(This is the 9th post in my series “being seen at 50“)
I have been on an extended quest to find the perfect red lipstick. A few days ago it was time to complete the quest. No more indecision. Time to choose my Red.* Because nothing is quite the same as red lips, and what they are I want more of.
Bold, sensual, willing to be noticed.
On a day where I am bone tired from lack of sleep, frustrated by computer glitches and unexpected demands on my time, the addition of red makes a difference. Especially on a day when only I will see it.
I sometimes forget the simple pleasures of feminine beauty rituals.
Finding the right shade of lipstick, luxuriating in lotions and potions, the perfect nail polish. When life gets busy, actually when my mind gets overly busy, I discount my simple pleasures as not being serious, important, relevant enough. I get all fussy about the politics of beauty, the patriarchy, age appropriateness, blah, blah, blah.
The thing is I love the art of beauty. I love makeup. It is sweet balm to flesh often drained by the harshness of life. It is adornment as sacred ritual.
The truth is I don’t much care if I use makeup as a divine expression the of the Feminine or as shield against the judgments of society. Both are equally valid motivations. What I care about is whether my lipstick, my hair color, my work, my relationships- how I am living my life- is bringing me closer to joy and my truest self or taking me away. Then I can choose what I want with clarity.
I know the surface confidence that comes with looking good, and I know it seeps down and allows the deeper layers of self to rise up and shine. I also know that those deeper layers shining adds radiance that no makeup counter miracle product could ever hope to match.
What is real is that the outer and inner of us are always growing the other.
So find your Red. Wear it proud. Have it feel good.
*My current red is Stila Natasha color balm lipstick, in case you are curious.