The best longwear lipstick
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: Is there the PERFECT lipstick which will stay on for longer than 15 minutes but not dry out or stain my lips? My husband has given me many “long lasting” lipsticks which I end up throwing out because they make my lips feel like I have cement on.
— Sandy W.
Dear Sandy: When I recently asked readers to send me the name of their very fave can’t-live-without-it product, by far the No. 1 lipstick mentioned was Outlast by CoverGirl. I’ve tried it and agree that it stays on great.
Here’s what reader Barbara F. wrote me: “The only lipstick I have used for the last 20 years is CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Lip Color with Topcoat (drugstores, $7.49 and up). The package contains two tubes: base color and gloss. After you apply the base, you wait about 30 seconds then apply the gloss. The finish is beautiful, with no feathering, lasts all day and leaves no marks on coffee cups or wine glasses! The end of the day, I use makeup remover wipes to dissolve the color and moisturize my lips. Because this product doesn’t come off, it doesn’t stain your mask and you are always ready for a Zoom call!”
Dear Answer Angel Ellen: What do you recommend as your favorite hanger for hanging wet laundry to dry, and also your favorite hangers in the closet for sweaters, pants, blouses?
— Diane B.
Dear Diane: This is a topic I care a lot about.
So, thanks for asking. One of the reasons that those closets in advertisements for closet redo companies look so great is that all the clothes are hanging on the same kind of hangers — often wooden ones which are very expensive.
However, using all the same kind of hangers in your closet — they don’t need to be wood — goes a long way to an orderly look without hiring one of those insanely expensive closet companies. I buy boxes of the black nonslip “velvet” ones at Target (target.com, 100 for $35). They come in two types — regular for blouses and shirts and “suit” hangers that have a horizontal bar to accommodate a pair of folded pants or a folded sweater. (Some brands of these include two clips on that bar to hold skirts or pants but forget it, the clips don’t work.)
For skirts and pants I prefer “tiered” metal hangers with clips that let you hang four to six skirts or pants in the space of a single hanger. For some reason, they’re often hard to find in stores and I buy them online (amazon.com, 2-pack, $16). You should never hang sweaters on hangers as if they’re shirts. That stretches the shoulders and makes a weird lump there that’s hard to get rid of.
As for hanging wet clothes, there’s a reason the wooden clothespins with a metal spring have been around forever (amazon.com, 50 for $7.99). Rig up a clothesline indoors or outside and use these classics to hang wet laundry.
Angelic readers
Nancy W. asks, “Can anyone recommend a sulfate-free shampoo that adds body to thin straight hair?”
Now it’s your turn
Send your questions, rants, tips, favorite finds — on style, shopping, makeup, fashion and beauty — to answerangelellen@gmail. com.