Black lipstick.
Beauty vloggers rock it, street style blogs show it off, but can it actually be worn in real life? The streets of Los Angeles, Seattle, and New York City are one thing, but can this style be worn in day to day life in the rest of the world?
I've been coveting Kylie Jenner's Kymajesty for months, but it sold out practically before it was released. On a recent trip to Sephora, I was drawn to one lipstick in particular, Squid Ink by Bite Beauty. It's a black navy color cream lipstick made from natural, food grade ingredients. I couldn't resist.
Once I paid for this lipstick and tried it on, I came to two realizations:
1. I was deeply in love.
2. I was terrified to go out in public.
The lipstick itself couldn't have been better. The color was rich and heavily pigmented, long lasting, and didn't feather even without a lip liner. It was moisturizing and smelled like summery lemonade. Pretty expensive, but easily the best formula I've ever tried. It was then that I decided to wear it in public.
Black lipstick really isn't unheard of, but its uncommon to say the least and usually comes along with a laundry list of stereotypes and expectations. I'm a small, preppy looking girl, my mom begged me to wash my face before going out to run errands because it looked "embarrassing"
I wore Squid Ink for the entire day. Getting groceries, picking up my car from the shop, dropping my siblings off at practice, and nobody died. Nobody stared. No one treated me any differently because of the strange color on my lips. Maybe it was because my outfit paired well, maybe my style was recognized as hip and cool, or maybe, just maybe, no one actually cared.
A lot of social anxiety is caused by the thought "what will people think of me," when in reality, no one pays too much attention to other people. Buying this lipstick and wearing it for a day because I loved the way it looked made me feel a lot more confident than ever before. Maybe it was just the back lipstick giving off the aura of a head b**** in charge, but the feeling that I could dress how I wanted (and actually pull it off) was powerful.
In short, I'd encourage anyone to go out try something they've been wanting to try for a while. As college starts again in the coming week try not to worry too much about how people will see you, remember that the person who gets the final say on what you wear or what you do is you.
My final verdict on this lipstick; I'm going to wear the heck out of it and look good doing it.
