How did Morgan Spurlock's mustache affect 'Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'?

My daughter recently fell in love with lip stains. And I can see why. The ones she uses define her lips without looking overpowering. The stains last all day, and she keeps her lips from looking dry by swiping on Chapstick every hour or so.

It looks great and balances the eyeshadow, liner and mascara that play up her eyes — always. She is never without a full face of makeup.

“I should do that,” I thought. But would that much makeup feel right to me, with my hippie sensibilities — you know, the idea that less is more, in makeup and in life? No, too-defined a lip, lots of mascara and liner wouldn't fit my “brand,” the face I present to the world every day.

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock learned something about personal branding when he was making his new movie, “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.” Some corporations he approached to help subsidize the movie in exchange for product placement said no, and told him to look in the mirror at his mustachioed face to see why they didn't want their “brand image” associated with his.

Writer Alene Dawson talked to Spurlock and to a variety of experts about the topic of how we “brand” ourselves through hair and makeup choices, whether we realize it or not. Read about it here.

As for me, well, I'll leave the lip stain for another, more adventurous day.

–Susan Denley     

Photo: Director Morgan Spurlock poses at the premiere of his film “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” in Hollywood on Wednesday. Credit: Reuters / Fred Prouser. 

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