#22: Find my perfect shade of red lipstick.

I did it!  I know when you saw this goal on my 30 Before 30, you said to yourself, LAME! COP OUT!  But I've never been a make-up girl.  Okay I take that back.  I really, really TRIED to be a make-up girl when I was a little girly girl but my MOMMY wouldn't let me.  Meanie.  She told me I don't need make-up to be beautiful.  What a cop out.  Of course I didn't believe her and put "a make-up kit" in the Top 5 of my (up to five page) Christmas list for AT LEAST a decade.  I begged and begged.  What about when I'm 13?  When I'm 15?  16?!?!  No! No! No!  And NOT ONCE did I get so much as a lip gloss!!!!  So I gave up on being a make-up girl.  Then I got to college and was surrounded by women who knew how to put on make-up... and I no longer really cared about putting on make-up.  *shakes tiny fist at M* 

How did I learn how to put on make-up?  By watching Carmindy on What Not to Wear... LOL.  That is so sad!  I'm sure she's the one who said there's a red lipstick for everyone.  It's been embedded in my head since then.  But with my complexion, when I go to make-up counters, they pick raisins for me.  I'm looking for something unexpected.  But when I told the lady at Lancome a red, she was skeptical and picked out three HORRIFIC shades of red.  Truly terrifying.  I had Rashan with me and he was of course, 0 help. Poor thing.  He begged me to bring someone else, ANYONE else with me, and I didn't.  This woman, in her desire not to talk herself out of a sale, refused to say anything HONEST about these awful colors she selected.  I thought they looked terrible on me and she was like, "It depends on what you like."  Girl. BYE!!!

My next stop was at Ulta where I thought I could get a reasonably-priced lipstick.  A sweet little guy really, REALLY wants to see me in a non-red gloss.  Hold up.  I came in here SPECIFICALLY knowing I want a RED LIPSTICK and you try to send me off with a non-red gloss?  I humor him, this time I'm with a friend, who also doesn't understand my desire for red, (SN: Why did I keep going with people who thought I was crazy?) and hate everything he does.  He says, "I told you red wasn't for you. Let me show you some other stuff."  I proceed to hate everything he shows me.  Why?  Mostly because I resent him for that!!  What you are seeing here is the anatomy of how to lose a sale with Jameil (half rhyme...) part II.

My third stop, with the same friend but on a different day months later, is at the JCPenne' (LOL) Sephora store.  This timid-ish chick hears I want a red and is again looking at me like I'm nuts.  WHAT IS IT WITH THESE PEOPLE?!?  I'm the only one who watches WNTW??  You're IN make-up and still want to do the same boring thing everyone else wants to do?  NO. RAISIN.  This chick hears red, looks skeptical and asks her cohort for advice.  What do we have hear, people?  If you guessed how to lose a sale with Jameil part III, DING DING!  You're right!  You get a blog post!  And you get a blog post!  (Don't get excited. It's this one.)  She gives me some atrocious colors to try on, I scowl in the mirror and leave.  I've never had a good experience with that store so I really should stop going back.

My fourth stop... y'all I'm so DEDICATED!!  ... To finding a lipstick... fail... epic fail.  Anyway, the 4th stop was where the first stop should've been.  The store every make-up crazy black woman (with a little money) I know is a stan for: Mac.  DUH!!!  I said after the first place, I should stop playing around and just go to Mac.  But did I listen to myself?  (Sheepish) No...  So this time I have my sister with me.  I said red and she said really?  But she said it with an open mind because she's the make-up fiend in the family.  Plus I'm the big sister!  Off to Mac we go.   I'M DETERMINED we are finding my lipstick TODAY.  By this point I was feeling rather discouraged and had amended it to 'an unexpected color' from red.  But when I told the Mac chica I wanted a red but people were hating she said, "Why!?  I think there's a red for everyone!"  Oh honey.  You need to teach 'how to take all of Jameil's money!'  LOL.  Clearly I agree so we tried several and.... decided on Ladybug!  How cute is that name??

I wore it out for the first time to a casual NYE house party and was still easily one of the most dressed up people there.  LOLOL.  I love it.  Why did it take me four tries over 6 months (almost to the day) to find a red lipstick???  That is so not cute.  But I have it!  Kiss kiss!