letter from the editor: AUGUST ![macron]06.(photography )(Editorial)

Flaw Patrol

I was about to have my picture taken for a magazine that was doing a story about my apartment, or, more precisely, my decorators. When I walked into my living room, the photographer and his crew were already at work *it was their territory now, and I was the visitor. The stylist on the shoot, a Parisian woman who arranged the flowers and fluffed the pillows, looked me over and paused for a moment before saying a terse hello. As I went off to get ready, she asked to have a word with my makeup artist.

[degrees]Linda *she is too pale, too white, [+ or -] I heard her say from the other room. [degrees]The background is burgundy! You must do something! [+ or -]

Now, anyone who has seen me knows one thing above all others: I am pale. My hair is

pale, my skin is pale; my brows, lashes, and eyes are pale. And trying to change that

would not only be a sizeable task, but it would also alter something essential about me.

Chrisanne Davis, my makeup artist, replied simply: [degrees]I [macron]ll get out the auto-bronzant [+ or -] *French for self-tanner. [degrees]We should be ready to shoot in six hours. [+ or -] It would have taken less time to wallpaper the living room. The stylist was quickly silenced.