I started wearing makeup at sixteen, which was the age at which my mother would shake her head in disapproval but not actively interfere. I got my ears pierced that same year (same scenario). I got it done at one of those mall kiosks, and I almost fainted afterwards. As I left the booth, my field of vision started to narrow, I heard a strange buzzing in my ears, and I started trying to go up the down escalator.

The first makeup I wore was blue eye shadow. For a while I tried adding mascara and even eyeliner, but either and especially both would give me a headache. Maybe all the gloop was giving me eye strain. I tried blusher too, but I was never good at blending it in. Lip gloss was a waste of time, too, because it was factory-designed to wear off in about three minutes.

For a few brief weeks I also tried nail polish, but soon realized that I have the wrong hands for it. Now, my hands are fine. It’s just that my fingertips are square and my nails don’t taper. A brave friend told me, after being asked to admire my new nail polish, “Well. . .it makes your hands look kinda broad.” Scratch that. I was never one of those “oooh, I broke a nail” types anyway.

I’ll never forget the first time I got up my nerve to put on makeup to go to a party. Mama stared at me and her nose got all sharp, as it often did when she was annoyed. Daddy looked at her looking at me and murmured, “Gilding the lily, Miss Ev, gilding the lily.” I hope my response wasn’t too ungracious, because I know now that he was trying not only to keep the peace, but also to tell me that I really didn’t need all that gloop.

I stuck to the blue eye shadow up until my mid-twenties, and then gradually let it go. That was about the time that people started saying, “Hi, Evelyn. Gosh, you look tired.” I looked in the mirror and discovered that I was developing shadows under my eyes. Thus began my long, love-hate relationship with concealer cream. I’ve tried about every kind there is, and for many years couldn’t bear to leave the house without it. Now, I only use it when I’m dressing up, and even then not unless I feel like it. Go ahead, I dare you. Tell me I look tired.