Red lipstick is intimidating, for me as a woman. Can I wear red lipstick? Will it look good on me? Do I even have the balls to try it?
About a year ago, I bit the bullet and ordered a shade of red lipstick creatively called, “terracotta”. I was really excited about it. I usually only wear light colors: pinks, browns and simple nudes. I didn’t think I was daring enough to don a red hue. Especially since I affiliate red lipstick with celebrities. I’d seen Angelina Jolie, Scarlet Johanson and Megan Fox all sport red lips. After all...isn’t it called the red carpet? It’s not the “pink” carpet. It’s not the “nude” carpet; nor is it the “burnt sunset” carpet, either. It is the red carpet.
Red has always been a color of power and authority to me. Red commands attention. Perhaps this is the reason why red has always been a favorite color of mine. I have handbags that are red, belts that are red—I even have shoes that are red. But could I wear red lipstick? The thought was exhilarating. Perhaps even lil ole me could look like a star!
The day my order came in, I was ecstatic. Here was my moment of truth. I raced to the bathroom and unveiled the tube. I imagined myself channeling “old Hollywood” and rolled out the tube dramatically á la Sophia Loren or Audrey Hepburn (although I quickly rolled it back for fear of breaking it). I took a deep breath and thought, “here goes nothin’.”
The fun started when I couldn’t get the color to stay on my lips. I also soon learned that red is a very hard color to remove from cheeks...and surrounding areas. It smears. It stains. It's stubborn. Eventually (five minutes and fifteen vaseline’d cotton swabs later, to be precise) I had perfected my look. And I hated it. I hated it. I hated everything about it. I did not look like a star. I looked pale...and my teeth were yellow. I don’t even have yellow teeth! My worse fear was confirmed: I was definitely no Audrey Hepburn.
Although the red would continue to stain my lips in the days following, I resolved to leave the fearless shade to the celebs; and remain true to my “pink” carpet that had never let me down. That was the day I vowed to keep my collections of red to only my belts, shoes and handbags, where it could stay a safe distance away. I gave the $28.00 “teracotta” tube away and decided I could admire red from afar. I am still content with that.