From 'the thing to do' to 'defying the ravages of age': older women reflect on the use of lipstick.

Using data from in-depth interviews with 36 women, aged 71 to 93, this manuscript examines older women's use of lipstick. The most ubiquitously used cosmetic by the women we interviewed, lipstick was a taken-for-granted practice in the women's performance of gender. In the women's youth, the performance of gender through lipstick usage was related to rebellion and peer acceptance. In contrast, the use of lipstick in later life was related to the maintenance of an attractive and respectable appearance. We discuss our findings in light of interpretative feminist theorizing concerning beauty work, doing gender, and the presentation of self.