Lazy But Looking Good

My self-appointed-queen-of-laziness friend Amelia came down from Boston to visit last weekend. She exerted so much effort tossing a few sweaters in a duffel bag and getting on a bus, she was exhausted by the time she arrived. She would have been perfectly happy to order takeout and watch cable TV for two days in NYC.

I, however, had three birthday parties Saturday night and I wasn't about to leave Amelia on my couch in her pajamas. After an hour of Legally Blonde 2 and gentle prodding, she reluctantly changed out of her woolly cardigan and put on a festive, silky top.

"Let's try some mascara? Maybe blush and lip gloss, too?" I yelled from the bathroom.

"I'm fine; I only need five seconds," she responded without getting up.

I finished getting ready (the long routine: Benefit BADgal Blue mascara, Nars blush in Angelika, a little Laura Mercier mineral powder, etc.) and physically dragged Amelia to the door. On our way out, she pulled anUrban Decay eyeliner from her bag and, with a few devil-may-care swipes, transformed from I'm-not-wearing-makeup-and-I-don't-care to glamorously gorgeous. The copper pencil, it turns out, is named "Lucky," and it made her olive skin glow and the green flecks in her eyes sparkle.

At the end of the night (17 cab rides later), I tried to get Amelia to wash her face, enticing her with an organic scrub. No luck.

Yet, incredibly, when I dragged her out for brunch the next morning, the pencil was still in place—and she still looked amazing.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor