Red Roots

In the spirit of needing to “just write”, I have decided to write something frivolous and fun today. I want to write about red lipstick!

So I have a love of red lipstick. It’s my favorite. Despite the fact that it often makes it’s way onto my teeth and it is probably full of toxins and chemicals that I would be horrified to apply directly to my lips. But I love the stuff.

Why do I love it? Well there is the obvious reason. I like the way it looks. Red is a great color, and it looks good on me. Simple.

But that’s not the only reason. I am a bit of an insecure fraidy cat.  Red is a bold color, and to wear red lipstick you’re basically demanding people to look at you. It’s not a meek choice in cosmetics. And though I often am uncomfortable in my own skin, I feel like a girl who wears red lipstick is not, and I like feeling like that girl. Perhaps it’s my “fake it till ya make it” moment!  And I have to say when I see myself in the mirror sporting with deep crimson lips I do feel slightly more powerful.

Of course this is one more reason I wear it, and this one is closes to my heart. It has to do with family. This seems strange I know. But you see I had a great great aunt name Beulah.  And from everything I hear, the woman was fierce. She was independent, eccentric and interesting. She traveled a lot before finally settling herself in San Francisco; a city that I am sure suited her temperament perfectly. She also never married, which I assume was a super big deal in those days. And one of the things that Aunt Beulah was known for was her love of the color red. In fact there was a story that she would tell about how she was engaged to a man, who told her that when they got married she would no longer be able to wear red.  Upon hearing this, she immediately gave him back his ring and told him that she could not marry him if that was the case.  Though my grandmother says that she thinks the facts of the story might have been funneled through Beulah’s ever-creative imagination, I like this story and it has stuck with me. I guess when I don the red it makes me feel closer to this strong woman. I like the fact that when I am wearing red lipstick it reminds me that I am her descendent, that she is part of the roots that I grew from and that the fierceness she possessed is in me too!