Somber times, darlings. Can you believe the news this morning with Lehman, Merrill Lynch, and AIG? Start stashing your cash under the mattress!

Times like these call for a serious lipcolor, friends. No playful, flirty shimmer. Choose a lipcolor that means business -- Bobbi Brown Mauve Lip Gloss. (In the image at left, it's the middle lip gloss. Click to enlarge.)

This gloss was part of the recent Mauve collection, and when I first tried it, there was something about it that I just couldn't identify. But I've finally put my finger on it; this is going to sound strange, but this gloss is NOT suited to a smiling mouth. Call me crazy, but it looks totally fierce ONLY on a serious face.

This Mauve is not a happy-go-lucky color. It is the lipcolor that was worn by the meanest girl in your high school; the one that you secretly had a girl crush on even though she was evil. Serious, but fierce indeed.

Mauve means business. Wear it, along with a mean cut-eye, to intimidate the girl in the next cube who you think is going to try to steal your job. She wouldn't dare!