The Amnesia Kit

So yesterday I told you the story about how a moment with my sister led me to have a change of heart about the cosmetics industry. In the years that followed, I really pared down on my stash of beauty products. I started questioning why I used certain things - did they make me feel good, or were they just a band-aid that I put on some insecurity that I had been sold on? As you can probably guess, lip balm totally made the cut! I don't know about you, but for me, the fact that this stuff moisturizes my lips is nice and all, but it's more about the fun flavours and the ritual of it. It can make me giggle when I realize how silly I look when I curl up my lips to try and get another sniff of the flavour (I like doing this during important meetings. lol!) It can also make me feel a bit better when I'm nervous or stressed. But in periods of my life where I was so consumed by, well, life that I almost forgot who I was at times, my lip balm served as a tiny reminder that there still was an actual person inside of me, not just wife, mom, employee (insert any other role here) and that this person was fun, quirky and giggly. Sometimes the reminder was a relief, like those sleepless nights spent with babies where popping a cap off a tube of lip balm was the only thing I could do for myself with my free hand. And sometimes, it made me panic a little when I realized how far I had strayed or just shut down who I was. Life is funny that way. But I love these reminders. The ones that just feel true and right and that I own for the right reasons. Like a weird knick knack, a favorite pair of earrings or a coffee mug you won't let anyone else use.