Lipstick

I remember when I was little, around maybe 8 years old or so. My grandma would give me these little tiny lipsticks to play dress up with when we were at her house. I have recently learned that those were Avon lipstick samples. They looked similar to this…

I remember plenty of pink and red hues. I always seemed to get them on my teeth. Little did I know then, how my love for lipsticks would grow.

In middle school, lipgloss was all the rage. You were part of the popular crowd if you had some of those fancy lipgloss rollers that left your lips shiny. I definitely wasn’t popular, but I do remember borrowing my best friend’s roll on gloss. She actually was quite popular- weird how that works right? At the time, lipgloss was just sort of “meh” to me.

In the summer before I started high school, my sense of style dramatically changed. I became sort of more gotchic or punk in style. Lipsticks that weren’t black just didn’t appeal to that “culture”. I couldn’t afford much then, so I would steal what I could from my mom’s bathroom. I would use eyeliner as “lipstick”. Honestly, I started to get creative with things. Using red lipliner as eyeliner and just whatever suited my fancy for that day.

One day I actually took a whole thing of red and pink lipstick and painted my face, my whole face, with it. This was around the time where selfies were the cool thing to do and myspace being the new fun thing to do. Of course what kind of teenager would I be if I didn’t take any? Alas, here is my lipsticked face back then (probably 2005ish).

Yes, I am not afraid to say I am a bit odd. My oddness doesn’t bother me. Anyways, I wound up taking a computer graphics class and learned how to edit photos. I wound up making myself look like some kind of female Rambo (or a fierce Johnny from The Outsiders) just by turning it into a black and white photo.

Whatever the case, my “oddness” with makeup just continued to grow. However, nowadays I prefer less GI Jane and more of a tastefully fierce sort of look.

I, Jenn, am obsessed with colored lipsticks! I definitely prefer the longwear types over just the simple ol’ twist a stick types. However, I do wear those too. I have started slowly integrating more colors to my stash. My hubby is not a fan of all the boldness or ones that aren’t “natural” looking, but I don’t do it for him (sorry, not sorry).

I recently bought a black lipstick. It still surprises me how people react to something that has nothing to do with them. I wore my black lipstick to the dirt track races over the weekend. The first thing my father in law says to me was “did you get shit on your lips?” It took a minute for it to register, but I laughed and said “no!” When Chris and I got through the gate a policeman literally yelled to me “were you eating a blue popsicle!?!” I laughed and yelled back, “no!” Which is funny because it definitely was not blue in color.

I don’t wear my funky lipsticks for other people’s validation. Frankly, I am almost 30 years old, I don’t need their validation to feel good about myself. I love my lipsticks, I love their fierce boldness, and I love how even though they are “unnatural” they make me feel like me. I have always felt more comfortable in my skin when I do things that aren’t quite “natural” looking [lipsticks, haircolor, and fashion choices]. I am who I am. Like it or don’t, I don’t need you to care. At least that is how I feel.

Love who you are.

💜Jenn