It is the makeup equivalent of heading the boardroom meeting or walking into the party, shoulders back, chest out
You can spot a baller woman by the fact that she wears no makeup, not a slick of it, except for one thing: a bold red lip. A lot of power women do this and, as with fashion designers who – maybe unexpectedly – seem to wear only black basics (roll-neck sweaters, trainers), it displays a simple self-assuredness. These are women who Get Things Done. A bit like how Mark Zuckerberg says he wears the same normcore outfit every single day because he is so busy. But also not. Because, euw, Mark Zuckerberg.
I am one of the women who often goes makeup-free aside from a red lipstick. But in my case it is more down to laziness, losing eyeliners and mascara, and being exceptionally time-poor. I can state with more certainty than Einstein’s theory of relativity that I am not in the power women clan. But the thing about a red lip is that, precisely because it is the look of those who have their shit together, it instantly elevates the rest of us. It also signals that you have made an effort, even though that effort has probably taken a single minute.