Reader Gives Lip Service to Her Request

Mrs. Albert Passy of Los Angeles misses the lip liner pencils (in the Tawny color) and refills formerly made by Physicians Formula cosmetics ; she has found them superior to all the others she has tried. Now she wonders if any readers know of a source. Can you help Passy hold the line on facial quality, or might she just as well button her lip and kiss the whole idea goodby?

Because of arthritis, Helen Philbin of Anaheim has felt comfortable only in Promise by Poirette girdles , but now she hears that these have been discontinued. Can you help with a suitable replacement, or will the future be a tight squeeze for Philbin?

Joan Norman of Los Angeles, who has a bad back, would like to get hold of a garbage hand cart that holds two trash cans; she remembers having seen the item in a catalogue some time ago. Can you set the wheels in motion to get Norman off our back, or will she need to solve this trashy problem herself?

Glen Hesprich of Huntington Beach has had problems finding a Size 9 wide or Size 10 medium bachelor’s slipper with a hard leather sole. (Evans no longer makes these.) Can you help soothe Hesprich’s sole, or will he have to go hell-bent for leather to take care of this slippery matter?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Marilyn D. at (805) 945-2360, who is involved with a nonprofit agency, needs someone to donate a rack for displaying pamphlets in a public building; if necessary, she’ll paint and restore the rack. Please do a good deed and see to it that Marilyn stops making such a rack(et). . . . Barbara at (619) 583-4756 would like to replace a folding table with a removable panel in which to set a 35-year-old Singer 301A sewing machine (it also serves as a card table). If you don’t table this request, Barbara will sing your praises forever. . . . Dale at (714) 830-9565 remembers that years ago you could insert a razor blade into a sharpener, turn a crank and flip - flop the blade, so both sides would be honed. This might sound like a dull request on the face of it, but if you could accommodate Dale, he would no longer see red while he shaves. . . . For her grandchildren, Margaret at (619) 565-7005 is interested in purchasing an original set of “My Book House,” which consists of six children’s books and was published about 1920. Please see to it that Margaret’s grandchildren can go by the book as they grow up.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

Mrs. Weir of Laguna Beach, who wanted a bead-restringing kit, no longer need feel that she’s being strung along. We have help just a hard bead away. Robin Briscoe says to contact the Bead Shop, 899 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (714) 494-2115. Other readers suggest two Santa Monica resources: the Gemological Institute of America, 1660 Stewart St., Santa Monica, Calif. 90406 (for classes and supplies), and Bourget Bros., 1636 11th St., Santa Monica, Calif. 90404. And Judy Trout claims that dental floss (unminted, of course) is the strongest bead-stringing thread and that thin beading needles can be obtained from craft and fabric stores.

Ann Shelton of Arleta, who wanted to get her hands on Plasti-Tak adhesive, is no longer stuck for a source. Margi Sidman of Northridge says Sly-Berns, an educational-supply store on Reseda Boulevard south of Nordhoff Street in Reseda, carries such a product. Another place that carries Plasti-Tak, according to Lyla Wrobel of Laguna Hills and Maggi Bell of El Toro, is Goff’s Educational Supplies, 23854 Via Fabricante, Mission Viejo, (714) 855-1770. Frances Dean Smith of Ocean Park bought some at Carlisle Stationers, 1248 3rd St., Santa Monica, for $1.95. Louise Snow of El Segundo says the product is now available under a new name, Fun Tack, and can be found in hardware stores. Similar plastic adhesives available in stationery and hardware stores are HOLDiT, according to Sherry Barber, and Plasta-Lina, according to Anne Lee of Brea. (She bought it at Aaron Bros. Art Mart.)

Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help, You section, the Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.