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!

WHOA, Wet N Wild Megalast Lipsticks

So, initially, when I was starting my journey I felt that Wet N Wild lipsticks were little cheapies at the drugstore which were good but not exceptional.

That was because I had only tried on 3 of the colors. And after buying almost all of the shades in the collection, I can say that those 3 original shades were my least favorites.

And yet when I compare these same 3 shades to other brands, I find that these colors are still better than other brands. Those shades are Pinkerbell, Don't Blink Pink and 24 Carrot Gold. I would later find that these types of shades simply are not my favorite type of shades.

I would also learn that many of the Wet N Wild lipsticks are exceptional colors when compared to all types of brands from high-end to drugstore. While the finish of these lippies are not the best when compared to more luxurious lipsticks, they wear well, look good and have mostly become my favorite shades out of all the brands I currently own including MAC, NARS, NYX, NYC, Milani, Jordana and LA Colors (and also brands I have tried/seen but do not own like YSL, Stila, Kat Von D, etc).

While I do have favorite shades in other brands and my favorite brand for lipsticks is still MAC, Wet N Wild as a collection reigns supreme for biggest surprise, best in drugstore and comparable and even rival to higher end brands when it concerns colors/shades. In fact, I used to think Jordana was my favorite drugstore lippie collection because their selection was vast, colors varied (i.e., good color range) and finish was very smooth.

But Wet N Wild have surpassed Jordana by far when it comes to the very best colors to enter the lipstick game. So much so in fact, I have largely forgotten about my Jordana collection. I seldom find a color I want to wear from Jordana even though I have 30-plus. But Wet n Wild competes with MAC on a daily!

I have purchased an excessive amount of backups for those $2 gems, especially for the lovely shades of Cherry Picking, Cherry Bomb, Just Peachy (gorgeous nude on me), Sugar Plum Fairy, Vamp it Up (super hard to find in some many stores so I purchased it on beautyjoint,com) and Spotlight Red (a red shade that rivals some of the best red shades on the market)!

I love lipsticks, and Wet N Wild has changed the way I view the world of lipsticks. Precious gems can be found in the most humble places.

Officially a Nordie Girl

No disrespect to Macy's lovers but my purchases at Macy's have not been the best of quality. I had never shopped at Nordstorm until recently and for the first time in my life I am seeing tons of effortlessly stylish, high-quality pieces rather than a few nice pieces here and there of semi-questionable quality at a department store,

Oh and there are samples! And free shipping and handling! Even the online experience feels more streamlined, sophisticated and pleasant.

I first started shopping at Nordstorm online last week and I am in love!  Granted, the store is far more expensive than Macy's but this is quality you can see. I look forward to future Nordie excursions.









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Every Day is My Wedding Day

There is a lot of hype in the wedding day. After all, some people have dreamed about this day all of their life. They wanted to be a princess for the day. They wanted everyone to look at them. They wanted everything to be perfect. It was their day.

In my beauty journey, I created this mantra in order to remind myself and other women that we can create a kind of excitement, anticipation, joy and warmth that comes with wedding in our everyday. This is both inwardly and outwardly. Beautifying ourselves is our gift wrap for the guests of our lives everyday. We want to be a gift to others. We invite them into our lives to celebrate our lifespace regularly. Let us cleanse our inner being so that we may be a gift.

Making sure we look pristine everyday, if we keep it in proper focus without vanity, envy or obsession, can make us feel like a princess. Keeping your life in order, doing regular meditation or praying, doing things that make you happy, being a blessing to others and nourishing your body can improve the feeling of perfection in your life naturally.

Every day is my wedding day. And you're invited.




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In My Opinion: The Glam Look

I thought I would start a new regularly themed post called "In My Opinion". And I want to use this platform to state my unvarnished opinions about global beauty trends, experiences, testimonies and random thoughts.

Today, I want to talk about the order of operation for the glam look. Basically, let's talk about the face. And my opinion about the most quintessential aspects of facial makeup that creates a glamorous, celebrity style look in order of importance. 

Eyelashes, eyebrows and lipstick, in my opinion, are the most important pieces of your facial enhancement to snatch everyone's eyes toward your spotlight.

The Eyelash

First, I believe that great mascara in addition to the application of false eyelashes (of course with an eyeliner) is the most quintessential aspect of creating a glam look, worthy of celebrity. You already know that adding simply mascara to your everyday look sans makeup quickly and easily enhances your look. But when it comes to blazing the runway, if you don't have eyelashes, you don't have anything. You are not the star. You are not a star. Let me just tell you that first and foremost.

If your eyebrows are scattered and all you have on is lip balm, but you have on the false lashes of life? People had better move out of your way. Because the princess is coming through.  

The Eyebrow

Knowing how to shape, sculpt and highlight your natural eyebrows is powerful. This is with or without the glam look but especially for the glam look. Your eyebrows are your face. Your eyebrows tell us everything we need to know. The size, the arch, the shape, the thickness, all tell us something about you. But regardless the shape it takes, if you can clean up your eyebrows and make it look flawless, you are instantly a beauty to be reckoned with. 

Even on a bare-faced beauty, glorious eyebrows are a woman's natural makeup to make her flawlessly beautiful. The beauty of your face I believe begins with your eyebrows. But if you want to look like a superstar, perfect eyebrows are not only quintessential, it makes or break you. 

It makes the difference between an everyday girl and an A-lister. If eyebrows are this critical, it must be natural then to ask why I ordered it as number 2 instead of number 1? Glad you asked. 

Had this been a list for the most important things for your face to look great as opposed to the most important things for your face to look like a celebrity, then eyebrows and eyelashes would be switched wherein eyebrows would easily take number 1. False eyelashes, however, create a supreme effect of celebrity status far and above the eyebrow and that is why it tops this list. Nevertheless, for non-Hollywood people, you can look amazing without eyelashes but eyelashes can be an amazing enhancer. 

The eyebrow stands as a tattoo for the face that shapes what we know and fixates our attention on the pure beauty, without which your facial beauty would be a little....formless. The eyebrows, thus, give your face a "form". And for the international supermodel, it's usually a signature. Eyebrows and celebrity go hand in hand. 

Lipstick

Want them to roll out the red carpet? Get the right lipstick. Lipstick can enhance your face from 0 to 1000 if you get the right shade in absolute perfection and create an irresistible look. Lip lines, lip highlights, lip plumping, lip contour are apart of the many lip tricks to create fuller, sultry and sexy lips that make your whole face pop. These tricks abound in the pockets of many pro makeup artists and I count them as part of the lipstick regimen that takes your face from just pretty to bam! can I have your autograph? 

While the right lipstick makes a bold statement and says definitively 'I am here', lipstick without eyelashes and eyebrows ain't cutting it for the pros. 

So, that concludes my list in order of importance to stand out like a celebrity. There are a range of things involved in facial makeup that creates a glamorous appearance especially for celebrities from illuminators to contouring to great foundation to prime concealer to the smoky eye to luxury setting powders and blushes of life, among many other things. They are all important for the glam look. But alone, without the aforementioned quintessential things, it would all be for naught.  

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Stand Out in the Crowd

It's easy to stand out in the crowd. If you know the tricks to the trade.

In America, we generally have a very casual culture when it comes to fashion (which in my travels I believe the world is rapidly picking up). We were once known as the T-shirt and sneakers culture, so to speak, while some other cultures dressed in blouses and boots.

For this reason, most people's everyday look is ordinary. And there is nothing wrong with ordinary if you want to look ordinary. But if you want to make waves, which I aspire to do, try dressing up everyday.

It doesn't have to be elegant wear but something that is just a notch more "dressy" than a T-shirt. A blouse, a special top, a dress (dresses make things easy), a pretty skirt...you get the picture. Boots can easily jazz up a look and sandals can be so sexy. Even the right sneakers can look completely glam. You could even choose a jazzy graphic tee if T-shirts are where it's at for you. But take it up just a notch.

Throw on a statement earring, necklace and/or ring. If it's winter, throw on a sleek infinity scarf. If it's summer, throw on fierce aviator sunglasses. Take care of your skin and hair. A fashionista I once knew said that most looks can be forgiven if you have great hair and shoes. I think she may have been on to something. Even if you do not have great hair, take care of it because your hair is your crown. Alternatively, buy a wig or get a nicely done extension. Wigtypes.com have great high-quality, inexpensive wigs that are made for African-American women but can be used by all! It would be great to try them out on that website.

While make up is not necessary, it can enhance the look. Just simple mascara can improve your appearance if you are really not into everyday or regular makeup. Also, if all you add is eyeliner, that is also really cute. But if you want a touch of makeup without the full face, I love bb cream (or a tinted moisturizer) for a fresh look without the heaviness of foundation. It's almost like easy moisturizer that gives your skin a warm glow. Alternatively a well-done full face will turn heads.

Be more than casual. Reach out of your comfort zone. Be you but better. When you look good, you can feel so good. It can literally improve your posture, your mood, your energy, your outgoingness, your boldness. Sometimes it even has a reciprocal effect for those you interact with, possibly improving their mood and energy. Do you want to brighten other people's day? Then beauty and fashion may be the way.






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