How many lipsticks do you own? I think if you’d asked me to guess how many I have in my makeup collection, I would have said around 30-35. But I recently did an inventory and discovered that I have sixty-eight lipsticks. SIXTY-EIGHT! 

OK, so to be fair, I didn’t count only lipsticks. I counted every single lip product I have – gloss, stain, liner, and lipstick. I even included the minis and samples I have lying around. I was honestly shocked to discover that I had so many (and if I’m being totally honest, I’m probably going to buy at least one or two more lip products whenever the Sephora sale rolls around at the end of the month.) I literally cannot help myself.

The funniest thing about how many lip products I own is that in my real, everyday life, I’m not actually wearing a lot of lipstick. Friends, this bothers me. I like it when the things I own have a real place in my everyday life. On the one hand, buying lip products clearly gives me some kind of joy. And yet, there’s a literal whole bin of lipsticks, lip glosses, lip stains, and lip liners that just sit around in my makeup drawer.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching to get to the bottom of this lipstick problem. What is that appeals to me about finding a great lipstick and keeps me buying new shades? Overall, I LOVE the way a good lip color just wakes up my face and makes me feel “finished.” And I really, really love the way reds and deeper pinks look on me. And yet…aside from try-ons, going out, or swiping on a lighter shade, most of my lip products never see the light of day.

There’s obviously a disconnect between my lipstick-purchasing self and my makeup-applying self, but why? For some reason, it seems just plain scary for me to wear a lipstick if someone might be able to tell I’m wearing one – especially when most of the times I see other people, it’s for things like school pickup, Zoom calls, or just going to the store. What will people think? What if my makeup looks “obvious”? What if people look at me?! So I put on a nice sheer, natural shade and call it a day, while the other 60 lipsticks collect dust.

This is so silly! It’s just lipstick. Makeup should be fun! And, on a more practical note, I’ve spent a lot of money on products I’m not even using. (Please don’t make me do the math on the final amount.)

Which brings us to the reason I’m writing this post: I’m on a mission to use every single lipstick I own. Not just because it feels like a waste of money and space to not use them. Once I realized that I’m not doing a totally harmless thing that makes me happy, just because I’m afraid of what people might think, I started to feel a little ridiculous!

So, for the next few months, I’ll wear one lipstick from my collection each day, even if the only thing I’m doing that day is working from home and doing school pickups. Each Wednesday, I’ll report back here with roundups and swatches of what the shades I’ve been wearing each week.

There will be red lipstick at school pickup. There will be swatches of a million different demure pink lipsticks. There will be try-ons of nude shades that vary by only the tiniest of degrees. I’m on a journey to become a genuine Lipstick Person, and I hope you’ll join me!

Do you wear lipstick every day? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!