Color My World

Jill M. I.

 

Bright lights and dull muzak welcome me. The air is sweet… mingling dozens of pleasant aromas. Someone pulls me from darkness. I'm placed on display with others like me.

You'd think they'd use something other than fluorescent lighting! My essence… my color is being distorted.

"Hey kid. How ya doin."

"Huh! Who are you?" I asked.

"Stone Edge... Stone Edge Revlon. We're cousins. I'm an earth-tone... you're a red... we’re both part of the Revlon family."

"Red… Revlon?"

"Yep... You're Certainly Red Revlon."

R-E-V-L-O-N is printed in big letters about two feet above us. A nametag attached to my cap says Certainly Red 047.

"Today might be THE day!" My cousin is excited and on full alert. "We could be taken by a user."

The thought of potential users provokes an uproar that includes comments from other species. Eyeliner, blush and foundation join us in expressing our need to make someone so beautiful as to assure rapture... for the user AND for us. Like the others, I’m bursting with desire to make someone happy. It's my ideal... my singular goal.

"Users are such pigs!"

Such irreverence commands silence, as we ponder its immense negativity.

The thought came from Spiced Cider L'Oreal. "They're so damned self-important. They think they rule... just because they're 'living organism'." Spiced Cider made the words 'living organism' sound as odious as ‘despicable’. "If they only knew. They're such jokes. Imagine... forcing gas out of your body to communicate."

"Really Spiced Cider... have a little compassion for the less fortunate. We’re lucky to have the ability to use telepathy." It was Revlon Red Revlon. According to the positioning of our shelf slots, Triple R is my closest cousin. "They take years to develop their mental capacities. So what? They eventually are very appreciative of what we can do for them."

All the others in the aisle... including the hair dyes... who are a breed apart... quietly acknowledge RRR’s wisdom.

Users devote a great deal of their energy to reproduction. Together with a partner user they procreate another living organism very similar to themselves. We’re able to capitalize on their urge to couple. In order to attract a mate, the users endeavor to look as perfect as possible.

It's been scant minutes since I'd been pulled from that shipping carton and first became aware, yet my thoughts are completely focused. Users are born with a tabula rasa or blank slate. They undergo a hit or miss educational process while their bodies are continually evolving toward decrepitude. Unlike us, users may never know what they need to know to succeed.

"I hope my user wears me to get married." Said Nude Almay. "Nothing compares to the joy of a wedding. It's the one time a user is guaranteed to be the center of everyone's attention."

Cosmetics, who’ve left the display area for a wondrous life of being consumed, have sent back messages. We know of the possibilities. The next generation of Revlons will be new and improved as we pass our intelligence, at conception, to those that follow.

"If we're fantasizing, I want to be used by someone who's celebrating their 50th anniversary." Said Berry Almay. "After fifty years of marriage the users appreciate the real beauty of life. They're very content."

Plum Brulee L'Oreal said, "Please… let me be on the lips of someone posing for the cover of a magazine. I’d bring happiness to the user AND to the hundreds of thousands that see my picture. That would be true bliss."

"If we're dreaming about wider circulation," said Mauve Almay, "I want my user to be a television anchorperson. I can make millions happy."

"A beauty pageant winner... the joy of being picked the best from a group of very attractive people... ohhh..."

"Royalty... imagine the intense pleasure of total adulation from your subjects."

"I want it all." I said. "To be selected by a user who will treat me with awe... seeing a huge difference in how they look with my help. If at all possible, I want someone who has never before used makeup of any kind. When my user puts me on, I hope the reflection from the mirror is a wondrous part of my user's self… never experienced before… something totally new, different and very pleasing."

A hush ran through us, as an extra-large user stepped into our aisle. Most of the users are less than 5’8" and have waist of less than 30". This one stands at least 6’2" and probably wears 36x24 pants.

Wishing. Hoping for a user that will become fiercely happy -- fulfilling our dream.

I hear, "Pick me! Pick me!" from every angle.

This user isn't an idle shopper, coming straight to the Revlon section. Without more than a moment's consideration, I'm lovingly placed in the shopping basket. It's nice to be so wanted.

"Certainly Red will make that user very happy." Said Revlon Red Revlon, as I’m carried away.

Nude Almay watches as my user leaves, striding with purpose toward the front of the store. "You can count on it... the bigger the user, the happier we seem to make them."

The End

 

 

 

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© 2002 by Jill M.I. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.