Well, I tried.
I've been searching for years for a long-lasting, smear-and-food-proof lipstick. What's the big deal? you wonder. Well, it's convenient when you're going out to dinner or a wedding or book event and don't want to be bothered with reapplication.
More importantly, it's a necessity if, like me, you don't apply lipstick on the Sabbath. From sundown on Friday, for twenty-five hours. For two or more days on some Jewish holidays.
Not a life-threatening concern, I realize. But I feel bare without lipstick.
I've tested "long-lasting" varieties from a beauty supply shop that come in yellow or a pearly white or brown and--miraculously!-- turn into hideous shades of tangerine or hot pink, depending on your body chemistry.
I've tried Shabbat-okayed lip powders that are dry and taste like, well, powder.
For the past few years I've been using L'Oreal Endless. 
It's advertised to last eight hours. It comes close. And unlike some other long-lasting lipsticks, it's creamy and doesn't feel like sandpaper.
Here's my routine: Just before I light the Shabbat candles, I apply lipliner, then the Endless. (I have it in eight shades.) Then I roll on Sealed with a Kiss, which stings for a few seconds.
Even with Endless and lip sealer, if I have a special event the next day (a bar mitzvah, lunch at someone's home), I eat carefully. Soups and drinks are tricky, and pasta.
So you can imagine my excitement when, two weeks ago, my friend Anita from New York phoned: She had Shabbat-tested a new M.A.C. long-lasting lipstick and was thrilled with the results. No smearing, no cracking. Twenty-some hours of color on her lips.
I drove to the nearest M.A.C. boutique. A helpful salesperson applied the color and, several minutes later, the special gloss.
I bought two shades of the lipstick.
One was Clingy Peach.
It didn't cling. Not for me.
So sad....
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