My Aunt Charlotte used to ask me at every family gathering "So Judy, ven (this said in Hungarian accent) are you going to start vearing lipstick?" Good thing that I was a hippie back then who never really figured out how to talk and wear lipstick at the same time given the latest scoop on lip paint.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that the majority of brand-name red lipsticks tested had detectable amounts of lead. If you chew off your lipstick--and how else does it disappear and require re-application throughout the day?--think of all that lead consumed over a lipsticked lifetime? Maybe that's why Aunt Charlotte, while staying tall and strong well into her 80s, completely lost her marbles by the end of the line.

Speaking of lead and the life you lead, I noticed in this morning's paper that thrift stores have seen a huge jump in toy donations of the banished variety. If you can't let your kid keep it, at least you can take it as a tax deduction.