A t 27, Shreya (name changed) had a broken marriage, a toddler and an absentee spouse. Unsurprisingly, she started to slip into depression. After a few consultations with counsellors, she tried something unusual. “I was never a fan of beauty products,” she says. “But that day I went to a store and bought red lipstick.” According to her, what followed was nothing short of magic. “I applied the lipstick and it instantly got me out of that state of mind. I was just happy. For the next three days, I applied the lipstick and looked at myself in the mirror and it helped me greatly to look at things in a positive light,” says the Hyderabad resident.
Stories like these have given birth to an exclusive page on Instagram which promotes red lipstick as a tool for women empowerment and positivity. ‘Every Woman Has Her Red’, founded by Soumya Bollapragada, an actor and filmmaker from Vizag, requires a woman to post a picture of herself wearing red lipstick, explain the importance of the shade in her life and nominate other women to do the same. Till date, more than 50 women have participated in the unique initiative.
So how did it all begin? “The page was started on August 11 last year,” says Bollapragada. “Just a few days prior to that I was discussing this idea with my friend and co-founder of #everywomanhasherred, Dileep Reddy, and he immediately set the ball rolling. The idea was to do something for women from different races, backgrounds and ethnicities and bring them all together on a single platform.”
She says that she specifically went for red lipstick as she felt that women who wear it are looked down upon and very few have the courage to own the power of the colour. “For me, a red lip is an embodiment of power, confidence and an aura which gives me the fire to conquer anything. So, the idea was to bring together women who felt the same about a single colour,” she says.
Women from different walks of life have signed up to be a part of the campaign. The list includes an actor, food explorer, artist, doctor and biker, among others. There are participants from outside the country too, like cancer survivor Brandi Benson from the US. She posted an image of herself wearing red lipstick to create awareness about cancer and captioned it, ‘Mood for life’.
Closer home, entrepreneur Sridevi Adibatla swears by the power of red. “As a style curator, fashion enthusiast and entrepreneur, over the years, I realised that red lipstick has the power to instantly uplift my features and give a perfect definition to my lips. Yes, when in doubt, wear red. A classic little black dress, a string of pearls, a touch of red lipstick and voila! You are ready to rock,” she says.
For some, the shade is also a means to challenge age-old rules and regressive thought processes. “Red lipstick is my licence to break free from societal norms that date back to the [previous] era,” says fitness trainer and content writer Nyna Ragini Makkhar.
Though buoyed by the response to her page, Bollapragada is also disappointed as some of her own friends backed out from participating in the campaign. But then, there were surprises in store of a different kind. She asks mischievously, “Would you believe if I told you that some of the strongest supporters of my initiative are men?”