The Red Lipstick Theory

I started wearing red lipstick my junior year of college. The last day of my junior year to be exact. I bought an outrageous shade from Walgreen’s called “orange flip”. As a 20-year-old girl I decided in almost an instant that I was the type of girl who wore red lipstick.

It changed my life.

At first I was a little timid. I mean, gosh, bright red lips feels like such a bold statement.  But over time it just became who I am. At first, I would wear it on the weekends only, then I transitioned to wearing it to dinner and maybe to a party or two. Suddenly I wore it to class, and to church, and weeks would go by when I’d realized that I don’t even know the real color of my lips. Now, it literally is just a part of who I am and I don’t think anyone would be surprised if I showed up at the YMCA sporting my latest shade alongside my workout attire. Angi Mason wears red lipstick—common knowledge; especially to parties and especially to weddings. There’s just something about it, girls! It’s empowering—it’s addictive—it’s so red!

So here’s my theory—now is the time in life to make a statement with red lipstick. If you wait later in life you risk being that middle aged lady trying way too hard to be hip and takes her 13 year-old daughter to a Britney Spears’ concert. If you wait even longer, you’ll be the old woman who gets most of the color on her teeth instead of her lips, but nobody wants to say anything (to those women, by the way, I am not hating. I completely resign myself to being one of you, I’m just saying don’t wait that long to start, work it now!)

Your mid-twenties are a confusing time. Half your friends are married, half of them are single and won’t be married for…a little longer anyway. Some have babies, boyfriends, masters degrees, haven’t graduated yet, own a house already, jobless, or overly ambitious—We’re all over the map. There is no norm and if thirty is the new twenty then I guess that makes twenty the new ten.  (And several of us act like it…but that’s another story for another day).

The life metaphor here is that now is the time to try anything and everything. Take a hold of this unique time in life, own it, and live it up! Wear red lipstick. You’re young, you’re bold, you’re beautiful and you have nothing to lose. It may take you a couple takes to find the right shade, but you’ll get there! Like anything in life, keep trying until you find the color that fits your skin tone and personality perfectly! Certainly, don’t ever let being afraid of something hold you back. Be adventurous, take chances, make mistakes and figure out life! I dare you to put a shade of red on your lips and then see what else in life you can conquer. 

The Roaring Twenties

Hi there! Welcome to my blog. Before we get started there's some things about me I'd like you to know...


I won't pretend I have it all figured out. Like so many, I am just trying to put the pieces of life together and stay afloat in this mess they call your twenties, the "roaring twenties," if you will. This is my attempt to share my heart, my confessions, my stories. This is a mid-twenty year old’s manifesto—thoughts on life, love, nature, beliefs and red lipstick.

I will warn you right now—it’s not all pretty. But that’s life. I’ve made some of the boldest and brightest decisions during this time, and this is merely me deciding it’s time to share (the good and the bad). It’s time to work through this out loud and have fun with it!

I am not a writer and I am not eloquent. I need an editor, but I don’t have one. This will be raw. It will be a learning process, and honestly, it’s more fun that way.

So I invite you to read along. Better yet, I invite you to talk back. Join me in the hopes that women everywhere will team up together and talk about things that matter, things that we're struggling through and the things that nourish and help pad the impact that life--oh so often--can have. We’re all facing these same struggles—so let’s face them together! My desire here is not just to write and share, my desire is to open up dialogue, to challenge each other, to learn and grow--together--on this journey into our "roaring twenties."