Products that made me fall in love with makeup part one: red lipstick

I fell in love with makeup later in my life, when I was around 25 or 26. After having worked in grocery store and then in a kitchen as a line cook, I was working an office job in accounting. I wanted to look a bit more polished, so I started wearing makeup. Gradually, I started getting braver with color. I received a red lipstick in a Birchbox and it sat in my bathroom for months before I finally felt brave enough to wear it. Even years later, I still remember how it made me feel to wear that red lipstick: confident and powerful. I remember almost every person I passed that day said they liked my lipstick too. I only wear makeup for myself, but it’s always nice to have a confidence boost from a compliment.

I started to experiment more with shades of red and soon was red lipstick obsessed. Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lip in Beso was my first red that I fell in love with. In my early days of lipstick wearing, I felt more comfortable wearing a longer lasting red, so it didn’t get all over my face or teeth. Beso is a beautiful red, described as a “true red”. It’s the kind of red that makes my teeth look really white. I don’t reach for this type of formula any more, as I find liquid lipsticks very drying. I still pull this out every once in a while and always love how bold and saturated the color is.

Mac Lady Danger is the red lipstick that made me fall completely head over heels in love with lipstick, specifically orange toned red lipsticks. I could never have enough of orangey red lipsticks. When I first started wearing this, I wore Mac Kiss Me Quick liner underneath, to make it more red. I quickly realized that I was not meant for that much maintenance with a lipstick look and also that I started to prefer it without the red underneath. The more orange, the better! Lady Danger has seen me through many special events and saw me through the rest of my accounting and HR career.

Lipstick is still what I own most of in my makeup collection. Red lipstick has gotten me through some really terrible times and some very happy times too. Putting on a bright and cheerful lip like Lady Danger or Beso is an instant mood lifter for me. I also like wearing red lipstick because it’s so obvious I’m wearing it. I like walking into a room and announcing, yes, I am wearing orange lipstick. I dare you to make a comment. My old office had a very conservative dress code, more business than casual. My little way of rebelling was wearing outrageous lip colors with my slacks and blazers.

I’m still a red lipstick wearer today, even while mostly staying at home and playing with my kids. Red lipstick will forever be a part of my life and what I reach for when I’m feeling off. I’m always on the hunt for the newest color or formula of red that will blow my socks off. It’s not a bad hunt to be on, I think. Cheers to red lipstick!