By Ned Hickson

Nothing says "sexy" faster than someone with a pair of giant lips, even if that person's collagen injections have made their lips so enormously seductive that they can't actually pronounce the word "sexy," and must instead settle for calling themselves "shek-shee." The point is, big lips are no longer just a cosmetic enhancement for people less fortunate than Mick Jagger and Angelina Jolie, whose lips are so large and incredibly sexy that they are prohibited by international law from bearing children together because, quote: "Said children could potentially upset the delicate balance between populations of humans and sucker fish."

Though we all know that true beauty stems from inside, as any cosmetics surgeon will tell you, no one will notice unless your lips are the size of tractor tires. Which is why a product called City Lips is being heralded as the newest, easiest and safest way to give you the lips you always wanted, but never dreamed you could have. At least not without surgically implanting tire stems in them and inflating your lips to 350 psi. Until now, those of us unable to afford expensive collagen injections were forced to live with the embarrassment of having normal, everyday lips. But thanks to City Lips, you can avoid the hassle and expense of collagen injections by using their patented do-it-yourself lip enlargement process.

That's right! Say good-bye to snobby surgeons telling you how much better you'd look with Julia Roberts lips when their own lips look like Phyllis Diller's. With each purchase of City Lips you'll receive one bottle of specially formulated "lip transformer" solution and a patented dual-action applicator. This applicator is a crucial part of City Lips' groundbreaking, two-step process -- which starts by applying the "lip transformer" with one side of the patented applicator and then, after turning the applicator over, whacking your lips with it as many times as possible for 10 minutes.

Okay, I made that last part up. But according to City Lips, their new product has been named "Best Over-the-Counter Lip Plumper" by Good Housekeeping, which, as you know, recently debunked the common misconception that you could increase the size of your lips by spraying them with Pledge (although it will keep them shiny and smelling lemony fresh).

I'd also like to point out that after three large margaritas, trying to say "Best Over-the-Counter Lip Plumper" will at least make your feel like your lips are really huge.

I bring this up because I'm concerned about the mixed message this sends to young women. On one hand, they're seeing supermodels getting thinner and thinner. On the other hand, they're seeing those same models trip over their own lips on the runway, with nothing to break their fall except for other stumbling models, who then land in a flailing heap of inflated lips and silicone.

No more. It's time to quit pouting, pucker up, and accept each other's lips just the way they are.

Unless pouting makes your lips look fuller, of course.

You can write to Ned Hickson at:
nhickson@oregonfast.net
or at
The Siuslaw News at P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439.
.