When I was 20 years old, I left my family and moved to Philadelphia. I knew one person that lived in the city, a boy named Andy that I had gone to high school with. Aside from some family at least an hour away… that was it.
For my 21st birthday, I got a tattoo on my foot. Spontaneously, I selected a blue feather. It’s by far my favorite one, out of my three, and I’ve never regretted it, or felt scared when I got it.
Every year, there seems to be a benchmark of courage I hit. Unintentionally. Of course, my favorite would be the Iceland thing, the adventure abroad I fully embraced.
Up until now, I’ve never admitted I pursued that adventure bare faced. Besides a little mascara and eye liner from time to time, I wore absolutely no makeup. It made me feel brave, to leave behind any expectation of a face that wasn’t entirely mine.
I knew there’d be pictures. But I didn’t care. In every picture, such as the one above, I wanted appear exactly as I naturally am.
I was, and still am, really proud of that.
So maybe this next part will make sense. When Annabel advised me to wear bright red lipstick to work a few days ago, I was really intimidated. After selecting my outfits, she also requested specific hair and makeup combinations to go with both.
She only requested the lipstick for my first ensemble. In the interest of participating fully in our experiment, I decided I would also apply foundation, eyeshadow, as well. I wanted to try.
My windows were still open when I woke up Monday morning. A breeze wafted through my room, giving the space an essence of fall. The cool, crisp morning made Annabel’s first outfit selection, a silky nautical print shirt, with a grey beanie and blue jeans, absolutely perfect.
She paired the ensemble with the red prayer beads Vanessa Lynch gave me, as well as a sterling silver bracelet that was a gift from my mother. Brown wedges completed the look.
Simple.
This was the first outfit Annabel assembled on Sunday afternoon. I was surprised. I half expected her to attempt to transform me into some princess/urbanite hybrid. I expected to wear tight pencil skirts, strappy heels, and collared shirts all week.
I was wrong. As I mentioned in my last post, she didn’t want to change me. Just enhance me.
This particular enhancement, however, would include a red lipsticked mouth. When it came time to put on a face, I nervously applied my foundation, with a light dusting of powder to even it out. Then eyeshadow – just a layer of a soft, caramel color with a nude over it.
That wasn’t so bad, I thought.
Time for the red.
I untwisted the lipstick cap, and slowly ran the tip along the top and bottom of my lip. I rubbed them together, multiple times. I tried to even out the awkward, curved parts near the top of my mouth.
I smacked my lips for almost the entire drive to work.
Annabel was pleased when I arrived. Our co-workers filtered in, some aware of our experiment, some not. We poked around a little to get feedback.
“What do you think of Melissa’s outfit today?” Annabel asked our programmer.
Unaware that it was a trap, he murmured for a moment before replying.
“Uh, good? I like her beanie and red lipstick…” he said, his voice trailing off.
Some didn’t need prompting.
Shana walked in, and immediately said, “You look dapper!” when I turned to face her. Meagan, the other project manager and Mrs. Josh Gruder, was delighted at the result.
“I’ve been looking forward to this outfit all weekend,” she said to one of our new co-workers, who seemed rightfully confused by the conversation.
The most surprising perhaps, was our graphic designer, who after examining my shirt during a meeting, mumbled something.
“What?!” I said, with the demeanor of a deaf old man.
“Fancy blouse….” he said a little louder.
(That’s about as close as he gets to a compliment.)
I had Meagan snap a pic, as I’ll have her do all week. I’m quite pleased at the spruced up, shined up version of myself.
Complete with a shade of red lipstick I’m surprised to admit, I never want to take off.