How a Lady on the Bus Inspired Me to Wear Lipsticks for the Rest of My Life

Let's be clear: I already wanted to wear lipsticks everyday forever and ever. But I was afraid.

Like so many of us, I feared lipstick. Lipstick, to me, represented power. It represented boldness. It was pure artistry. In some ways, wizardry. And bold and brights were trending. And how did I feel about it? Scared.

Will I look crazy? Like a clown perhaps? How can I look people in the eye knowing I have this bright, bold color on my lip that is completely unnatural? How could I wear lipstick so that lipstick wouldn't wear me? How do you even apply lipstick correctly when each attempt looks like a 2-year-old drew it?

I sheepishly thought to myself, "But I love lipstick." I feel like a woman in lipstick, feminine, daring, powerful. I had amassed several lippies and little by little I began to wear them out everyday. Because it made me feel good.

But then a new fear took hold. What happens when lipsticks go out of style? I knew that lip gloss was the hot lip product not too long ago and now everyone was onto lipsticks. But what happens when the next trend completely makes my lipstick collection seem null and void?

This is where the lady on the bus came in.

I was taking the Megabus to another state because it's $1 if you get it in advance so what the hey. While waiting on line I see a polished woman standing in front of me and she happens to have on a beautiful shade of orange on her lips...so I ask her which lipstick it is. She tells me it's Siren from Revlon. She continues to chat with me, telling me that she absolutely loves lipsticks (just like me!) and her favorite brand is Revlon. But what she would later say impressed my life forever.

She said gleefully that she had been wearing lipstick everyday for 3 decades. Whaaaaaa? Yes! 3 Decades! This woman did not look older than late 40s or early 50s. But she would tell me that she was knocking on 70! This woman was 68 years old...and she looked absolutely fabulous and stunning. She was well put-together and everything about her stated class, style and elegance. I told her I wanted to look like her when I grow up!

What struck me most about what she said is.....if she was wearing lipstick for 3 decades (and looking that fierce), it means that she was wearing lipstick even when the lip gloss trend was all the rage! Which means that I TOO can do it! I can wear lipstick regardless what the trend is. It is amazing what seeing an example makes you realize that you can do...and do well.

What put the cherry on top of the icing on the cake was that this woman's own mother had been wearing different shades of red lipstick everyday too since the early 1920s. Sadly, her mother had passed away. But I learned something from her mother as well. Something perhaps even greater. Her mother was wearing lipsticks through even more decades when trends and styles were definitely shifting...and she wore red solely, the most audacious yet classic shade, even though other shades had started to become available. That showed me that she did whatever she wanted...because it made her happy!

Inadvertently, the lipstick legacy of these two generations of ladies from that family has imprinted upon me the audacity and pure revelry of swiping on clothing for my lips each and every day, any and every way.

Gimme Gimme Liquid Lipsticks

I know it has been a while since I last posted but that does not mean I have not been keeping up with my favorite makeup item: Lipsticks!

I fell in love with MAC lipsticks early this year and I have not been the same since. I have also branched out recently and got into the newest trend for lippies: Liquid Lipsticks!

For so long, I stayed away from these because the price tag was simply too high and I figured that I had already built up a decent MAC collection so I thought I was good. But then I visited my cousin's house (where I learned even more about makeup in general because my aunt and her daughters know quite more than me on makeup), and lo and behold! My cousin had the truest purple, mattest, absolutely most gorgeousest lipstick I had ever seen.

I would find out that it was 3 Witches by Pretty Zombie Cosmetics. I tried to resist temptation but ultimately failed and gave in and purchased it. And I am sooo happy I did! This newest obsession has rocked my world.

I had ordered 3 Witches and Purple Poison and when I received them, they gave amazing pigmentation, lasted for hours and they barely budged when I drank something (but eating can cause it to smear in the inside of the lip). And they made me feel fierce. I was hooked. Of course. Since then I have tried liquid lipsticks from Kat Von D, Coloured Raine, Sephora, NYX, Milani, LA Splash, Colourpop, Stila, Hourglass, Limecrime and many more!

My absolute favorite formulas are Kat Von D, Coloured Raine, Stila and Sephora. They are each amazingly comfortable in their own way with fabulous color pay-off. But that is not to say that the others aren't great. I have a favorite lippie in most brands! Grab one!