originally posted in 2018
“Sucking d*** lips”
It was with those words that a 17-year-old boy described me on the bus, packed with other sweaty students like him. I felt like the whole high school was there, looking at me and that’s how he chose to describe me. I was 13.
A year earlier, I had been humiliated in the middle of a singing recital, in front of my entire seventh-grade class. A boy (it’s often them…) decided to “imitate” me by stretching his upper lip, mimicking a monkey. I couldn’t continue singing, I left the classroom in tears, which explains my fear of speaking in public…
So how ironic it is that today, almost 20 years later, women all over the world get injections to have lips like mine. The lips I hated so much, neglected so much, are now celebrated, adored, envied, but still hyper-sexualized.
It was a long journey toward acceptance. When I first started wearing makeup, I absolutely refused to put anything on my lips. Gloss had worked against me before, so there was no way I was going to do anything to make them prettier. And then there was that whole conversation about “Black girls shouldn’t wear red lipstick” still ringing in my ears. What hurt the most, in my opinion, was that these comments and insults were more upsetting because they often came from Black men…
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then… Although comments about my lips are still around, they are much more pleasant now. It’s still surprising to see that, during conversations, the eyes of the people I’m speaking with, often men, end up, sooner or later, fixed on my lips…
The RUBY WOO effect
MAC. Say what you want, but without the MAC saleswomen, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Sure, we were all knighted with the famous NW45 for dark-skinned girls, but whatever: that brand was the Holy Grail of “high-end” cosmetics for the student I was.
So of course, when the saleswoman marveled at my untouched lips (which had never known lipstick) and offered me Ruby Woo, my first reaction was: Hell NO. Who, me? The girl whose lips are already pink without effort? What did she want me to do? Too scared at the time, I went for a black/purple shade, just to “turn the volume down.” But after dozens of compliments, I finally let myself be tempted by the red… and oh boy.
Red means business
Every time I wear it, I feel invincible. A bit like those men who drive blood-red Porsches or Ferraris.
I don’t wear it every day — lack of time and outfits to coordinate — but I wear it for big occasions or when I have an important business meeting. And it always makes an impact. I don’t leave anyone indifferent, but most importantly, Idon’t leave myself indifferent.
I haven’t yet ventured into a brighter red, even though I find that blue-reds (those deep reds) suit my complexion better. But Ruby Woo gave me the boost I was missing!
This love-hate relationship I’ve had with my lips has taught me a lesson:
Underdogs always turn into Legends
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