Post #40-Happy Black History Month!

Happy New Year! Yes, I know I’m late, but I decided to pause or selah for the month of January. I just needed to reset and think without the prompts and distractions of social media. BUT I never stopped thinking about how we can celebrate a whole new Black History Month. I think 2022 will be the year where I stop and intentionally feel all the things. I will celebrate and rejoice. I will stop and consider. I will comfort others who have comforted me, I will intentionally see and celebrate, so let’s start with the month of February.

As you probably know by now I love me some black owned and female owned lippies. Well, ColouredRaine was having a sale and I was feeling sad about our recent lockdowns so it just made sense that I show support. Besides working from home again meant that I could wear more lipstick without the threat of a mask-hello!

I also got a lip balm and a lipstick from PAT McGRATH and the MOTHERSHIP because why not?! and then I remembered a beautiful Montreal, Canadian brand NAGI with it’s own velvety cream liquid lipsticks…So yes, I splurged a bit, but this was my way of celebrating a month that usually forces people to only look at the struggle of slavery days instead of the Black Excellence in the many realms of society where Black people are getting it right. That being said, I decided to share with a few people over the holidays so they can learn about this Black Excellence too. Let’s have a look at my new loves!

I ordered 9 ColouredRaine Matte Liquid Lipsticks (and I think they’re still having a ridiculous sale. get yours!) I gave 2 away and Mama tried some too. What I love about ColouredRaine anything is the presence of pigment and quality. I always feel like what you see is the colour you get regardless of your skin colour. Talk about equality! Here’s a look at the 7 I still have. Thank you, ColouredRaine, I’ll be back!

Kiss Me– A Wonderful Royal purple with Blue undertones that pop even with blue hair. This reminded me of TheLipBar‘s Crown Me so I’m still feeling so royal, because as we know I can never have too much purple on my lips.

MUAH– is metallic, soft and matte! 🀯 I’m always surprised when I wear a metallic matte by this brand because how did they get it to sparkle and stay in one place. This colour is also so soft and pretty that I’m sure it would also be great as topper on a darker shade. I’m in love.

Bachelorette– This lippie had me feeling myself. What a wonderful bold and yet subdued nude! There’s just enough pink undertone in this to make it pop and highlight the melanin in my skin. This one will definitely need replacing soon.

Caramel– This one was educational. I’ve never in all of my lip-wearing life found a matte colour that was my exact skin colour, like my shoulder’s colour on my lips. Well, I found it. I like it but I think I will use it in ombre situations because it will work as a great base coat. It looked absolutely wonderful on Mama where it pops against her golden skin.

Soul- Is a purple grey wonder that made my inner self smile deep into my tones. This one reminded me of Visionary from the Superstay Matte Ink collection by Maybelline. As it dried, it was a deep grey with purple tones that still complimented my skin. Love this!

Truffle Raine- Is a wonderful Chocolatey gift to my lips. The pop of colour against my mocha brown skin looks like it was made for my yellow under tones with it’s own yellow undertones. I know my besties would consider this a safe fun one. Not too bright, but how could we not notice-type of lippie.

Roulette- This colour is like the end of a musical work with themes completing this section of the lippie haul. It’s purple again, but not. It is giving me a deep red-is wine colour underneath that is more evident before it dries and yet as the colour dries, you can see the beautiful plum effect. How could I not be happy with a lippie like this?! Simply wonderful!

Next up is this wonderful lipstick by the incomparable Pat McGrath. It is from the LuxeTrance collection in the colour Sedition 422. What I love about this colour is how easy and full it applies to my lips. And it’s moisturizing in a way I can’t understand. This is a mix of a satin and matte in textures, but is pigmented enough with this deep rich red that there will still be enough colour left on your lips that reapplying will only be done because you can and not because you’ll need too. Anything The Mothership is making is good for me.

Last but certainly not least are these two Velvet liquid lipsticks that go on like a wonderful cream and dry to a velvet texture that hugs you lips fully. There are a few more lippies in this collection that NAGI offers and I’m happy to say that I will add these to the general collection in the make up drawer.

Validate is a deep pink burgundy wonder that looks more pink when first applied and dries wondrously to compete with any red you may have.

Betty Boo Is the red you didn’t know you needed and it’s Canadian! You’re welcome. I wore this throughout a chicken dinner and a family meeting and I was full and feeling wonderful.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my little journey through this Black Owned lippie haul. How are you celebrating this month? What colour are you wearing inside, outside, or on zoom? I wish you a wonderful time of exploration into all that the Black Community at large has blessed the world with. It is all a gift from above.

Happy Black History Month from my lips to yours. #wearitlikeyoumeanit πŸ’‹

Post #39-Merry Christmas, again!

Well Hello there! I just had to jump on to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I’m grateful to be alive even though this is our 2nd or 3rd one in a pandemic I think…I’ve lost count and almost lost hope. Seeing people put the extra effort into making it work and trying to celebrate amidst new restrictions and variants gives me some more hope.

It’s been hard to be a lipstick lover these last few months because I just don’t get to wear it as often. I’ve also learned that the shape of your mouth under a mask can also determine how much smudge and smear will happen. For example my top lip is slightly smaller than my bottom but juts forward just a bit at the top always touching the inside of my mask. Add humidity, a bright colour, even a matte liquid lipstick can barely hold on in those conditions and before you know it I look like the wrong side of a clown. 😩

That being said I have not stopped collecting or completely wearing lippies, that’s what zoom calls are for now, but I do miss lipstick and gloss and these two options are the most dangerous. As a performer however, I’ve been gifted the opportunity to wear a little more than the average lip wear lover thanks to being on stage. So below I’ll post a few of those pictures and the lip choices for each event and be on my way to Christmas celebrations.

This is Pioneer from Superstay Matte Ink by Maybelline, one of my forever drugstore favourites when I got to sing on TV at the 100 Huntley Street program last month.

This is Juvia’s Place Red Velvet I got to use while shooting a farm country scene in Church On The Queenway’s Nativity Musical Movie. It’s so velvety just like it’s name suggests and it super affordable while being bold and luxurious.

RAW by Make Up For Melanin Girls is a matte soft velvet liquid lipstick that is perfect for those all-day zoom meeting days.

By The grace of God, I got to do a little getaway that was more for my sanity than anything else and ooh, I already miss the sun. When thinking tropical, I usually don’t consider bronze except for my skin glow, but this liquid lipstick by ColouredRaine in Empire had me feeling uber royal! #ThankYouJesus and #ThankYouColouredRaine

And Yes add purple in every shade. Do it for Zoom, do it for parties you attend with your crazy baby brother, do it because you can and #wearitlikeyoumeanit. Here I am wearing Escapist with Philosopher from Maybelline’s Superstay Matte Ink line, Undefeated by FentyBeauty and Visionary also by Maybeliine. Purple lips just makes me feel wonderful. 😍

Listen Love, I don’t know what your Holiday plans include, but let me encourage you to consider celebrating life, hope, and presence. You’re still here and life is fragile, and because we’re still here no matter how many times we didn’t show up for ourselves, God in His grace and mercy keeps showing up and giving us glimmers of hope in the midst of this pandemic messy life. Even a candle is light in a big dark room. If no one else is celebrating, then know you’ve got at least one more person in me celebrating you tonight. So pick out your favourite lipstick or gloss or chapstick (yes lip care is still important) and choose You. Head up, brush teeth, apply lip and clothes somewhere in that list, and hope again this Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Love,

T

Post #38- roy g Biv: BLUE

roy g Biv

What comes to mind when you see the colour Blue? Perhaps it’s the sky on a perfect cloudless summer day or the ocean waves on a tropical vacation. Maybe it’s your favourite flavour of slushy at the local corner store or a flashback picture from the 70s where blue eyeshadow was so misunderstood 😩. Maybe it’s deeper than that and blue represents feelings of sadness and depression on cold Winter nights. Blue can represent many things for us, so let’s be intentional with our use of the colour blue and maybe use it to express our feelings or repurpose it to do something spectacular like adorn our lips.

I first discovered the colour blue when I bought my first blue Annabelle eyeliner and applied it to my melanated skin one summer day. My skin glows a beautiful all-the-way-golden-brown in the Toronto sunlight in a way that makes me walk a little straighter and smile a little brighter. I had no reference for blue eyeliner on Black women in my own circles, but I like being me, so I wore it over some brown eyeshadow and with some black mascara and it was a hit to me and my reflection. Later on I discovered blue mascara, thank you Maybelline, and paired the two together and no one could tell me that I couldn’t wear blue to any place on my curvy body!

But Blue lipstick was a stretch and a leap. Where do you usually see blue besides on denim and the ocean? Where is blue acceptable for women? Usually, not on their lips, especially if they are office or church bound. I moved slowly. Blue liner, blue nail polish, blue tights, and then a cool blue-ish gray lipstick came my way and I decided to shock my mother. Besides God, she commands a fear that is both healthy and not to be messed with, so if she could get over it, then I would be fine everywhere else. Blue lipstick…I’ve arrived, 😁!

So here we are almost a year later well into our RAINBOW series and blue is up next. Now to be honest I don’t have many blue lippies, but I think I still have more options than the average lip wear lover. It also helps that Canada is closing in on Winter for which blue is a cool colour to sport (pun intended…cool? get it?!!) Let’s look at some of the Blues to wear and what I’ve found in different textures and tones.

This blue looks more shiny here than the matte it really is because it was made on-site at Mix Beauty Lab. It was a fun experience I had with some of my besties. We mixed different hues and tones until we landed on this cool grey blue. It was my very first blue lipstick and it was so much fun. I named it Boo You Blue Check them out here and plan your own time to create a lippie you don’t yet own. https://shopmixbeautylab.com

Now I’ve spoken about this lippie by EstΔ“e Lauder named Moon Rock from their Pure Color Love Lipstick line, but it begs repeating just how cool this one is. It is an iridescent lipstick that shines blue and green depending the light you’re standing under. I have it laid over another beautiful blue matte just to show it’s shine potential.

Third on our list is a beautiful matte lippie by FentyBeauty called Clapback from the Mattemoiselle line. It goes on velvety and is so deep that it will create a contrast that cannot be ignored. It’s also super affordable and makes something as simple as a parka and scarf combo way more fun.

This blue is one of my favourite lippies, period. This one was featured in the Easter colours and the Winter blog posts because it’s still that good. This Demi-matte Covergirl lippie is called Bestie Boo. It glides on easy like a satin but has just as much staying power as a regular matte. The light shade allows me to consider using it in an ombrΓ© option as well. See below and then stop by your local drug store to pick up this wonderful lippie.

Combination of FentyBeauty Clapback and Covergirl Bestie Boo.

Four very different blues…I can’t wait to get a few more…Do you know any other blues that I should try?!

Friend, I don’t know what the blues look like in your life nowadays, but I encourage you to choose to repurpose your blue. On depressing days, look to the sky and know that the God who made the blue skies, also made and loves you. On days when you feel cold inside or lonely and blue reminds you of some melancholy songs about people who call you “baby” leaving you, then please look at that blue moment and tell it that your life is valuable, necessary, and lovely, just like your lips are while decorated with any colour, even blue. YOU can wear blue and be happy. You can rejoice in the Winter like you did in the Summer. You can experience the Joy of the Lord and blue lipstick at the same time.

Choose Blue, Love. Choose life, choose joy, choose the love of God even in colours that confuse people the way joy in the midst of sorrow does in seasons of grief. You CAN wear blue in any season. Enjoy Blue and #wearitlikeyoumeanit πŸ’‹

Post #37- Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving

I am thankful… for life- we saw a lot of death over the past 18 months for a lot of reasons I still can’t fully understand

…for family and friends – perhaps I took their nearness for granted in past years, but I know how precious they are especially after losing some

…for provision/financial security- we were all affected by the pandemic and watched as so many entrepreneurs struggled to keep businesses open and food on the table

…for moments of joy- a smile is so precious and because of the need for safety and health, I can go days without seeing one in person or someone else seeing mine

…for faith- God has kept my mind, my health, my family, my imagination from going off the deep end even though I often felt like I was on the edge

…for education- what I know now what I wish I knew then, but no regrets

…for creativity- we have found more ways and better ways to express who we are in the middle of a time of continual crisis, personally and globally

…for my Blackness- it is a gift I never have to be afraid of living in

…for my BIG lips- they are a canvas God gave me to use with and without words

…for LIPSTICK- I’ve found another way to learn and grow and express creativity while encouraging others to do the same like they mean it

…for YOU- because your eyes are attached to your heart and just maybe some of these words will end up there

Happy Thanksgiving, Loves!

Hi Loves! Hopefully by now you’ve solidified your plans for turkey weekend. Or maybe you’re excited at the prospects of eating with other real people in a home with a slightly larger number than 1 again. Or maybe, it’s been a really busy bit of time and you were just praying for a long weekend to come and relieve you one more time…well, isn’t God good?! He answered all of our prayers. RSVP-YES! Turkey? Yes! Long weekend? Thank you! and now for that sigh of relief, go ahead and breathe.

Since we will most likely be inside for thanksgiving dinners and the occasional walk in between servings, we have a great opportunity to celebrate Autumn while being thankful with our favourite lippies! I’ve been meaning to do a shoot and explore some of the colours I’ve loved and a few new ones, but mask life made that a bit tricky. But not this weekend. I’m back, Baby!

For this Thanksgiving weekend, I would like to offer you some ideas of colours in a range of textures to consider for your time with loved ones. They all happen to be colour appropriate for this season, but if you’re like me, you’ll wear what you want, so I threw one of those in there too. I’m featuring my favourite coat from JesseRowes by local designer Vanessa Rose Thomas and my comfy well worn fall vest in this amazing orange also by local designer Cherith B. Designs. Let’s begin.

I started with this wonderful nude gloss that also happens to cover enough of my two-toned lips without changing their colour too much and is a wonderful pairing with these dramatic eyes. Cheekbone Beauty in Sweetgrass is also easy to reapply after Turkey as well.

Next I decided to stay in the gloss family with a lipstick so satin it presents itself like a gloss…magical. Damage by NARS literally glides on your lips with a soft purple tint and I am here for it. I also love that I was able to find this luxury brand on sale at my local WINNERS. Win win for me!

We all know how I feel about The LipBar by now, so when they released this muted purple gray nude at the end of Summer, I had to jump on it. MUVA is a satin that reads like a matte and glides on easily for a full coverage lip in a colour I bet you didn’t know you need…you’re welcome!

Ok this is a repeat. If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time, then you’ve seen the power matte lip pigment Somebody to Love by NARS that acts more like a liquid lipstick than just a pigment or stain. It goes on easy and dries to a velvet matte finish I always love. It’s a brown nude with subtle pink undertones that compliment the skin.

Another repeat, but I’m ok with that. This is a satin matte by Milani and this plum named Cashmere is so much fun for the season. It pops the way a plum should and you can find it online or at your local drugstore. It also has pretty good staying power so you shouldn’t have to reapply too much throughout your time with those you love.

I just had to! You know I love purple on lips and I will never grow tired of The LipBar’s Crown Me because I just feel absolutely royal wearing it. When it dries, you can leave it on and forget about it until you’re ready to go. Great colour.

Ooh NARS did it again! This lippie ( I also found on sale) is called Fire Down Below 😳 but it goes on so easy and is such an appropriate red for someone wearing light pink braids on their way to dinner in a fabulous coat. This colour says, “I mean business!” and I can’t help but wear it like I mean it.

And because all of this orange, red, and brown is making me think of bricks or fire or food…haven’t figured it out yet. I added some RUST by MFMG to the NARS lippie for an ombre red-orange-fire effect similar to the of the sunset look I created in the Summer with yellow but without the shock. I love it.

And Lastly on this list, is the wonderful lippie, Fierce by Juvia’s Place in this pigmented berry red matte lipstick that goes on easy and feels super creamy. I feel fierce wearing it. And yes you can wear orange with berry red lips and pink hair. 😏

What are you thankful for? I pray that you are surrounded by love and family and the knowledge that you’re present and that that is a good thing. However you choose to decorate your pout, choose also to use your lips to spread love and gratitude, not just this weekend, but any time you can. Oh and for the lippie you choose, #WearItLikeYouMeanIt. Happy Thanksgiving, Loves!

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Post #36- Back to School/Hello Fall!

Well it’s that time of year again. The time when it feels like a new year is starting at the end of Summer and everything else enters a season of reset. Another school year has startedΒ and parents can breathe a sigh of relief because someone else will entertain their kids for 6-8 hours a day. The rest of us now deal with more than the usual Summer amount of traffic and pedestrians everywhere as we watch Autumn descending onto our sunny land…

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

Well this is usually how it goes, but coming out of a pandemic, at least I hope we’re coming out, many of those sighs are not of relief and their is much anxiety skulking about our neighbourhoods as we wonder if another lockdown is imminent. Can we make it through the school year without another outbreak? Can parents really return to work? Does work always include zoom time? And now that we are in the 2nd real month of β€œback-to-school life”, I am realizing my need for more lipstick time…I miss lipstick!

My time is split between masks and zoomable looks, more mask than zoom and my lippies and masks have yet to agree. I am often torn between the need for bare lips and my love of regular lipstick. I have stashed a couple balms that are actually quite tinted but I am so sad, for my lippies are at home mostly unused thanks to covid. Blast you virus and disease!

However, all is not lost and to show you, we’ll have a look at a few looks I managed to capture as well as a few new lippies I picked up by faith. Be nice. These are unpolished pics of me in the morning before the schedule of the day has really gotten a chance to start. These looks feature a nude in FU$$Y by FENTYBeauty, a wonderful burnt orange by Make Up For Melanin Girls (MFMG), and a reddish orange by Maybelline from the Superstay Matte Ink Crayon collection in Laugh Louder.

Even though I love, love, love Summer, there is something beautiful and cozy about an oversized sweater and a sexy pout that come out to play in Fall. That being said let’s review some of the Autumn colours from last year and see what we can add into the mix this time around.

What are you wearing this Fall? Or better yet, what is something you’re starting anew this season? What (besides masks) have you overcome in the last season of you life? I bet you’re stronger for it with better insight and a wise perspective. You did well and you’re still here which is no understatement these days. As we tackle the next thing to do on the to-do-list, let’s take a moment and notice the season and wear that Autumn lippie like we mean it. We need you here, Babe!

That’s it for me. See you around and on the gram.