It Was Never Just About the Red Lipstick

I didn’t walk into that makeup store in Brazil to browse.

I walked in with a decision already made.

It was the end of the year. I was with my family, surrounded by love, conversation, movement. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, something became very clear:

I was done hiding.

Not in the obvious ways.

I’ve built a business. I show up. I lead.

But there are quieter ways we hide that are harder to admit.

Hiding from the fear of our past.

Hiding behind the need for approval before we allow ourselves to be fully seen.

Hiding in the belief that after so long staying small, maybe we are not enough to take up space.

I’ve done all of that.

I’ve softened my voice.

I’ve held back my opinions.

I’ve stayed in observation instead of stepping forward.

Not because I didn’t have something to say…

but because somewhere along the way, I learned it was safer not to.

That day, I didn’t want to fix myself.

I didn’t want to become louder or different.

I just wanted to stop holding myself back.

So I bought the red lipstick.

And this time, it wasn’t something for a special occasion.

It wasn’t something to wear “when it felt right.”

It was a decision to wear it unapologetically.

Every day.

Not because of how it looked…

but because of what it represented.

A line I was drawing with myself.

In 2026, I would stop shrinking.

I would stop asking for permission.

I would stop negotiating my worth.

The lipstick became a reminder.

A visible, daily choice to show up fully.

To take space without questioning if I should.

To be seen without first making sure it was acceptable.

Because hiding doesn’t always look like silence.

Sometimes it looks like restraint.

Like waiting.

Like slowly convincing yourself that staying small is just “who you are.”

But it isn’t.

When I shared this with a few women in my community, something unexpected happened.

They didn’t just heard my story. They acted on it.

One by one, they went out and bought their own red lipstick.

And started wearing it.

Not for style.

Not for occasion.

But as their own symbol.

A quiet, visible decision to stop holding back.

To step forward with a little more courage.

To take up space without apologizing for it.

That’s when it really landed for me.

This was never just about the red lipstick, even tough is a strong symbol

It was about what happens when one person decides to stop hiding…

and others recognize themselves in that decision.