parted with her boyfriend of four years. For more than three years they had lived together, building a life and planning for the future - always saying one day there would be children. He's a good man - brilliant, tall, handsome and more reserved. She's a firecracker - the life of the party with a loud, contagious laugh, a love of everything fashion and a magnet for fabulous gay men. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders and told me to "follow my heart" when I was deciding if it was the right time/decision to move in with Kevin. "Who cares what anyone else says, this is about y'all," she would reassure me.

It pained me to hear they had split. But what really hurt my heart was when she told me last week that they really hadn't even kissed for awhile. Knowing the affectionate, passionate person she is, I couldn't imagine the pain she has been holding inside.

I love to kiss. Kiss Kevin I guess I should say. He kisses me goodbye every morning, even if it's on the forehead or tip of my nose if I'm still in bed on a weekend with stinky morning breath.

It's a long way from that truth or dare first kiss at a party in middle school where 20 friends surrounded you and counted out the seconds left of your sentence. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10!

My lip-wear routine is probably the place where I'm the safest in my fashion. I have three items I layer every day - unless I'm a pinup girl for Halloween and break out the red lipstick and clear gloss.

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm $3; L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Taffeta $4; Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss in Zesty Red $7.
My pinup-red Halloween lips... ages ago.