by Jorunn Hernes (Norway)
Let me be crystal clear. You don’t have to wear lipstick.
It is perfectly possible to live a rich and fulfilling life without it.
However, lipstick is one of the most powerfully feminine icons of our culture.
It is difficult to be a grown woman and not have a relationship with lipstick, whether you are a confirmed lipstick-hater or a lipstick-hoarder, or something in between.
I remember when as a little girl, handling with reverence my mother’s blood red lipstick, the only one she ever had.
It was such an item of awe inspiring grown-up femininity.
Being allowed to wear lipstick is kind of an initiation into adulthood, isn’t it?
You know that moment when you look at your daughter wearing lipstick and she suddenly looks weirdly grown-up.
Are you looking for reasons to wear lipstick, or for some explanation for why you feel so good applying that slick of colour on your lips every morning?
LIPSTICK is self-care
Two seconds of self care. That moment in front of the mirror, when you are ready to go out, and you add that bit of red to your lips.You look in the mirror, smile at yourself.
Hello me.
And then, hello world.
LIPSTICK makes you smile
So one could argue that chapstick or a bit of vaseline does the trick as well, but as I said in the introduction, if this is your preference, good for you.
But a bit of colour to go with the protection is fun.
LIPSTICK accentuates your eyes
It sounds like a contradiction, that putting colour on one part of your face makes people focus on another feature.
But it’s true. The correct shade of lipstick makes your eyes stand out.
The downside of this is that it is also true the other way around. If you wear a lipstick that is absolutely wrong for you, it draws attention to the lips and takes the attention away from your eyes.
I know we use the phrase “watch my lips” when we want people to pay proper attention to what we are saying, but the truth is that real communication takes place when there is eye contact.
So wearing for the perfect shade of lipstick is actually a good communication strategy.
But how to find the perfect lipstick?
Take your time, and choose carefully.
My recommendation is to own and use one expensive, high quality lipstick rather than several cheap ones that clutter up your toiletry bag and just make you feel bad.
For excellent help honing your decision making skills when it comes to cleaning out your makeup drawer, read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. I have a blog post about it here.
If you know your colour tone, you can use the guidelines given by your PCA consultant to help you navigate in the lipstick jungle.
Don’t rely on the sales rep at the cosmetics counter. Do some research, remember what your PCA consultant told you, and use your fan when you go shopping for lipstick. By all means, do order online, but expect to be disappointed.
You should try it on your lips.
Putting lipstick on the back of your hand is useful, but your lips will invariably be a little different. Also, lipstick changes after a little while on your lips, so try it on, then wait a bit, then look again.
It’s almost like finding a life partner… You don’t know if it’s a long term relationship until you have tried living with it.
