How Much Would You Bid for Madonna's Lip Gloss?by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 23 May 2008 11:50 PM Would you consider $500,000? Goodness knows I wouldn't. But someone in France did so happily and got the Material Girl's magnifying mirror, hair clips, skin blotting tissues, and lip gloss thrown in as well. Oh, and did I mention the person also walked away with a one-of-a-kind diamond-encrusted alligator bag donated by Chanel? And it was all for a good cause. The 49-year-old world famous singer parted with her personal possessions at an auction to benefit AIDS research and made it clear that she wasn't going to settle for peanuts. Prior to her lot going up Madonna warned the crowd that they shouldn't insult her with low bids: "This lip gloss touched my lips." SOLD! For $472,000. Not bad for 5 minutes of work. The benefit took place during the Cannes Film Festival yesterday and helped raise more than $10 million for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), a record for the annual event. Actress Sharon Stone returned as celebrity auctioneer and she didn't hesitate to get things rocking from the start. The "Basic Instinct" star got bids rolling by pledging $100,000 for pediatric AIDS research and asking others to do the same. Within minutes, amfAR raised $2 million, with star bidders including Roberto Cavalli, Tommy Hilfiger, Valentino, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Yeoh offering to match Stone's donation. Stone also sold her red 1976 vintage Porsche 911 Targa for $786,000. The actress then tried to get the crowd to bid for a kiss with Madonna; reminding audience members that hunky actor George Clooney sold two kisses at auction last year for a total of $700,000. "That's cheap!" Madonna reportedly quipped. "Everyone's kissed George Clooney." The singer then announced that she wouldn't give away a kiss for less than $1 million. She then upped the ante by offering to serenade two fans backstage during her next concert tour in the city of their choice. As bidding began, Madonna prodded the crowd along by saying, "Don't humiliate me!" and "People have offered me millions to play at their bar mitzvahs." In the end Madonna's lot sold for $550,000. But the buff mother of three wasn't done yet. She also donated the custom-made white Gibson acoustic guitar, which she used on her "Confessions" tour. That sold for more than $450,000. Cha-ching! Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantpopular culture tags User Comments  Libby Pelham |
Popular Culture categories |
