I was inspired to write this piece by #thepaintedlipsproject .

The #thepaintedlipsproject  was founded by Shana Moore -on her YouTube Channel she swatches lipsticks for us brown girls that makeup companies do not advertise. She shows you what different lipstick shades will look like on your brown skin to help you when it comes to purchasing makeup products. Also, featuring different women of different delicious shades of brown in swatch videos (Brilliant). As you know the makeup industry is a billion dollar industry , and yes we contribute our  hard earned money to these companies. We deserve for our  brown skin to be advertised as well. Shana Moore expressed how much she disliked makeup and lipstick altogether. Lipstick being a huge factor because she didn’t care too much for her”big” lips-and felt like only sporting color would magnify the size of her lips. Until she found Ruby Woo by MAC that changed her feelings forever.

I am moved by this project because I also felt differently about my features. My lips… no my lips are not noticeably big, but for me I thought they were. I shied away from any bold colors – although they are beautiful colors, I felt like they are just going to exaggerate my lips more, and draw attention to me, and make my lips appear even bigger. (This is all in my head guys!) So, when buying lipstick I skipped bold and bright colors and went more for mauve and nude colors -playing it safe I should say. I mean I was never really into  makeup like that. I didn’t wear it in high school, and I didn’t wear it for most of my early adult years. I really just got into makeup about two years ago. I definitely still take baby steps!……

One day I was trying on a liquid lipstick by Colourpop-I can’t remember the name of the shade, but it was BOLD! I remember telling a friend of mine that I didn’t too much care for the color because it made my lips look bigger. She told me “Girl, people pay money to have those lips” And I thought you know what she is right. I need to embrace what was given to me- If I had smaller lips I wouldn’t be me! LOL! My lips fit my face:)  Now I can say I am definitely more confident now wearing a POP of color then I was in the past! The message here is to be confident, be bold , and exercise self -love. Without makeup you should love who you are- and be comfortable, and don’t be afraid when the makeup enhances your natural features. We were all made differently , and we all have beautiful features God gave us that make us the individuals we are.

Ladies, we must continue to inspire one another. Encourage one another to love who we are and what we are. Girls run the world ya’ll!! We need each other to help spread this message. Colourpop does an amazing job at advertising different skin types, but we need  all makeup companies to do the same!

What insecurity did you have about yourself that you overcame?

This post is dedicated to #thepaintedlipsproject – go follow Shana Moore on Instagram and YouTube to check out her lipstick swatches 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/thepaintedlipsproject/

Thank you for reading ♥

 

top pic: NYX intense butter gloss in Spice Cake

bottom pic: L.A. Girls matte lip gloss in Timeless

 

Posted by: Ivy