“You’re so good. You always have on lipstick. I’m a mess.” 

I do. I always have on lipstick. On Zoom. When I go for a run. Trader Joe’s quick-stop. Even under my mask. I feel kinda naked without it. And I did long before Zoom calls became a thing. Running upstairs for a meeting, touch up your lipstick. Need to hit the grocery store on the way home, slap on some lipstick.

My version of tapping on the plate three times before facing the next pitch. Or adjusting my gloves. Or Big Papi’s Spit and Clap. (Apologies to anyone who feels bait-and-switched by the sports talk. It’s over now. But that’s also the great conundrum that is me.)

If I have lipstick on, I’m focused, alert, and ready to tackle the task at hand.

I don’t do it to get noticed, but it does. 

Every time someone would call me out for putting lipstick on for a video call I just shrug. 

“OMG, you look so put together, I haven’t even showered this week (I don’t think).”

“Ugh, how do you find the energy, I could barely put pants on?”

“Tarrah, always with the lipstick, making us look bad.”

First, it takes barely any energy. I have a tube sitting right on my desk. I didn’t even have to get up.
Second, don’t go accusing me of showering. Lipstick is magic, it just looks like I showered. Be glad you aren’t here.
And finally, I’m not doing anything to make you look bad. I’m trying to trick myself into being present (because let’s be honest a lot of those Zoom calls coulda/shoulda been an email). 

Sometimes when it’s just me sitting at my desk writing I put lipstick on even though no one will see me just to magic my brain into thinking differently. With lipstick on, I am a professional. Work Tarrah. Pay no attention to the yoga pants and holey sweater off camera. (Thanks, Uriel, for this well-timed IG share.)

Over the last two years “lipstick is the new pants” kinda became my mantra. Every time I said that to someone they would laugh. Not in a negative way, but they would chuckle at my very basic way of looking at things. For real, no one can tell who is and who is not wearing pants. But you can tell who has their game face on.

Am I seriously the only one playing these mind games with myself?

All I have to say to that is if y’all have some other witchcraft/voodoo/hype-up trick that you aren’t sharing, what gives?

Then recently, while listening to the Inner Peace To Go podcast (available in the Apple podcast store), hosted by Sandy Cohen (@youknowsandy), she shared with her guest that sometimes she put perfume on to help her set the scene for her day. Yeah, that! Exactly!

I am not alone.

But I am curious, what are the rest of you doing? How is everyone getting through this?