Red, Brown, Pink, Rose, Purple. There are so many different colors I could choose to make my lips on my face stand out. The few I put above are simply the colors I tried to stick to when picking out my lipstick last night.

In two months I will start flight attendant training and then hopefully I will start flying. In every article or picture I see, the women are wearing lipstick. Ok, not every picture but a lot of them. I have to admit I feel pressured to conform and follow the crowd and paint my mouth in color to make it stand out from the rest of my features.

Here’s the thing, I feel like I am cheating. Cheating on my core feminism.

I have always been a person that doesn’t do things because they are cool. Generally speaking, I only partake in a fad or something the crowd is partaking in if I truly have a want for the action to occur, so by conforming to what others do I, in a sense, feel like I am giving into what society deems I am supposed to do. In this case that is wearing lipstick.

There is another side to this debacle. I have read blogs, or articles that state the importance of keeping your lips hydrated and how lipstick helps keep you looking fresh. Mainly help make your teeth look whiter and give your lips a pop from rows away so people can see you are put together. I certainly know that after being on an airplane for 10 hours when I am not working I look a mess, so come time to have to work, I will need all the help I can get.

Truth is, I have always wanted to be able to wear lipstick and do it like a pro. I never understood how women, of all different walks of life, could stand having lipstick on for more than a half hour.

Last night my first stop was a MAC store in time square. I picked up a prime and prep for lips and a red lip liner. Then I went to Sephora. I had a hard time not buying everything there but limited myself to 4 more colors. A Michael Kors, Clinique, two Sephora stains, one NARS shade and two more lip liners. All pictured above. To say I’d over done it is probably an understatement, but I came home ate dinner and could not wait to try my first combination.

Up first was the Mac lipliner and the Michael Cors Shade. Once I put everything on I was surprised how easy it was and how good it felt. I could see myself applying this regimen in a bathroom at the airport in time for me to board my first flight.

On a slightly more annoying note, this lipstick did seem to travel. It got on my hands and such so I am not sure how much longevity it holds but I wore it for a good 3 hours and if I hadn’t got hungry I could have worn it for longer.

I am excited to try out each of the shade I bought and I am sure once I find the winner I will repost. For now I must say my feminism feels present as long as I wear my lipstick as a sheild of pride and not out of obligation.