“There is more to Mary Lisa Gavenas' Color Stories than makeup. There are stories about women's complex interactions with other women to whom they sell cosmetics and with their husbands. Gavenas examines the rewards that motivate women to get involved in the business of selling makeup, which are the desire for independence, financial security, and awards, such as golden goblets and pink Cadillacs.

In perhaps the most significant part of the book, Gavenas makes surprising observations about how the top cosmetics companies market their products. Despite what consumers think, the season's must-have colors change little from one season to the next. Yet representatives of each of the cosmetic companies would counter that their makeup is compatible with the color story of the prevailing fashion of the season.

Makeup and makeovers seem to play an important role in women's lives. Women at times are enthralled by the prospect of enjoying a makeover, during which housewives, secretaries, and other working women receive “therapeutic doses of personal attention.”

Gavenas shows that what a woman wants from makeup can't always be quantified.”