After receiving entries from thousands of talented women across the country, Olay Total Effects is celebrating the finale of our Fine Lines Poetry Contest, cosponsored by the Poetry Society of America. Our team of renowned poets—Sonia Sanchez, Sapphire, Lee Ann Brown, Marilyn Chin, Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, and Jill Bialosky—has chosen seven winning poets who have given voice to universal female experiences.

Patricia Clark's Sculpture Garden was inspired by a day looking at statues of women with her mother. "My mother lived with particular zest and vitality, and I hope to honor her with this poem," she says. A published poet, Patricia lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Judy Loest, a published poet from Knoxville, Tennessee, wrote The Cambodian Mother Writes to Her Daughter in America. "If my poem is special at all, it is because it attempts to address the paradox that, despite life's difficulties, one of life's greatest fulfillments is using language to give praise, that in this small act, we are able to transform both the world and ourselves," says Judy.

A teacher, poet, and playwright, Alison Luterman wrote
I Confess based on an encounter with a real person. "When I saw this woman with white hair in the grocery store, I really did follow her around because I was so attracted to the serenity and dignity that she radiated," says the Oakland, California, poet.

Simone Muench's winning poem, Why Women Don't Wear Silk Aprons Thanks to Komunyakaa, pays homage to strong Southern women. The Chicago resident is an assistant professor at Lewis University and a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, poet Anna Panszczyk wrote the winning entry Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Anna is in the comparative literature graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Poetry Teacher Retires by Northampton, Massachusetts, poet Jendi Reiter was inspired by her husband's grandmother. A published poet, she runs winningwriters.com.

Karen Mandell's Leaving the Dining Room celebrates the perfection of imperfect moments. "Surprise catches us off guard, often to our delight," she says. Karen is a teacher in Needham, Massachusetts.

Winners will each receive $2,000 and the opportunity to have their poems published in the Poetry in Motion® program, a joint endeavor founded by the Poetry Society of America and MTA New York City Transit in 1992. Check back to find out where poems will appear.

We'd like to congratulate the seven winners and thank everyone who entered for celebrating the joy of being a woman—and proving beauty is beyond skin-deep.