To make a long story short: I really didn't wear lipstick, except for special occasions, until very recently - just chapstick or lightly colored gloss. 10 years ago I had purchased a Dior lipstick for a special event, and had only worn it maybe twice until a year and a half ago, when I found it in a purse and tried it out. To my surprise, it was still moist and had a gorgeous color, so I started wearing it. (See picture 1, on the left side.) I discovered that the color, Rose Mirage, was no longer made but there was plenty of lipstick left in the tube. It quickly became my near-daily lipstick.

Sadly, on plane trip in May, my contact solution (which is basically hydrogen peroxide) leaked inside my cosmetics bag and destroyed the lipstick tube (see the right side of picture 1.) After I scraped the rust flakes off the lipstick it was still usable, but there wasn't much left. Plus, it probably wasn't a great idea to keep using a lipstick that was a decade old.

I kept trying to find a lip color for day to replace this one, but either couldn't find a color I liked, or the lipstick was just too dry and made my lips look peeling and flaky. However, more recently, I was browsing in Sephora and found, not my original color, but a darn close match (Dior Backstage 583.) Moisturizing, not flakey, and a very similar pretty color. (Pictured in photo #2 - and I apologize that the lighting in the photos of me is quite different, but I think the general idea still comes across.) Anyway, I'm very pleased at my replacement shade!